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2011
01/09
CATEGORY
Uncategorized
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Lesson 2- Memorizing the Fretboard

Now, before training exercises, let’s analyze the diagram.

  1. Look at the notes on the twelfth fret, they are the same as the open notes. This is because the notes on the twelfth fret are and octave higher than the open notes. The notes on the 24th fret (if your guitar goes that high), would be 2 octaves higher than the open notes.
  2. The 2 E strings are identical. That means the lowest string, and the highest string, have the exact same note placement. If you know one of them, you know both of them!

Seeing patterns helps in memorizing the fretboard. Here :

Guitar Fretboard Patterns

Placement of A's and E's on the Fretboard

Placement of A’s and E’s on the Fretboard

Using the placements of A’s and E’s can help by being a placeholder for finding other notes. And if you memorize the note placements of A’s and E’s, then you will have 2/8 of the notes you need, already memorized!

Now Some Memorization Tips and Exercises

  1. Click on this link, and print out some sheets. Each set of 6 lines represents a fretboard. Now simply fill out the blank fretboard with different notes. For each fretboard, start a different note, on a different string, at a different fret. Do this atleast once a day, or when you’re waiting in line for something. It is an invaluable method in learning the notes.
  2. Close your eyes, and randomly play a note. Open your eyes, and figure out what note you just played. Now, try to find all other placements of that same note, and play it. When doing this, it helps to focus on one note per day. *If the note you land on is a flat or a sharp, simply move up to the nearest real note. Make sure you’re doing a different note everyday! This is by far the simplest and best way to remember your notes.
  3. Look at the following image:   This is tablature of all of the positions of the note E. This will help in placing the notes. (If you can’t read tablature, look at the learning supplements at the bottom of the page). There is no need to work on frets 12-24, because they are identical to 0-12

    E Note Fretboard Placement

    E Note Placements

  4. F Note Fretboard Placement

    F Note Placements

  5. G Note Placements

  6. A Note Fretboard Placement

    A Note Placements

  7. B Note Fretboard Placement

    B Note Placements

  8. G Note Fretboard Placement

    C Note Placements

D Note Fretboard Placement

D Note Placements

Now, I have gathered many resources in the lesson supplements section, to aid in memorizing the fretboard.

Please, if this lesson is missing anything, or if you have suggestions to make it better, leave them in the comments and I will work on them.

Supplemental Resources

Resources for this lesson include a webpage, flash games, computer software, and video. Remember, they are great for learning, but can’t replace learning the placement of notes on an actual guitar! Note: I own none of these games, softwares, or videos. These are simply links to invaluable resources, created by other hardworking guitarists!

Fretboard Master – This is a great flash game for learning the fretboard, and will really test if you know you stuff. If you think you have your fretboard memorized, use this game to test your knowledge.

Fretboard Warrior – This free software is similar to Fretboard Master, but also includes sound of the notes, which helps in ear training.

Fretboard Game – Another Flash Game like Fretboard Master, except much simpler and easier to use.

Cirqueduguitar video lesson. Below are embed three lessons by Cirqueduguitar, which I find is are good, effective, lessons.


2010
09/07
CATEGORY
Basic Lessons
Lesson 2- Memorizing the Fretboard
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Lesson One- Notes

Part 1- Know the Notes

The first lesson! Let’s begin, with the basis of all songs, the foundation of all melodies- the musical notes!

We’ll start by listing them. Don’t be intimidated, I will explain everything after.

A- A#/Bb – B – C – C#/Db – D – D#/Eb – E – F – F#/Gb – G – G#/Ab – A

#= “sharp”        b= “flat”

Now that we have our notes listed, I will colour code them, because I’ve found things are easier to understand when they’re colour-coded!

A- A#/Bb – B - C – C#/Db – D – D#/Eb – E – F – F#/Gb – G – G#/Ab – A

Let`s look at our red notes. They are red because each pair of red notes represents the same note. A# (A Sharp), is the same as Bb (B flat), C#(C Sharp) is the same as Eb (E flat), etc.

Feel free to call them either way.

Now, lets look at our purple notes. They tend to trick most people. There are no notes between B and C, and between E and F. Remember this!

And the blue notes… they’re just regular ol’ notes!

Now I shall explain half-steps and whole-steps. If you start at a note, and move 2 notes over from it, you’ve made a whole-step. 1 note over is a half-step.

Because there are no notes between E/F, and B/C, they are a half-step distance between eachother!

A- A#/Bb - B - C - C#/Db - D - D#/Eb - E - F - F#/Gb - G - G#/Ab - A

Using the “A” note as an example, each red note represents a whole step from it.

Now look:

A- A#/Bb - B - C - C#/Db - D - D#/Eb - E - F - F#/Gb - G - G#/Ab - A

Each Blue note represents a half-step. A half step is simply moving one note over, so all the half-steps would be all the notes!

Now, let’s use the “C” note as an example of a whole step.

C - C#/Db - D - D#/Eb - E - F - F#/Gb - G - G#/Ab - A- A#/Bb

The whole steps for C are different than the whole steps for A. This is because there are 11 notes in the musical alphabet.

If you keep playing notes up the scale, you will eventually run into the same note, except this note is called an octave higher. If you keep playing notes down the scale, you will eventually hit the same note, which will be an octave lower. Basically, the note vibrates twice as fast (octave higher), and twice as slow (octave lower).

This may all seem a bit too much at first, but at this point it’s just a good idea to reread all of this, think about it, and let it all sink in. The bottom of the page will have resources pertaining to this lesson.

Part 2- Notes Applied to the Guitar

Now that we have the notes down, half-steps, whole-steps, and octaves, let’s move onto the note positions on the guitar.

Look at the diagram below:

Guitar Fretboard

Notes on the guitar Fretboard

 

The diagram above shows all the note placement on the guitar, in standard tuning. Standard Tuning is, starting from the lowest string, the tuning of (EADGBE). An easy way to remember standard tuning is by using an acronym, for example:

Elephants And Dogs Got Big Ears

Now, looking at the note chart, it`s a lot of notes! But, you have to remember them all, so that your brain automatically knows where they are. Sounds hard? It is! But I will give you tips to memorize all these notes. Firstly, when starting, don’t worry about the sharps and the flats, once you know the notes well, you can easily place the sharps and flats.

Use this diagram instead:

Guitar Fretboard Without Sharps

Notes on the Fretboard, Excluding Sharps and Flats

All these notes must be memorized, and I will introduce techniques into helping you do this. Just remember- don’t expect to get all the notes down in one day! Knowing the note placements on the fretboard is best learned as a gradual process, and should be worked on everyday. As long as you are working on it everyday, you can continue onto other lessons without mastering note placement.

I’ve Decided to make Memorization of the Fretboard it’s own lesson, as I have many resources and tips for that.

To go to the next lesson, Memorizing the Fretboard, Click here

Supplemental Resources

Here are various resources related to this lesson, to aid in your learning, such as webpages and games.

The Guitar Notes

Discover the Notes – This webpage shows another way of looking at the musical notes.

Know Your Notes – This page offers a very good explanation of the musical notes, diagrams from this lesson were borrowed from this page

Guitar Notation Introduction – If you also want to learn music notation, this page had a good introduction to it that relates to this lesson.

Music Note Shooter- Great, simple, game that doesn’t help memorizing the notes, but instead memorizing the sounds of the notes.

2010
09/05
CATEGORY
Basic Lessons
Lesson 1- Notes
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