Do you know the note names on the fretboard?

[HangDawg]

I don't understand this poll or the responses here at all. I've been playing guitar nigh on to twenty seven years and I can tell you exactly what note I'm playing the moment my finger touches the fret board. Even when my fingers are resting above the fret board I now where I am in relation to notes I am playing and where I need to be to get to the next note.

Is it really that hard to know the notes on the guitar fretboard? I never really found it all that difficult myself. And now it's even more than second nature, it's in my subconscious.

I've been playing 25 years and I think it's kind of hard. I've never had the need to know them. I've always played in cover bands and can learn stuff by ear very quickly and accurately. I just never really knew what the hell I was playing or why. That's about to change though.

 

[Lurk_R]

After 30 + years, I finally learned them all.

 

[Rokket]

That can't be right. Aren't they 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,.......? (Can't remember which one's next.)

My goodness, you are silly. And pretty damn handy with a guitar considering you have no idea what you are doing with it!

 

[Rokket]

After 30 + years, I finally learned them all.

Don't let him fool you. He's been playing almost as long as I've been alive. The first time I saw him play, he was showing me how Les Paul could play two songs at the same time on his guitar - by doing it!

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

I hear that alot of the self taught never bother to learn the entire fretboard.

Because they are lazy morons. Thats why they never learn the scales, or the relationship between chords and scales, or intervals, or the 60 chord system for that matter nor progress as musicians. They are fooling and cheating themselves. Lets get real. Most players start playing because rock music on guitar doesn't take rocket science and they think they can be a star in a month! Hahahahaha. Anyone can play licks to a rock song in a week. Its when you realize that to communicate on a "musicians" level with those that HAVE got off thier lazy ass and learned the basics, you either do it, or your not going to cut the mustard. PERIOD!

Whats even more amazing is there are ONLY 12 fucking notes!!
Not only that, they are in the SAME sequence on EVERY STRING!!
So give ...me...a break. How hard can it be? Lets see, hmmm how does the alphabet go? Er....ah.... A.... B...whats next? er....DUH!!!Pathetic.

 

[punkin]

I said that...only a little nicer but, you seem to have driven my point home. On that note I agree and rest my case.

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

I said that...only a little nicer

Oh, did I hurt thems feelings?
Fuuuuuuuuck. Wait till they climb on a stage with musicians who DO know. Think I'm nasty? They haven't got a clue how rude and nasty musicians can get when you can't communicate on even a rudimentary level.
I don't give a damn about being nice to lazy 30 and 40 year old musicians. They've had plenty of time to learn What I do give a damn about, is playing with musicians that I can communicate with on a 60 chord system level. And you can't learn that without AT LEAST knowing the locations of 12 fucking notes on the fretboard.
I've done my homework. Got no sympathy for those that play by rote, simply because they think they don't NEED to know what REAL musicans know, or have the guts to go through what it takes to learn it. Nothing more to say.
fitZ

 

[punkin]

Cut the men from the boys...it's a natural progression , it happens during the try outs...then finally during the big gig doesn't it.

 

[Larry Gude]

Just what the world needs!

Oh, did I hurt thems feelings?
Fuuuuuuuuck. Wait till they climb on a stage with musicians who DO know. Think I'm nasty? They haven't got a clue how rude and nasty musicians can get when you can't communicate on even a rudimentary level.
I don't give a damn about being nice to lazy 30 and 40 year old musicians. They've had plenty of time to learn What I do give a damn about, is playing with musicians that I can communicate with on a 60 chord system level. And you can't learn that without AT LEAST knowing the locations of 12 fucking notes on the fretboard.
I've done my homework. Got no sympathy for those that play by rote, simply because they think they don't NEED to know what REAL musicans know, or have the guts to go through what it takes to learn it. Nothing more to say.
fitZ

...another friendly, helpful musician!

I am quite sure I don't know crap compared to your exhaltedness but I've never stopped learning, including reading, practice and repetition and one thing has never changed in the 25 years I've been playing; The better the musician I've met, the more helpful they've been to me including patience and enjoying doing stuff I could handle, however pathetic and unworthy I may be.

One other thing has been constant; the mid level guys who 'know it all because it's so obvious and simple' have all been dismissive jerks. Impatient. Eye rolling. Annoyed. can't be bothered. Gotta go pack my bags and off to Guitar Institute to be with my fellow Gods.

You hold a gift, the ability to show a 'lesser' player a couple of things that WILL make him a better player, even if only a bit. And he'll never forget it and he'll show somebody else. He'll also respect your playing that much more.

