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fret1

  (frĕt) pronunciation
fret<sup>3</sup>
(Click to enlarge)
fret3
fret designs
(Alan Witschonke)

v., fret·ted, fret·ting, frets.

v.tr.
  1. To cause to be uneasy; vex: “fret thy soul with crosses and with cares” (Edmund Spenser).
    1. To gnaw or wear away; erode.
    2. To produce a hole or worn spot in; corrode. See synonyms at chafe.
  3. To form (a passage or channel) by erosion.
  4. To disturb the surface of (water or a stream); agitate.
v.intr.
  1. To be vexed or troubled; worry. See synonyms at brood.
  2. To be worn or eaten away; become corroded.
  3. To move agitatedly.
  4. To gnaw with the teeth in the manner of a rodent.
n.
  1. The act or an instance of fretting.
  2. A hole or worn spot made by abrasion or erosion.
  3. Irritation of mind; agitation.

[Middle English freten, from Old English fretan, to devour.]


fret2 (frĕt) pronunciation
n.

One of several ridges set across the fingerboard of a stringed instrument, such as a guitar.

tr.v., fret·ted, fret·ting, frets.
  1. To provide with frets.
  2. To press (the strings of an instrument) against the frets.

[Origin unknown.]


fret3 (frĕt) pronunciation
n.
  1. An ornamental design consisting of repeated and symmetrical geometric figures, often in relief, contained within a band or border. Also called key pattern.
  2. A headdress, worn by women of the Middle Ages, consisting of interlaced wire.
tr.v., fret·ted, fret·ting, frets.

To provide with such a design or headdress.

[Middle English, interlaced work, from Old French frete.]


 
 
Thesaurus: fret

verb

  1. To trouble the nerves or peace of mind of, especially by repeated vexations: aggravate, annoy, bother, bug, chafe, disturb, exasperate, gall2, get, irk, irritate, nettle, peeve, provoke, put out, rile, ruffle, vex. Idioms: get in one's hair, get on one's nerves, get under one's skin. See feelings, pain/pleasure.
  2. To focus the attention on something moodily and at length: brood, cark, dwell, mope, worry. Informal stew. See concern/unconcern, thoughts.
  3. To make (the skin) raw by or as if by friction: abrade, chafe, excoriate, gall2, irritate. See help/harm/harmless.

 
Antonyms: fret

v

Definition: worry, be annoyed
Antonyms: calm, comfort, soothe

 
Music Encyclopedia: Fret

A strip of gut, bone, ivory, wood or metal across the fingerboard of certain string instruments. The hard ridge of the fret, against which the finger presses the string, affects the tuning and restores something of the ‘open string’ qualify to the sound. The lute, viol and guitar and the Indian sitar have frets.


 
Music: Fret

On certain string instruments, a thin, raised bar placed across the fingerboard to indicate a specific position of a note, and aid in tuning that note.

 
Word Tutor: fret
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: To become worried or annoyed.

pronunciation At home you fret over work left undone. — Elaine Cannon.

 
Wikipedia: fret
For the acronym FRET in molecular biology, see Fluorescence resonance energy transfer.
The neck of a guitar showing the nut and first four frets.
Frets tied on to the neck of a saz; note microtone frets between semitones.

A fret is a raised portion on the neck of a stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck. On most modern western instruments, frets are metal strips inserted into the fingerboard. On historical instruments and some non-European instruments, pieces of string tied around the neck serve as frets.

Frets divide the neck into fixed segments at intervals related to a musical framework. On instruments such as guitars, each fret represents one semitone in the standard western system where one octave is divided into twelve semitones.

"To fret" is often used as a verb, meaning simply "to press down the string behind a fret."

Explanation

Pressing the string against the fret reduces the vibrating length of the string to that between the bridge and the next fret between the fretting finger and the bridge. This is changing the pitch of the note produced. The fret provides a good node at the end of the vibrating part of the string enabling vibrations to be sustained more easily. This is especially important for plucked instruments, since the tone would be more damped if the string were stopped with the soft fingertip on a fretless fingerboard.

An advantage of frets is that they make it much easier to achieve an acceptable standard of intonation since the positions for the correct notes are given by the frets. Furthermore, playing chords are much easier on a fretted fingerboard.

