10 steps fretboard(1)

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    10 Steps to Learn the Guitar Fretboardfor total beginners

    It goes without saying that once you learn the guitar fretboard, life as a guitarist will

    be easier in every way.

    Yet, most guitarists never really learn the damn thing. Whether out of laziness or lack of

    system, and with a heck of a lot of excuses to back them up, they just never get down to

    it.

    This getting-started guide will help you lay a strong foundation. Once you go through it

    thoroughly you will be miles ahead of most...

    There is a lot to say about the fretboard. Truly mastering it is no mean feat. But you will

    never do it if you don't start with a system that makes sense. These 10 basic steps tolearn the guitar fretboard will change your status from total beginner to beginner-with-a-

    future in just a few days.

    Before we jump into it...

    If you're starting to play guitar, then you have an awesome opportunity before you: to

    start out the right way, from the beginning. Is you do this, you will save yourself years

    trying to correct bad habits. If you start out in the right direction, you will learn very

    quickly! But the greatest advantage you have right now is that you don't think you know

    everything: you dont think you have nothing to learn...

    Its also a risky moment, because there is lots and lots of information on playing guitar

    out thereway too much, actually. Sadly, most of it is of questionable quality, at best. It's

    very easy getting lost in that jungle, and ending up starting in a way that may not be

    very efficient. Its easy to fall for a learn quick pitch that leads to a dead end.

    This could later cost you painful years correcting ingrained habits... habits regarding how

    you understand music, and music through the guitar; muscular habits, hearing habits,

    musical thought habits... (yes, you do have to think in order to be a musician!).

    So it's very important to do things right from the very start!You don't have any time to

    lose, and you cant really start from scratch more than once, can you?

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    3 key points

    One thing needs to be clear from the start: when learning to play guitar or any other

    instrument you need to divide your study time between three very distinct, though

    interconnected aspects of your project:

    These points are arranged in order of importance: 1 determines 2 and 2 determines 3; yet,

    in practice, it's best to work in an integrative way. Otherwise the learning process

    becomes either too practice-focused, with little understanding, or too abstract. If you find

    the right balance, you will save yourself years, and enjoy yourself while youre at it!!!

    The main focus of both Fretboard Essentialsand this getting-started guide is point 1: ifyou have a solid basic understanding of music theory as it applies to the fretboard, all

    the rest will fall neatly into place when it comes time to work on it.

    1. KNOWING THE INSTRUMENT AND ITS POSSIBILITIES

    the fretboard is the same regardless of style, right?

    2. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF TECHNIQUE

    what's the most efficient way of interacting with the guitar?

    3. STYLE SPECIFICS

    what style do I want to play, and how does that relate to the first two

    points? What about style-specific techniques?

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    6 strategies

    Yes, learning the fretboard is hard.No serious guitar player I know hasever said otherwise. But dont makeit harder than it has to be by just

    ignoring it.

    This is what most do: theycompletely ignore the principlesthat underly fretboard layout,focusing only on fingeringpatterns.

    1. Know thy enemy

    Ok, it may be a little far-fetched to call the fretboard an enemy. But you get the point.

    The better you understand the fretboard, the better armed you will be. As a musician.

    So dont be lazy about it!

    2. Break it down

    Learning the fretboard is a huge, potentially daunting project. Break it down into bite-sized morsels, to the point at which you are in full control of whatever it is youre doing.Then add one more layer. Rinse and repeat.

    3. Learn the rules of the game

    The fretboard is not infinite. It is a grid, just like a chessboard, with well defined rules.Paradoxically, the best way to find freedom, on the fretboard, is to learn all the rules ofthe game.You can only break or bend a rule once you know it!

    4. The smart route

    Most people attempt the short route: learn a few scales and patterns.

    Some attempt the long route: learn all the scales and patterns (as if that were evenpossible).

    Few undertake the smartroute: understand the rules of the game. 5. Its not the notes, its what you can do with them

    Knowing the names of the notes on every fret and every string is useless. Its what youcan do with those notes that counts. For that you need to understand the relationshipsbetween those notes.

    1. Know thy enemy

    2. Break it down

    3. Learn the rules of the game

    4. The smart route

    5. Its not the notes, its what you can do with them

    6. Get out of the forest

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    6. Get out of the forest

    If youre in the forest, all the trees will look the same to you. Try walking around a bit,and youre likely to get lost. But if youre out of the forest for long enough, looking atit from a mountain top, you will get to see its over-all layout.

