If you have any questions on the method above, I have prepared a FREE eBook + accompanying videos where I practice all the exercises on video + I lay down all the details, tips, and tricks to make your learning faster and easier. Get it here: www.musictheoryforguitar.com/guitar-notes.html
In principle it is like a computer keyboard. Nobody could write the keys down by heart in the right order, but you intuitively know where the keys you want to press are.
Interesting point, but very true. I can type with my eyes closed but I definitely could not write the damn thing out by memory. I know qwerty and asd. . .
Wow, that's a good comparison! I think I could write out all the letters by typing different words in my mind and by that somehow "fill the gaps" kind of. But I could never just löst them in order
Ok so i have been doing this for 5 weeks 5 days a week for about 10 mins every day . ... and it works . For those who are skeptical this is the single most thing that has improved my playing . I can now see triads allover the fret board and improvising lead guitar is a lot easier...amazing thank you.
@@Omn1c1d3 yes I guess 5 mins is minimum. I just have a routine of practicing for an hr a day with scales new chords songs I'm learning and I just slotted 10 into my hr long practice. Honest if you do this exercise and DONT skip the metronome it works. It will feel like you are not learning anything then when you are playing scales and triads or hitting chord tones , you just realise that you know what the notes are ...
Did you use the note chart or write out the tab for each note? I have done both at this point, but lately have been using the tab rather than the chart. I was curious since you’ve had success which one you did. Thx
@@mattfischer3853 I just used the note chart but I found after the first 5 days I didn't need it. I still use this in my daily practice helps get my fingers moving and brain switching on. I'm so tempted to subscribe to his modes course but it's a big monthly outlay and I'm not sure how long I would need to subscribe for..but I do like his teaching style.let people know how you get on with the fretboard Matt.
Thanks! The only thing missing is a summary of the steps. Here's my attempt: 1. Frets 1-12, no open strings. Pick 1 natural note. Play this note on each string from low to high, then from high to low. Once you can play it without mistakes 3 times then do a different note. When you have done all 7 natural notes twice go to step 2. 2. Set metronome to 40 bpm. Play 1 note per beat as in step 1. Once you can do all 7 notes without mistakes go to step 3. 3. Do the sharps & flats for all notes as in step 2. 4. Pick 2 different notes. Play the first note going up & second note going down without stopping. Once this feels easy go to step 5. 5. Arrange the 7 natural notes in a random order (e.g. D F C E A G B). Play each of these notes (with the metronome) in order moving to the next note each time you reach the last string (e.g. D up, F down, C up, etc.) without stopping. When you can do it without mistakes go to step 6. 6. Repeat steps 2-5 gradually increasing the bpm. The goal is to reach 80 bpm.
For those wanting the steps written out, here's how I wrote them: 1) Pick a natural note, then play it on each string (down and up) on frets 1 through 12. Do this 3 times, and move to another note. Then do this for frets 12 through 20. Once you have done all the natural notes twice, go to ex #2. 2) Use a metronome at 40 BPM. Play one note per beat, and repeat ex #1. 3) Repeat ex #2, but do it for the accidentals. 4) Choose any two notes. Play UP in one note (across each of the six strings) and DOWN on the other note (without stopping). Use the metronome @ 40 BPM. When it feels easy, go to ex #5. 5) Write seven 7 notes in random order. With the metronome @ 40 BPM, play the first note going up, and the next note going down, etc. etc. for all 7 notes. (without stopping). When it feels easy, go to Ex #6 6) Repeat the exercises 2 through 5 at BPM speeds 50 / 60 / 70 / and 80. When you can do Exercise #5 at 80 BPM you are finished.
@@nikolajbertelsen848 He means when you are comfortable with finding the notes on frets 1-12 then try another block of 12 frets to help cover the whole fretboard. (ex 5-16, 7-18, 9-20 etc) Or maybe you were only joking... Now I see a smiley face at the end of your comment.
1. Not knowing the fretboard is absolutely a roadblock to your progression as a guitarist, and 2. this may seem absurdly simple, but it definitely works. Easily this is worth more than all the scale or chord books I've bought. Do this !
I've played guitar here and there for about 18 years in total, and unfortunately have always skipped the basics. This little exercise has helped me so much and I've literally just now only tried it for 5 minutes. I'm extremely excited to have found this and wanted to say thank you!
If you’re on the fence about putting in the work for this exercise, don’t be. Do it. I was extremely skeptical at first, and often thought “hmmm I don’t know, this seems so orthogonal to my other music practice, what if it’s a waste of time?” It isn’t. About a month now after first coming across this video, I can now do any note at 80 bpm without reference to a diagram. I’ll outline how it came about for anyone giving this a shot: First few days were about just grokking the problem, getting any note. It was slow, it took me many seconds to find each note. I did not use a metronome. After I could reliably find a note within 2 seconds, I could start the metronome at 40 bpm. For the next week or so, I improved my speed up to 80 bpm, using the diagram. However, at this point I couldn’t say I “knew” the fretboard. Actually, I knew the first and last string well, and could vaguely aim at the right direction to get the other strings, but that was it. I thought it was a failure and gave up for a day, but I was totally wrong! There’s just a little more to it. To focus on randomly accessing the middle strings, I first created notecards for three skills. (1) given a string and a note name, what is the fret? (2) given a string and a fret number, what is the note name? (3) given a general region of the guitar (5 zones from head to 12th fret) and a note name, what chord shape would I use? This got me up to being able to find a note in a couple seconds cold turkey. Close! But not quite there! To get over the edge, I found two apps. Fret Trainer on iOS tackles skill #2. The fretboard trainer at fachords (www.fachords.com/master-guitar-fretboard-game-intro/) tackles skill #3. I still use my Flashcards or just think through skill #3. Using these fellas I was able to get dead reckoning down to about a second. Then I went BACK to this exercise, and asked if I could do it WITHOUT the diagram. Yes, I could. I started off without a metronome, then started the metronome at 40, and moved up to 80 bpm within about a day. I couldn’t believe it. Was it worth it? Absolutely! After learning a lot patterns, to discover that you can get lost and find your way back by seeing what roots you’re playing and knowing where the rest are... the psychological experience is like having a eureka moment every second. It’s a new exciting world when your perception of your instrument is expanded this much! I’m excited to reinforce this knowledge and connect it to the repertoire of shapes and patterns I’ve already memorized. As for what’s next, I now have very fast recognition when I’m in the zone, but pulling back into the zone still takes a couple seconds (like booting up a laptop), so I’m thinking about exercises where you do something unrelated then suddenly name a note on the fretboard. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks again for the wonderful video series, you’ve really helped a lot of people!
Maybe work on intervals now that you have a foundation then do triads and then building 5ths 7ths and 9ths chords fallowing this method for each step. Meaning pick a note find all the intervals for each note then after you get it up to random try with chord shapes. Then once you master that try the big one... Sheet music
Let's start the journey! 🔥 11.06.2021 - Starting date. 13.06.2021 - Exercise 2 done. 15.06.2021 - Exercise 3 done. 20.06.2021 - Exercise 4 done. 02.07.2021 - Exercise 5 done. 15.07.2021 - Exercise 6 begins! It's working pretty good :3 I skipped 3-4 days but nothing bad happened. I see most of the fretboard now :) Practice makes perfect 💫
@@vukasinristanovic5940 Well, it's pretty strange I would say. When I want to play a note I can play it. Sometimes I miss. Especially on new exercises but I can't say that I really see them. I need more like to do it. But it worth it. There are places on the fretboard, where I really know and understand, could say that I see it. So I'm excited to master my fretboard) P.S. The only thing that I'm doing differently from the video is the spent time. Sometimes it's really 5 minutes but in other days 20-30 minutes. That's it :) Actually, for 5th exercise I simply use website for letter letter shuffling. It's much easier)
exercise 1: natural notes up and down exercise 2: use metronome at 40 bpm exercise 3: add accidentals exercise 4: 2 notes exercise 5: 7 notes in random order exercise 6 : increase speed exercises 2-5
My problem with this method is that after three weeks I have learned 3/4 notes on the fretboard and played them with metronome at 40 bpm I still make confusion between them and I still cannot see the notes on the fretboard clearly.
@pablonencioni527 I think method is less about *seeing* the notes clearly like a fretboard chart as much as instinctively knowing where they are. Being able to name random frets isn't particularly useful, being able to find notes when you need them is. It's like learning to touch type. Someone proficient could easily type on a blank keyboard at blazing speeds, but if you point to a key and say "what letter is this", they'd likely still need to process for a moment based on keys they remember or their hand positioning. Because knowing what letter each key is isn't actually needed as long as you can find the right key when you need that letter. This is learning the same way. The idea is to instinctively know where the notes are when you need them, not to be able to point to a random fret and say "that's a C#", when do you ever need to name random frets after all, but rather instinctively move your hand or finger to the right place when you *need* a C#.
@@LilBoyHexley This is a good way to put it. It's a muscle memory type of memorization. You're drilling into your head a few anchored points on the fretboard and quickly referencing them, similar to how the "home" keys worked for some people (not me, I type all screwed up).
I wanted to say THANK YOU! I’ve struggled for over 20 years to see the fretboard without hesitation. I had already started doing a version of this exercise on my own but this was much more methodical and thorough. It took me about 6 weeks but now I can see the board clearly and my playing has completely transformed. I wish I had something like this when I was 15, things would have been a lot different. THANK YOU
Longtime noodler here. Began the process right before Christmas, currently up to 60 bpm. Doesn't feel like you're absorbing anything at first, but oh so gratifying once it starts sticking and you don't even realize it! Great exercise.
Journey started on Dec 6th 2022. 🚀 Exercise 1: done on Dec 5 Exercise 2: done on Dec 6 Exercise 3: done on Dec 6 and 7 Exercise 4: done on Dec 7 Exercise 5: done on Dec 8 Dec 23rd: I have down most of the patterns. I know where most notes are. some are still tricky but it gets better. January 3rd: woke up picked up the guitar immediately and was able to play all naturals at around 120 BPM. I don't "see"the fretboard but for most notes I do know what fret they are on and the pattern stuck with me. Occasionally I have to think about a spot for a note and look at the diagram. I didn't play the exercise with the accidentals though except a few times, because it confused me in the beginning..
