Some simple tips for Fretless Guitar
Fretless instruments derive their unique sound from fingers engaging the strings directly against a fingerboard made of wood, glass, metal, or plastic. The fingerboard material contributes substantially to the tonal properties of the sound. Rather than selecting and sounding a fixed note like on a keyboard , the player tunes the note on the fly using their ears, eyes, and fingers.
Fretless Guitar is a close relative to slide guitar in many ways, with the fingertips taking the place of the slide. This simple deconstruction of the guitar creates exciting new possibilities and unexpected challenges.
The fretless guitar plays by the same rules as the fretted guitar in many respects. Simply substitute the word ‘step’ for ‘fret’, and the 5th fret becomes the 5th step, the 15 fret the 15th step, etc.. I'm often asked "Can fretless guitar benefit my fretted guitar playing?". The answer is yes. Ear training and fingerboard accuracy are honed to a razor's edge. Familiar patterns take on new significance, helping you off of plateaus and into whole new orbits.
Any form of slide instrument requires the player to 'bring the note to them'. This means a process of slight adjustment to the note after it's struck making sure it's in tune: lining up visually to a fret -line or guide is a big help when first getting started with fretless guitar. Muscle and sense memory take over eventually, and you can relax and just play!
We'll start out by matching notes fingered on the neck with open strings. Strike an open low E (6th), then play an E two octaves higher on your B (2nd) string- at about the place where your fifth fret would be on a conventional guitar. Slide into the note from below, bringing the pitch into tune w ith the open string and stopping when you hear the notes match up.
Repeat this process using an open A, followed by A two octaves higher on your E (1st) string- at about the place where your fifth fret would be, etc......
You get the point, it's kind of like tuning up using open strings or harmonics: your just using your fingers,ears, and eyes instead of tuning machines.
The open strings creates a simple tonal center; the tonic relationship or 'center' around which this simple excercise revolves. Tonal centers provide a reference for your ears, giving them clues as to when a note is in tune.Simple altered tunings like drop D or drop C can you give you more optio n s for open string drones. You'll be branching out from simple unisons quickly, just remember to bring the note to you!
