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Notes on the fretboard, cheaters?

Tommygunn

Tommygunn

Nov 8, 2008
7,079
37
Houston, Tx
soundcloud.com
#1
I know the notes are a, b, c, d, e, f, and g. I know b/c and e/f are a 1/2 step away when the rest are a full step. This knowledge alone is indeed useful but I still find it hard to learn the notes of the fretboard. A while back (08) I was in austin with my brother at his friend's house and he had a squier pbass there that he had put the notes of each string on each fret under the string. A little piece of paper that had the notes he taped to the fretboard.

Whats your feelings on this? Thanks
 
#3
If it helps you learn the position of the notes more quickly, go ahead ...
but isn't if a bit uncomfortable to play bending over your fretboard to see that paper?

maybe a better idea to put a general overview with just the full note marked (without the note itself) in front of you and use the fret marks as guideline ... my guess is that it will help you to get it all the better
 
#5
Whatever you do in the privacy of your own home is your own business. Do it if you think it will help.

Once you leave your house, or if you invite people in to play with you, other people will judge you. I was running live sound for a festival two weeks ago. A folk/bluegrass band was on the bill and their bass guitar player had the note names taped to the side of his bass neck. I assumed he was a raw amateur who had no real experience playing any type of stringed instrument. I wondered why the band even bothered to have him stand up there with a bass he obviously couldn't play very well. (Yeah, it also should have been an upright bass, but that's another issue!)

That's what others will think of you if you do this anywhere except the privacy of your own home. How much do you care what others think of your playing ability?
 
#7
John Entwistle's Alembic Spyders had the note names for each string where the normal fret markers would go. It wasn't every single note for every single fret, just the first, third, fifth, etc. frets. But still very cool looking.

So if somebody gives you **** for it tell 'em you got the idea from The Ox.
 
#9
Tommygunn said:
I know the notes are a, b, c, d, e, f, and g. I know b/c and e/f are a 1/2 step away when the rest are a full step. This knowledge alone is indeed useful but I still find it hard to learn the notes of the fretboard.
Click to expand...

Yes, it can be hard early on, but that just means you have to work harder to master it. As others have said, your idea might be ok at home as a temporary measure, but IMO you are just putting off the inevitable... i.e. doing the work to learn it. To be any way good on an instrument demands hard graft.

An idea that worked for me was to learn the E and A strings first. Work your way up from open string to 12th fret saying the notes as you go. From this, you will be able to work out the octave notes on the D and G strings. Then work on these.

The only three ingredients that are guaranteed to work are time, patience, and practice. :)
 
#10
standupright said:
if you learn to read and play music while reading, it will help you immensely learn the notes on the fretboard.
Click to expand...
I've come to learn this. I was always told "A bass player who will play any type of music, and can spot read tabs and sheet music... will always have a job."

Tim C. said:
John Entwistle's Alembic Spyders had the note names for each string where the normal fret markers would go. It wasn't every single note for every single fret, just the first, third, fifth, etc. frets. But still very cool looking.

So if somebody gives you **** for it tell 'em you got the idea from The Ox.
Click to expand...
I'm not worried about looks, I don't really care about what people think of my basses. Kids used to make fun of my cause they had brand new mim fenders (they played guitar) and I got my bass from a pawn shop. Didn't phase me a bit and it made them look like total douches. Plus I have 4 other basses (I've been playing since 06, I've just been putting this off forever).

Wayauste said:
I think the best way is memorization. Say the notes out loud as you play them up and down the scale and up and down the neck. Do it enough and you won't have to think about it, when you need a note you will know where it is.
Click to expand...
I try that but I've always been more of a visual learner, plus when I play songs (all 4 that I know all the way through :eek:) I can see what notes are in them ect ect.

fearceol said:
Yes, it can be hard early on, but that just means you have to work harder to master it. As others have said, your idea might be ok at home as a temporary measure, but IMO you are just putting off the inevitable... i.e. doing the work to learn it. To be any way good on an instrument demands hard graft.

An idea that worked for me was to learn the E and A strings first. Work your way up from open string to 12th fret saying the notes as you go. From this, you will be able to work out the octave notes on the D and G strings. Then work on these.

The only three ingredients that are guaranteed to work are time, patience, and practice. :)
Click to expand...

I don't have patience. Thats my problem :D
 
#11
Tommygunn said:
I know the notes are a, b, c, d, e, f, and g. I know b/c and e/f are a 1/2 step away when the rest are a full step.
Click to expand...

Technically it's A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab.

As for the notes-on-the-neck approach, didn't Paul Simonon do something similar? If it helps you learn the notes, go for it. I always found the fretboard intuitive enough to memorize the notes based on their relative position from each other. If you know the open strings, you can figure out every other note on the fretboard, and after a while it gets ingrained in your memory as you play.