@@porkyfedwell Me too I was wondering If this comment is even serious , that's unrealisticly fast , for a beginner for excercices will take at least 3 days each to perfect
I first discovered this video on Jan 11 and decided to give it a shot and I can 100% attest to it working. Not only does it work but it is BY FAR the most important thing I've ever done to improve at playing guitar in 32 years! I can't put into words how valuable doing this is. And since it turns out to be so easy, I now believe if you're reading this and want to improve and don't do it, sell your guitar! This opens the door to EVERYTHING! I rip through all the natural notes at 100 BPM EASILY! I can make a couple of suggestions tho. Learn them in this order - F, A, C, E, G, B, D F#, A#, C#, D#, G#, ... Stay with one note for 4 days at a time. Start with finding F and ONLY add A in 4 days. Don't rush it (you don't need too - it works) then add C on day 8 etc. Doing it in this order (since you need one anyway) you learn the triads as you go. Next, I found it didn't translate to above the 12th fret for me so I used this format: 3 times UP from Low E to High E below the 12th, followed by... 3 times DOWN from above the 12th, then, 3 times DOWN below the 12th and, 3 times UP above the 12... (This idea ensured I wasn't picking up on a pattern and forced my brain to truly learn where the notes were above the 12.) Start again with the next note... This should be MANDATORY for all beginner guitarists. If you give this a shot, lemme know. HTH.
Hi, thanks for your comment. I'm going to try exactly this. It will be frustrating in the first week with only 2 notes to use but I'll try taking it slow
Coming back. I know all the natural notes, it’s taken a bit of time but I’m sure with some more consistency it’s going to be worth it in the long run. I’d still like to connect what I’m playing more to the notes instead of keeping it an exercise though
Thank you for your comments. Absolute beginner here and I was wondering if the fingers you use to form the notes when doing this exercise matters. I suspect some of this might turn into muscle memory so would I be forming bad habits if I say stick with the same finger each time?
@@jaytoochill_no you dont need to know any note names to improvise, you just need to be able to hear a melody in your head that fits with the music your playing to, then to be able to play that melody on your instrument.
What a great idea! Many educational videos try to show beginners the “hidden pattern “ on the fretboard, like a number theory mathematician do with their numbers. This is good for the math students. But your method takes a completely different approach, building the muscle memory of the left hand to”traverse “ on the fretboard! It’s like telling the muscles to “memorize” the path to each note on the fretboard, forget the “note distance” all together. This way the “logical mind” is bypassed. You don’t “think” of the “pattern” before you move, you just move as naturally as breathing.👏👏👏🎸🎸🎸
I've been playing the guitar for roughly over 10 years now and never bothered to master the basics. The older I got, the more I realised how badly I shot myself in the foot with that. After a short phase of regret I decided I'm going to sit my ass down and learn note placements, scales, modes, time signatures, always with a metronome, for at least an hour a day. The best part is that I know I'm gonna make more progress in half a year going forward with this than I have in the last 5 years. If you're a beginner at the guitar HEED MY WORDS: DO NOT SKIP THE BASICS. They're boring, they're tedious, and they'll ultimately enable you to shred like a God, learn songs easily, adapt and improvise, write your own songs and put all of your soul into you music.
Thank you for saying this!! I wrote several songs without knowing where basically any notes were, just how to play simple chords. Now I'm using a lull in songwriting inspiration to learn the basics. This video and these comments affirming the process are SO helpful. Cheers to shredding like a God one day lol
So it's been two years, how did it go? Don't worry, you didn't get too far ahead in just ten years. I played for 20 before I realized I'd been holding the pick wrong. Once I corrected that I just started flying, but damn what a painful mistake. When I hit another roadblock over not knowing the fretboard, I used these lessons along w/some others & had it locked down in about 3 months. Now I'm a total shred Meister using these vids to teach others. I had near perfect pitch, so it was easy to avoid learning the board. But I learn better visually, & just being able to see everything made it easy to see how it's literally all tied together, & now I'm able to mash shit up like Death metal/Nashville Jazz licks on the fly & it's so much fucking fun... but now I'm old lmao
I started to play guitar one year ago in my 43 years. I always wanted to play guitar but never got to it. I started because my 3 years old son likes rock music very much and he wants to play guitar - so I decided to learn so I could teach him later. I started with accoustic, after 6 months moved to electric, after 10 months built first electric guitar for my son (3 strings - looking like Brian Mays Red special). Now I can play many rock songs and my kids recognize what I play. I have learnt much more about music theory from youtube than during my whole previous life. Thanks for people who put work into videos and share knowledge in much simpler way than in school.
I came back to say this ABSOLUTELY works! I found this video mid-November 2020. By Thanksgiving I was ok at it, the progress was obvious. I stayed at 40 bpm for maybe 3 weeks before moving on. By mid December I was quite comfortable... But...I forgot to practice this for a bit and I caught myself saying "what note is that?" It took like 2 or 3 seconds which is too long! (Better than before, but not instant!) So, back to the exercise I went. I've been at it for 2 weeks again and I'm nearing instantaneous recall. This works 💯. Don't stop at "good enough"! It's only 5 minutes a day! Keep going until you reach perfection. It will be worth it.
Question, does this just become an indefinite part of your practice routine, or is there a point where you can just stop doing by this once you’ve gotten instantaneous recognition? Does regular practice just reinforce it enough where there’s no point in keep maintaining it through deliberate practice
Just came back here to give my thanks. This was my goal for this year. I finally finished all the exercises and I now know all the notes. Thank you sir.
I listened twice and find him very convincing. My impression is that he has given this much thought and is taking into consideration not only a method for learning the fretboard, but HOW one learns complex tasks. I've listened to dozens of "learn the notes on the fretboard" lessons over the years but none convinced me they were the most efficient way to do it. As a teacher, not only does he need to know the material but he also needs to know HOW STUDENTS LEARNS and develop exercises that are efficient and don't waste time. This method is one I'm willing to commit to. Many thanks for your effort and for sharing this.
Hi :P I wrote notes on the video: “Why?” - finding notes on the fretboard is what slows down players - It changes the way you play “Can’t I Learn my fretboard with intervals instead?” - short answer, no. - You have to learn notes on your fretboard, or you will always be limited in what you can do - Before your learn the fretboard, you don’t even realise what you are missing Good News: - It’s not as hard as you think It is easy if you are 1. Willing to practice 5min/day 2. Follow instructions in the video to the letter If it’s easy - do it anyway If it’s hard - take it slower Before you start doing these exercises, get yourself a diagram of all the notes on the fretboard. Exercise 1. Restrict ourselves frets 1-12, no open strings - pick one natural note, no sharps/flats. - Play that note on the 1st string, then the 2nd string, then the 3rd, etc IN ORDER. Do not jump strings. - play it backwards from the 6th, all the way back to the 1st. - If you can play your note up and down 3 times without making any mistakes (slowly), you are done with that note and you can move on. - it’s not important whether you are fast or not. Do what you can, at your pace. - Yes, you can have the note diagram in front of you. - DO NOT memorise, just play the notes. Your task is not to memorise the patterns (it won’t happen), your task is to play the exercise and you WILL remember where the notes are. Once you have done this for all the natural notes, move to exercise 2. 2. Metronome, 40 BPM - Play one note per beat - metronome is not optional, it drives your brain to learn the notes Once you have done this for all the natural notes, move to exercise 3. 3. Add accidentals (sharps and flats) - to find these, think of finding the natural note, move one fret up for the sharps, one fret down for the flats. - Stay at 40BPM and complete this for all the sharps and flats 4. Choose 2 notes (can be either natural or accidental, doesn’t matter.) One going up, one going down. - do the first note going up (40bpm still) and when you reach the top, do the second note going down. When this starts to feel easy, move to exercise 5. 5. Write down all natural notes in a random order. - Play them in the order, alternating from up, down, up, down, up, down, as you move throughout the order. (like previous exercise, just with more notes) - One note per beat, do not stop 6. Increase the speed for exercises 2-5 GRADUALLY - eventual goal: 80bpm. 3 reactions to the exercises: 1. Just do it (best kind of reaction) 2. Exercises “too easy”, skips 1-4 and goes straight to five. Your memory will betray you when you play in ‘real life’. Puts too much pressure on you, your brain will not learn the right way. Do them in the order. 3. “Too much work”. If this is the case then… don’t do it ;-) It is very useful to know these notes instantly, but if you don’t like these simple exercises, you don’t have to do them. You just won’t reap the full benefits. Hope this is helpful to someone :P
thanks for taking the time to writ it down ..I did put it down in paper while I was watching the video before I was reading your comment ..I think is very important ...
I’ve been playing guitar for years and never REALLY learned my fretboard. I know some tricks to figure out where notes are based on the 6th string, but this is a GREAT way to learn! You may not be a motivational speaker, but you’ve inspired me to finally quickly identify the notes!
He is indeed a motivational speaker. I am 58 years old and I still don't know how to do this and I've been playing a long time... I started yesterday with this method. It seems to be working already...
I'm currently in exercise 2 and its so crazy how now I'm able to tell the majority of the natural notes. Its magical really. And it took me a week five minutes a day. Big thank you!!
I can 100% understand without being able to explain why learning this way is 10x better than positioning, thanks again this just what I needed, the base to my structure is now complete. Soon I will have created a great rock pyramid, and I will reign as Pharoah.
Tommaso is the real deal. I’ve done his Complete Chord Mastery course and it’s fantastic. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend his course anyone serious about guitar.
This really works thanks a lot! 😊. I am at 80bpm level without any mistakes now in just 2 months with stubbornly following this procedure to the 'letter' 😄👋
You are not alone, a 100% ear guy here too! I figured you only need to learn the notes if you're gonna play with others/composing, I should have learned them decades ago; oh well, no better time than the present!
I’m really glad to see somebody on RUclips teaching music for real no arguing about theory or simple solutions on Playing guitar and learning the notes on a guitar it’s not that hard it’s learning how to read the music and making their hand and I coordination work 🎸😃👍🏼
One tip! Watch this with a guitar, and start with "A" like the example. And...Congratulations you just learnt the note of "A". That easy. Thank you teacher, I like your style a lot.
A huge tip that helps me is instead of using a diagram, use a tuner that displays the note as a letter as you practice! That way you instantly know if you got it right or not.
This guy's voice and confidence in his method is compelling. I must try this. I like him as a teacher. I am looking forward to doing this and will report back on my progress
I started this like 8 months ago, I stopped doing it at the C note. I don't remember why. But, I picked it back up tonight and within 15 minutes, I had A B &C down again! I will not quit again. It works!
The best guitar lesson I've found on RUclips so far. This is completely necessary for jamming with other people when they call out the chords and you have to improvise.
I've had this video in my Saved for Later playlist for years. Finally decided to commit to completing all steps. Currently on step two at 40 BPM. Very hard but noticing results already. Definitely going to complete and look forward to my soloing blowing up.
Well, I am done. I finished. It takes me twelve days of practice (several times some days, for 10 to 20 minutes), to be able to do all the exercises (2 to 5) at 80 bpm. I’ve thought it takes much more time. Also thought it is going to be more difficult as it results. It is not difficult at all; and it’s fun. I am not sure if I know all the notes on the freatboard, but my fingers could find them with (almost) no mistakes. I feel I need to keep practicing a bit more. Maybe I do everything a bit fast. Maybe is better to take more time. But I want to encourage other people to do it. Certainly you will be surprised.
