Learning / Memorizing The Fretboard

[lostylost]

How many people have gone to the trouble of memorizing the name of each note on the fretboard (assuming std tuning)?

Anyone developed this slowly over time just from learning songs or whatever?

I mean looking at any fret on any string and knowing without recourse to mental tricks what each note is?

If so, does this ability help you a lot? Is it worth doing?

Spending half an hour a day for a month or so using one of those fretboard training softwares?

[cwight]

I don't think you memorise it as such, well some might, you just learn it over time, and then you are not aware that you are doing it. It's not that hard, because the notes across strings are all related in various ways, so you learn the relationships. Although for some reason, I'll still find myself having to think about stuff past the 12th fret at times....but I'm getting old......

[lostylost]

So basically, you know what notes you are playing? I got a feeling most of the good guys do... be it by ear or visually...

I'm too old probably to learn all the notes by ear ( turned 27yo 2 days ago) but I think I could memorize the fretboard visually.

I can imagine how doing that could really help in learning scales / chords

[JouniL]

"I'm too old ... ( turned 27yo 2 days ago)" LOL, no worries man your not old.

[Wedgebill]

No hope for me then Mr Lostylost, I'm 30 yrs older than you already :rolleyes:

[lostylost]

I didn't mean I was "old" per se, just I read somewhere that it's almost impossible to develop perfect pitch after you pass 10 (6? 8?) years of age.

Memorizing the fretboard seems like it would feasible for anyone of any age if they could be bothered.

Whether it would help... well I'll tell you in a few months. I'm going to do it.

Wedgebill: So you are only 57 years young? When did you start playing?

[Wedgebill]

I got my first 6 string acoustic when I was about 11, prior to that I had an old ukelele when I was about 7 or 8 !!!!! I still don't know where the notes on the fretboard are apart from the obvious bar chord positions etc

[ShredRex]

I don't know if it comes down to being able to remember every note on the fretboard........but obviously to tie a lot of runs together into a big solo or such you need to know your notes. I mean if you are playing in the key of G, you need to know where some G's are right......LOL

Once you get a better ear for that sort of thing it becomes almost second nature to almost feel your way around the neck........but to me it is better to to have memorized some basic scale patterns. Make note 9pardon the pun) of the root notes......the best way for me to do this was to play the chord.....say a G bar chord...then blow up and down a g major scale ending on that chord again to emphasize the root.

Make your way around the fretboard doing that and will find it easier to connect the dots.

[lostylost]

Cheers guys for the sharing / tips.

I don't think it can really hurt all that much so I'm going to go ahead and do it.

My theory is that scales / modes etc will be much easier to learn if you spent a bit of concentrated effort memorizing the neck.

I have memorized the first few frets now, and I'm starting to learn what notes are what... before I just knew chord shapes etc...

Now I know that D is D F# A etc
G is G B D etc

If I memorized what every note was on the fretboard, that works out to memorizing like 60 notes basically ( top and bottom strings double so easy to memorize + after 12th fret it all repeats )

I have read some analysis of jazz leads etc, and they seem to talk a lot about playing intervals over the chords with "implied chords" and what have you.

I think if you knew all the notes, chords and the notes that comprised them, and all the intervals intimately that would be a great framework to start the "trial and error" part of the creative process.

They talk a lot about accentuating chord tones and "playing the changes" and what not in some books I have read.

I think I'm going to memorize all the notes and then start memorizing intervals. Would also be a good foundation for ear training if you knew all that stuff in a visual conceptual form already.

60 frets
78 unique intervals (C -> F# is Tritone is F# -> C)

That's definitely in the realms of possibility. It's not like learning 2000 Chinese characters or anything.

Probably take a few months.

[fooks]

shredrex is right, you can know all the notes but using them is something else.

standard tuneing means you have 6 strings to memorize but 2 of them are the same.
so there are 5 actually but only till the 12th fret when it repeats again. and to make it simpler still, you really need to learn only 12 frets worth coz it just repeats. just remember the note you start on.
does this help?

so really no big deal to that point.

i get messed up on the bass coz there are only 4 strings! no b or high e string, like falling off a cliff.

[lostylost]

Fooks: yeah, I only see it as step 1

[atalwar]

I read somewhere that it's almost impossible to develop perfect pitch after you pass 10 (6? 8?) years of age

It's not the ears that worry me . it's my bleepin' eyes!

(how else am i gonna find those hearing aids)

----------------------

Pay careful attention to what uncle Bill "the Wise man" Says in his signature :

No-one remembers what you do or say. => (a Note is nothing in itself)
Everyone remembers how you made them feel. => (it's the relationship they are in with other notes that counts)

instead of remebering each note as an entity remember them in relations/intervals/groups of triads etc.

Like caged system , once you are able to play basic chords in all forms in all positons/inversions/harmonizing etc, you will start remembering the notes much easyly and start seeing the fretboard as a set of patterns of roots, 4th, 5ths etc.

Whatever method you choose, Do practice that a lot and incorporate that into your everyday playing, or you may end up making the same mistake i did i.e after memorizing i did not used it at all, moved on and forgot all of that.

And if you are keen on memorizing and learning fretboard then may i recommend this dvd to you.

http://www.licklibrary.com/store/jamie-humphries/15584/ultimate-guitar-fretboard-navigator

I had borrowed it once from a friend and it was very useful.

I like their concepts stuff quite a bit especially becasue there is no tablature so you really gotta pay attention and work your way through, or write down on paper if need be and that all basically helps you memorize.

~Amit

[lostylost]

Well, yeah, I want to learn the absolute note values and the relative values.

I also want to memorize intervals, so I know them better than the back of my hand.

I think it would be a handy skill to be able look at any fret and instantly know what note it is. That can be the anchor note that you can then launch from using finger patterns etc. Knowing what the intervals are for the fingerings.

I don't expect that just learning the notes themselves will do all that much. I definitely want to learn intervals inside out.

For memorizing the fretboard, I have been using a program called

http://www.absolutefretboard.com/

I have been doing the "white" natural notes first and then on to the sharps/flats.

I don't like "multi-step" methods that involve just knowing a few notes and then go two strings down and 2 frets for an octave etc etc.

[cwight]

whoa I think that's a lot of money for something you can do yourself very easily. As I say the notes all stand in relationships so octaves for example are easy to figure, if you know where F is on the bottom E string, you already know where it is on the D, and the B string and the top E (same as bottom E) and at the 13th fret bottom E and top E.

Also you can build a map of the neck yourself, or get one here:

http://www.brendanburns.com/Lessons/pdf/guitargifnote.gif

Or try here:

http://www.learnclassicalguitar.com/guitar-note.html

and Guitarport has a nice scale generator.....

And this one is great for all the scales....

http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/guitar_scales.php?qqq=FULL&scch=C&scchnam=Harmonic+Minor&get2=Get&t=0&choice=1

Best of luck...

[lostylost]

Thanks guys.