Why Classical Guitars don't Have Fret Inlays, Fret Markers or Position Markers on the fretboard?

[@robinosborne266]

My father, bless him was a classically trained brass instrument player and he used to constantly rant on about how guitar players sound okay but if you put that same piece of music in front of them in sheet form they couldn’t play it!!! We had many a “discussion” about this subject. Another enjoyable and informative video Cesar. Thank you

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Thanks so much for watching, my friend and thanks for sharing the story. Stay safe!

[@mauricedibert2635]

Never knew. You learn something new every day.

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Thanks for watching my friend! The Guitar is a world of discoveries every day,,,,

[@DetroitWrecker666]

My friend, your playing touches my soul! Great video!

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Thanks so much Wrecker! Stay safe my friend!

[@christopherprose3881]

It's a joy to watch you play. I intend to watch more of your videos. I'm learning soooooo much! Great work!

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Thanks so much!

[@barak363363]

I'm so glad I found this channel! finally someone who explains the meaning and the reasoning behind those things, and also a classical guitar channel (which is the only guitar I have). Thanks!

[@skithewhitestuff]

Very helpful information. I am transitioning from electric guitar the Spanish guitar, and have not yet purchased a guitar but realised that there were no fret markers. So I was intrigued to know why. Thanks for the explanation.

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Glad it was helpful!

[@TheTektronik]

When I'm playing my acoustic I close my eyes and make chord shapes by feel. There's always something about the classical guitar that gets me drawn to it I might as well go get one.

[@CesarAllGuitar]

I am sure you will love it!

[@RandySchartiger]

you wouldn't believe the attacks I've gotten for calling out fretboard and finger boards lol Tony Rice always liked having the dots but he didn't like inlay. good info brother Cesar! I hope you and yours are staying safe and healthy! cheers!

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Hey Randy! Sorry I am late in checking your material man but I am megasuperbusy... please stay safe!!!!

[@kwintonkevin2593]

I don't have any fret dots on the top edge of my fret board but a small blob of Tipp-ex above the 7th fret gives me the reference point I need. Causes no damage to the guitar and can be easily removed if need be.

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Thanks foe sharing!

[@jvader79]

Buen vídeo, no lo había pensado nunca así! Un abrazo

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Gracias! Me lo han preguntado muchas veces, encuentro esta explicacion la mas logica....

[@electriglider]

Hello Cesar, Nice to meet you, I am Thomas, and thank you so much for your videos. Thank you for the interesting video about the fret board. I plan to learn to site read again so I will be careful to do as you say. I did the same thing playing the piano so I could read the music and your followers also mention many other good reasons. I saw you have a video for changing strings. Like your other followers, I love to watch and listen to your videos, you are so pleasant and calm and you play beautifully. I played guitar as a kid but switched to piano. Mostly I played by ear but could read music enough to get learn a piece. I was not very good but it was fun. Sadly with raising a family and no free time I dropped music all together and it's been like 30 or 40 years? Now with the pandemic I'm stuck at home and things have slowed down so I am thinking about picking up the guitar again before I have arthritis in my hands but I have no callouses or strength. I purchased my classical guitar back in the early 70's when I was a kid. My guitar teacher knew a guy and told me it was a good guitar. It is a 1967 Japanese guitar by Yairi & Son Model 500 S/N 77. I took care of it and think it sounds good and hope it is a good instrument. I have replaced strings in the past so I purchased some D'Addario Strings Pro-Arte' Dynacore EJ45TT normal tension. I don't know if it would be high or normal tension so I purchased normal to be safe. I welcome your comments and suggestions and look forward to watching all your videos about playing classical guitar, replacing strings, and checking the guitar. I am located in Northern California so If you have a website or online store with training materials I am very interested in that. I feel very fortunate to have found you at this time when I want to play guitar again. Since I am starting over do you have any advice for me regarding checking the guitar or preparation to start playing again. I can only remember a few chords and can barely play them. I also have a couple of steel string acoustics which were my favorites, but I thought the classical would be better to start with and after hearing you play I may stick with the classical acoustic permanently. Especially since my son who is a guitar player has all my other guitars at his house anyway and he plays them much better than I ever did. Thank you for your KZbin channel and your videos, really appreciate them.