I don't think this is something you can speed run, repetition is the key here. I already know most of the notes, so this exercise helps me to fill some gaps. There are just notes you need more often than others ^^ But you want to engrave this knowledge in the deepest layers of your brain and this process needs probably several weeks so that it can seep into the unconscious and long term memory. After that you need some repetition now and then and you'll be fine. It's not as complicated as it seems, but I know so many guitar players that have great technique and musicality but they have absolutely no clue what they are playing. Only playing from tabs can be a blessing, but in the long run it's more of a curse imho.
I am so thankful I found this video! After practicing for about 5 minutes a day, every day for 5 weeks, I can finally do exercise 5 at 80BPM! I noticed that doing this not only helped me learn the fretboard, but it actually trained my ear better to hear the notes, so thank you very much!
I'm a late starter, but have played for 15 years or so. I often over-think things, and need some focus on basics. I tried this exercise for a week and found that it really *is* transformative! Thanks man! I will expand which notes I play, and work on advancing the BPM. This one works folks! Highly recommended.
If you play by ear, this is invaluable! If you don’t play by ear, it’s still invaluable! Not only do you know where the notes are, you know HOW they sound, so tuning gets easier by ear! Brilliant!
This type of exercise is very structured and not "vague" like many on youtube: "..look for the notes on the fretboard and good luck..." ... This is very good and I had been looking for something like this for years. Congratulations and thank you.
I've been doing this every day for about 10 days now. This has already changed the way I play, for the better, more than anything else I've done in many years. Thanks!
HOLY SHIT THIS WORKED ! I’ve been playing with this for a few months…. It WORKED … … i’ve been trying to learn the notes on the fretboard for years and I just never did. I knew a lot of them but never like this …….this system actually freaking worked ! unbelievable.! !
Love the concept. Here is one idea I use to learn even more: I train the notes in the order of the circle of fiths. This way i reinforce this tool at the same time. Cool way to check the progress is mapping the circle of fifths to one string to see the progress in fretboard fluency.
The only teacher who has focussed on the learning process and mental exercise behind fretboard understanding. I owe a huge thanks to you. Your previous video helped me learn natural notes' positions up to the 12th fret. Thank you very much! :)
So, I started this and then stopped for a month. I came back to doing this practice for the past week and I will say this, IT WORKS. But I will say this as well, 5 mins minimum is good for the average player but if you want to really progress on the fret board you gotta practice for as long as you can and in between the frustration of doing this practice you HAVE to incorporate some sort of relief. Like playing a part of a song you know. If you feel like this doesn’t work do not give up❤
I do this or hanging some clothes inbetween or groceries, chores like that. i try to do exercise 3 to 6 now in 9 days before februari. we will see if I make it. I think I will get very far. I have time this week. it will be good
During the 1985-1991guitar era I learned a similar exercise from Joe Satriani. It was less detailed: simply pick a note and find that note everywhere on the fretboard USING A METRONOME at a slow B.P.M...like 40! I think it's great that you've expanded somewhat on this exercise. I use it for my own students as well and it's absolutely effective if you can follow the instructions exactly as explained in this video. I now challenge myself by choosing a chord(extended triads usually). I then move up the neck, finding every chord tone from I-XII position. Yes,there are redundancies but if I'm caught improvising over really unfamiliar/outside chord changes, I'm OK with it.
Usually I don't comment on the videos or whatever, but here I feel to do so because this method is really effective as long as we follow the steps well. After 2 weeks, I now know the location of the notes on my Guitar. I still have to play at 80 bpm . Thanks a lot
at 78 I'm 11 months into acoustic guitar....know 17 chords and strumming is fine....looking to move on and your fret board learning system is going to get me down the road....great simple video....gotta get ready for "Woodstock 2040"....of course I'll be 94 so I may not be the headliner....
Oh my gosh I'm tripping out because I practiced this like 100 times while watching some videos on note A. Then I moved on to C and somehow played all the correct notes without even looking. You are totally right, this does work and doesn't take long at all.
58 here!! Better late than never..need it now the most.. But way back, my dad gave me a Decca accoustic when I was 6, after the divorce, he knew my favorite thing was music, playing his huge record collection. It ended up smashed ans thrown in the trash, where i found it. Collateral damages... Didnt really remember that stuff when I decided to fix up a broken Stagg left behind by a roomate, broken nut, 3 strings saddle melted missing tuning pegs...lol. I had to research to even know what those parts were called, got the wrong size nut first try, put the wrong strings on first too, but eventually got the right machine head tuners good strings, tusque nut and saddle, painted it, and its cool. It occured to me I was reclaiming some things. And I just enjoy it. We are so blessed by generous artists and musicians sharing 'how to' with all levels.
Hi Tomaso, here it’s me again. I’ve seen your video about an year ago. I’ve tryied some exercises without a metronome, found them interesting but do not continued. 10 day ago I’ve seen it again. Ive read a few comments, I’ve bought a metronome and last Saturday started again. Today is a week since I started. I am not surprised, I am literally shocked about the process and the progress. I’ve played for 10 to 20 minutes each time, several times in a day ( some days only one time, but others days much more). In only one week I’ve made a huge progress; I followed step by step, and now (one week later) I’m dealing with exercise four at 80 bpm (two notes at a time, one up and one down). Some times I got success, some times I fail. That seems really amazing to me, and I want to encourage every one to give this method a try. It is not boring, it is challenging in a sort of funny way. I am not an experienced guitar player. I’ve played songs since my youth (I am sixty, now), but never learn scales or to pick notes. Only chords. An year ago I bought my first electric guitar and start to learn pentatonic and picking. I do not finish yet, (and to finish is not my goal ) but the magic begins to appear. When I am playing usual songs, I suddenly realize «oh, this is a G, and this is a B flat». I begins to understand the old chords patterns. I feel that very soon I will be able to play exercise five ( 7 random notes) at 80bpm, but also feel that I will never stop to do this exercises. Once you used to do them, they are funny and pleasant, and you can made always new combinations of notes, or you can start in a different string. I want (and need) to say thank you, very very much. You give me a very valuable present. Very soon I will follow you with your guitar method book. Best regards from Argentina.
thanks for your report on your personal experience with the exercise .I feel encouraged ..I also played guitar since my youth but never really went deep in developing my skills ..now I'm 56 and with desire to improve my playing . I watched this video for the first time tonight ..and wrote all that stuff down ..now I just need to practice ..again thanks and God bless you.
This exercise 100% WORKS! This is exactly how I learned all of the notes on guitar decades ago. It’s a time-tested method that will work if you do it 5 minutes each day. Granted I was classically trained on piano first so I know music “theory” but that doesn’t translate to guitar so learning the notes on guitar was very difficult until I used this method in 1989. So JUST DO IT... IT WILL WORK! Rock on! 🤘🏻
Excellent! I like that you bring a sense of reality to it, there are no shortcuts. Memorable quote: "I teach music theory, I am not a motivational speaker". Brilliant!
I just finished exercise number 5 with 80 BPM for the first time. I struggled with the fretboard for many years. But 5 months ago I found your exersice and been doing it ever since. It was fun to me so I did it longer then 5 minutes a day, but not every day, because there was not always the time and motivation for practice. Being able now to complete exersice number 5 with 80 BPM is a huge a accomplishment to me. Thank you very much for sharing your method! It worked for me!
You, my friend are a GENIUS! I've been doing this for ten (or so) minutes and i'm on my B's already. I still remember the A's and I'm so, so happy I have more than 5 minutes a day to do this!!
I've been playing for many years, but have never taken the time to drill like this. So, I've always struggled with "seeing" what all the notes are, I've always found them by referencing other note locations that I know, which is not ideal. I've been doing this exercise now for a couple of months, and can go through all the notes including sharps and flats. I still hit a few clams, especially if I get distracted with intruding thoughts. What I have found, though, is that sometimes I'll start to reach for an incorrect note, and my hand will correct itself without me thinking about it. That's amazing! In a week or two I'm going to start ascending and descending with different notes...I can hardly wait!
Tomasso, I've been taught this method four or five times, from several sources, and it never made as much sense as this video I really appreciate your breaking it down like this.
As a self taught guitarist these exercises are an absolute godsend, and it genuinely works. Also if anyone feels bad or slow, I spent like a week working through these before remembering that I had to descend strings as well. so. don't feel bad, you're probably faster than I was, just stick at it!
This is truly amazing. I always knew it was important to know the notes on the fretboard and was always searching some "clever" trick to memorize the notes. I've been on step #1 for about five days/15 minutes a day and I can't believe how much my knowledge has improved already. The key for me was the advice not to try and memorize the notes/patterns. This took such a load off and made it feel like play. After five days, I seem to just intuitively know where notes are. If I get stuck, I don't beat myself up over it, I just figure it out and keep going. I want to thank you for putting this out there and encourage others who are struggling just to give it a shot. It really works if you are willing to invest the time.
I don't know what kind of sorcery you've got going on here, but this routine is really working for me. I learned the low E string, and that's about it when I began playing guitar forever ago and sort of stagnated there. I was really intimidated by learning the fret board, with no idea how to do it, so I never really tried. I've been doing your thing for a week or so now and it's made a gigantic difference. I feel pretty good about all the natural notes now. I can't thank you enough because this has been a very very large step forward. Thanks!
There are some videos on how to memorize the fretboard with a few million views. But this one if by far the best method. I wonder why this doesn't have as many views. This should be the definitive fretboard memorization technique. Finally got to one Million eh? Great. 👍
This approach is working very well for me. The method is straight forward and I love that he doesn't shy away from saying there is work involved. If you follow this method to the letter, you WILL learn your fretboard. I started learning to play guitar when I was 16. I learned by ear and looking at tabs. Now, at the age of 42 I am finally committed to learning the notes I have been playing all these years and this has helped my brain map out the notes on the fretboard, unlocking new understanding and connecting dots for me. Thank you! Liked & subscribed!
This is helpful. As a pianist taking guitar more seriously these days, I have to say it is annoying to not be able to look at my instrument and instantly know what note someone is pointing at. The piano is so simple in this way, the notes might as well be written on the keys.
Yep. There is only one 11 note pattern on the piano and it is repeated every octave. I’ve been playing at the guitar for 40 years and I’m still lost when I look at the fretboard other than just box patterns because there are between 126 and 144 different note positions and the only repeated pattern is the section above the 12th fret is a repeat of the section below it. And there are multiple ways to play the same note on guitar whereas there is only one key on the piano for each note. Yet I hear guitarists claim they can’t figure out the piano keyboard. But then they probably can’t name the note names on the fretboard either.
@Jennifer Maple I thought about that, I am not sure whether it would help or hinder the progress so I decided to stick with the plan as laid out here. Also, I was not going to use sharpie, I was thinking of little stickers, sharpie can stain wood, stickers can be removed completely with a little rubbing alcohol.
