A thin piece of wood that forms the smooth playing surface on the neck of a stringed musical instrument such as guitar, bass, violin, etc. against which the strings are pressed in playing. It can be fretless, as in the violin family, or fretted, as in guitars, banjos, etc. (in which case it’s often called the “fretboard”). Fingerboards are usually made of woods like rosewood, ebony, or other dark woods, though sometimes maple is used.

Fingerboard is also sometimes used to denote a bank of keys on a musical instrument such as a keyboard.