Fretboard memorization issues

[Admiral Thrawn]

I've been playing bass since I was 17, though I took a sizable break while serving an enlistment in the USMC between 2002-2006.

Tried to pick up where I left off when I go out of the Corps, but ended up just noodling around and playing simple songs just to make me happy--I love playing music, so even the small things like playing a simple tune or riff can make me very happy--and didn't try to get my chops back.

Eventually (in my case, at least) I had a kid and had to take about three more years off from playing to help raise her and start a new job across the country from where we were living when she was born.

Finally got back into playing and started taking lessons with an amazing instructor--the lesson plans are easy to follow, they push me just enough to be challenging, but not too much to be discouraging, and the mix of rote memorization and a fun approach to mechanics have made these lessons a real pleasure.

But I've hit a mental roadblock, it seems.

I can't memorize many of the notes past the 5th fret. I know at the 12th it's the same as the open string, but getting from 5th fret to 11th fret is holding me back as we're working on the circle of fifths/fourths, and trying to start incorporating that into my playing, and a key to doing that well is knowing the fretboard.

Anyone have any suggestions for getting past this bump in the road? I practice about 1-1 1/2 hours a day. I've made fretboard charts and marked them up with the notes, but again, I get turned around a bit past the 5th fret.

Oh, I also play a 5-string, tuned BEADG. So yeah I know that extra string adds another level of complexity, but for what I want to play after I get these theory basics down, a 5-banger is very useful.

Thanks in advance!

 

[FatStringer52]

Have you tried any of the YT method videos, such as . . .

 

[reddog]

Play scales... All on one string. Soon you'll know where to find b and c (etc) for sure!

 

[Admiral Thrawn]

Have you tried any of the YT method videos, such as . . .

I have and still find myself stuck.

Though I think a lot of it is a confidence issue now that I think about it more. I'm just not confident that I'm getting it right and feel embarrassed if I screw it up.

Regardless, I'm in my own way here and trying to figure out how to sort it out.

I'll check out the video when I have a few more minutes.

Thanks for posting!

 

[Admiral Thrawn]

Play scales... All on one string. Soon you'll know where to find b and c (etc) for sure!

I'll keep doing that.

My teacher me on two strings for the circle of fifths/fourths at the moment.

 

[FatStringer52]

Also, think about this. Just as the 5th fret is the same note as the next open string higher, the 7th fret is the same note as the lower open string (i.e., the 7th fret on the A string is the same as the open E). Now you're down to frets 8-11 to learn . . .

 

[kesslari]

Anthony Wellington's method (as practiced by me - learned it a while ago and I forget if I added anything):

Use a random number generator (like random.org, or dice or whatever) to generate a list of 7 numbers (1-7, random order). For example, 2 4 7 6 3 1 5. Then pick a key (let's say G).
Now play those scale tones in order on one string, without using the open string. So in our example, on the B string - A (10th fret) C (1st fret) etc.
Then move on to the next string.
Time yourself.

Next day, new set of random numbers. Stay in one key for a while until you feel comfortable, then change keys.
I do this two ways. One - as described (by scale tone - so I'm not thinking note names, I'm thinking "2nd, 4th, 7th") which makes you focus on intervals.
The other - translate the numbers into the note names for the key (so in our example in G, "A C F# E B G D" and do it that way.

I need to get back to doing this regularly.

 

[SteveCS]

I've been playing bass since I was 17, though I took a sizable break while serving an enlistment in the USMC between 2002-2006.

Tried to pick up where I left off when I go out of the Corps, but ended up just noodling around and playing simple songs just to make me happy--I love playing music, so even the small things like playing a simple tune or riff can make me very happy--and didn't try to get my chops back.

Eventually (in my case, at least) I had a kid and had to take about three more years off from playing to help raise her and start a new job across the country from where we were living when she was born.

Finally got back into playing and started taking lessons with an amazing instructor--the lesson plans are easy to follow, they push me just enough to be challenging, but not too much to be discouraging, and the mix of rote memorization and a fun approach to mechanics have made these lessons a real pleasure.

But I've hit a mental roadblock, it seems.

I can't memorize many of the notes past the 5th fret. I know at the 12th it's the same as the open string, but getting from 5th fret to 11th fret is holding me back as we're working on the circle of fifths/fourths, and trying to start incorporating that into my playing, and a key to doing that well is knowing the fretboard.

Anyone have any suggestions for getting past this bump in the road? I practice about 1-1 1/2 hours a day. I've made fretboard charts and marked them up with the notes, but again, I get turned around a bit past the 5th fret.

Oh, I also play a 5-string, tuned BEADG. So yeah I know that extra string adds another level of complexity, but for what I want to play after I get these theory basics down, a 5-banger is very useful.

Thanks in advance!

Open to 5 are the same letter-name and pitch as 5 to 10 on the next lower-pitched string. So if you know 0-5 on the D (3rd) string you also know 5-10 on the A (4th) string.

