I miss the dots

[Bern]

Originally Posted by the.ronin

All the cool kids are doing it!

yeah...and ?

[hesson11]

Originally Posted by Paikon

i use correction fluid like many pros do
works great

Even Sharon Isbin has admitted to being guilty of this!
-Bob

[hesson11]

Originally Posted by Bern

I could not never understand why any builder would leave markers off...

Like most things with guitars, I believe it's simply a matter of tradition.

-Bob

[BrickGlass]

Tradition or not, it is (imo) a very stupid thing to not have the dots and I don't play so well without them.

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by Bern

I could not never understand why any builder would leave markers off...

I, on the other hand, don't understand why folks don't make it a point not to depend on the dots. Depending on markers means one can't play in the dark or near dark. My first classical guitar, given to me at age 10 had dots, my first guitar without markers, I acquired at age 23. I don't recall any difficulty in adapting to the unmarked fretboard but then I had, on occasion, played in the dark. Those few occasions were enough to free me from dependency on makers.

[Paikon]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

I, on the other hand, don't understand why folks don't make it a point not to depend on the dots. Depending on markers means one can't play in the dark or near dark. My first classical guitar, given to me at age 10 had dots, my first guitar without markers, I acquired at age 23. I don't recall any difficulty in adapting to the unmarked fretboard but then I had, on occasion, played in the dark. Those few occasions were enough to free me from dependency on makers.

i don't think that the audience cares if someone can play in the dark or not.

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by Paikon

i don't think that the audience cares if someone can play in the dark or not.

I'm confident they don't care but that wasn't the point.

[mc1]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

I, on the other hand, don't understand why folks don't make it a point not to depend on the dots. Depending on markers means one can't play in the dark or near dark. My first classical guitar, given to me at age 10 had dots, my first guitar without markers, I acquired at age 23. I don't recall any difficulty in adapting to the unmarked fretboard but then I had, on occasion, played in the dark. Those few occasions were enough to free me from dependency on makers.

do you do a lot of position shifts? i have one piece i'm working on now where i'm jumping from the first position to the seventh, and it usually goes ok. if i think about it too much, or switch between a 12 and 14 fret guitar, i often will get the sixth or eighth fret.

so rather than beat myself up, i decided to mark the seventh fret.

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by mc1

do you do a lot of position shifts? i have one piece i'm working on now where i'm jumping from the first position to the seventh, and it usually goes ok. if i think about it too much, or switch between a 12 and 14 fret guitar, i often will get the sixth or eighth fret.

so rather than beat myself up, i decided to mark the seventh fret.

Most classical guitar pieces with which I'm familiar involve a lot of position shifting yet it is the classical guitar that has no fretboard markings.

Everyone should do what is best for them. My point is that it is preferable not to be dependent on fretboard markings and that it takes little effort to overcome that dependency.

[the.ronin]

Originally Posted by Bern

yeah...and ?

Sarcasm, Bern.

Ok so seriously then ... classical guitar is steeped in tradition. From purists / traditionalists, the thought is that you should not be looking at the neck but rather feeling from the sound. Like it or not, that's the thought. Suffice to say, just the way you hold the classical makes dots on top of the fretboard itself useless anyway.

At the end of the day, if you want to go with dots, use dots. Nothing will explode.

[hesson11]

Originally Posted by BrickGlass

Tradition or not, it is (imo) a very stupid thing to not have the dots and I don't play so well without them.

You and me both! I'm lost without at least one. But I suspect among very accomplished, professional players, using dots may well be considered amateurish (Sharon Isbin and others notwithstanding). Kind of like showing up for the Tour de France on a bike with training wheels!

Also, as for not looking at the fretboard while playing, I've seen videos of Segovia in which he stares at it constantly.

-Bob

[KenW]

As Waddy has alluded to, permanent dots can be added in minutes. I normally use 2mm MOP gold dots from LMI, I have used the bases of worn drill bits.

[mc1]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

Most classical guitar pieces with which I'm familiar involve a lot of position shifting yet it is the classical guitar that has no fretboard markings.

Everyone should do what is best for them. My point is that it is preferable not to be dependent on fretboard markings and that it takes little effort to overcome that dependency.

hmmm. well, i've been struggling for a few months, although i don't do any specific exercises just to train my muscle memory to get the shifts correct. i think playing 12 and 14 fret guitars, guitars with different scale lengths, and getting it wrong sometimes compounds the problem.

i really wanted to avoid the dot at the 7th, but recently i gave up. for this piece, a slide up or down a fret sounds just awful to my ears.

[Bern]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

My point is that it is preferable not to be dependent on fretboard markings and that it takes little effort to overcome that dependency.

To prove a point ? Waste time for something unnecessary ? I'd rather put a little effort into other things. If guitar players need to look at the fretboard that doesn't bother me at all...it meaningless.

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by Bern

To prove a point ? Waste time for something unnecessary ? I'd rather put a little effort into other things. If guitar players need to look at the fretboard that doesn't bother me at all...it meaningless.

It is my opinion that it isn't pointless to overcome dependency on fretboard markers and that the small effort and short time it takes to learn to play without them is not wasted. So we have opinions that are at odds but as I said earlier, ultimately, everyone should do what works best for them.