TB-007 • How To Find All The Notes On The Neck

[bdh29]

For this lesson you say to start with the C string, then move on to the next (F) string.  I might be overthinking this, but why is F the next note?  Couldn't I choose any note to move on to, or is there some progression of notes that I'm not understanding?

And after reading through here I see people mention patterns to the locations of the notes.  Please explain.

[licksnkicks]

No you have it mixed up I think.  It goes CGDAEBF!

Personally for me this does not work.  Learning the strings EADGBE from the first fret to the 12th(cuz they just repeat after that) is much easier for me.  Just learn the notes first faghet about the sharps and flats for now.  It will just complicate things.

There's a good FREE game called FRETPRO which you can download here:-

http://www.tabguitarlessons.com/free-downloads.htm

Love this game.  Thanks for sharing!

Licksnkicks

[BongSmoke84]

No you have it mixed up I think.  It goes CGDAEBF!

Personally for me this does not work.  Learning the strings EADGBE from the first fret to the 12th(cuz they just repeat after that) is much easier for me.  Just learn the notes first faghet about the sharps and flats for now.  It will just complicate things.

There's a good FREE game called FRETPRO which you can download here:-

http://www.tabguitarlessons.com/free-downloads.htm

Love this game.  Thanks for sharing!

Licksnkicks

hey im on a mac,how can i download this so i can save it on a pent drive and then install it on my windows?my windows cant connect to the internet it is very old

[HetRondeel]

I made the image below and I'm using it to help my praticing.

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/3544/01beginnerscourseneckno.png

===

Great practicing image of all the notes of the fretboard, but the E scheme isn't right. I hope that you did see it also, before you practiced.

First E     : 4th string/2nd fret,
Second E : 2nd string/5th fret (not 1st string),
Third E    : 5th string/7th fret
Fourth E  : 3rd string/9th fret (not 2nd string)

Good luck to you all.... I am also working hard to make it through my first month! Cords, fingerpicking, strumming and sore fingertips.

ChristiaN

Info about myself; started recently on a cheap (and I mean very cheap) classical guitar. After a few days, I had to tone my strings after every 5 minutes, the paint was falling of the front and back and frets were already halfway gone. So never buy the cheap stuff (listen to Justin http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-102-WhatGuitar.php). I bought a Fenix EA90-CGS of more than 20 years old on the internet, tested it myself and he is so much more than I can handle at the moment.

Greetz from the Netherlands

[licksnkicks]

I have been doing Fretboard Warrior for a while and I'm getting really fast.  I keep a record of my progress and you can see the speed I'm getting.  Try it, I promise it will help you.  I wouldn't learn it any other way.

Lnk

[davemoss]

Anyone know any tricks to playing the chords without looking at the fingers is thins something that should be worked on?  Or will it come in time?

I was advised to play standing up.

[Fly4him17]

I'm not super fast at finding notes on the fretboard however I can pick my way around. The biggest thing that has helped me that I haven't seen referenced on the site is a book called Guitar Fretboard Workbook.

The book teaches 5 basic shapes so that by knowing the shapes you can find all of the same note across the fretboard. So if you know 1 note, you can find all the rest.

If you pick it up, be sure to do it through Justin's Amazon link on the home page so he gets the commission. I think this is it...
 
http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Fretboard-Workbook-Barrett-Tagliarino/dp/0634049011/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262118603&sr=8-1

[lespauljr]

You know what really trips me up on the guitar neck?  BC and EF are only one fret apart, yet they are whole steps.  What the pringles can is up with that?   I cannot even imagine how that is physically possible.  Man I want to take the guy who named the notes on the guitar neck and force him to eat tofu.

[gareth51]

You know what really trips me up on the guitar neck?  BC and EF are only one fret apart, yet they are whole steps.  What the pringles can is up with that?  I cannot even imagine how that is physically possible.  Man I want to take the guy who named the notes on the guitar neck and force him to eat tofu.

No, B-C and E-F are only a semi-tone (or half step) apart, not a tone.  All 12 notes are

C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Bb B (and then onto C again).

where C# is the same note as Db etc.  What it is called depends on the context that it is used in.  I think the notes were named long before the guitar came into existence.

It may be a good idea to get Justin's theory book.

