Gaby De Jesus

27 March 2018

MTH 335

The Fretting of a Guitar: The Purpose of Frets and Methods for Calculating Fret Position

The guitar is one of the most widely played instruments, yet it is one of the most complex

in its engineering. It requires six strings tuned to the correct pitches and fingers placed on the

correct frets in order to produce beautiful sounds. This fretting of the guitar finds its source in

mathematics. In this paper, we discuss the frets of the guitar, their purpose, and how to calculate

the distance between frets using the Rule of 18 and the idea of equal temperament.

Frets are an integral and defining element of a guitar. From the first guitar-like instrument

made in Spain in the 13th century, frets were included on the guitar. The frets of a guitar are the

thin pieces of metal that divide the piece of wood that lays on the neck of the guitar into

intervals. This piece of wood on the neck of the guitar is called the fretboard, and it is where the

frets are embedded. The number of frets a guitar has differs based on its type. The standard

classical guitar has 19 frets, whereas the electric guitar can have anywhere from 21 to 24 frets.

Dots or other markings are painted on the fretboard of a guitar at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th,

and 17th frets. These dots or markings are strictly for the user of the guitar. They serve as a guide

and allow the user to place their fingers on specific frets quickly and easily. The functionality of

a guitar depends heavily on its frets.

The frets of a guitar serve a specific purpose in its use. Like any stringed instrument, a

guitar produces music when its strings vibrate. Guitar strings are set into motion by plucking or

strumming. The pitch that a particular string makes is dependent on its length among other
factors. The shorter the string, the higher the pitch it produces when it is struck. Frets are

important because “pressing a string against a fret determines the strings’ [sic] vibrating length

and therefore its resultant pitch” (Guitar Wikipedia). It is important to note that frets are not

evenly spaced along the fretboard. The distance between frets gets smaller as the frets approach

the bridge of the guitar which is the piece of wood on the main body that holds the strings above

the frets.

The positions of the frets on a guitar can be calculated using the Rule of 18. The Rule of

18 is a mathematical relationship expressed by the constant 17.817153. The position of the next

fret relative to the previous fret can be calculated by dividing the distance from the previous fret

to the bridge of the guitar by the constant 17.817153. In other words, if L = distance from the nut

to the bridge and Fi = fret position (from start of fretboard if i = 1 or to previous fret if i > 1),

𝐿
F1 = 17.8171153

(𝐿−𝐹1)
F2 = 17.8171153

(𝐿−𝐹1−𝐹2)
F3= 17.8171153 etc.

The process is repeated for each fret. To illustrate with an example, the distance from the nut of

the low E string to the bridge of a guitar is L = 27.625 in. The positions of the first 3 frets are

calculated by doing the following:

27.625
F1 = 17.8171153 = 1.5505 in

(27.625−1.5505)
F2 = = 1.4635 in
17.8171153

(27.625−1.5505−1.4635)
F3= = 1.3813 in
17.8171153
 The reason why the Rule of 18 is effective in determining the positions of frets on a

guitar is because it is based on the idea of equal temperament. Equal temperament is a tuning

system in which intervals between successive notes preserve ratios. The ratio that is preserved

between fret intervals on a guitar is the 12th root of 2 which is approximately 1.059463. This

means that

𝐹1 𝐹2 𝐹3 𝐹𝑖
= = =⋯= ≈ 1.059463.
𝐹2 𝐹3 𝐹4 𝐹𝑖+1

Or for our example, when we find the ratio between F1 and F2 and the ratio between F2 and F3 we

get the following:

1.5505 1.4635
= ≈ 1.05945 ≈ 1.059463.
1.4635 1.3813

The 12 in the ratio is significant because it is the number of intervals between octaves. An

octave describes two pitches where one is double the frequency of the other. Two notes that are

in an octave sound like the same note with one being a higher or lower version of the other.

Because an octave occurs when the frequency of one note is double the frequency of the other,

the octave pitch on a guitar string is found when the length of the string is cut in half. The

midpoint of each guitar string occurs at the 12th fret. This means that for any string of the guitar,

the pitch exactly one octave above the base pitch can be found by plucking the string at the 12th

fret.

The location of the octave pitch on the 12th fret assigns each step between the octaves to

one of the preceding frets. We take the A string for an example. The steps included in an octave

from A to A are as follows: A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, and A. When the string is

plucked open, or without holding the string down on any fret, the A tone is produced. However,

plucking from the first fret produces an A#, from the second a B, from the third a C, etc. until the
upper A of the octave is produced from the 12th fret. Having fixed intervals between tones on a

guitar is exactly what makes it playable because it allows the player to know exactly what note

he is playing when he plucks a certain string at a particular fret.

The guitar is an instrument that has been around for centuries, and even from the very

first guitars, frets have been an essential part. In the time since its invention, different

mathematical methods have been developed to calculate the positions of these frets. The Rule of

18 is one such method, and it proves to be effective because it is based on equal temperament.

Perhaps, with the aid of music theory and today’s technology, more methods of calculation will

be discovered; however, until then and even through then, the guitar will continue to be an

instrument in the hands of many that brings joy and comfort through the music it produces.
 Bibliography

Hornbeck, D. (2013). Mathematics, Music, and the Guitar. 1-16. Retrieved February 12, 2018.

Magliari, G. (2011). Methods for Positioning Musical Instrument Frets That Compensate for

Fretting-Induced String Tension. 1-19. Retrieved March 26, 2018, from

http://www.luth.org/images/web_extras/al116/MagliariFretComp.pdf.

Mottola, R. M. (2018). Calculating Fret Positions. Retrieved March 26, 2018 from

http://www.liutaiomottola.com/formulae/fret.htm.

Noyce, I. (1977). Equal Temperament. Retrieved February 12, 2018, from

http://www.noyceguitars.com/Technotes/Articles/T4.html.

Wikipedia contributors. (2018, March 12). Guitar. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Retrieved March 26, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar.