Memorize The Fingerboard

One key to becoming comfortable on guitar is to memorize the fingerboard. The more familiar you become with the layout of the finger board, the easier it will be to remember where chords are, which scale patterns will work when creating solos and to help you train your ears to hear the notes that fit within a song.

The longer you play, the more important it is to know where you can find the various notes (also called pitches) on the guitar neck. When you know where the notes are located, it becomes much easier to play melodies and solos, to find interesting chord voicings and new locations to play chords. 

We'll start to memorize the fingerboard by learning the natural notes on one string. From there, we'll look at note patterns on the guitar neck so you can quickly find a note in any neck location.

Something to keep in mind as you study guitar is that patterns abound. There are different scale patterns. There are chord shapes, which can be looked at as patterns. There are even rhythmic patterns that keep us from falling into musical, chaotic messes.

What I'm getting at is, as you memorize the fingerboard, you will start looking at these patterns as ways to free you up for more creative thinking.

Like any other skill, the more you do it, the less you have to consciously think about it. As you memorize the fingerboard, these patterns will work their way into your muscle memory and allow you to automatically find notes or play riffs.

The Fifth String - A

Let's start memorizing the fingerboard on the A string (the fifth string). The A string is the second fattest string on the guitar. Pluck the open A string. Using your index finger to press the string and following the tab below, play each interval (successive note) and say the pitch name out load. So when you pluck open A, say "A." for the B note, say "B."

Continue until you've  made it to the twelfth fret, repeating the A note a full octave above where you started. By doing this exercise, you're ears will start to recoginize the pitches as you memorzie the fingerboard.

Please make note - depending on the successive pitch, the interval is different. An internal is just the distance between two notes. For example, the interval between the A and B pitches is a whole step (also known as a tone), or two frets. The interval between the B and C notes is a half step (or semi-tone), or one fret. Here's a tab of the fingerboard to help.

As you play and say each note, make a conscious note of the physical location of each note. Look at the fret markers on your guitar neck so you create a visual memory of the note location. You should be able to repeat this exercise at least 10 times during a five minute session. Using the metronome, pluck each note on the quarter note beat.

For you more advanced players, write out 24 random notes on a piece of paper. Don't be afraid to use sharp or flat notes in your list. Now pick up your guitar and find them on the fifth string. Yeah, I know you'll be repeating yourself - the point here is to memorize the fingerboard as quickly as possible, and when you can easily go straight to the fret of the note you're reading, you're well on your way. Repetition is you friend here.

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