Best method to learn fretboard

[bassmam53]

I'm rather new to bass and I'm struggling to learn all the notes on the fretboard. Any suggestions?

[Joel S.]

Break it down. I remembered the dotted locations first (3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, etc), from there you can just use scale knowledge to figure out the notes.

Example, if you know the dots for the 7th fret are B - E - A - D, you know the 8th fret are C - F - A# - D #

After a while I just began remembering everything.

[Joel S.]

Oh, and call (sing) out the notes of scales as you practice... forgot that one.

[superfunk47]

Practice your scales in all kinds of positions and say the notes you're playing out loud as you play them. For instance, when practicing your C scale, start on the 8th fret of the E string rather than the 3rd fret of the A. But also practice it sometimes starting from the C on the A string. Make sense?

[DocBop]

For me when I really got to know the fretboard was from practicing sightreading. Reading you have to know where the notes are. Players on visual instruments like bass or guitar tend to learn scales and such as finger pattens not the notes so practicing those don't help a lot to really learn the fingerboard. Sightreading you have to learn and learn postions and shifting positions because you can't be staring at the neck all the time. So practicing reading teaches more that just how to read.


One exercise I give people to help learn the natural notes is to play a C major scale on one string from lowest available note up to about the 12 or 14th fret. First learn how major scales are constructed, then learn the notes of a C major scale. Now learn where those notes are on the low E string. Now with working playing the scale and at what points to shift (this is another topic I won't go into now.) Once you have the note locations and where you are going to shift now time to apply all this. Start very slow and play the scale from open E and say the notes as you hit them. Get to where you can smoothly go up and down the neck saying and playing the scale on one string. Once you have if under your finger, and visually see how the major scale construction relates to the fingerboard now time to get serious. Use your metronome at a slow tempo and start running the scale in time up and down the neck. Do this for a week and increase the tempo as you feel ready. At the end of a week you will know the natural notes on the E-string. Follow week do the same on the A-string, and week after that the D-string and so on. This only need to be a ten minute a day exercise and after a month you will know the notes on your neck and how to "see" major scale patterns on the neck.

After that goes into learning to do scale on two-strings on and deciding on the fly when and where to shift. These simple exercises really help learn the neck, scale construction, and how to make your own fingerings as necessary. Far better than just learning a finger pattern out of a book or website. It's that whole give a fish, teach to fish thing.

[bassmam53]

I've especially been trying to learn the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th positions. But saying the note names as I play the scales I'm having a really hard time doing. On fast recall like that I just can't seem to do it. Good suggestions though....I'll keep trying.

[Mushroo]

Learn how to find an octave above any note:
same string, +12 frets = octave
1 string over, +7 frets = octave
2 strings over, +2 frets = octave (the famous "box")
3 strings over, -3 frets = octave

[Timbo]

sight reading did it for me.

[Joel S.]

Originally Posted by bassmam53

I've especially been trying to learn the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th positions. But saying the note names as I play the scales I'm having a really hard time doing. On fast recall like that I just can't seem to do it. Good suggestions though....I'll keep trying.

Play sloooow then. You can do speed drills at speed, but if you want to make learning the fretboard a priority you should practice it like you practiced everything else at first, slow and methodically.

[steve21]

When another TB'er gave me bass lessons for a while, the method he did was while warming up my fingers (Going up and down the neck, one finger per fret, start on 1st fret E string all the way down to my 24th fret C string - I had a 6'er) was to call out the notes.

It did it.

[ilovethesechord]

I'd say just wing it. Forget about what the notes are called and just remember how they sound.

...you'll have your own, unique technique in a few years; something that is more valuable than a cryptic knowledge of "scales" or "positions".

..you just gotta give yourself time. if it takes you two or three years to be comfortable with even a basic "scale," at least it will be your own. And that, my friend, is what music is all about.

[Joel S.]

Originally Posted by ilovethesechord

I'd say just wing it. Forget about what the notes are called and just remember how they sound.

...you'll have your own, unique technique in a few years; something that is more valuable than a cryptic knowledge of "scales" or "positions".

..you just gotta give yourself time. if it takes you two or three years to be comfortable with even a basic "scale," at least it will be your own. And that, my friend, is what music is all about.

God I hope you're being sarcastic.

That's like closing your eyes, throwing paint at a wall and hoping it's art.

When you can break something down to their basic parts, and gain a deep understanding of how they work together and/or against each other it helps you more quickly use them in creative ways. Trial and error is all well and good, but when you can logically figure something out, it takes you to the desired result MUCH more quickly.

Many self taught musicians eventually took the time to learn theory and their scales because it made them better players.

[superfunk47]

Originally Posted by ilovethesechord

Forget about what the notes are called and just remember how they sound.

...something that is more valuable than a cryptic knowledge of "scales" or "positions".

Maybe you don't want to be able to read or write music, but if the OP wants to make it much of anywhere in music, he's gonna have to know his scales, up and down the neck, and playing them will have to be like breathing to him. I mean really, what kind of bassist are you if you are lost when someone wants to jam in A or Bb? What you're telling him would make him into that bassist.

[manbass]

Play chromatically up the neck on one string, and name each note (out loud or in your head)...move to the next string...rinse and repeat ad nauseum for 15 minutes a day.

In two weeks you will begin to see your training payoff, especially so if you read notation.

Go slow, very deliberately, staring at the fret position on every note intentionally.

[THSL]

I'm going through this now...

Learn all the major scales in the 1st position using from open up to the 4th fret...

Learn them without looking at the fingerboard...

Then after you do that, move up to the 5th fret and do the same...

[bassmam53]

I must admit that my teacher is on me to learn the notes more so than I really WANT to learn them. And and don't read music....at least yet. I imagine that will be the next thing the teacher gets on a kick about. I will definitely try some of the things mentioned though....All are good suggestions. I'm just not sure I'm far enough along to even understand how to do some of them. I've been playing about 6 months. So a lot of this is "Greek" to me.

[manbass]

Originally Posted by THSL

I'm going through this now...

Learn all the major scales in the 1st position using from open up to the 4th fret...

Learn them without looking at the fingerboard...

Then after you do that, move up to the 5th fret and do the same...

Thats called "Ear Training" and is a different essential element than the OP's question. What he will get with your suggestion is audible pitch recognition not what note it is and its location.

NTTAWWT.

Just sayin'.

+1 on Joel S. post #12 as well.

[THSL]

Also, just do it for a little evey a day, every day if you can, and slowly you will get it...

Also, say the notes while you playing them. Also, play the scales forwards and backwards, and not starting on the root note...

[mambo4]

Here's my standard reply to this question (isn't this a sticky yet?):
--------------------------------------
LEARNING THE FINGERBOARD
---------------------------------------
when I first picked up the bass I memorized the open strings (EADG) and then memorized each "dotted" fret up to the octave:
open:EADG
3rd fret:GCFA#
5th fret:ADGC
7th fret:BEAD
9th fret:C#F#BE
Ocatve:EADG

With those notes memorized, I could quickly figure out "in between" notes based on the dotted ones. If you can instantly find E then you can almost as instantly figure out where E flat is. It was enough to get me by at first.

I never made a deliberate effort to memorize the rest of the neck, eventually I just absorbed the knowledge via experience.

[daffy]

There's a sticky called PacMan's sure fire scale method.

Great sticky - have a look at that thread.