@@tannertuner Yeah, I vaguely remember a time when I didn't know every note on the piano, but it was so long ago that it feels like I have always known them. I mean, I had to learn every major scale on a piano, that is a lot harder than guitar because with guitar you only need to know like 4 (or 2 really) scale 'forms' and just move them up and down the fretboard. Both instruments have their strong points and weak points. Although with major scales on piano you just need to remember wwhwwwh and apply it to a key. It's more about getting the patterns under your fingers but there are 11 patterns to remember.
@Jennifer Maple Another comment (@julesdarulesTM) compares typing on a PC keyboard to the process, the discussion points out that with practice we don't tend to think about where the next letter is, our finger is already over the letter. Since nobody has ever suggested any one learn to type on blank keyboards (TMK) but people do learn to touch type simply by not looking - I think there's a very strong argument for doing these exercises with a "stickered" fretboard. Clearly it does no harm to learning where things are on a computer keyboard and while I assume there's some hidden logic to its layout, it's not a pattern, unlike the fretboard. The more I think about it the more I suspect that the only reason this isn't utterly commonplace is that a) it isn't cool and b) it wouldn't have been practically possible historically.
@Jennifer Maple No - but the important thing is that my "fingers" (muscle memory) know where the letters are I want to type without conscious thought - which is pretty much what pianists take for granted simply by virtue of the repeating pattern. Believe me I never thought 20 years in I'd be contemplating putting stickers on my fretboard! The irony is that I've wanted to be a better guitarist for twenty years, but despite having zero interest in becoming a better typist, I have arrived at the "unconscious competence" level which can sadly not be said for my knowledge of the fretboard!
I highly recommend mixing up this practice by doing subsets of the strings, instead of only all 6 strings. For instance, you might do Only from A string to B string, or D to e. This will keep you from relying on what position came before to be able to find the note you're looking for
on my 3rd or 4th day of doing this and now when i pick a note my fingers can just move to the next note above and its so crazy. this is the most intuitive my hands have ever felt on this instrument. genuinely so happy right now :)
I started the system off of the first video about a week ago. Making progress, but it's not easy. This is the way to do it, not silly patterns or mnemonics that cause you to think and pause to find instead of instinctively knowing. Thanks, Tomasso. You do a great job!
I've been playing for over 20 years and I've known the fretboard well for a long time, but I started using this exercise to solidify that understanding even further. To take it to the next step, I've started doing all of the major/minor triads and inversions. Very quickly it is having an impact on my ability to utilize triads in my solos/improvisation.
This is amazing!! I got my electric guitar a week ago and have been struggling to find a video explaining the fretboard/notes/diagrams. The exercises is really what makes the difference, I've actually learned the notes and where they are on the fretboard. Would highly recommend to any beginners :)
I love your confidence and that’s what’s getting me to practice. I know this confidence. I play frisbee and the backhand throw is the standard and known throw when it comes to regular frisbee tosses. But. I teach people the forehand in 3 easy steps. Full stop, good grip and positioning and eye contact. If not for those simple three they wouldn’t learn but they always succeed. And this is a high level throw.
Been playing for 50+ years and still struggle finding notes all over the neck. I tried so many times to learn but seeing I can play by ear I just start riffin around and get nowhere. I think now that I am retired I AM GONNA LEARN or I justa won't a do eeeet! This guy is Great!
YO I'M SO FREAKING EXCITED TO LEARN THIS i realized recently that i've been playing ukulele/guitar for FIVE YEARS already that shoook me, esp since i could be so much better, and i know it doesn't take much at all (just consistency and consistency) to get better- i'm so thankful for this video!! the internet is fucking amazing!! YEWW can't wait to be freaking shreddinggggggg
I really needed this! I can wrap my head around the fretboard in theory but I’ve lacked the intuition and muscle memory to navigate it with fluidity. Was a bit overwhelming to try to teach myself. This helps so much!
I got my first guitar on October 2022 (Ibanez JEM) and never know how to play any guitar before. I started learning guitar in early November and just found your video when looking for fretboard notes. I am amazed how practical your lesson and not confused with mathematical Music Theory for early beginner like me. This Video already 2 years, but I really appreciate that you still answer any questions until these days. It shows that you are really care with your audience and continues help us. Therefore, I will try and applied your method in my learning study. Thank you so much, Mr. Tommaso By the way, I am at my 48 and I hope I am not too late to start learning guitar.
So I've decided to do this and for the last 3 days I've done it for 5 minutes everyday and plan to continue. Right now I suck but I am starting to see improvements. Gonna keep it up for as long as it takes and comment here in a week's time.
@@Anthony-nk4ky Thanks for asking. Pretty good actually but slow. Still I do it everyday (a migraine set me back one day so even though I did it it didn't seem to be working at all) and I'm seeing the improvements. I'm starting to recognize notes on the fretboard instantly just by sight. I can't do all 7 notes yet but A B and C are pretty good. And I only spend 5 minutes a day doing it. I'm hoping it'll be like brushing my teeth, just something I do everyday that has a long term benefit.
@@sireggreen That's an awesome idea. I think I'm going a bit slower than everyone else but I'll get there eventually. I'm only up to A B and C memorized. Still better than a week ago haha
I did exercise 1 & I think I finally got it. Just started went up and down but made a few mistakes. I feel so stupid I was focused on memorizing it when he clearly stated not to lol. You ask my brain it won't know where A is atleast not yet unless you can the open strings but it's like muscle memory kicks in I definitely could see this working.
I can’t believe how easy the concept of this is and it’s working for me! Thank you so much for this video!!! I’ve struggled with this for years and years. You are an amazing teacher!
Been working this for a couple of days, (after playing guitar for 20 odd years and knowing the fretboard, like, reasonably well). I'm loving this approach for the muscle memory its surely building. Also, love how isolating each note gives me time to consider what arpeggios you could build from each note if it were the 1, 3, 5, etc of a chord--that gets mind bending pretty quickly. Thanks Tommaso!
Honestly I tried this for 3 minutes and I have a much greater understanding of where "A" is on the fretboard, along with instantly having a better understanding of the fretboard itself. I'm not memorizing anything, yet it's still being memorized, if that makes any sense. This is going to be extremely difficult at first, since I'm just starting, but I feel that if I keep at it, I'll be better at playing guitar much faster than if I'd used the "usual" methods. And the bonus of all of this is that there are no shortcuts or gimmicks. This isn't "learn to play guitar in a week", it's just that the exercise is very efficient in training you.
If I had you as a teacher 20 years ago I would be a much better musician as opposed to just an accomplished guitarist. My worst mistake has always been jumping ahead before I was ready. Instead of this, I learned Metallica riffs. I'm definitely going to get your courses'. these days I want to be as good of a composer as I am with my guitar chops. As always, thanks so much Tommaso. You're a great instructor.
Dude I been staring at my printout of the fretboard like it was the zodiac letters for a week now. Been doing random exercises off RUclips but I see no point in most if them besides memorizing songs etc. None of them seem to bring understanding. Seems more like clickbait gimmicks. I found yours and after 5 or 10 min feeling like I was reading the matrix while playing, I know where the E key is on each string down the fretboard to fret 12. It's like magic like learning a new language. And hopefully more importantly, I can actually hear the E sound. Like I know what it sounds like and where to find it, for E. I suspect this is going to help me immensely. I know that fundamentals are the key to ALL things awesome. I fallback on them in my career in hvac, my career in photography, my drawing and painting. I am beyond impressed 👏🏻 and just wanted to give you a huge thank you. If I ever win a Grammy 🏆 I'm thanking YOU 😄
If you have any questions on the method above, I have prepared a FREE eBook + accompanying videos where I practice all the exercises on video + I lay down all the details, tips, and tricks to make your learning faster and easier. Get it here: www.musictheoryforguitar.com/guitar-notes.html
Do you need to do all 7 exercises every day or one at a time?
I love how passive aggressive you are in this video. I will follow the rules sir😥….
what is 5, 12, 7 etc? Notes? Frets?
@@yvonnecamacho7887 fret numbers
Thank you.🖖🏻
In principle it is like a computer keyboard. Nobody could write the keys down by heart in the right order, but you intuitively know where the keys you want to press are.
This is the perfect comparison lol
On landed this one right on the head
Interesting point, but very true. I can type with my eyes closed but I definitely could not write the damn thing out by memory. I know qwerty and asd. . .
Wow, that's a good comparison! I think I could write out all the letters by typing different words in my mind and by that somehow "fill the gaps" kind of. But I could never just löst them in order
And that happens with practice . No short cuts
I know you said you weren't a motivational speaker, but tI actually found the whole " if you don't wanna do it, don't do it" part super motivating
Yeah I think that's because he doesnt put pressure. I feel more motivated as long as I'm comfortable and that's what I need lol
@@braindeadstonehead9500 exactly
That's the defiant part of your brain. The screw you part lol
Don’t stless
@@mikekristin7201 I can see that 😂
“I teach music theory. I’m not a motivational speaker.” Excellent.
Thank u so much😊
Ok so i have been doing this for 5 weeks 5 days a week for about 10 mins every day . ... and it works . For those who are skeptical this is the single most thing that has improved my playing . I can now see triads allover the fret board and improvising lead guitar is a lot easier...amazing thank you.
Awesome work man, thanks for your feedback!
Can you do more than 5 min. a day? Is there more benefit the more you do?
@@Omn1c1d3 yes I guess 5 mins is minimum. I just have a routine of practicing for an hr a day with scales new chords songs I'm learning and I just slotted 10 into my hr long practice. Honest if you do this exercise and DONT skip the metronome it works. It will feel like you are not learning anything then when you are playing scales and triads or hitting chord tones , you just realise that you know what the notes are ...
Did you use the note chart or write out the tab for each note? I have done both at this point, but lately have been using the tab rather than the chart. I was curious since you’ve had success which one you did. Thx
@@mattfischer3853 I just used the note chart but I found after the first 5 days I didn't need it. I still use this in my daily practice helps get my fingers moving and brain switching on. I'm so tempted to subscribe to his modes course but it's a big monthly outlay and I'm not sure how long I would need to subscribe for..but I do like his teaching style.let people know how you get on with the fretboard Matt.
Thanks! The only thing missing is a summary of the steps. Here's my attempt:
1. Frets 1-12, no open strings. Pick 1 natural note. Play this note on each string from low to high, then from high to low. Once you can play it without mistakes 3 times then do a different note. When you have done all 7 natural notes twice go to step 2.
2. Set metronome to 40 bpm. Play 1 note per beat as in step 1. Once you can do all 7 notes without mistakes go to step 3.
3. Do the sharps & flats for all notes as in step 2.
4. Pick 2 different notes. Play the first note going up & second note going down without stopping. Once this feels easy go to step 5.