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Thanks so much for the nice comment and for sharing the story! Sorry I missed the comment - KZbin sometimes messes up....

[@elenasclassicalpiano5875]

Learning a lot, thanks!

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Thanks so much for watching and happy you found it useful!

[@florascent9ts]

thank you so much brother, wish you well!

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Thank you too for watching!

[@Ijcarter1962]

Great explanation!

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Thanks so much for watching and for dropping a comment!

[@hni4053]

Hi Cesar, good playing and good talk. As I think you meant as well, classical soloists do look at their fingers, like Segovia :) Today, at the academies, guitarists are improving at sight reading. Amateurs, us, are generally lousy. If we join ensamble playing we need to shape up. In the 70s, when I started, guitarists generally were miles after the rest at the academies. Having said that, we are great at spontaneous performance, where one or two pianists fail to deliver w/o their score :) But generally the lack of markers is arguably tradition surely.

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Thanks for watching and for the comment!

[@fastfreddy6029]

This is beautiful!

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Thank you!

[@SuperGuillote1975]

You a clear teacher

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Thanks so much!

[@UTUBEsumeet]

Can you please share name of the piece which was played at the start?

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Hello! Is my arrangement for " My Way"... Thanks for watching!

[@UTUBEsumeet]

Thank you.. And I really like your tutorials.. They are so helpful

[@Stephen7475]

I played many years still need to look at my left hand. I also play violin, and also look at my fingers when no scores in front of me. The tiny dots on the side of my guitar are hard to see. Time to buy some stickers.

[@fishypaw]

I bought a cheap but nice 2nd hand classical guitar a few years ago that doesn't even have the side markers on it. Took me a while to get used to it, but once I did, my fingers just know where to go now, more or less. Another reason not to look at the fret board, is you look cooler when you play like that. 😉

[@CesarAllGuitar]

LOL

[@zsand]

what was that beginning song its so good

[@CesarAllGuitar]

My way!

[@3cardmonty602]

I practice sometimes in a completely dark room to help me learn by muscle memory. I play a steel string guitar & it can become very addictive to stare at the fretboard.

[@CesarAllGuitar]

That is a good practicing tip..though a bit difficult if you need to read a music sheet. Thanks so much for watching!

[@420Gold]

Playing on a classical guitar made me a better player. Made me considerably less reliant on looking at the neck to know where I’m at. And they sound amazing

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Absolutely agree…Thanks for watching!

[@pmangum6879]

Thank you! Where does one usually place the small side markers if desired?

[@emanueol]

nice video. what is guitar brand/model ? Thanks. I been looking for a nylon 19 or 20 frets nylon classic guitar which sounds nice without being plugged (no need for pickup to connect to amp, it its allows thats an extra) thanks so much.

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Hello! it is an Alhambra 5P

[@emanueol]

@@CesarAllGuitar thanks ;)

[@irreplacableable]

Thanks a lot sirè

[@CesarAllGuitar]

You are welcome!

[@barryallen6217]

I've been playing Piano for more than 10 years and i'm want to add the guitar to my instruments list. I'm a fast learner too .. but i have a guitar that only fret markers on the 5th and 7th fret. How am i supposed to navigate on the fret as a beginner ?

[@clouds7558]

I only have 4dots on my fret is this normal?

[@Toni56.]

Fantastic César, as usual you explain everything very clear and simple, like it is, but some times not looks like😊. Now if you don't mind I have a question, and as one of my favourite KZbin lutiers. I'll pass to you. I'll do in Spanish due to some technical details. Tengo una Yamaha Slg 200 S NT. La compré viendo tus vídeos. Ahora aveces me trastean la 6 y la 4, no sé si puede ser un tema de las cuerdas, son unas Martín (5meses +-) o quizá pueda ser el PSO. Debido a la quarentena no puedo ir a comprar cuerdas y por tanto no he querido quitarlas. No sé si con está información puedes ayudarme pero cualquier sugerencia será bien venida. Gracias de antemano 🎸🎸

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Gracias!!! Bueno, con la información que me das yo creo que es un tema de neck relief,... mira a ver si se ha movido el mástil y si es así, ajusta el truss rod... lo puedes ver en muchos de mis videos...

