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memorizing the fret board

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les_paul  
16 Mar 2008 22:02 | Quote
Joined: 14 Feb 2008
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I'm trying to memorize the fret board. Very frustrating! Does anyone have any suggestions or methods to make this a little easier?
brodyxhollow  
16 Mar 2008 22:43 | Quote
Joined: 04 Feb 2008
United States
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pick a note.

an easy one is A.

Now find every A on the fret board, and play a continuous A all over the neck until you have it memorized. Then pick another note in the key of A. Say its A minor. Well, find every C on the neck, and play it. Keep following this pattern, and then mix it up. I dunno, it works for me. You will always remember that a certain note is an A, B, or a C, etc.
league  
17 Mar 2008 01:42 | Quote
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My approach was learning minor and major scales in one spot on the fretboard, like E on the twelfth fret, then working in half steps and whole steps. Or memorize simple pentatonics.
brodyxhollow  
17 Mar 2008 02:15 | Quote
Joined: 04 Feb 2008
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i basically did that, but i would focus on one note at a time
Guitarslinger124  
17 Mar 2008 12:26 | Quote
Joined: 25 Jul 2007
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i started by learning on the notes on the low E string...then i found all the octaves. then i did kinda what league did, using the minor scale, i found all the fifths and thirds of each note. after that i had half the notes covered...so bearing in mind that the notes go in order of the alphabet i just got down the rest by going in order.
EMB5490  
17 Mar 2008 12:53 | Quote
Joined: 10 Feb 2008
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do you have to memorize the scales and the notes and everything, cause i got gr8 musical ears.
Skold  
17 Mar 2008 17:00 | Quote
Joined: 14 Mar 2008
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I did it like this.

Every 5th fret (minus the 2 highest strings) plays the same note as the next string played open. When you play an open string, the 2nd fret on the second string higher plays the same note. After the 5th fret, the next fret plays the same note as the 1st fret on the next string. Memorize the frets up to the 5th, and you should be able to find most notes quite easily.
mudnreo  
17 Mar 2008 17:10 | Quote
Joined: 11 Feb 2008
United States
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When I started to learn, I was 12 I'm 54 now. I learned "old school", the Mel Bay Method. I learned all the open position notes in "C" first, natural and chromatic notes. I learned where the notes were on the guitar and where they are on the staff in written music, I also learned all the open chords too. Before I went further I could look at a piece of written music and play it straight out, combining chords and melody lines at the same time weaving them in and around each other. Then I learned the same thing in 5th position, then 10th, 12th, and so on. I don't mean movable patterns I mean I could see music in "e" and play it, or "D" and play it. THEN I learned that these positions were movable patterns and since I already knew where ALL the notes on the guitar were it opened up the whole fret board.
I absolutly believe that along with learning the notes on the guitar you should learn to read music at the same time as you progress. It takes a long time but it WILL make you a better musician in the long run. There is nothing like picking up a piece of sheet music and understanding it as you look at it, then playing it even if you have NEVER heard the song before. It often takes a little while to get all the timing right but if you can read music you CAN do it.
You have to take it one possition at a time if you are going to do it right, and it will take a few years but it will be worth it in the long run.

Hope this helps.
EMB5490  
17 Mar 2008 17:33 | Quote
Joined: 10 Feb 2008
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final question is the notation in treble or bass cleft?
and i guess i will, but what frightens me is i play trombone, and i still dont know all the notes. playing 4 about 5 years maybe 6. i dont really need to because i can tell the difference between notes very well.
KicknGuitar  
17 Mar 2008 19:20 | Quote
Joined: 13 Dec 2007
Lessons: 6
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Guitar is in treble going just a little into the bass cleft, but that is what Ledger lines are for. Being able to read will increase your connections, and chances of being hired for gigs. If you can sight read well, you've got the upper hand(s).
mudnreo  
17 Mar 2008 19:22 | Quote
Joined: 11 Feb 2008
United States
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For guitar it is in Treble. Its up to you whether or not you learn to read, many players don't, but the best musicians do. If you watch some TV specials with large bands and orchestras you will see they ALL have music in front of them, and they are among the best musicians in the world. When I play with the praise team at my Church every one has lyric and chord charts but I have music, and I am the one they call on for just about all of the solo instramental parts. When I do them, many times I use the written melody's with my own added embelishments. Because of this I get numerous compliments and I have been told that I am an awsome musician, even thou I don't feel that way, I think thier nuts. Any time one of the other members have a question they mostly come to me for the answer, even thou I don't all ways have it. I have been playing for many years and I am still learning, and I hope to keep on learning music theory and composition for the rest of my life. Im not perfect and I don't know everything, funny thing about music, no matter how much you think you know there is always so much more that you don't. One thing I never bothered with much if at all was "modes" and I am working on understanding better about how to use them. The more i learn about them the more I realize that using modes isn't much different if at all from the way I have been playing all along, I just have a different way of looking at it. I was reading the lesson on modes in this site last week, I don't remember who did the lesson, but it was very good and helped me out some.
It is very good to have a good ear for music, but its even better if you can read and understand it too.
EMB5490  
17 Mar 2008 20:45 | Quote
Joined: 10 Feb 2008
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ye i know as i said i play the trombone so bass cleft will be pretty easy. i used to play the piano which is both, and i was good, but never caught on to it. i have said this before, my dad is a beast piano player, i think the world of my dad, and im sure he could teach me the notes, if not my school prob can.

i can see what u mean about it. kinda like separates men from boys. the ability to read and not to. the way i learned is from my ear. i would play a not, some one would show me it in a musical note, and i remembered it. my ears help me a lot.
lance  
18 Mar 2008 19:27 | Quote
Joined: 03 Mar 2008
United States
Karma: 1
@ les paul,you've got a pm
les_paul  
19 Mar 2008 17:55 | Quote
Joined: 14 Feb 2008
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That is an awesome tool for learning the fret board. I saw an ad for it on the net and wondered if it really worked but I don't buy anything from the web. Really helped me out thanks alot!
lance  
19 Mar 2008 18:22 | Quote
Joined: 03 Mar 2008
United States
Karma: 1
glad to help :)


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