5. Arrange the 7 natural notes in a random order (e.g. D F C E A G B). Play each of these notes (with the metronome) in order moving to the next note each time you reach the last string (e.g. D up, F down, C up, etc.) without stopping. When you can do it without mistakes go to step 6.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 gradually increasing the bpm. The goal is to reach 80 bpm.
You're a god send
Thank you.
Thank you!!! Nice job 👍
Now how do I cut and paste that....!
Great have copied your summary and printed it off cheers 😊 🎸
For those wanting the steps written out, here's how I wrote them:
1) Pick a natural note, then play it on each string (down and up) on frets 1 through 12. Do this 3 times, and move to another note. Then do this for frets 12 through 20. Once you have done all the natural notes twice, go to ex #2.
2) Use a metronome at 40 BPM. Play one note per beat, and repeat ex #1.
3) Repeat ex #2, but do it for the accidentals.
4) Choose any two notes. Play UP in one note (across each of the six strings) and DOWN on the other note (without stopping). Use the metronome @ 40 BPM. When it feels easy, go to ex #5.
5) Write seven 7 notes in random order. With the metronome @ 40 BPM, play the first note going up, and the next note going down, etc. etc. for all 7 notes. (without stopping). When it feels easy, go to Ex #6
6) Repeat the exercises 2 through 5 at BPM speeds 50 / 60 / 70 / and 80. When you can do Exercise #5 at 80 BPM you are finished.
What do you mean by "then do this for frets 9 trough 20" :D
@@nikolajbertelsen848 He means when you are comfortable with finding the notes on frets 1-12 then try another block of 12 frets to help cover the whole fretboard. (ex 5-16, 7-18, 9-20 etc) Or maybe you were only joking... Now I see a smiley face at the end of your comment.
@@jamessharpe7407 I was not joking! Thank you very much :)
I think that, in exercise 1, the video said no open strings.
Thanks Tod. What fret per string are being used. The numbers denote what. If you can please explain. Thanks.
The thick accent just makes him more believable
classical guitar babeyyytt
I'm a huge Borat fan
@@giannispata931 It'sa very NICE!.
Man im so happy i aint the only one giving credit to him cause of his EPIC accent
Indeed! He's just so good and as you say the accent in his second language makes his teaching style much more creditable ...
1. Not knowing the fretboard is absolutely a roadblock to your progression as a guitarist, and 2. this may seem absurdly simple, but it definitely works. Easily this is worth more than all the scale or chord books I've bought. Do this !
That's awesome ,thank u Master.
I've played guitar here and there for about 18 years in total, and unfortunately have always skipped the basics. This little exercise has helped me so much and I've literally just now only tried it for 5 minutes. I'm extremely excited to have found this and wanted to say thank you!
You're very welcome!
Hey, what are your results now ?
Hey what are your results now?
Cmon man the whole community wants to know your results. Just tell us
Hey what r ur results?
If you’re on the fence about putting in the work for this exercise, don’t be. Do it. I was extremely skeptical at first, and often thought “hmmm I don’t know, this seems so orthogonal to my other music practice, what if it’s a waste of time?” It isn’t.
About a month now after first coming across this video, I can now do any note at 80 bpm without reference to a diagram. I’ll outline how it came about for anyone giving this a shot:
First few days were about just grokking the problem, getting any note. It was slow, it took me many seconds to find each note. I did not use a metronome.
After I could reliably find a note within 2 seconds, I could start the metronome at 40 bpm. For the next week or so, I improved my speed up to 80 bpm, using the diagram. However, at this point I couldn’t say I “knew” the fretboard. Actually, I knew the first and last string well, and could vaguely aim at the right direction to get the other strings, but that was it. I thought it was a failure and gave up for a day, but I was totally wrong! There’s just a little more to it.
To focus on randomly accessing the middle strings, I first created notecards for three skills. (1) given a string and a note name, what is the fret? (2) given a string and a fret number, what is the note name? (3) given a general region of the guitar (5 zones from head to 12th fret) and a note name, what chord shape would I use?
This got me up to being able to find a note in a couple seconds cold turkey. Close! But not quite there!
To get over the edge, I found two apps. Fret Trainer on iOS tackles skill #2. The fretboard trainer at fachords (www.fachords.com/master-guitar-fretboard-game-intro/) tackles skill #3. I still use my Flashcards or just think through skill #3.
Using these fellas I was able to get dead reckoning down to about a second. Then I went BACK to this exercise, and asked if I could do it WITHOUT the diagram. Yes, I could. I started off without a metronome, then started the metronome at 40, and moved up to 80 bpm within about a day. I couldn’t believe it.
Was it worth it? Absolutely! After learning a lot patterns, to discover that you can get lost and find your way back by seeing what roots you’re playing and knowing where the rest are... the psychological experience is like having a eureka moment every second. It’s a new exciting world when your perception of your instrument is expanded this much! I’m excited to reinforce this knowledge and connect it to the repertoire of shapes and patterns I’ve already memorized.
As for what’s next, I now have very fast recognition when I’m in the zone, but pulling back into the zone still takes a couple seconds (like booting up a laptop), so I’m thinking about exercises where you do something unrelated then suddenly name a note on the fretboard. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Thanks again for the wonderful video series, you’ve really helped a lot of people!
You the realest for this one
Learn all the triads ad inversions
Maybe work on intervals now that you have a foundation then do triads and then building 5ths 7ths and 9ths chords fallowing this method for each step. Meaning pick a note find all the intervals for each note then after you get it up to random try with chord shapes.
Then once you master that try the big one... Sheet music
Wow within a month!!!
It took me half fucking year
Yours is harder than his!!
Let's start the journey! 🔥
11.06.2021 - Starting date.
13.06.2021 - Exercise 2 done.
15.06.2021 - Exercise 3 done.
20.06.2021 - Exercise 4 done.
02.07.2021 - Exercise 5 done.
15.07.2021 - Exercise 6 begins!
It's working pretty good :3 I skipped 3-4 days but nothing bad happened. I see most of the fretboard now :)
Practice makes perfect 💫
Same bro
Lets do it
@@t-rexkalita1379 Good luck!😁
So, how's it going?
@@vukasinristanovic5940 Well, it's pretty strange I would say. When I want to play a note I can play it. Sometimes I miss. Especially on new exercises but I can't say that I really see them. I need more like to do it. But it worth it. There are places on the fretboard, where I really know and understand, could say that I see it. So I'm excited to master my fretboard)
P.S. The only thing that I'm doing differently from the video is the spent time. Sometimes it's really 5 minutes but in other days 20-30 minutes.
That's it :)
Actually, for 5th exercise I simply use website for letter letter shuffling. It's much easier)
exercise 1: natural notes up and down
exercise 2: use metronome at 40 bpm
exercise 3: add accidentals
exercise 4: 2 notes
exercise 5: 7 notes in random order
exercise 6 : increase speed exercises 2-5
My problem with this method is that after three weeks I have learned 3/4 notes on the fretboard and played them with metronome at 40 bpm I still make confusion between them and I still cannot see the notes on the fretboard clearly.
@pablonencioni527 I think method is less about *seeing* the notes clearly like a fretboard chart as much as instinctively knowing where they are. Being able to name random frets isn't particularly useful, being able to find notes when you need them is.
It's like learning to touch type. Someone proficient could easily type on a blank keyboard at blazing speeds, but if you point to a key and say "what letter is this", they'd likely still need to process for a moment based on keys they remember or their hand positioning. Because knowing what letter each key is isn't actually needed as long as you can find the right key when you need that letter.
This is learning the same way. The idea is to instinctively know where the notes are when you need them, not to be able to point to a random fret and say "that's a C#", when do you ever need to name random frets after all, but rather instinctively move your hand or finger to the right place when you *need* a C#.
@@LilBoyHexley Great visual!
@@LilBoyHexley wow, I type fast and this is a great analogy!
@@LilBoyHexley This is a good way to put it. It's a muscle memory type of memorization. You're drilling into your head a few anchored points on the fretboard and quickly referencing them, similar to how the "home" keys worked for some people (not me, I type all screwed up).
I wanted to say THANK YOU! I’ve struggled for over 20 years to see the fretboard without hesitation. I had already started doing a version of this exercise on my own but this was much more methodical and thorough. It took me about 6 weeks but now I can see the board clearly and my playing has completely transformed. I wish I had something like this when I was 15, things would have been a lot different. THANK YOU
My absolute pleasure!
Longtime noodler here. Began the process right before Christmas, currently up to 60 bpm. Doesn't feel like you're absorbing anything at first, but oh so gratifying once it starts sticking and you don't even realize it! Great exercise.
Before Christmas of 2019?
Progress update? I’m really curious !
Journey started on Dec 6th 2022. 🚀
Exercise 1: done on Dec 5
Exercise 2: done on Dec 6
Exercise 3: done on Dec 6 and 7
Exercise 4: done on Dec 7
Exercise 5: done on Dec 8
Dec 23rd: I have down most of the patterns. I know where most notes are. some are still tricky but it gets better.
January 3rd: woke up picked up the guitar immediately and was able to play all naturals at around 120 BPM. I don't "see"the fretboard but for most notes I do know what fret they are on and the pattern stuck with me. Occasionally I have to think about a spot for a note and look at the diagram. I didn't play the exercise with the accidentals though except a few times, because it confused me in the beginning..
waiting for an update after new years
Thanks for updating!
how did you finish exercise 1 on Dec 5th if you didn't start your journey until Dec 6th? 😀 (just kidding of course)
@@porkyfedwell He's got a TARDIS
@@porkyfedwell Me too I was wondering If this comment is even serious , that's unrealisticly fast , for a beginner for excercices will take at least 3 days each to perfect
I first discovered this video on Jan 11 and decided to give it a shot and I can 100% attest to it working. Not only does it work but it is BY FAR the most important thing I've ever done to improve at playing guitar in 32 years! I can't put into words how valuable doing this is. And since it turns out to be so easy, I now believe if you're reading this and want to improve and don't do it, sell your guitar!
This opens the door to EVERYTHING!
I rip through all the natural notes at 100 BPM EASILY!
I can make a couple of suggestions tho. Learn them in this order - F, A, C, E, G, B, D F#, A#, C#, D#, G#, ...
Stay with one note for 4 days at a time. Start with finding F and ONLY add A in 4 days. Don't rush it (you don't need too - it works) then add C on day 8 etc. Doing it in this order (since you need one anyway) you learn the triads as you go.
Next, I found it didn't translate to above the 12th fret for me so I used this format:
3 times UP from Low E to High E below the 12th, followed by...
3 times DOWN from above the 12th, then,
3 times DOWN below the 12th and,
3 times UP above the 12...
(This idea ensured I wasn't picking up on a pattern and forced my brain to truly learn where the notes were above the 12.)
Start again with the next note...
This should be MANDATORY for all beginner guitarists.