    What the hell have trees got to do with the guitar fretboard, you ask?

    If you are working out your favorite song by ear, reading tab, chord diagrams, or evensheet music,you will get lost because all the frets look just the same.

    The guitar is not like the piano where you have white and black keys. Maybe that wouldhelp, but this is not the point.

    The point is that before you plunge into all the details, it is wise to take an overview ofthe terrain. Think reconnaissance. Think cartography... Haphazard exploration may befun, and that is the way we all get started. But it is not likely to lead too far.

    You have to think about notes, not just frets, simply because frets are all the same!!!Notes, however, have very special relationships to one another. If you understand those,you will be in a much better position when it comes to "navigating" around thefretboard.

    So stop looking at your chord charts, scale diagrams, tabs, staves, or whatever it is for asecond. Ok, maybe you need a few hours, or months, or years... Take some time toreflect on notes, their relationshipsto one another, and how these are reflected onthe fretboard.

    If you do that, I guarantee you will start spotting patterns. You will start to seesymmetry. And all of a sudden, the guitar fretboard diagram will become clear to you.You will not need to memorize anything, or need to repeat patterns up and down theguitar neck.

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    2 axes?!

    As you well know, the guitar has 6 strings, not 1. While you could think of the guitar as6 instruments in one, the possibilities of all 6 combined areway more interesting!!!

    This means that you can go up, and you can go down on 2 different axes.

    Remember plotting charts in math class? X and Y axes? Same thing...

    Hold on... It gets worse!!!

    Yes, you heard right... it gets worse. Learning the guitar fretboard is as hard as it is notreally because it is six instruments in one but because it's freaking asymmetrical!

    Think about other stringed instruments like the violin, the viola, the cello, the double-bass, or the mandolin... violin players have never complained about how hard it is tolearn the notes on theirfingerboard.

    The reason is that all those instruments, along with the bass-guitar, use symmetricaltuning systems: The interval between each pair of strings is the same.

    But the guitar is the ugly duckling in the family of stringed instruments: the interval

    between each pair of contiguous strings is aperfect fourth,with the exception of thesecond and third strings, which are tuned a major third apart.

    Down to business:

    Now you know why the guitar fretboard is so hard to learn. Understanding this is a greatstarting point. And believe me, I'm with you if you feel frustrated by it! I know I was, foryears!!!

    That is the reason I wrote Fretboard Essentials: to help you out. I want you to getstraight to the interesting things, and skip all the frustration.

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    The 10 Steps

    1. Stop feeling confused about it: just do it!

    2. Divide a string in half to get the octave

    3. Only 12 tones

    4. The 12 tones are a cycle

    5. Intervals between strings

    6. Major scales

    7. Say the names of the notes you play

    8. Sing everything you play

    9. Visualize everything in your minds eye

    10. Integrate music theory and ear training to your study of the fretboard

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    1. Stop feeling confused about it: just do it!

    As a beginner, I always saw the guitar fretboard as a mystery. To be quite honest, years

    went by before I even started thinking about it seriously: the damn thing just seemed so

    obscure.

    My teachers were of no great help, either. From where I stood, they didn't seem to be

    much better off than myself in that regard. They didn't really seem to understand the

    guitar fretboard at all. And they didn't! Even though they were top notch classical

    guitarists!!! (Or if they did, they never shared what they knew).

    So I took it for granted that there really was no better way. Fortunately for me, my

    musical curiosity went well beyond the guitar. My first instrument as a child was actually

    the piano...

    I later studied bowed strings: learning to play cello and violin changed my wholeperspective on stringed instruments. It showed me a whole different level of musical

    understanding was indeed possible.

    I decided that there had to be a better way of learning the guitar fretboard. Now I knew

    that it was possible to understand one's instrument in depth. I also knew that it was

    possible to understand music, through one's instrument.

    So this leads us back the the matter at hand. Before getting too specific about the guitar

    fretboard layout, let's talk about something a lot more basic: mood. Just stop that crappy

    Im confused, this is so damn hard mood. Today!

