Memorizing The Notes on Guitar

Why Memorize the Notes?

The accomplished guitarist needs to learn the names of the notes all over the neck, and this need gets more obvious with the passage of time. The visualization of scales and chords on the neck requires a point of reference. For instance, to play an “F♯ major scale,” where do you start? On Fret II? What if that’s too low, and you need to play the scale higher?

Ideally, there would be no “fingering pattern” for a scale; it should be accessible in any key and in any location, starting from any degree. This is also important for moving chords around. A chord is often thought of as a shape for fingers to make, but really it is just a particular combination of notes. Once you see it that way, you begin to have more control of the guitar.

The task of learning the notes should be taken seriously and repeated with discipline. In just a few minutes per day, your understanding of the instrument can be transformed.

The Fretboard Memorization Exercises

Tip: Use a stopwatch or timer to simulate positive pressure and improve your performance for these exercises.

Exercise #1 – Name a note, play it on every string

Example: play the note, “F” on the low E string. Then play it on the fifth string, the fourth string, and so on, until you’ve reached the high E string. Only play one “F” per string. Pick another random note, and repeat.

Exercise #2 – Pick a fret and name all of the notes horizontally

Example: starting at the seventh fret, name all of the notes going across the fretboard: B, E, A, D, F♯, B. Move far away from this fret and repeat. (If you don’t pick a random fret, it’s ‘cheating’.)

Exercise #3 – Pick a random note, and identify it as quickly as possible

Example: Using flash cards or a randomized note picker, pick any note on the guitar and identify it quickly.

Key Results

• Make it your task to memorize the notes on the guitar neck.
• You should be able to look down and see not only frets but notes.