If you give this a shot, lemme know. HTH.
Hi, thanks for your comment. I'm going to try exactly this. It will be frustrating in the first week with only 2 notes to use but I'll try taking it slow
Coming back. I know all the natural notes, it’s taken a bit of time but I’m sure with some more consistency it’s going to be worth it in the long run. I’d still like to connect what I’m playing more to the notes instead of keeping it an exercise though
Thank you for your comments. Absolute beginner here and I was wondering if the fingers you use to form the notes when doing this exercise matters. I suspect some of this might turn into muscle memory so would I be forming bad habits if I say stick with the same finger each time?
Is this essential to being able to solo and improvise do you know? I’m about to start this because my main goal is to be able to solo and improv
@@jaytoochill_no you dont need to know any note names to improvise, you just need to be able to hear a melody in your head that fits with the music your playing to, then to be able to play that melody on your instrument.
What a great idea! Many educational videos try to show beginners the “hidden pattern “ on the fretboard, like a number theory mathematician do with their numbers. This is good for the math students. But your method takes a completely different approach, building the muscle memory of the left hand to”traverse “ on the fretboard! It’s like telling the muscles to “memorize” the path to each note on the fretboard, forget the “note distance” all together. This way the “logical mind” is bypassed. You don’t “think” of the “pattern” before you move, you just move as naturally as breathing.👏👏👏🎸🎸🎸
I've been playing the guitar for roughly over 10 years now and never bothered to master the basics. The older I got, the more I realised how badly I shot myself in the foot with that. After a short phase of regret I decided I'm going to sit my ass down and learn note placements, scales, modes, time signatures, always with a metronome, for at least an hour a day. The best part is that I know I'm gonna make more progress in half a year going forward with this than I have in the last 5 years.
If you're a beginner at the guitar HEED MY WORDS: DO NOT SKIP THE BASICS. They're boring, they're tedious, and they'll ultimately enable you to shred like a God, learn songs easily, adapt and improvise, write your own songs and put all of your soul into you music.
Thank you for saying this!! I wrote several songs without knowing where basically any notes were, just how to play simple chords. Now I'm using a lull in songwriting inspiration to learn the basics. This video and these comments affirming the process are SO helpful. Cheers to shredding like a God one day lol
So it's been two years, how did it go? Don't worry, you didn't get too far ahead in just ten years. I played for 20 before I realized I'd been holding the pick wrong. Once I corrected that I just started flying, but damn what a painful mistake. When I hit another roadblock over not knowing the fretboard, I used these lessons along w/some others & had it locked down in about 3 months. Now I'm a total shred Meister using these vids to teach others. I had near perfect pitch, so it was easy to avoid learning the board. But I learn better visually, & just being able to see everything made it easy to see how it's literally all tied together, & now I'm able to mash shit up like Death metal/Nashville Jazz licks on the fly & it's so much fucking fun... but now I'm old lmao
I started to play guitar one year ago in my 43 years. I always wanted to play guitar but never got to it. I started because my 3 years old son likes rock music very much and he wants to play guitar - so I decided to learn so I could teach him later. I started with accoustic, after 6 months moved to electric, after 10 months built first electric guitar for my son (3 strings - looking like Brian Mays Red special). Now I can play many rock songs and my kids recognize what I play. I have learnt much more about music theory from youtube than during my whole previous life. Thanks for people who put work into videos and share knowledge in much simpler way than in school.
I came back to say this ABSOLUTELY works!
I found this video mid-November 2020. By Thanksgiving I was ok at it, the progress was obvious. I stayed at 40 bpm for maybe 3 weeks before moving on.
By mid December I was quite comfortable... But...I forgot to practice this for a bit and I caught myself saying "what note is that?" It took like 2 or 3 seconds which is too long! (Better than before, but not instant!) So, back to the exercise I went.
I've been at it for 2 weeks again and I'm nearing instantaneous recall. This works 💯.
Don't stop at "good enough"! It's only 5 minutes a day! Keep going until you reach perfection. It will be worth it.
Question, does this just become an indefinite part of your practice routine, or is there a point where you can just stop doing by this once you’ve gotten instantaneous recognition? Does regular practice just reinforce it enough where there’s no point in keep maintaining it through deliberate practice
Just came back here to give my thanks. This was my goal for this year. I finally finished all the exercises and I now know all the notes. Thank you sir.
I am so happy to hear this! :)
Works. 😊
Practice makes perfect!
Do I practice all of the exercises everyday right from the beginning or start with first few exercises till I get comfortable?
@@atharvapandharpurkar1691 all the exercises one at a time
Absolutely brilliant. Thank you
Completely agree. I love the break down of these exercises! It is enough criteria for quite a few lesson sessions. ❤
I listened twice and find him very convincing. My impression is that he has given this much thought and is taking into consideration not only a method for learning the fretboard, but HOW one learns complex tasks.
I've listened to dozens of "learn the notes on the fretboard" lessons over the years but none convinced me they were the most efficient way to do it.
As a teacher, not only does he need to know the material but he also needs to know HOW STUDENTS LEARNS and develop exercises that are efficient and don't waste time.
This method is one I'm willing to commit to.
Many thanks for your effort and for sharing this.
Hi :P I wrote notes on the video:
“Why?”
- finding notes on the fretboard is what slows down players
- It changes the way you play
“Can’t I Learn my fretboard with intervals instead?”
- short answer, no.
- You have to learn notes on your fretboard, or you will always be limited in what you can do
- Before your learn the fretboard, you don’t even realise what you are missing
Good News:
- It’s not as hard as you think
It is easy if you are
1. Willing to practice 5min/day
2. Follow instructions in the video to the letter
If it’s easy - do it anyway
If it’s hard - take it slower
Before you start doing these exercises, get yourself a diagram of all the notes on the fretboard.
Exercise 1.
Restrict ourselves frets 1-12, no open strings
- pick one natural note, no sharps/flats.
- Play that note on the 1st string, then the 2nd string, then the 3rd, etc IN ORDER. Do not jump strings.
- play it backwards from the 6th, all the way back to the 1st.
- If you can play your note up and down 3 times without making any mistakes (slowly), you are done with that note and you can move on.
- it’s not important whether you are fast or not. Do what you can, at your pace.
- Yes, you can have the note diagram in front of you.
- DO NOT memorise, just play the notes. Your task is not to memorise the patterns (it won’t happen), your task is to play the exercise and you WILL remember where the notes are.
Once you have done this for all the natural notes, move to exercise 2.
2. Metronome, 40 BPM
- Play one note per beat
- metronome is not optional, it drives your brain to learn the notes
Once you have done this for all the natural notes, move to exercise 3.
3. Add accidentals (sharps and flats)
- to find these, think of finding the natural note, move one fret up for the sharps, one fret down for the flats.
- Stay at 40BPM and complete this for all the sharps and flats
4. Choose 2 notes (can be either natural or accidental, doesn’t matter.) One going up, one going down.
- do the first note going up (40bpm still) and when you reach the top, do the second note going down.
When this starts to feel easy, move to exercise 5.
5. Write down all natural notes in a random order.
- Play them in the order, alternating from up, down, up, down, up, down, as you move throughout the order. (like previous exercise, just with more notes)
- One note per beat, do not stop
6. Increase the speed for exercises 2-5 GRADUALLY
- eventual goal: 80bpm.
3 reactions to the exercises:
1. Just do it (best kind of reaction)
2. Exercises “too easy”, skips 1-4 and goes straight to five. Your memory will betray you when you play in ‘real life’. Puts too much pressure on you, your brain will not learn the right way. Do them in the order.
3. “Too much work”. If this is the case then… don’t do it ;-) It is very useful to know these notes instantly, but if you don’t like these simple exercises, you don’t have to do them. You just won’t reap the full benefits.
Hope this is helpful to someone :P
thanks for taking the time to writ it down ..I did put it down in paper while I was watching the video before I was reading your comment ..I think is very important ...
I’ve been playing guitar for years and never REALLY learned my fretboard. I know some tricks to figure out where notes are based on the 6th string, but this is a GREAT way to learn! You may not be a motivational speaker, but you’ve inspired me to finally quickly identify the notes!
He is indeed a motivational speaker. I am 58 years old and I still don't know how to do this and I've been playing a long time... I started yesterday with this method. It seems to be working already...
Motivational speaker for those with a short attention span:
“Just do it if you want to or don’t do it if you don’t want to”
Love it!!!
I'm currently in exercise 2 and its so crazy how now I'm able to tell the majority of the natural notes. Its magical really. And it took me a week five minutes a day. Big thank you!!
I can 100% understand without being able to explain why learning this way is 10x better than positioning, thanks again this just what I needed, the base to my structure is now complete. Soon I will have created a great rock pyramid, and I will reign as Pharoah.
All hail the mighty Pharoah
This coment is fucking hilarious 😂
Tommaso is the real deal. I’ve done his Complete Chord Mastery course and it’s fantastic. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend his course anyone serious about guitar.
Edmonton is so incredibly fortunate to have this gifted teacher in our small community.
This really works thanks a lot! 😊.
I am at 80bpm level without any mistakes now in just 2 months with stubbornly following this procedure to the 'letter' 😄👋
hows it going now lol
I DID THIS! I did it. I used this exercise and it worked brilliantly for my ADHD brain. Much love, Maestro.
I've been playing for 45 years and don't know the note's. I am excited about this. I'm in.
You are not alone, a 100% ear guy here too! I figured you only need to learn the notes if you're gonna play with others/composing, I should have learned them decades ago; oh well, no better time than the present!
This works! I’ve tried most of the RUclips tricks I could find, and while each adds a bit to your knowledge, this method really works.
I’m really glad to see somebody on RUclips teaching music for real no arguing about theory or simple solutions on
Playing guitar and learning the notes on a guitar it’s not that hard it’s learning how to read the music and making their hand and I coordination work 🎸😃👍🏼
One tip! Watch this with a guitar, and start with "A" like the example. And...Congratulations you just learnt the note of "A". That easy. Thank you teacher, I like your style a lot.
We need more teachers like this. So real, frank, and funny! Adding this to my guitar practice, thank you.
A huge tip that helps me is instead of using a diagram, use a tuner that displays the note as a letter as you practice! That way you instantly know if you got it right or not.
or you could use your ears too.. i mean, you are playing the same note anyways.
it should be pretty damn obvious if you play the wrong note lol
This guy's voice and confidence in his method is compelling. I must try this. I like him as a teacher. I am looking forward to doing this and will report back on my progress
I started this like 8 months ago, I stopped doing it at the C note. I don't remember why. But, I picked it back up tonight and within 15 minutes, I had A B &C down again! I will not quit again. It works!
I followed the instructions and now i memorized all the notes on my fretboard. Thank you MusicTheoryForGuitar i'm enjoying my instrument even more now
I'm VERY glad to hear this :)
The best guitar lesson I've found on RUclips so far. This is completely necessary for jamming with other people when they call out the chords and you have to improvise.
