I love pictures, and these are cool visuals Greg.

Regarding violin tape, I felt that I really needed linear markings on my stick. I couldn't find any tape in my wee town so I tried automotive pinstripe and it works great. It hasn't moved since I put it on. I'd like to find some glow in the dark pinstripe; that would be cool..

cheers,
kev

I did put reflective tape on mine. I googled "reflective tape" or "safety tape" or something like that. I had to cut the tape to fret-edge size, but it works great. I think I got 3M tape, super reflective, like the kind used on stop signs and highway safety gear. If I could find the left over(I had pleny of it) I would mail some out to those who want to try it. Give me a few days to see if I can remember where I put it for "safe" keeping.

Mike

I've just started learning to play the Stick and I'm coming from mostly a keyboard background. So I'm finding the string tunings, note placements and relationships, etc., interesting and frustrating at the same time. And so, of course, I'm using the fret markers constantly to figure out where I am. But it seems to me that the ultimate goal would be to not have to look at the fingerboard at all. I think that no matter the instrument that you play, if you've played it long enough you develop a kind of "radar" that guides your fingers to the right notes without you having to think about it. I'm sure any of you who have played for a long time can probably pick up the Stick and play with your eyes closed. So, rather than giving yourself larger guides don't you want to be moving toward not using the guides at all?

Hi Tim,

You're right about getting a feel for it, much like a trombonist or cellist, we can learn how far to go through training and repetition. The feedback you get from you ear hands and arm all build over time, making it easier and easier.

I do play with my eyes closed much of the time. The argument in favor of easy-to-see inlays is that when you need them you really need them, so the more effective the better, especially in dark stage lighting, where seeing the right fret at the beginning of a tune can be crucial, or when you've made a mistake and need to get back on track.

I'm another beginner. What works for me is to use colored dot stickers from an office supply store. I place the dots before the fret for the C notes only. All the Cs of a particular pitch get the same color. I learn the other notes in relation to the C.

I have a piano background. Maybe that's why I focus more on the actual notes. My brain wants to know where the Stick note falls on a keyboard.

I'll switch to an interval-based system once I am more comfortable with the Stick as a whole.

Yeah, I understand this completely. I've been playing keyboards for so long that I find myself constantly visualizing notes as piano keys. I think I've always done this, no matter what other instruments I've learned. But now I'm finding that this way of thinking about music notes really gets in the way of learning notes on the Stick. I've never tried to learn a fretted instrument before though. I have learned to play the cello and the sarod, both unfretted instruments, but those are both single note melody instruments (for the most part). Right now, as soon as I start trying to play multiple lines at the same time, my brain snaps back to the piano keyboard. I assume that, in time, my brain (and fingers) will accept the Stick as a new "language" rather than constantly translating things back into my comfortable keyboard environment.

Anyway, I guess that's straying a bit from the topic. Mostly, I think anything that helps you learn is good. You just have to know when to stop relying on your initial learning tools. Otherwise, they can really get in the way of good playing. Same as always having printed music in front of you.

Eventually, yes, of course. Personally, though, I don't come from a string background; my Stick is my first stringed instrument, I'm still a total beginner, and I also don't have much time to work on it, so if I can give myself a set of "training wheels" until my hands develop their own set of eyes, I'll do so happily and with no hesitation, and not feel like I'm cheating myself.

The fret markers are also important when you are not looking. I feel that you should be picturing what your hands look like on the board even when you are not looking. The fret markers give a reference for that. In a sense, without fret markers, your hand would look the same no matter where it was on the board.

I feel that you should be able to play and look down at your hands at any time and never be surprised by what they look like in relation ship to the strings and fret markers. At least that is one thing I continue to work on.

Great post Russel,

Visualization is a great practice tool. With Emmett's tuning, both hands are much more in the same "window" than with uncrossed tunings, so seeing that picture in your mind is a lot easier as well. I like to visualize both hands at once as an exercise.

Another thing I find myself doing with the linear inlays is using the 1st finger's relationship to the board to find other notes within a position. So if the 1st finger is at fret 17 or 18, then you don't have to "see" the notes you want to play at fret 19-22, for example.

Greg, what is the difference between MR on a Grand 12 string and Greg's Extended Alto on a 10 string Alto?