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What’s The Story With A Fretless Guitar?

In: Electric guitars, Rocking in the free world Friday Oct 3,2008

Ed DeGenaro playing a fretless electric guitar You know, I have this question that bothers me since a while…how do you learn to play a fretless guitar? Or a fretless bass…

I guess it is the same as learning to play the violin, the double bass or the cello, but to me, playing a fretless instrument seems like a very difficult thing to do.

Just imagine that, really, try to imagine that, REMOVE ALL THE FRETS on your electric guitar and now try to imagine how it would be to play it. Well?

Also while writing this I have asked myself two other questions. They go like this:

Can you play chords on a fretless guitar? I mean if you really want to, can you use it for regular guitar playing in a band or you can only use it for virtuosity moments? Can you play with a singer?Now, try to imagine a chord where you really need to stretch your fingers…Man, I need frets!!
How do you find the right tone on your effects for it? Sounds totally different than a regular guitar…

By the way, can you actually play…flat on a fretless guitar?

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9 Responses to “What’s The Story With A Fretless Guitar?”

Jon
October 4th, 2008 at 12:51 am

Most fretless guitars have the fret markers as inlays, well the ones I have seen, so that you have a visual reference. It also means you can use your ear to shift your fingers in order to get the correct note pitch rather than using the standard fret system which is inherently inaccurate anyway.

Having said all that I haven’t played on one, so what do I know!
G-V
October 5th, 2008 at 6:16 am

I haven’t played one either.. my guess would be play by ear.
Pat Darnell and Friends
October 5th, 2008 at 11:51 pm

Remember that deaf, dumb and blind guy? He sure played a mean fretless guitar…
Ovidiu
October 6th, 2008 at 7:41 am

Still doesn’t answer my question How do you start learning to play one?
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Sans Direction
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:16 pm

How do you start? You pick one up and start, just like any other instrument. You play along with stuff, which teaches you to rely on your ears and not your eyes to find the right pitch, which is a problem for most guitarists anyway.

Yes, you can play flat on a fretless. You can play sharp. You can play anything. Which makes it important for you to know what you want to play.
Ovidiu
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:08 pm

I was asking that question having in mind another question: how children start to play the violin? I guess that one of the first things teachers do is teach them to have a good ear, otherwise you wouldn’t go too far. Here it is the same I guess
Sans Direction
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:33 pm

I’ll have to ask my sister, as hers are doing Suzuki.
Ovidiu
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:35 pm

Ask her and tell us here

What’s The Story With A Fretless Guitar?

9 Responses to “What’s The Story With A Fretless Guitar?”

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