A disadvantage of using frets is that the player is restricted by the temperament given by the position of the frets. Some influence on the intonation is still possible, however. The string can be pulled to the side to increase the string tension and the pitch. This technique (commonly called 'bending') is often used by electric guitarists of all genres and is a very important part of sitar playing. On instruments with thicker frets, the string tension and pitch will vary with the pressure of the finger behind the fret. Sometimes it is also possible to pull the string toward the bridge or nut, thus lowering or raising the string tension and pitch, respectively. However, with the exception of instruments like the sitar, where extensive pulling of the string is possible, much less influence on the intonation is possible than on unfretted instruments.

Since the intonation of most modern western fretted instruments is equal tempered, the ratio of the distances of two consecutive frets to the bridge is \sqrt[12]{2}, or approximately 1.059463. Theoretically, the twelfth fret should divide the string in two exact halves. To compensate for the increase in string tension when the string is pressed against the frets, the bridge position can be adjusted slightly so that the 12th fret plays exactly in tune.

Many instruments' frets are not spaced according to the semitones of equal temperament, including the Appalachian dulcimer (with frets in a diatonic scale), the Turkish Saz (with frets spaced according to the Makam system of Turkish folk music), the Arabic Buzuq (with frets spaced according to the Arabic Maqam system), and the Persian setar and tar (with frets spaced according to the Persian Dastgah system), and the Turkish tanbur (with as many as 5 frets per semitone, to cover all of the commas of the Turkish Makam system).

Variations

Slanted frets: Most frets are perpendicular to the instrument's neck. Though slanted frets might be more ergonomic, few luthiers offer slanted or fanned frets; Rickenbacher offered them in the late 60's, and Novax Guitars offers such guitars today. The appearance of angled frets on these modern instruments belies the antiquity of this technique. Fanned frets first appeared on the 16th century Orpharion, a variant of the lute.

Scalloped Fretboard: Another variant is called "scalloping" and involves the wood between some or all of the frets being scooped out. This allows a lighter touch for faster playing and also opens up new options for altering the pitch by bending the strings with the fretting hand. It had some popularity with musicians playing heavy metal music, although the idea can also be seen in more ancient instruments such as the sitar.

Semi-fretted instruments

It is also possible to find semi-fretted instruments; examples include the Malagasy kabosy and the Afghan Rubab. Semi-fretted versions of guitars and other fretted string instruments, however, are usually one-off, custom adaptations made for players who want to combine elements of both types of sound. One arrangement is for the frets to extend only part of the way along the neck so that the higher notes can be played with the smooth expression possible with a fretless fingerboard. Another approach is the use of frets that extend only partway across the fretboard so that some courses of strings are fretted and others fretless, for example Ryszard Latecki's Latar.

Fret intonation

Instruments with straight frets like guitars require a special compensation on the saddle and nut. Every time a string is fretted it is also stretched, and as it stretches the string rises in pitch, making all fretted tones sound sharp. When the saddle is positioned properly, however, the fretted tones all sound sharp to the same degree as long as the distances between the frets are correct. With the right nut compensation, the pitch of the unfretted string can be raised by the same amount. As a result, when the tension of the strings is lowered, the pitches of all notes, both fretted and unfretted, becomes correct.

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
Translations: Translations for: Fret

Dansk (Danish)
1.
v. intr. - slide, gnave
v. tr. - irritere
n. - slid, gnaven, irritation

2.
n. - a la grecque-ornament
v. tr. - smykke med a la grecque-ornament

3.
n. - bånd på strengeinstruments gribebræt
v. tr. - nedtrykke strenge mod gribebånd

4.
n. - gus

Nederlands (Dutch)
tobben, aanvreten, rafelen, schuren, (uit) slijten, tergen, geïrriteerd zijn, beroeren/beroerd worden (water), versieren met (uitgesneden) patronen, snaren indrukken, erosie, gesleten plek, balkje op hals van snaarinstrument, irritatie, versierd (haar) net, (reliëf)versiering van rechte lijnen

Français (French)
1.
v. intr. - s'inquiéter, se tourmenter, pleurer/pleurnicher (bébé), manquer (à qn)
v. tr. - chantourner, tracasser qn, ronger qch, érailler (un cordage)
n. - touche, irritation

