Finding notes on the fretboard: good article

[EllaMom]

Many thanks to tbeltrans for sharing with me a version of the note-finding exercise described in this article:

https://reverb.com/news/weekend-wood...&utm_source=FB

The article mentions tablature as a possible obstacle in learning notes on the fretboard.

Occasionally I have seen disparaging comments on this forum about the use of tablature. Some say "just play...use your ears." Some say "notation is the only way to go." For me, it's been a combination of all three when it comes to learning how to play songs. I can't rely on any one method by itself. Foundational to it all, in breaking free of pre-arranged songs especially, is learning the notes on the fretboard.

Next up: I am going to work on scales and chord spellings. All while continuing to learn to play songs, mind you. But without the foundational work, I felt like I was a "prisoner" of the arrangements, created by others, of the songs I learned. I didn't know how to break free and change them up, even a little bit.

Well, now I'm learning that. This article I'm sharing describes a process that has been very helpful for me. I hope other beginners/newbies find it useful as well.

[sirwhale]

I'm currently working on this too.

I know a lot of notes, but it is very incomplete, so I need some purposeful practice.

[rick-slo]

Just how useful is memorizing every note up and down on the fretboard? Frankly I just don't get the usefulness of it for what most people do.

[EllaMom]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Just how useful is memorizing every note up and down on the fretboard? Frankly I just don't get the usefulness of it for what most people do.

So, for an example, I am playing a melody note and underlying chord and someone (teacher, guitar buddy, etc.) suggests "try playing an F# with that".... I have no clue where to find an F# except on the first fret.

[Grinning Boy]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Just how useful is memorizing every note up and down on the fretboard? Frankly I just don't get the usefulness of it for what most people do.

For a person looking to learn how to arrange instrumentals, which Carol is, this statement couldn't be more wrong.

[RodB]

Originally Posted by Grinning Boy

For a person looking to learn how to arrange instrumentals, which Carol is, this statement couldn't be more wrong.

A logical sequence is to learn to play up and across the fretboard before trying to arrange instrumental music, given that an arrangement is not just a theoretical exercise but needs to take into account playability and musical phrasing. Otherwise cart before the horse...

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by EllaMom

So, for an example, I am playing a melody note and underlying chord and someone (teacher, guitar buddy, etc.) suggests "try playing an F# with that".... I have no clue where to find an F# except on the first fret.

There are situations such as this (communication, etc.) and I use note name location when I read standard notation. In arranging music and playing on the fly go mainly by ear and by recognizing note intervals.

[FwL]

I can't think of a good reason NOT to know where notes sit on the fingerbaord. It really just takes a little effort and the rewards are numerous.
.
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[stanron]

I'm with rick-slo on this. Theory is good for talking about music. A good musical ear and a good musical memory is more important when it comes to playing and arranging. I was arranging tunes before I knew any music theory vocabulary. When I wanted a note I looked for it by it's sound not it's name.

When I arrange now I select notes by their sound, not by their name. I can name then if I have to, like if I'm notating stuff, but I think in terms of sound and not in terms of note names.

[EllaMom]

Originally Posted by stanron

I'm with rick-slo on this. Theory is good for talking about music. A good musical ear and a good musical memory is more important when it comes to playing and arranging. I was arranging tunes before I knew any music theory vocabulary. When I wanted a note I looked for it by it's sound not it's name.

When I arrange now I select notes by their sound, not by their name. I can name then if I have to, like if I'm notating stuff, but I think in terms of sound and not in terms of note names.

So, Stanron, do you already know where to find the sound you want to add? Many folks here have very good ears. That's ear training, which I don't have. So for me, I hear in my head the sound I want to add, but no clue where to find it on the fretboard. So it's hunt and peck, hunt some more, etc. I guess for me I just thought that there might be a more systematic way to do that, given my lack of ear training.

And as Grinning Boy said, my interest is in arrangements. Yes, I would like to be able to arrange music....someday. Right now, I just want to be able to take an arrangement in one of my songbooks, and perhaps change it up a little, make it more my own. Some of the arrangements are very VERY simple, only a single note at a time. I'd like to build on that, and what to learn how to do that without having to randomly test every note within reach of the note(s) indicated on the page. Make sense?

[Grinning Boy]

Originally Posted by stanron

I'm with rick-slo on this. Theory is good for talking about music. A good musical ear and a good musical memory is more important when it comes to playing and arranging. I was arranging tunes before I knew any music theory vocabulary. When I wanted a note I looked for it by it's sound not it's name.

When I arrange now I select notes by their sound, not by their name. I can name then if I have to, like if I'm notating stuff, but I think in terms of sound and not in terms of note names.

This makes sense. I also play in a rock band and I've never learned one second of our songs by referring to written musical notes. So if you don't need the skill for the type of playing that interests you, why bother?

My point was that for someone like me, or Carol, who wants to be able to learn how to arrange songs and have a musical reference for the song, we need to be able to read notation.

[Wyllys]

For me it's a matter of context. Some use the fingerboard and the notes, some use the sound and the music. It's a matter of learning one thing at a time. The problem I see with memorizing the fingerboard without any musical context is that it's putting the cart before the horse in a way.

If you tough it out, learn 5 or 6 good tunes and play them into "second nature", you can then use that as your context. You'll be able to contrast and compare.
I'd recommend analysis be postponed/deferred until after you can play some things musically.

Music is more than playing the right notes in the right order...

[stanron]

Originally Posted by EllaMom

So, Stanron, do you already know where to find the sound you want to add?

Very good question. Originally my answer would have been 'no'. Now my answer is 'sometimes'. When my answer was 'no' my solution was a sort of 'hunt and peck'. This is where a good memory for sounds is an asset, and also where a good memory for sounds can start to be developed.

The action of looking for a note you hear in your head is what develops a good ear. It's never too soon to start.

[EllaMom]

Originally Posted by stanron

Very good question. Originally my answer would have been 'no'. Now my answer is 'sometimes'. When my answer was 'no' my solution was a sort of 'hunt and peck'. This is where a good memory for sounds is an asset, and also where a good memory for sounds can start to be developed.

The action of looking for a note you hear in your head is what develops a good ear. It's never too soon to start.

Thanks! Here is what I have found surprising; in my note-finding exercise on the fretboard, let's say I'm working with C, because I have not quite yet remembered exactly where C is on the next string, but I know the vicinity, I choose a note...it's not C, but I am getting a better aural sense of how close I am to it.

Baby steps!

[Silly Moustache]

I could never get to grips with notation, and tablature frustrates me.
I'm not saying that either are "wrong" but it seems my brain had worked out a musical strategy long before I discovered either.

I simply don't "see" musical notes as tadpoles or numbers on lines.

If either work for you - you have an advantage.