    If someone had told me this then, I would not have paid any attention. But I now know

    that feeling confused is just a mood. And as with all moods, all that is required to break

    out of it is decision.

    By simply deciding not to feel confused about the fretboard, you will start to see changes.

    Of course, this has to be reinforced through actual understanding.

    And understanding is only achieved through study. But mood is the secret key to unlockthat door. The simple decision to be clear-headed about this will turn learning the

    fretboard into a rewarding and exciting adventure.

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    3. Only 12 tones

    The number of possible notes is infinite. The number of tones, however, on a guitar or apiano is limited to 12. Yes, you read right: there are only 12 different tones to choosefrom when making music on a guitar or a piano.

    If you find that limiting, switch to trombone, voice or violin...

    These 12 tonesall occur within the space of an octave:

    If you play all 12 tones in order, you get what is called a chromatic scale. On a guitar,the 12 tones of a chromatic scale are all right next to each other in any same-stringsuccession of 12 frets.

    4. The 12 tones are a cycle

    The 12 toneshappen to be a cycle. If you keep going after tone 12, tone 13 will be a C,just like tone 1, albeit a higher pitched C. To distinguish one C from another, we use asystem of index numbers.

    C5 is middle C (in all countries except for America, where C4 is middle C). C6 is C oneoctave above middle C, and C4 is C one octave below middle C, and so on and so forth,ad infinitum...

    This will also be true for any other scales you play: they are cycles that repeat at everyoctave.

    C C/D D D/E E/F E/F F/G G G/A A A/B B

    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

    Take the open string you found mostcomfortable in the exercise in Step 2.Now play and sing the 12 tones going up,fret by fret.

    Now join the exercises in Step 2 and Step

    3 by going beyond the 12 tones, toinclude the note one octave above thenote of the open string you chose.

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    5. Intervals between strings

    You now have some basic understanding of the first axis: along the strings. The next

    step is to take a look at the second axis: across the strings.

    In Step 2 we defined intervalas the auditive distance between two notes. So lets take

    a look at the intervals between the different strings:

    As you can see, the interval between strings 3 and 2 just

    screws everything up ;-)

    If youre not sure what I mean by everything, I mean

    symmetry. If it werent for that fricking major third, every

    single goddam fingering pattern you could think of would

    be exactly the same, all over the fretboard...

    Using the standard tuning system, you have to change your

    fingering patterns to compensate for the different auditive

    distances between the strings.

    Ok, that was my rant. Lets now focus on understanding

    this stuff, so that this lack of symmetry is less of an obstacle

    to you...

    B - c - d - E : a perfect fourth2 1

    G - a - B : a major third3 2

    D - e - f - G : a perfect fourth4 3

    A - b - c - D : a perfect fourth5 4

    E - f - g -A : a perfect fourth6 5

    Play and sing the notes of each pair of contiguous open strings, one at a time.

    Do it going upward and also going downward, across strings, on axis 2.

    If you find it hard to sing in tune at the beginning, dont despair... this comes

    with time. The reason to sing, as you will find out in Step 8 is to engage

    more of your senses, more deeply, in your explorations of the guitar.

    Do everything you can to make this experience as intense and meaningful to

    you as possible. Avoid studying guitar while checking Facebook, or while

    watching TV, or whatever. It just cant be done, not with the degree of

    concentration needed to take your playing where you want it to go.

    If you find it hard to dedicate much time to your explorations of the guitar,

    then its far better to do it for 5 minutes, in a focused way, than to do it for

    hours, with something else in your head at the same time...

    So far you have understood basic note layout both along each of the

    strings, and across the fretboard: the 2 axes of note distribution...

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    6. Major scales

    The scale you learned in Step 2, the chromatic scale,you practiced for one simple reason:

    to understand note layout along axis 1. Its now time to take this one step further and

    look at major scales...

    Every single scale-type has a set distribution of tones within it. A scale is nothing but a

    selection of certain tones within the octave. Each pair of neighboring tones is divided by

    a specific interval. This interval pattern repeats at each octave, no matter how high or

    low you go.

    The most common scale-types contain either 5 or 7 tones. For now, we will focus on a

    the most common of the 7-tone scales: the major scale.

