To memorize finger board or not..that is the question

[BeerHunter]

Interesting comments from all..

[naccoachbob]

Originally Posted by 815C

When I was a theology student I had an old school professor - one of those rare old scholars whose brilliance inspired you to study and study hard. One time I recall having over 80 pages of notes to study for a test and I went to his office and asked him what I should focus on in my study time to best prepare for the test.

He drew a long dramatic breath and said, "Don't ask me how little you should learn - learn all that you can."

At the time I wasn't amused at his answer, however as the years have gone by, I've grown to appreciate it more and more.

Being able to look at the fretboard and see every note - like it was written on the neck - is a great foundation for learning music and will make memorization of new tunes more efficient, and will enhance your ability to communicate with other musicians.

Learning the fretboard will not hurt you - it will help. So in the words of Dr. Floyd, "Don't ask how little you should learn - learn all that you can."

I think it's one of the best pieces of advice I've ever seen as well. I sent a pm to get your permission to use that post in another forum. Anxiously awaiting a positive response. Thank you for the post.
Bob

[815C]

Originally Posted by naccoachbob

I think it's one of the best pieces of advice I've ever seen as well. I sent a pm to get your permission to use that post in another forum. Anxiously awaiting a positive response. Thank you for the post.
Bob

Go for it. Dr. Floyd would be tickled to know his quote from 1984 was being applied to guitarists in 2012.

[ljguitar]

Hi BH...

Yeah - whether you learn it all at once, or in little chunks, it will benefit you to know the fingerboard.

[jcmccorm]

First post here, be gentle

So are there some agreed-upon "best methods" for learning the notes on the fretboard?

I've been giving this some thought lately, having recently started playing with some other guys. I'm practicing more now and am thinking about some kind of regimen for practice. Spending a few minutes each time on learning the fretboard seems like a noble goal.

Cary

[BULLSPRIG]

I think memorizing the fretboard is a no-brainer. Its smart.

However, I think what is most important is to know what each note is going to sound like and how its going to blend (or clash) with another note. To simply know each note and each position on a fretboard by name is not enough. If a person could learn both, it would be perfect. I've been playing over 35 years and couldn't tell you much about the fretboard. But I tend to avoid details.

[shawlie]

Knowing the notes is handy. I suppose you could just memorize it all in an evening, of course, but like a lot of people you don't have to really set out to learn it all at once. I just learned the basic open chords, spent some time thinking about what those notes were - and then you learn moveable and barre chords and think about those notes and shapes.

Before too long you have most of the fretboard covered - just from playing stuff and thinking a little bit about it.

[golfer]

I really like Dr. Floyd's statemement. I'm for learning all I can.
I decided to begin work on the frettboard and frettboard patterns just about a year ago. I bought a book by Berkley and it has numberous exercises showing the notes, the patterns and chords for various keys. It is very in depth and you can bite off as much as you want or just a little at at time. It is slightly adavanced study if you do not have at least some understanding of how to read notes on the staff.
I have reached the point where I am trying to put what I have learned into action. My biggest weakness now seems to be making chords.
Perhaps some of you readers could suggest a next step to help me and other readers who are working forward .
As for the original post, you have nothing to loose and everything to gain by learning more. I still work on learning music, but divide my time to both subjects.
Best wishes.

[carl365]

I'm certainly for learning all you can and then some in anything, guitar included, that's if you have that much interest in it.

As for learning the whole fretboard, it's a no brainer for me, although I'm only in guitar less than 2 months, it would seem not knowing where all the notes are will become a handicap perhaps later down the line. And, if you get into classical? enuf said.

I've been playing single note instruments like trumpet and clarinet since high school so it's the same with the guitar.

Perhaps a good analogy is the computer. When I got my first computer, the very first thing to learn was typing.

[GHS]

I have spent a great deal of time learning the fretboard forward and back and vertically. It was not ( and still is not ) easy, at least for me. But this one single lesson has made a great improvement in my journey to understanding this instrument.

[trion12]

Originally Posted by jcmccorm

So are there some agreed-upon "best methods" for learning the notes on the fretboard?
Cary

Originally Posted by golfer

I bought a book by Berkley and it has numberous exercises showing the notes, the patterns and chords for various keys. It is very in depth and you can bite off as much as you want or just a little at at time. It is slightly adavanced study if you do not have at least some understanding of how to read notes on the staff.

The so called "Berklee books" (proper name "A Modern Method For Guitar" Volumes 1-3) are the way many of us jazzers learned to read when we were starting out.

They teach positional playing and reading all over the neck which ingrains a knowledge of the fretboard. I can't imagine doing it a better way frankly, but then again that's the only way that I learned the fretboard . . . learning theorists would probably say that it's because doing it that way supports visual, aural, intellectual and kinesthetic learning which really burns it into you brain, ears and your fingers.

Aaron

[jcmccorm]

Thanks for posting what the books are.

I've found them online and read most of the reviews. They seem to be comprehensive and take a lot of dedication but worth it.

Cary

[GHS]

Yes, Method for modern guitar is the system my instructor, a jazz musician, uses with me. Its great but one may need an experienced hand in making progress using it, at least I do. If I knew 10 percent of what he forgot I would know a lot.

[JohnnyDes]

I haven't done this, but I recall an earlier thread on this topic and one poster said to just pick one note a night and find all of its positions on all six strings. Next night, pick another note. Et cetera, et cetera.

JD

[mc1]

Originally Posted by BeerHunter

...My old classical guitar teacher (from many years ago) said not to bother memorizing the fingerboard because as you come into complex pieces in the higher positions , just use a chart , figure out the fingering /notes and you will remember it then. Some tutorials say exactly the same thing. Seemed to work while I was studying.
...

my opinion is to agree with your old guitar teacher. you will learn the fretboard as you learn pieces in other positions. then, you will have some music to play, and will learn the fretboard as you go.

the problem, for me, with 'learn all that you can' as an answer to 'what should i focus on', is that it is impossible to learn it all. therefore one must prioritize.