This will make you a better guitar player
I’ve noticed this in my own playing and I’ve seen it with students:
Learning the notes on the fretboard is the single biggest thing you can do to improve your playing.
A guitarist who has learned all the notes on the fretboard:
Can more effectively learn scales and chords
Has a better understanding of keys, intervals, and scale degrees
Can more easily memorise songs
Has a greater capacity to understand music theory
Is more effectively able to develop their aural skills
Gets ‘lost’ far less frequently when they are improvising on the guitar
Why learning the notes on the fretboard is so important
Improving your technique will allow you to execute things better on the guitar, but learning the notes on the fretboard will allow you to do significantly more with the techniques you’ve learned.
A guitarist who has mastered the notes on the fretboard is a guitarist with options.
You don’t have to wait until you’re an intermediate or advanced player to memorize the notes! Even beginner guitarists will find that properly learning the notes on the fretboard enhances their progress and enjoyment of the guitar.
I experienced this myself when I finally decided to learn the notes on the fretboard to the point where I was able to ‘just know’ them.
Even now, I would still say that decision has had the single biggest impact on my development as a guitar player.
I would go so far as to say this:
I think it’s so important that (if you don’t have a lot of time and want to get good) I would prioritise learning the notes on the fretboard over everything else.
But what about technique?
If you’ve got a good teacher, your technique is easy to fix.
The biggest bottleneck to your progress will always be how well you know the notes on the fretboard.
Learning the notes on the fretboard isn’t fun -
I said it.
The good news is it’s really easy to learn the notes on the fretboard and can be done effectively with as little as 10 minutes a day (every day for one to three months).
Having said this, it’s super important that you trust the process.
I’m going to say that one more time for those of you who didn’t properly appreciate that last statement:
IT’S SUPER IMPORTANT THAT YOU TRUST THE PROCESS.
I’ve had so many students start learning the notes on the fretboard and then decide that they are different from everyone else and (despite what I’ve said) they can take shortcuts.
They can’t.
It doesn’t work out.
Ever.
You have to TRUST THE PROCESS
These students who try and take shortcuts while they are learning the notes on the fretboard always end up concluding that I was right and try it my way.
Then it works every time.
The method I use to help students learn the notes on the fretboard works so well because you are only ever learning one new note a day AND revising every other note you’ve previously learned.
This is an extremely easy and effective way to learn.
Students are often tempted to add two notes in a day once they feel like they have the first note down.
That might be fine for a day.
But it’s deceptive because the note is only in your short-term memory.
Do that over multiple days and you might have 10 notes that you only kinda know.
At this point, students often find themselves in a situation where they feel like they’ve made a lot of progress but all of a sudden it doesn’t seem to be working.
This is a frustrating place to be.
Be patient.
Do it right.
Trust the process.
The best way to learn the notes on the fretboard
Check out this lesson if you’re interested in learning the exact process to master the notes on the fretboard as quickly and effectively as possible.
Or, if you want a step-by-step guide with lesson videos and practice tracks, check out ‘The Musician’s Guide to Fretboard Memorisation’ course.
A guitarist who has learned all the notes on the fretboard: Can more effectively learn scales and chords; Has a better understanding of keys, intervals, and scale degrees; Is able to more easily memorise songs; Has a greater capacity to understand music theory; Is more effectively able to develop their aural skills; Gets ‘lost’ far less frequently when they are improvising on the guitar.