What about those dots?

You may have always wondered what those dots on your guitar's fretboard represent--so let's talk a little about that today!

On a guitar, those dots represent certain intervals of the 12-tone musical scale that you are probably already familiar with--but they also help greatly in helping orient you as you play chords, scales, barre chords, lead solos, and the like.

I don't know the history of how those dots came to be placed, but I can point out what they represent:

Third fret dot--represents a minor third up from the open string

Fifth fret dot--represents a perfect fourth

Seventh fret dot--represents a perfect fifth interval from the open string

Ninth fret dot--represents a major sixth interval, but no one really knows why it's there.  You'd miss it, however, if it weren't there!  :)

AND, the all-important twelfth fret double-dots (or similar design):  This is your octave on the open string, and very important as a place marker!

There's more info in the video link below:

The Dots on my Guitar's Fretboard

Happy Pickin'--and give those dots some love today!