The metal strips along a guitar neck that set each note's pitch.
Frets are the thin metal strips set into the fingerboard of a guitar, bass or similar instrument, running across the neck at precise intervals. When you press a string down just behind a fret, it shortens the vibrating length of the string and produces a specific, exact pitch — each fret raises the note by one semitone. This is what makes fretted instruments relatively easy to play in tune compared with fretless instruments like the violin, where the player must find each pitch by ear. The spaces between frets are themselves often called frets too, as in 'play it at the third fret', and learning the layout of the fretboard is fundamental to mastering the guitar.
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