I've had this video in my Saved for Later playlist for years. Finally decided to commit to completing all steps. Currently on step two at 40 BPM. Very hard but noticing results already. Definitely going to complete and look forward to my soloing blowing up.
Well, I am done. I finished. It takes me twelve days of practice (several times some days, for 10 to 20 minutes), to be able to do all the exercises (2 to 5) at 80 bpm. I’ve thought it takes much more time. Also thought it is going to be more difficult as it results. It is not difficult at all; and it’s fun.
I am not sure if I know all the notes on the freatboard, but my fingers could find them with (almost) no mistakes. I feel I need to keep practicing a bit more. Maybe I do everything a bit fast. Maybe is better to take more time. But I want to encourage other people to do it. Certainly you will be surprised.
I don't think this is something you can speed run, repetition is the key here. I already know most of the notes, so this exercise helps me to fill some gaps. There are just notes you need more often than others ^^ But you want to engrave this knowledge in the deepest layers of your brain and this process needs probably several weeks so that it can seep into the unconscious and long term memory. After that you need some repetition now and then and you'll be fine. It's not as complicated as it seems, but I know so many guitar players that have great technique and musicality but they have absolutely no clue what they are playing. Only playing from tabs can be a blessing, but in the long run it's more of a curse imho.
I am so thankful I found this video! After practicing for about 5 minutes a day, every day for 5 weeks, I can finally do exercise 5 at 80BPM! I noticed that doing this not only helped me learn the fretboard, but it actually trained my ear better to hear the notes, so thank you very much!
I'm a late starter, but have played for 15 years or so. I often over-think things, and need some focus on basics. I tried this exercise for a week and found that it really *is* transformative! Thanks man! I will expand which notes I play, and work on advancing the BPM. This one works folks! Highly recommended.
If you play by ear, this is invaluable! If you don’t play by ear, it’s still invaluable! Not only do you know where the notes are, you know HOW they sound, so tuning gets easier by ear! Brilliant!
I lost this video after giving up and found it after alot of searching.
The explanation is perfect
This type of exercise is very structured and not "vague" like many on youtube: "..look for the notes on the fretboard and good luck..." ... This is very good and I had been looking for something like this for years. Congratulations and thank you.
I've been doing this every day for about 10 days now. This has already changed the way I play, for the better, more than anything else I've done in many years. Thanks!
I recently lost a beloved teacher. Your style of teaching is skilled like hers. Thank you
I am very sorry for your loss.
HOLY SHIT THIS WORKED ! I’ve been playing with this for a few months…. It WORKED … … i’ve been trying to learn the notes on the fretboard for years and I just never did. I knew a lot of them but never like this …….this system actually freaking worked ! unbelievable.! !
Are you doing it without looking at the fretboard?
Love the concept. Here is one idea I use to learn even more: I train the notes in the order of the circle of fiths. This way i reinforce this tool at the same time. Cool way to check the progress is mapping the circle of fifths to one string to see the progress in fretboard fluency.
great idea thanks
The only teacher who has focussed on the learning process and mental exercise behind fretboard understanding. I owe a huge thanks to you. Your previous video helped me learn natural notes' positions up to the 12th fret. Thank you very much! :)
So, I started this and then stopped for a month. I came back to doing this practice for the past week and I will say this, IT WORKS. But I will say this as well, 5 mins minimum is good for the average player but if you want to really progress on the fret board you gotta practice for as long as you can and in between the frustration of doing this practice you HAVE to incorporate some sort of relief. Like playing a part of a song you know. If you feel like this doesn’t work do not give up❤
I do this or hanging some clothes inbetween or groceries, chores like that. i try to do exercise 3 to 6 now in 9 days before februari. we will see if I make it. I think I will get very far. I have time this week. it will be good
During the 1985-1991guitar era I learned a similar exercise from Joe Satriani. It was less detailed: simply pick a note and find that note everywhere on the fretboard USING A METRONOME at a slow B.P.M...like 40!
I think it's great that you've expanded somewhat on this exercise. I use it for my own students as well and it's absolutely effective if you can follow the instructions exactly as explained in this video.
I now challenge myself by choosing a chord(extended triads usually). I then move up the neck, finding every chord tone from I-XII position. Yes,there are redundancies but if I'm caught improvising over really unfamiliar/outside chord changes, I'm OK with it.
Usually I don't comment on the videos or whatever, but here I feel to do so because this method is really effective as long as we follow the steps well. After 2 weeks, I now know the location of the notes on my Guitar. I still have to play at 80 bpm .
Thanks a lot
at 78 I'm 11 months into acoustic guitar....know 17 chords and strumming is fine....looking to move on and your fret board learning system is going to get me down the road....great simple video....gotta get ready for "Woodstock 2040"....of course I'll be 94 so I may not be the headliner....
Oh my gosh I'm tripping out because I practiced this like 100 times while watching some videos on note A. Then I moved on to C and somehow played all the correct notes without even looking. You are totally right, this does work and doesn't take long at all.
Any updates ?
I wish I had started learning this at 12 Instead of 32. But better late then never.
I am in the EXACT SAME BOAT! same age and everything hahahah, Im so happy i started tho!
Haha me too. 31!
I wish I'd learnt this at 32, instead of at 43. But . . .
58 here!! Better late than never..need it now the most.. But way back, my dad gave me a Decca accoustic when I was 6, after the divorce, he knew my favorite thing was music, playing his huge record collection. It ended up smashed ans thrown in the trash, where i found it. Collateral damages... Didnt really remember that stuff when I decided to fix up a broken Stagg left behind by a roomate, broken nut, 3 strings saddle melted missing tuning pegs...lol. I had to research to even know what those parts were called, got the wrong size nut first try, put the wrong strings on first too, but eventually got the right machine head tuners good strings, tusque nut and saddle, painted it, and its cool. It occured to me I was reclaiming some things. And I just enjoy it. We are so blessed by generous artists and musicians sharing 'how to' with all levels.
40 here. I feel motivated!
Hi Tomaso, here it’s me again. I’ve seen your video about an year ago. I’ve tryied some exercises without a metronome, found them interesting but do not continued. 10 day ago I’ve seen it again. Ive read a few comments, I’ve bought a metronome and last Saturday started again. Today is a week since I started. I am not surprised, I am literally shocked about the process and the progress. I’ve played for 10 to 20 minutes each time, several times in a day ( some days only one time, but others days much more). In only one week I’ve made a huge progress; I followed step by step, and now (one week later) I’m dealing with exercise four at 80 bpm (two notes at a time, one up and one down). Some times I got success, some times I fail. That seems really amazing to me, and I want to encourage every one to give this method a try. It is not boring, it is challenging in a sort of funny way.
I am not an experienced guitar player. I’ve played songs since my youth (I am sixty, now), but never learn scales or to pick notes. Only chords. An year ago I bought my first electric guitar and start to learn pentatonic and picking.
I do not finish yet, (and to finish is not my goal ) but the magic begins to appear. When I am playing usual songs, I suddenly realize «oh, this is a G, and this is a B flat». I begins to understand the old chords patterns. I feel that very soon I will be able to play exercise five ( 7 random notes) at 80bpm, but also feel that I will never stop to do this exercises. Once you used to do them, they are funny and pleasant, and you can made always new combinations of notes, or you can start in a different string.
I want (and need) to say thank you, very very much. You give me a very valuable present.
Very soon I will follow you with your guitar method book. Best regards from Argentina.
thanks for your report on your personal experience with the exercise .I feel encouraged ..I also played guitar since my youth but never really went deep in developing my skills ..now I'm 56 and with desire to improve my playing . I watched this video for the first time tonight ..and wrote all that stuff down ..now I just need to practice ..again thanks and God bless you.
This exercise 100% WORKS! This is exactly how I learned all of the notes on guitar decades ago. It’s a time-tested method that will work if you do it 5 minutes each day. Granted I was classically trained on piano first so I know music “theory” but that doesn’t translate to guitar so learning the notes on guitar was very difficult until I used this method in 1989. So JUST DO IT... IT WILL WORK! Rock on! 🤘🏻
Excellent! I like that you bring a sense of reality to it, there are no shortcuts. Memorable quote: "I teach music theory, I am not a motivational speaker". Brilliant!
I just finished exercise number 5 with 80 BPM for the first time. I struggled with the fretboard for many years. But 5 months ago I found your exersice and been doing it ever since. It was fun to me so I did it longer then 5 minutes a day, but not every day, because there was not always the time and motivation for practice. Being able now to complete exersice number 5 with 80 BPM is a huge a accomplishment to me. Thank you very much for sharing your method! It worked for me!
I'm doing these exercises and they work. It is a ground breaking way of learning the fretboard. Thank you for explaining this.
You, my friend are a GENIUS!
I've been doing this for ten (or so) minutes and i'm on my B's already.
I still remember the A's and I'm so, so happy I have more than 5 minutes a day to do this!!
I've been playing for many years, but have never taken the time to drill like this. So, I've always struggled with "seeing" what all the notes are, I've always found them by referencing other note locations that I know, which is not ideal. I've been doing this exercise now for a couple of months, and can go through all the notes including sharps and flats. I still hit a few clams, especially if I get distracted with intruding thoughts. What I have found, though, is that sometimes I'll start to reach for an incorrect note, and my hand will correct itself without me thinking about it. That's amazing! In a week or two I'm going to start ascending and descending with different notes...I can hardly wait!
Only a Genius can simplify complicated things...
You are such a wonderful teacher
Awesome!!!!
Tomasso, I've been taught this method four or five times, from several sources, and it never made as much sense as this video I really appreciate your breaking it down like this.
As a self taught guitarist these exercises are an absolute godsend, and it genuinely works. Also if anyone feels bad or slow, I spent like a week working through these before remembering that I had to descend strings as well. so. don't feel bad, you're probably faster than I was, just stick at it!
I always appreciate anyone that says "no shortcuts." While "work smart not hard" can be good advice, quick fixes are usually garbage.
What’s this? A video that came out just when I purchased a guitar? Perfect timing for me
This is truly amazing. I always knew it was important to know the notes on the fretboard and was always searching some "clever" trick to memorize the notes. I've been on step #1 for about five days/15 minutes a day and I can't believe how much my knowledge has improved already. The key for me was the advice not to try and memorize the notes/patterns. This took such a load off and made it feel like play. After five days, I seem to just intuitively know where notes are. If I get stuck, I don't beat myself up over it, I just figure it out and keep going.
I want to thank you for putting this out there and encourage others who are struggling just to give it a shot. It really works if you are willing to invest the time.
Dude I picked up a guitar a month ago and I’m never turning back, you’re such an amazing teacher, thanks for everything now and in the future!
