A way to learn the fretboard

[kfowler8]

I was browsing around YouTube today and came across some methods for learning the fretboard. The thing that stuck out to me was how complicated they're making it.

I know there's many ways to learn all the notes but I wanted to share a way that I found easy and helpful.

To me it's easiest to learn all the notes based on playing barre chords. Most people can tell you instantly what the note is on the 5th fret low E string since playing an A chord here is pretty common. That goes for any of the notes on the low E.

Generally you can do the same for the A string. The A barre chord is used about as much as the E barre chord. So if I want to play a D major chord I know the 5th fret of the A string is going to be a D note.

So to summarize this part, an easy way to learn the notes on the low E and A string is by practicing barre chords. So that's two strings out of the way. Add in the high E string being the same as the low E and you've got 3 strings out of the way.

Now here's where I think most people stop and get lost. A lot of people find learning the notes for the D, G, and B strings to be daunting. The thing is if you know the notes on the E and A strings, it's very easy to figure out the notes on the D and G string.

Let's take the D string first. The note on the D string is always going to be two frets down and two strings below the note on the E string. For clarity, when I say "down" I mean toward the body of the guitar. For instance the G note on the the 3rd fret E string is also a G note on the 5th fret of the D string. Two frets and two strings apart. Think about the traditional E barre chord like this:

Where your pinky is (#4) is always going to be the same note as your root note (R) on the low E. It works the same all down the fretboard. So that's the D string out of the way.

Well the same is true for the G string. The note on the G string is always going to be two frets down and two strings below the note on the A string. Starting to see a pattern? Just like the E barre chord, it's the same using an A barre chord like this:

That note on the G string (middle note using the 3rd finger) is always the same as the root note (R) on the A string.

So now we're quickly able to figure out the notes on five of the six strings. So what about the B string? The B string is the only one that's different but not by much. You essentially use the same pattern as above but instead of going two frets down, you go three. So the note on the B string is always going to be three frets down and two strings below the note on the D string.

Now there's a little bit of a problem in that we have to already know the notes on the D string and this is one of the strings people often struggle with memorizing.

You can attack it in two ways. One way would be to use the method above that you used to determine the notes on the D string. Or you can think of the B string note as five frets down and 4 strings below the note on the E string. I personally think this method is a little too messy though.

Personally I like using the D barre chord like this: (The power chord version of this is a great rock chord BTW. Just drop the finger on the high E string. One of my favorites.)

Since the root note of the chord is on the D string, it's a great way to learn the notes on the D string. Plus note on the G string (#4) is a always going to be the same note as the root.

So hopefully that all makes sense. If you take your fretboard and stare at it for a minute, I think you'll start to see the pattern.

 

[WholeLottaIzzy]

I never tried learning it. It just came from playing loads. I'm good at seeing and transferring patterns. Learn the root notes of your bar chords, then use octave chords for the rest, easy.

 

[DanL]

I used to use a similar method to explain it to students. First I'd make them get comfortable with the circle of 4ths/5ths and then you only need to know the notes on either E string. If you're on the bass E going down, it's a 4th, if you're on the high string coming up its a 5th. Once they get that down, just remember to account for the one less/extra fret when jumping from B string to G string or vise versa.

Some hated me for trying to throw a tiny bit of theory in there, but their creativity thanked me later.

 

[kfowler8]

Some hated me for trying to throw a tiny bit of theory in there, but their creativity thanked me later.

I don't get that attitude by students. I don't know if it comes from their favorite guitar hero saying they never learned any theory. It can only help.

I recently taught a friend who's a professional singer/guitar player how to easily know how many sharps and flats were in a key. He thought it was the greatest thing in the world. The basics really do come in handy.