A tip for learning the fretboard and an online course recommendation

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Andyrondack

I learned the names of the notes and the 'intervals' which I guess is what some of you call the Nashville Numbering System all at the same time, the two systems work together in my mind because to be honest that was how someone told me to go about learning and I just did what I was told something for which I am very grateful today.

Everyone knows the note names of the open strings because even if you have never used an electronic tuner it's written on the envelopes, change strings 3 times and the open strings are memorised.
From there you just need to know some basic information to find out what the names of the fretted notes are, really there are only 7 of them and they go in alphabetical order so it's not hard to learn.
By knowing the pattern in tones and semi tones which all major scales follow you can easily work out the note names together with the interval numbers relative to the tonic note by starting from an open string and counting up the frets .

Dang it! You just ruined it for all those who are trying to monetize this simple learning process with books, DVDs, and video courses. I hope folks here appreciate what you have done for them, saving them money and time.

Tony

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

Dang it! You just ruined it for all those who are trying to monetize this simple learning process with books, DVDs, and video courses. I hope folks here appreciate what you have done for them, saving them money and time.

Tony

To be perfectly honest Tony the person who deserves credit as far as I'm concerned is an old time Jazz guitarist called Curly Clayton who did once publish a book on this stuff but was happy to give his time free to me as he did with many other young people at his recording studio in Islington, North London.

[rick-slo]

Learn the name of all the notes up and down on the fretboard not just in standard tuning but in other tunings you might want to play in (models such as DADGAD, open tunings such as C or G, etc.).

Use your naming knowledge to timely arrive at the correct fretting fingering up and down the keyboard for various chords.

And of course play spot on the correct frets and fingering for all the various scales up and down the neck.

Don't forget to play music cleanly and with feeling and tone.

This or pretty close to it for some of the studio cats.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Andyrondack

To be perfectly honest Tony the person who deserves credit as far as I'm concerned is an old time Jazz guitarist called Curly Clayton who did once publish a book on this stuff but was happy to give his time free to me as he did with many other young people at his recording studio in Islington, North London.

Great story! It is always a great thing when somebody with that experience mentors others, and then you pass it forward to folks here.

I think I found the book: https://reverb.com/item/12242153-gui...-without-music

Here is more about him: https://www.discogs.com/artist/3176501-Curly-Clayton and https://music.metason.net/artistinfo...urly%20Clayton


Tony

[TBman]

I'm not a musician.

With that said...

I learned the chromatic scale as a very young child (five-ish) and then when I took guitar lessons when I was in my late teens I learned a few moveable chord shapes and that fell into place with the chromatic scale.

If you learn the chromatic scale, you will be able to identify the notes regardless of what tuning you are in.

A more useful skill, imo, is to be able to hum a note and then find it on the guitar fretboard easily. That I can't do. If I was to spend time doing anything other than playing from tabs and drooling over guitars on the internet I would train my ear to identify the sounds of the notes so I could hum a melody, and then play it at will.

[Arapaho G]

+1 for "Also, it's a really great exercise for the brain to keep sharp."

[Arapaho G]

Originally Posted by TBman

I'm not a musician.

With that said...

I learned the chromatic scale as a very young child (five-ish) and then when I took guitar lessons when I was in my late teens I learned a few moveable chord shapes and that fell into place with the chromatic scale.

If you learn the chromatic scale, you will be able to identify the notes regardless of what tuning you are in.

A more useful skill, imo, is to be able to hum a note and then find it on the guitar fretboard easily. That I can't do. If I was to spend time doing anything other than playing from tabs and drooling over guitars on the internet I would train my ear to identify the sounds of the notes so I could hum a melody, and then play it at will.

I disagree. If you are doing the guitar playing on this recording you are definitely a musician.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by TBman

I'm not a musician.

A more useful skill, imo, is to be able to hum a note and then find it on the guitar fretboard easily. That I can't do. If I was to spend time doing anything other than playing from tabs and drooling over guitars on the internet I would train my ear to identify the sounds of the notes so I could hum a melody, and then play it at will.

First off Barry, you are definitely a musician!

Can I suggest another approach to your "by ear" concept?

I think that very, very few people can hear a note and give its note name - even with lots and lots of training. But lots of folks can hear intervals, and find those on their instruments. And when learning a song by ear it is the question "where do I go next?" that is important.

You teach kids to hear intervals by picking famous songs and singing the first couple of notes. So Hear Comes the Bride goes up a 4th, Over the Rainbow goes up an octave, Happy Birthday goes up a second etc etc. Then you get them to play games singing intervals. Then you ask them to find what those intervals feel /look/sound like on thier instrument.

It does not matter what key you are in, or what the note names are - basically, you start to hear tunes by their intervals and timing patterns. And that's how you pick them up by ear.

[slaminsam]

May be out of place here, but has anyone have any experience with the "Fretboard Toolkit" that Scott Sharp has done? It looks interesting but I don't know if be worth it (I say that because I have spent money on online lessons material and have been disappointed that they don't really offer what they claim). Although I have to say it's pretty cheap ($10-$22 depending on the version).

[RichardN]

Every time this subject comes up, and it is often, my response is, learn how to read music in all positions and you'll end up learning the fretboard. It took me about a year working with a guitar teacher to get there. But that was amongst learning a bunch of other stuff. I know the fretboard like I know the alphabet and I didn't have to work at it.

The other thing that's valuable to know, and it's already been mentioned, are the intervals. You should know how to find the 5th, flatted 3rd, dominant 7th, etc.. This lets you put together a quick solo or build a chord on the fly. I think this is the Nashville method but it's also the basic building blocks for everything from Classical to Jazz.


Why bother to know any of this? Improvising, creating chord melodies, writing, or just simply having another way to relate to your guitar and/or to your music.

The great thing about the guitar is that you can get a lot out of it without knowing much of the technical stuff. There are so many approaches to finding success, and so many different styles, that reading music, knowing theory, or knowing the fretboard may not be necessary for you.