I've been playing for more than 40 years, but part of me is jealous of all the discoveries you're about to make. Have fun!
Just started playing guitar today for the first time and got the A note really quick with this exercise, thanks for the clear explanation.
I don't know what kind of sorcery you've got going on here, but this routine is really working for me. I learned the low E string, and that's about it when I began playing guitar forever ago and sort of stagnated there. I was really intimidated by learning the fret board, with no idea how to do it, so I never really tried. I've been doing your thing for a week or so now and it's made a gigantic difference. I feel pretty good about all the natural notes now. I can't thank you enough because this has been a very very large step forward. Thanks!
That's great to hear!
I NEEDED THIS SO BADLY!! been playing for 20 years and never mastered this. I will begin practice exactly this way from now on! THANK YOU
There are some videos on how to memorize the fretboard with a few million views. But this one if by far the best method. I wonder why this doesn't have as many views. This should be the definitive fretboard memorization technique.
Finally got to one Million eh? Great. 👍
It’s because it’s fairly new
This approach is working very well for me. The method is straight forward and I love that he doesn't shy away from saying there is work involved. If you follow this method to the letter, you WILL learn your fretboard. I started learning to play guitar when I was 16. I learned by ear and looking at tabs. Now, at the age of 42 I am finally committed to learning the notes I have been playing all these years and this has helped my brain map out the notes on the fretboard, unlocking new understanding and connecting dots for me. Thank you! Liked & subscribed!
This is helpful. As a pianist taking guitar more seriously these days, I have to say it is annoying to not be able to look at my instrument and instantly know what note someone is pointing at. The piano is so simple in this way, the notes might as well be written on the keys.
Yep. There is only one 11 note pattern on the piano and it is repeated every octave. I’ve been playing at the guitar for 40 years and I’m still lost when I look at the fretboard other than just box patterns because there are between 126 and 144 different note positions and the only repeated pattern is the section above the 12th fret is a repeat of the section below it. And there are multiple ways to play the same note on guitar whereas there is only one key on the piano for each note.
Yet I hear guitarists claim they can’t figure out the piano keyboard. But then they probably can’t name the note names on the fretboard either.
@Jennifer Maple I thought about that, I am not sure whether it would help or hinder the progress so I decided to stick with the plan as laid out here. Also, I was not going to use sharpie, I was thinking of little stickers, sharpie can stain wood, stickers can be removed completely with a little rubbing alcohol.
@@tannertuner Yeah, I vaguely remember a time when I didn't know every note on the piano, but it was so long ago that it feels like I have always known them. I mean, I had to learn every major scale on a piano, that is a lot harder than guitar because with guitar you only need to know like 4 (or 2 really) scale 'forms' and just move them up and down the fretboard. Both instruments have their strong points and weak points.
Although with major scales on piano you just need to remember wwhwwwh and apply it to a key. It's more about getting the patterns under your fingers but there are 11 patterns to remember.
@Jennifer Maple Another comment (@julesdarulesTM) compares typing on a PC keyboard to the process, the discussion points out that with practice we don't tend to think about where the next letter is, our finger is already over the letter. Since nobody has ever suggested any one learn to type on blank keyboards (TMK) but people do learn to touch type simply by not looking - I think there's a very strong argument for doing these exercises with a "stickered" fretboard. Clearly it does no harm to learning where things are on a computer keyboard and while I assume there's some hidden logic to its layout, it's not a pattern, unlike the fretboard.
The more I think about it the more I suspect that the only reason this isn't utterly commonplace is that a) it isn't cool and b) it wouldn't have been practically possible historically.
@Jennifer Maple No - but the important thing is that my "fingers" (muscle memory) know where the letters are I want to type without conscious thought - which is pretty much what pianists take for granted simply by virtue of the repeating pattern. Believe me I never thought 20 years in I'd be contemplating putting stickers on my fretboard! The irony is that I've wanted to be a better guitarist for twenty years, but despite having zero interest in becoming a better typist, I have arrived at the "unconscious competence" level which can sadly not be said for my knowledge of the fretboard!
I highly recommend mixing up this practice by doing subsets of the strings, instead of only all 6 strings. For instance, you might do Only from A string to B string, or D to e. This will keep you from relying on what position came before to be able to find the note you're looking for
Good idea!
Fantastic idea! Thank you. 🍻
@@tommyabernathy9880I'm going to try that tonight!! Thanks!!
on my 3rd or 4th day of doing this and now when i pick a note my fingers can just move to the next note above and its so crazy. this is the most intuitive my hands have ever felt on this instrument. genuinely so happy right now :)
I started the system off of the first video about a week ago. Making progress, but it's not easy. This is the way to do it, not silly patterns or mnemonics that cause you to think and pause to find instead of instinctively knowing. Thanks, Tomasso. You do a great job!
I've been playing for over 20 years and I've known the fretboard well for a long time, but I started using this exercise to solidify that understanding even further. To take it to the next step, I've started doing all of the major/minor triads and inversions. Very quickly it is having an impact on my ability to utilize triads in my solos/improvisation.
This is amazing!! I got my electric guitar a week ago and have been struggling to find a video explaining the fretboard/notes/diagrams. The exercises is really what makes the difference, I've actually learned the notes and where they are on the fretboard. Would highly recommend to any beginners :)
I love your confidence and that’s what’s getting me to practice. I know this confidence. I play frisbee and the backhand throw is the standard and known throw when it comes to regular frisbee tosses. But. I teach people the forehand in 3 easy steps. Full stop, good grip and positioning and eye contact. If not for those simple three they wouldn’t learn but they always succeed. And this is a high level throw.
Been playing for 50+ years and still struggle finding notes all over the neck. I tried so many times to learn but seeing I can play by ear I just start riffin around and get nowhere. I think now that I am retired I AM GONNA LEARN or I justa won't a do eeeet! This guy is Great!
been playing guitar for almost 20 years and this is the best thing ever, maybe finally time to upgrade my skills
YO I'M SO FREAKING EXCITED TO LEARN THIS
i realized recently that i've been playing ukulele/guitar for FIVE YEARS already
that shoook me, esp since i could be so much better, and i know it doesn't take much at all (just consistency and consistency) to get better- i'm so thankful for this video!! the internet is fucking amazing!!
YEWW can't wait to be freaking shreddinggggggg
I really needed this! I can wrap my head around the fretboard in theory but I’ve lacked the intuition and muscle memory to navigate it with fluidity. Was a bit overwhelming to try to teach myself. This helps so much!
I got my first guitar on October 2022 (Ibanez JEM) and never know how to play any guitar before. I started learning guitar in early November and just found your video when looking for fretboard notes. I am amazed how practical your lesson and not confused with mathematical Music Theory for early beginner like me.
This Video already 2 years, but I really appreciate that you still answer any questions until these days. It shows that you are really care with your audience and continues help us.
Therefore, I will try and applied your method in my learning study.
Thank you so much, Mr. Tommaso
By the way, I am at my 48 and I hope I am not too late to start learning guitar.
It's not too late at all! :-) Have fun with your guitar!
So I've decided to do this and for the last 3 days I've done it for 5 minutes everyday and plan to continue. Right now I suck but I am starting to see improvements. Gonna keep it up for as long as it takes and comment here in a week's time.
@@sireggreen Started 3 weeks ago and just advanced from 40bpm to 50bpm. I think I spent much more than the 5 minutes a day though.
It's been a week man, how's it coming?
@@Anthony-nk4ky Thanks for asking. Pretty good actually but slow. Still I do it everyday (a migraine set me back one day so even though I did it it didn't seem to be working at all) and I'm seeing the improvements. I'm starting to recognize notes on the fretboard instantly just by sight. I can't do all 7 notes yet but A B and C are pretty good.
And I only spend 5 minutes a day doing it. I'm hoping it'll be like brushing my teeth, just something I do everyday that has a long term benefit.
@@sireggreen That's an awesome idea. I think I'm going a bit slower than everyone else but I'll get there eventually. I'm only up to A B and C memorized. Still better than a week ago haha
@@adamradzimowski6740 That's awesome man. I hope to be where you are in a few weeks or months. Haha
I’ve just carved out an extra 5 minutes of my day to start practicing these. Very excited.
I did exercise 1 & I think I finally got it. Just started went up and down but made a few mistakes. I feel so stupid I was focused on memorizing it when he clearly stated not to lol. You ask my brain it won't know where A is atleast not yet unless you can the open strings but it's like muscle memory kicks in I definitely could see this working.
I can’t believe how easy the concept of this is and it’s working for me! Thank you so much for this video!!! I’ve struggled with this for years and years. You are an amazing teacher!
The simplicity and effectiveness of these excercises is mind-blowingly good!!
Been working this for a couple of days, (after playing guitar for 20 odd years and knowing the fretboard, like, reasonably well). I'm loving this approach for the muscle memory its surely building. Also, love how isolating each note gives me time to consider what arpeggios you could build from each note if it were the 1, 3, 5, etc of a chord--that gets mind bending pretty quickly. Thanks Tommaso!
My Brother , i dont know how to thank you for this , Please accept my humble gratitude !!
Honestly I tried this for 3 minutes and I have a much greater understanding of where "A" is on the fretboard, along with instantly having a better understanding of the fretboard itself. I'm not memorizing anything, yet it's still being memorized, if that makes any sense. This is going to be extremely difficult at first, since I'm just starting, but I feel that if I keep at it, I'll be better at playing guitar much faster than if I'd used the "usual" methods. And the bonus of all of this is that there are no shortcuts or gimmicks. This isn't "learn to play guitar in a week", it's just that the exercise is very efficient in training you.
If I had you as a teacher 20 years ago I would be a much better musician as opposed to just an accomplished guitarist.
My worst mistake has always been jumping ahead before I was ready. Instead of this, I learned Metallica riffs.
I'm definitely going to get your courses'. these days I want to be as good of a composer as I am with my guitar chops.
As always, thanks so much Tommaso. You're a great instructor.
It's worthwhile. I will try it.
Story of my life, bro!!
@@ChristianVirial Yeah same here! I'm on my 2nd week of practice now.
Dude I been staring at my printout of the fretboard like it was the zodiac letters for a week now. Been doing random exercises off RUclips but I see no point in most if them besides memorizing songs etc. None of them seem to bring understanding.
Seems more like clickbait gimmicks.
I found yours and after 5 or 10 min feeling like I was reading the matrix while playing, I know where the E key is on each string down the fretboard to fret 12.
It's like magic like learning a new language. And hopefully more importantly, I can actually hear the E sound. Like I know what it sounds like and where to find it, for E.
I suspect this is going to help me immensely. I know that fundamentals are the key to ALL things awesome. I fallback on them in my career in hvac, my career in photography, my drawing and painting.
I am beyond impressed 👏🏻 and just wanted to give you a huge thank you. If I ever win a Grammy 🏆 I'm thanking YOU 😄
That's great :)