2.
n. - (Hist) frette (coiffe du Moyen-âge)
v. tr. - coiffer d'une frette

3.
n. - (Mus) touchette, touche (d'un instrument à cordes)
v. tr. - munir de touches/de touchettes

4.
n. - brume maritime

Deutsch (German)
1.
v. - (sich) ärgern, besorgt sein
n. - Ärger, Unruhe, Bund

2.
n. - Haarnetz
v. - (sich) ärgern, besorgt sein

3.
n. - Bund, Griff
v. - mit Bünden versehen

4.
n. - Nebel

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - ξεφτίζω, (κατα)τρώγω, διακοσμώ με ξυλόγλυπτα, δυσφορώ, στενοχωρώ-ούμαι, εκνευρίζω/-ομαι, ταράζω/-ομαι, ανησυχώ, τρώγομαι, χολοσκάω
n. - ταραχή, ανησυχία, έγνοια

Italiano (Italian)
tormentarsi, preoccuparsi, affliggersi

idioms:

  • fret about    preoccuparsi per

Português (Portuguese)
v. - irritar-se
n. - trasto (m) (Mús.), aflição (f)

idioms:

  • fret about    preocupar(-se)

Русский (Russian)
раздражаться, волноваться, перебирать струны, сетка, лад

idioms:

  • fret about    беспокоиться о

Español (Spanish)
1.
v. intr. - preocuparse, rozarse, desgastarse, irritarse, impacientarse, agitarse
v. tr. - cavilar, rumiar, rozar, raer, desgastar, agitar, impacientar, irritar
n. - roce, rozadura, enojo

2.
n. - greca, adorno calado o de relieve
v. tr. - adornar con grecas

3.
n. - traste de instrumento de cuerdas
v. tr. - ponerle un traste a un instrumento

4.
n. - neblina que viene del mar

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - vara sur, gnaga, svalla (om vatten), reta
n. - förargelse, nätverk, meandermönster (byggn.), (tvär)band (stränginstrument)

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
1. 使苦恼, 使发愁, 使烦躁, 侵蚀, 苦恼, 发愁, 烦躁, 被腐蚀, 担忧

2. 万字浮雕, 回纹饰, 用万字浮雕装饰, 用回纹装饰

3. 吉他弦指板的档子, 使烦恼, 使磨损, 腐蚀

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 萬字浮雕, 回紋飾
v. tr. - 用萬字浮雕裝飾, 用回紋裝飾

2.
n. - 吉他弦指板的檔子
v. tr. - 使煩惱, 使磨損, 腐蝕

3.
v. tr. - 使苦惱, 使發愁, 使煩躁, 侵蝕
v. intr. - 苦惱, 發愁, 煩躁, 被腐蝕
n. - 苦惱, 擔憂, 煩躁, 侵蝕

한국어 (Korean)
1.
v. intr. - 안달하다, 파도 치다, 좀먹다
v. tr. - 초조하게 하다, (건강을) 해치다, 부식하다
n. - 초조, 고민, 부식

2.
n. - 뇌문, 만자 무늬
v. tr. - 만자형으로 세공하다

3.
n. - 프렛(현악기의 지판을 구획하는 작은 돌기)
v. tr. - ~에 프렛을 달다

4.
n. - 바다로부터 생기는 안개

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - がいらいらする, がやきもきする, 浸食する, 食う, 雷文で飾る, 波立つ
n. - いらだち, 焦燥, 雷文, フレット

idioms:

  • fret about    いらいらするくよくよする

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يغيظ , يزخرف (الاسم) قلق , اهتياج‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮הדאיג, הרגיז, כירסם, שיפשף, הציק‬
v. intr. - ‮דאג, התרגז, התעצבן, נשחק‬
n. - ‮התעצבנות, הצקה, שחיקה, התכרסמות‬
n. - ‮קו-האצבוע (בגיטרה), שחיף‬
v. tr. - ‮התקין שחיף (קו-אצבוע) בגיטרה‬
n. - ‮דוגמת קישוט עשויה קווים מאונכים זה לזה‬
v. tr. - ‮קישט בקווי שתי וערב, קישט (בעיקר תקרה) בעיקר בתבליטים, גילף בעץ‬
n. - ‮ערפל העולה מהים‬

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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Music Encyclopedia. The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.  Read more
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eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial.  Read more
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