Likewise, letter-names on 7-12 are the same letter-names as open to 5 on the next lower-pitch string, but an octave higher. So if you truly know 0-5 on the E (4th) string you also know 7-12 on the A (3rd) string.

Begin by playing a C scale over the whole length and width of the fingerboard, in quarter-notes and at a tempo that allows you to say aloud the letter names as you go, from 1st fret on the B string all the way up until you max out on the G string, then back down again. About 55-65 bpm should do it ~1 note per second. You are not training for a sprint - you are learning note positions. Go up the B string as far as you can before crossing over. Then go to to the E string until you max out before crossing strings. Repeat for all strings, saying the note letter-names as you go.

Then do it where you play 5 notes on a string then cross to the next to play the next 5 notes, and so on.

 

[SteveCS]

The other thing you can do is pick a letter name then play all possible locations. Taking E on a standard 4-string 21-fret bass, we have
Open 4th
4th at 12
3rd at 7
2nd at 2
3rd at 19
2nd at 14
1st at 9
1st at 21
Mix up the order, so
4th Open
2nd at 2
3rd at 7
4th at 12
1st at 9
2nd at 14
3rd at 19
1st at 21

Then repeat for another note. Two notes per day for 10 minutes each and you're done in a week...

 

[Engle]

I'll keep doing that.

My teacher me on two strings for the circle of fifths/fourths at the moment.

Do them on one string at a time and say each note as you play it. Slow is OK

 

[craig0316]

Thanks for ur service.. I'm USN... a while ago... this is what worked for me...

Also, think about this. Just as the 5th fret is the same note as the next open string higher, the 7th fret is the same note as the lower open string (i.e., the 7th fret on the A string is the same as the open E). Now you're down to frets 8-11 to learn . . .

 

[stigbeve]

Becoming familiar with the piano keyboard might help. It's all spelled out in black and white.

 

[Lobster11]

Lots of great ideas here, any combination of which will help. I'll just add that I found it useful to really really learn the C-major scale all up and down the neck, and then learn where all the sharps/flats are relative to that.

 

[gln1955]

Begin by playing a C scale over the whole length and width of the fingerboard, in quarter-notes and at a tempo that allows you to say aloud the letter names as you go, from 1st fret on the B string all the way up until you max out on the G string, then back down again. About 55-65 bpm should do it ~1 note per second. You are not training for a sprint - you are learning note positions. Go up the B string as far as you can before crossing over. Then go to to the E string until you max out before crossing strings. Repeat for all strings, saying the note letter-names as you go.

The bold part is important, IMO. Saying the notes as you go uses different circuits in the brain that can help with memorization and connecting the dots. No matter how you approach mastering the whole fretboard, do this too.

 

[FatStringer52]

Thanks for ur service.. I'm USN... a while ago... this is what worked for me...

U2. Navy brat as well as AF Ret. Carry on . . .

 

[Huw Phillips]

There is a phone app called fret trainer that is awesome you can set it to one string or more, and from nut to whatever fret you choose, I do it while I am waiting, commuting, etc it was hard to start but I now get 1 or 2 wrong out of 100

 

[lz4005]

Play every note on the neck while you say the name of it out loud every day. Bonus points if you sing the name in tune with the note.

You can do straight chromatic, or scales, or anything else.

Spend 10 minutes doing that every day and you'll know them within a month.

 

[bfields]

I have irealpro on my phone and imported a few of the big jazz/pop/etc. lists that you can get from their forums.

So something I've been doing lately is just picking a song at random from irealpro and playing through it while staying in a part of the fretboard I don't know as well as I'd like (maybe first finger on the seventh fret).

If it's an easy song I may try to play an actual bassline, otherwise I'm happy just to get to the root in time for each change. If it's, say, Giant Steps at 240bpm, I'll lower the tempo as far as necessary until I can find the root in time. I try to keep the tempo at a point where it's just on the edge of doable.

Basically it's a way of getting a steady stream of notes to quiz myself on, while also still feeling like I'm doing something at least a little bit musical.

 

[LBS-bass]

Learn octaves.

Start on the E string and use your little finger to hit the octave for each note, which is two strings over and two frets up. So your octave to the F in the 1 position (the lowest F which is at the first fret on the e-string) is two strings over and two frets up (call that one the F at the 8 position). Notice the relationship of one to the other. Move up by a fret and do the same for F#.

Keep doing that with notes up and down the E and A strings until you get to the point that you can look at any note at the 1 position and automatically know the 8 position (two strings over, two frets up) in your head. You'll never need to know more than the root at the 1 in order to find the same note at the 8, but eventually you'll learn them anyway just through using them. Not much actual memorization required.

 

[Lobster11]

Another thought: This is one of those things you can work on when you don't actually have a bass in your hands, as long as you can visualize the fretboard.