[@rafdecc]

THANK YOU I ENJOYED YOUR PLAYING IMMENSELY. I CAM UPON YOUR VIDEO WHILE SEARCHING A CLASSICAL GUITAR TO BUY. WHAT IS THE NOMENCLATURE/ IDENTITY OF YOUR GUITAR IT SOUNDS SO BEAUTIFUL. I KNOW IT IS YOUR PLAYING:) AT 77 DO YA THINK I CAN LEARN HOW TO PLAY GUITAR??? I DON'T READ MUSIC JUST WANT TO PLAY BY EAR. MY DAUGHTER IS A GRADUATE OF CURTIS IN PHILADELPHIA PA AND PLAYS CHAMBER MUSIC IN NYC AND THE WORLD. SHE PLAYS A BEAUTIFUL VIOLA . RON FROM NEW JERSEY USA

[@snicker576]

Great playing! I wish they all had side dots. They couldn't possibly hurt, and I need them to keep myself oriented. I think it's just an unfortunate example of tradition for tradition's sake

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Absolutely agree…Cheers and Thanks!

[@61sonador]

Excellent, Cesar. Phonetic tip: Breath out your "s" sound on "sheet" with your teeth closed without altering or changing your voice. Otherwise the word that comes out has an unintended meaning.

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Sometimes intended...😀 Thanks for the tip!

[@themedallostoryteller1105]

I always wanted an electric guitar without fret inlays, but that's sadly really hard to find...I started playing the classical guitar, so I always thought why would anyone need fret inlays? I find it ugly and unnecessary

[@alamosabill201]

Well I never knew that Cesar, I guess I did it My Way. 👍

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Our way is the right way my dear Simon....hang in there!

[@stevehughes240]

Dude, I'd buy you a beer any day of the week.

[@CesarAllGuitar]

I am in!

[@fishypaw]

Hmm, I've wondered about this but have never asked. 🤔

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Here you will find the truth my son...

[@voyegerkane2301]

Mine does though...

[@MikeGgeetar]

My Raimundo has been through the mill and the white makers have actually been worn away and its only really an issue in the middle positions. Playing and reading in the first to third position is mostly ok but four five and six sometimes I miss ha. Further up the neck you can always have a quick check where the heel is with the side of your hand. This quarantine period is just entering its 9th week and ive been playing classical guitar for two to three hours a day, the likes of Tarrega and Pernambuco, and its been a godsend for my sanity! I cracked the neck behind the nut a couple of weeks ago and clamped it up with wood glue and its more stable than ever, it must have already had an invisible hairline crack already. Bonus! Ive been meaning to drill some holes and drop some white ink to get those fret markers back on the top of the fretboard, this vid might give me the impetus.

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Thanks for sharing Mike,,,Hang in there man!

[@GarGlingT]

I use harmonics so I know which one is 5th, 7th , 12th fret

[@OUTDOORSWITHDOMINGO]

Si senor !

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Thnks!

[@goiastr7760]

Classical guitarist: because we are The Best of the best. Pro pro pro. XD

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Absolutely true!

[@WaynesPokeWorld]

How are absolute beginners supposed to even learn notes and basic chords without looking at the board. I have no experience at all 😅

[@CesarAllGuitar]

That's right - there is nothing wrong about looking at the fretboard.

[@WaynesPokeWorld]

@@CesarAllGuitar I was thinking of getting temporary fretboard stickers just to start familiarising myself with things? I know there are many videos online but everything just feels a bit alien at the moment 😳

[@nihilistlivesmatter]

So reading between the lines classical guitarists don't look down at the fretboard just other 'unsophisticated'' players. Yeah I've seen that sentiment. 🤣 & jazz players look down at everyone

[@CesarAllGuitar]

Hey Nihil - is just about how it is taught at the Conservatory. At the end of the day we all look to the fretboard...

[@PooNinja]

Cause you can’t read and drive at the same time it one or the other like sneezing and peeing ones gotta stop. I with I could read 🙁 P.S. Logan really wants to bot friends with you... be ? Bot ?🤣

[@CesarAllGuitar]

LOL. Maybe is because of my dog's name, Bender, the BOT.... Stay safe PN!

[@PooNinja]

😂 stay safe Doc