[lespauljr]

thanks gareth51, but if C is only a half step from B then it should be named B sharp.  See what I am getting at? 

[Bootstrap]

@LPJnr

This isn't a conspiracy against guitar players - have a squiz at a keyboard - no black key between B & C or E & F.

I've never been quite able to find the history behind this but having thought about it - it is based on sound i.e. the tones in the Sol Fa scale (you know - Do, Re, Mi etc). These 8 sounds - which for reasons I don't fully understand (but there is probably some solid math behind it) sound pleasing to our ears and make up the natural notes of what we call an octave in the key of C Major ie C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C. NB the only key with no sharps or flats

However in terms of frequency the distance between B & C and E & F is only half that of the distance between the other notes.

Theoretically - they could have probably just called the notes A to F and put a sharp between each one but then the whole of scale theory would just collapse - ie you couldn't use each letter just once in a scale - ie with only the letters A to F the key of C Major would become C, D, E, E#/Fb, F#, A#, B#, C - note either the letter E or F would have to be used twice and not even the use of double sharps or double flats would get you out of trouble.

The Major Scale has been referred to as the "Mother of Western Music Theory" and it relies heavily on being able to use each letter only once in each key (hence why we have both sharps and flat which are enharmonically the same ie the same note) and it just isn't possible to do with 6 letters - you need 7.

Anyhoo that is the result of my thinking on the subject - I could be completely wrong!

Cheers, Bootstrap

[lespauljr]

Thanks Bootstrap.  I guess I am just going to have to try and get on with it and accept it for what it is instead of what I feel it should be.  Your explanation was very helpful.

[gareth51]

Thanks, Bootstrap.  You gave a better explanation than I managed.  As I was a keyboard player before taking up the guitar I have always been used to there not being a black key between B and C and E and F, and never questioned it.

[nephente]

The thing is that these two semitone steps are necessary.
Ideally you want to have a tone system which can produce an octave, frequency ratio 2:1, and a perfect fifth, ratio 3:2, which sounds very pleasing.
Unfortunately this is mathematically impossible. But the 12 tone system we use is kind of the best approximation. And within this system the fifth equals seven semitones. If you put those between the third and the fourth you end up with a fifth and a major third, ratio 5:4, which also sounds very nice.

That's how I tried to understand that stuff and you're all welcome to correct me if I wrote nonsense 

Cheers Nephente

[Fly4him17]

I've been working at this for a little while and have tried several different things. I would love everyone's feed back on these different methods.

1. Guitar Fretboard Workbook - is a book I plugged a few posts back that teaches 5 shapes so that you can find all of the same notes just by using a shape. This works, but you have to find a reference note you know and then figure out which shape it fits into.

2. RUGS1 - Justin's Practical Guide To Theory - which by the way is absolutely amazing!!! I highly recommend it. Here Justin recommends several shapes, much like GFW I mentioned in #1 but you can only find one other note (he doesn't show the shapes connected together)... with that being said... the first 10 pages of the book is worth twice what it costs... buy it!

3. Justin's Recommended Note-Finding Exercise. Where you take one note at a time and find all the C's for example going from the 6th string to the first string. This works but involves huge jumps up and down the neck sometimes 8 frets!

4. My Method. I haven't seen this anywhere else. You guys might not even find it helpful. It is a way to learn the notes going across a fret. To begin with this note progression in order: B. E. A. D. G. C. F. It does not repeat and like everything else is thrown off a semi-tone on the 2nd string (B).

Here's how it works. If you know this progression, and you know 1 note (don't worry about #'s and b's) and you are not moving from the 3rd to the 2nd string, the next note on the next string is the next in the progression.

An Example: 6th String 5th fret = A Then the 5th string is D, the 4th string is G and the 3rd string is C. Now the progression tells us the next string should be and F but since is the B string we drop a semi tone to E. Then the progression picks back up leaving the 6th string as A.

NOTE: The progression does not start over. B does not come after F. (Technically the whole progression would be F#. B. E. A. D. G. C. F. A#.) but that seems too complicated.

This is tough to explain without a diagram... I'll be monitoring to see if you have questions and then I'll try to clarify. Maybe it will help someone.

(BTW: I recommend learning this in addition to (but prior to) Justin's 1 note per string method: see #3)
I also think that Fretboard Warrior is a great way to practice this.