If you're a visual learner, just recognize patterns and shapes that correspond to note intervals. 6th fret on the E string - Bb. One string up and two frets higher - F, the perfect fifth of Bb. One string up and one fret lower - D, the major third. Two strings up and one fret higher - A, the major seventh. Etc.
 
#12
I'd say notes on the fretboard will - in the end - make it just HARDER to remember the notes because you don't HAVE to remember them anymore once they're there...

We all did fine without that, you'll do too. Give it some time. It's not something you're supposed to master in a week.

EDIT: Oh and start with the first 5 frets, you're probably going to play them the most. Including open strings, only 24 notes and positions to remember there. Then 6 and 7 for additional 8 positions, after that 8 and 9, finally 10 and 11. Once you've reached 12 you're done (because the pattern repeats from fret 12 but you knew at least that, didn't you?). Also remember that A# is the same as Bb, F# is the same as Gb etc. When you see the note C# and you remember where you'll find a C, just go one fret up from there. When you see Bb and you know where B is, go one down from there.
 
#13
Muaguana said:
Technically it's A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab.

As for the notes-on-the-neck approach, didn't Paul Simonon do something similar? If it helps you learn the notes, go for it. I always found the fretboard intuitive enough to memorize the notes based on their relative position from each other. If you know the open strings, you can figure out every other note on the fretboard, and after a while it gets ingrained in your memory as you play.

If you're a visual learner, just recognize patterns and shapes that correspond to note intervals. 6th fret on the E string - Bb. One string up and two frets higher - F, the perfect fifth of Bb. One string up and one fret lower - D, the major third. Two strings up and one fret higher - A, the major seventh. Etc.
Click to expand...

I left out the sharps and flats and just said whole step to simplify it.
 
#14
I don't really see the point. Just start out by using the markers that are already on the fretboard to get use to the notes. For instance, the second marker will play the same note as the next open string, so the second marker on E will play an A, the 5th marker (double dots) will be the octave, etc.

Also practice scales. Learn several different ways to play the major scale (and all the others with time). The two main fingering approaches that are most beneficial imo are (sorry for the tabs)

Code: 
G|----------------------------------------------||
D|----------------2--4--5--4--2-----------------||
A|-------2--3--5-----------------5--3--2--------||
E|-3--5------------------------------------3----||

Will help with closed in cross string approaches.


Code: 
G|-------------------------------------------9--11--12--||
D|----------------------------7--9--10--12--------------||
A|--------------5--7--9--10-----------------------------||
E|--3--5--7--8------------------------------------------||

and descend


Will help with more linear approaches.

Look further into scales. Playing in thirds, arpeggios, etc.
This type of practice will help you understand the relationship between intervals, which will establish a much deeper understanding of the fretboard than pasting on notes will.
 
#16
When I first started playing, I took a paper puncher and a sheet of adhesive colored paper, punched a few holes and used the round "confetti" as markers - I stuck them as "C-markers" on every C note on the fretboard. Worked a charm for finding my way around, and they kind of eroded away through playing. :D
 
#17
Rickett Customs said:
I had started lessons when I was 10....almost 11. by the time I was 13, I had various scales written on tape on my fretboard for a year or so After that it was committed to memory, so I guess I'd be guilty. But separate notes, no.
Click to expand...

I'm a bit more interested in scales, which is really why I want to know the notes. Can you tell me how you set that up. I started when I was 10 too!

Stealth said:
When I first started playing, I took a paper puncher and a sheet of adhesive colored paper, punched a few holes and used the round "confetti" as markers - I stuck them as "C-markers" on every C note on the fretboard. Worked a charm for finding my way around, and they kind of eroded away through playing. :D
Click to expand...

I could color coat important notes, well at least the ones I like or something.
 
#19
Tommygunn said:
I'm a bit more interested in scales, which is really why I want to know the notes. Can you tell me how you set that up. I started when I was 10 too!
Click to expand...

Tape covered just about every inch of fretboard wood. I started with just "major" and "minor" scales. Red was major, black was minor. Each "dot" had a note associated with it, as per the different keys. It helped me alot with finding connections with different keys and understanding them. Once I got into 3rds, 5ths,7ths and 9ths, the fretboard looked like a modern art masterpiece ;) after that I was on to the different modes.
 
#20
LowDown Hal said:
Why waste more time developing a method to "cheat".

Just get yourself a beginners book for sight reading. Work on it every day and you'll know the notes positions rather quickly.

My instructor starts people with the Hal Leonard Book 1
http://www.halleonard.com/product/v...&seriesfeature=BSMTHD&menuid=499&subsiteid=7&
Click to expand...

I have a beginners book, 3 actually. One I bought, one a teacher gave to me and a 3rd I got as a gift from my teacher when I was real into RHCP (its a beginners guide to chili pepper songs). Creatively and by ear I'm much farther than those books. I've tried going back and starting from the start of the books but it bores me to death.
 

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