Side dots

The small markers inlaid along the edge of the fingerboard, visible to the player from above while playing.

They exist because the position markers on the face of the board are hidden by the playing hand, and a player needs to see where the higher positions are without tilting the instrument. Materials and sizes vary, and some instruments use contrasting colours or even glow-in-the-dark inlays for dark stages. Their placement follows the same pattern as the front markers, with a double dot or a special marker at the octave.

Example: a player moving to the fifteenth position on a dark stage finds it with the side dot rather than by counting frets.

Side dots

See also