    Each neighboring pair of notes of the major scale is divided by either a half-tone or a

    whole-tone. But lets not get too deep into the fancy names of things for now:

    Lets just say that each neighboring pair of notes of the major scale are either right next

    to each other, as in the first picture above, or have an empty fret between them, as in the

    second picture.

    Lets call the first interval 1and the second2. The interval pattern for the full major

    scale, closing an octave above the starting note, is:

    2 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 1

    This means that if you start your scale on any open string of your choosing, these are the

    frets you will have to use to play a major scale:

    0 2 4 5 7 9 11 12

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    7. Say the names of the notes you play

    You now have absorbed the sound of some of the basic building blocks of music. Thenext step is know the names of the notes youve just used.

    Of course, saying f-sharp takes too long, so these are the syllables used for sharp notes:

    Upward:C C D D E F F G G A A B

    Do DI Re RI Mi Fa FI Sol SI La LI Ti

    Likewise, saying a-flat wont do, so we say the names of flattened notes thusly:

    Downward: C C B A A G G F F E D D

    Do DE TE La LE Sol SE Fa FE ME Re RA

    Play and sing a major scale starting on each of the open strings.

    Dont worry too much about technique or smoothness in the

    beginning. Just keep it simple and focus on the scale itself.

    Play and sing going up, and going down as well... do so until you

    can do itfl

    uidly, and the sound of the major scale is ingrained intoyour mind, along with its. interval pattern.

    This will be the basis for most, if not all, of the music theory that

    you will layer on top of your new-found knowledge of guitar

    fretboard basics...

    Apply this principle to all the exercises youve done so far. In the case of chromatic

    scales, use the sharp names when going upward, and the flat names when coming

    back down.When singing major scales, you will need to count to figure out the names of

    the notes for each string. E major, for instance, would be:

    E F G A B C D E

    Mi Fi Si La Ti Di Ri Mi

    In the case of major scales, you use the same names going up and coming down. Work

    out the syllables for the major scales on the remaining open strings and practice them!

    It is important not only to get it in terms of sound, but also to have a name for

    every element of music that you use. Thats the importance of this step...

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    8. Sing everything you playWhether you are playing an idea of your own or something you worked out by ear or

    read, sing it. This will engage your sense of hearing at a far deeper level. It will help you

    grasp the fretboard intuitively.

    If youre shy, this might be hard, but believe me, its worth it. This tip alone will teachyou the biggest skill in music: LISTENING! If you dont listen to what you play, at the

    deepest level possible, your playing will always be limited. This is the only way to really

    take your playing where you want to.

    This doesnt mean ALWAYS sing... just make it a habit to practice your ideas and the

    music you play this way too. If you want to take this one step further, record yourself.

    Then listen back and fix what needs fixing.

    Another great idea is to sing everything you play using the syllables you learned in Step

    7. This will further cement your knowledge of where each note is on the fretboard.

    9. Visualize everything in your minds eye

    Form a clear mental picture of each of these exercises and any other exercises and music

    you play, and picture yourself going over all the steps. Practice this for 5 minutes a

    day, until the image is sharp and clear.

    This is the best way to make the fretboard and music completely yours. Once you

    get real good, youll be able to practice, and invent stuff that you can playwithout

    needing to have a guitar at hand.

    This will also make your knowledge completely firm and leak-proof, galvanizing your

    self-confidence when you play on-stage or record something with professional

    musicians...

    If you find this super-hard at first, dont panic! Do it for as long as you can while keeping

    the image and sound perfectly sharp in your head. Then little by little stretch that

    time. The ability to concentrate you will develop will help you with everything, not just

    music and the guitar.

    You may soon find yourself playing guitar in your dreams. This is really cool! It means

    all this info is really seeping down to where it has to go: your subconscious mind. Then,

    it will be second nature with you to create awesome music, just like that!

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    10 Steps to Learn the Guitar Fretboard 2011 Alexander Corts

    All rights reserved worldwide.

    No part of this publication may be stored in a retrievalsystem, transmitted, or reproduced in any way, including

    but not limited to digital copying and printing.

    The author, Alexander Corts has made his best effort toproduce a high quality, informative, and helpful book, but

    he makes no representation or warranties of any kind withregard to the completeness or accuracy of the contents of

    the book. He accepts no liability of any kind for anylosses or damages caused or alleged to be caused,

    directly or indirectly, from using the information containedin this book.

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