There is no 'key' on my Les Paul that I have to go earn just to pick it up. It is an instrument that gives me back, 10 fold, what I put into it and it REALLY digs the times somebody gives me a gift and takes a minute out of their precious and time and says 'here check this out!"

I love guys like that.

 

[punkin]

and...in there somewhere we find some balance...yes?

 

[dragonworks]

I am just learning how to play and still get lost now and then

 

[XLR]

I think one of the best ways to learn the note names all over the fingerboard is to say or sing them as you play scales and arpeggios. Vocalizing the letter names reinforces their locations on the fretboard, and alternatively, using the scale step numbers is great for educating the ear. And a player can start getting the benefit of this just knowing one moveable scale fingering.

Been a teacher for 25 yrs using this approach for fingerboard knowledge and it's worked really well. I have students use a variety of scale types with moveable fingerings, each covering all the pitches in one position on the neck. Arpeggios are taken right out of the scale forms. We usually spend about 10 minutes per weekly lesson on it, playing them straight and using them for improvisation during the lesson warm up. Here are the types that I use, and yeah, I've had many students get fluent with the whole set. Lots of other things that could be used (other modes, whole tone, etc), but this is my basic set.

Scales: major, mixolydian, pentatonic major, natural minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor, phrygian, minor pentatonic

Major Arpeggios: triad (1-3-5), major 7 (1-3-5-7), dominant 7 (1-3-5-b7), dom 7 flat 5 (1-3-b5-b7)

Minor Arpeggios: triad, minor 7, min 7 b5, diminished

Be interested in hearing from other teachers about how they approach this area.

Tim

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

...another friendly, helpful musician!

Larry, you don't have a clue to how many musicians I've helped. INCLUDING here. AND via the email feature here. But what I've found is they get lazy. They don't WANT finish the simplist tasks. Believe me, you have to WANT it so bad you can taste it. But just in case you have never bothered to write out the CHROMATIC SCALE, I'll do it AGAIN...and yes I will cause I've written it on this very forum at least 10 fucking times. The chromatic scale IS the fretboard. Memorize the Chromatic scale and the notes of the OPEN strings and you will begin to see.

Here is the Chromatic Scale AND the notes on each string beginning with the E strings. For those of you who WANT it, I AM available for help. Simply email me.
And btw, I don't consider myself anything but a musician. PERIOD.
fitZ

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

A string, chromatic scale

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

D string, chromatic scale

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

G string, chromatic scale

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

B string, chromatic scale

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

Don't say I don't help around here.
For those of you who need a formula to learn these, take one string a week.
Look at the fretboard. Look at the layout. You have to memorize these notes PER string. Remember your multiplication tables? Same thing. Here is what you do.

Call out EACH note starting with the open string. Finger each note while you call it out loud.
Ascend the chromatic scale to the octave using SHARPs.
Decend the chromatic scale starting at the octave, to the open string using FLATS.

Do this 12 times in the morning, 12 times at night.
Before you go to sleep, visualize the fretboard and say the notes to yourself. Use the fretboard dots as a reference.
Do this 12 times. In one week you will know the notes on that string PERIOD.
fitZ

 

[XLR]

Rick, I think note name drills like that can be very beneficial. Chromatic sequence memorization uses pitches in a different context than most other types of scales (major, minor, other modes, pentatonic), but it's a great way of developing a chart of the fingerboard in the mind. Don't know if you've ever looked through 19th century guitar methods, but both Carcassi and Fernando Sor used similar approaches for students to build a mental chart of pitch names going up and down individual strings.

Tim

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

Rick, I think note name drills like that can be very beneficial.

Don't know if it will help others, but for me, I wanted to know why other players could hear and play things out of rock context. I was finally turned on to the 60 chord system, but untill I FORCED myself to learn the notes on the fretboard, it was useless. This is how "I" did it. To this day, it was the best thing I ever did. How else can you analyse and build chords and scales on the fretboard. The next one, was Major scales. One per week in my mind, and every position on the fretboard. I will post those next.

Don't know if you've ever looked through 19th century guitar methods, but both Carcassi and Fernando Sor used similar approaches for students to build a mental chart of pitch names going up and down individual strings.

I'll be darned. I'm not familiar with classical guitarists. In fact, I'm not familiar with anything other than the 60 chord system anymore. My target was Django. I doubt, given the time it takes for practice, and earning a living, I will ever hit the outer circles, let alone the bullseye. But I still enjoy playing at SIXTY. This is why I suggest learning this stuff to younger musicians. You will look awfully funny playing HEAVY METAL when you reach my age.
fitZ