ALL 11 Masterclasses in THE BGC BUNDLE: www.bensguitarclub.com/p/the-bgc-bundle How To Practice BUNDLE (3 guitar masterclasses): www.bensguitarclub.com/p/how-to-practice-bundle-volumes-1-2-3 The Modern Soloing BUNDLE (5 soloing masterclasses): www.bensguitarclub.com/p/modern-soloing-bundle
I have been struggling with that, yet what has helped me to improve has been to work on visualizing triads. I discovered that it is easier for me to memorize the location of a "shape" than a location of a single note.
Great video Ben. When naming notes on a single string I like to have my students name them sharps when ascending and flats when descending that way they’re getting familiar with both sharps and flats and doing so separately.
This approach was also mentioned in Mick Goodrick's great book "The Advancing Guitarist": when you can play both in positions and up/down one string, you can combine them and you'll finally master the whole fretboard. Also it's useful to practice scales and intervals in two adjacent strings, then three etc. Thanks for a fine video and all the best from Finland!
A few things that have helped me visualize the fretboard are finding fingerings that work across multiple strings and maintain the same intervals. So, fingerings on the 6th and 5th strings also work on the 4th and 3rd, and the 2nd and 1st string. I generally think of the 4 low strings as one group, and the top two strings as a second group. The bottom 4 strings chords, and the top 2 for melodies. The bottom 4 strings can be further broken down into the 2 lowest strings for bass notes and the next 2 for harmonies. I also look for fingerings that can "bridge across" the M3 interval between the 3rd and 2nd string, yet maintain their pitch and fingering integrity. For instance, a M3 can be fingered using the 3rd and 1st string, and that same fingering, interval, and pitch can be played 5 frets up on the 4th and 2nd string of the 7th fret. There are many more fingerings combining different strings than one might expect. I enjoy your Channel, and guitar playing insights. Thanks
I've recently picked up Mick's book the Advancing Guitarist and playing single strings, even just over the course of a few days, has dramatically improved my fretboard knowledge. The key to this practice is that you are *unable* to rely upon the patterns that you use when playing in a position. Patterns are great, but they allow your brain to turn off your awareness of the notes, which ultimately can prevent you from learning them. Even more depressing is that it makes it very difficult to play something new to yourself. After playing on single strings, the next step is two strings at a time. I was very surprised at how difficult it was to keep focused on note awareness. Even with just two strings, patterns creep back in and threaten your ability to be aware of what's going on. I'm coming to guitar from piano, where I'm far more comfortable. I can say that what makes things easy for me on the piano after many years of practice is that my mind can recall notes in many different ways, often simultaneously. If I'm playing over an Fmaj7 chord in the key of C and I play an E, I'm instantly aware of 1) it's the 7th of the chord 2) it's the 3rd of the key 3) it's interval relationship to other prominent notes 4) many ways to move away from the note. It's the combination of all these things that allow fluidity in my improvisation on the piano. I've found it incredibly difficult to gain the same awareness on the guitar. Part of it is the patterns, part of it is the guitar is far less visual, part of it is the major 3rd between the G and B strings shaking everything up, part of it is the multiple places to play the same thing, etc. Guitar is just hard man. Anyway... play on single strings. Be amazed at the results.
I learnt every note per fret. Only fret by fret up to 12th fret. Them I would open , say, Guitar pro and using note capture function I would randomly lay down notes on the staff randomly all over, maybe a couple pages long. Then play each note without looking at the fretboard by remembering what fret closest/relative to the one I just played that holds the next note to be played for example I would start with frets 1 to 6. Then 6 to 12. Believe me you will cover the fretboard in no time and gain an accurate working knowledge of the fretboard and subconsciously and without practicing boring scales and patterns. Scales fall into place after that. You practice this enough and you will become a thinking man guitarist
Hi Ben, an important lesson I think. What really made me see the layout of the notes on the neck in a better way was: playing all scales up, but backwards. so down the neck, and back up the neck again.
Great video! I've been playing guitar since 1987 and I've struggled (and still do) with IMMEDIATELY knowing the guitar notes on the neck, with no thinking. I know the notes up to the 5 fret pretty well, as when I started I didn't use TAB and read the music off the staff (I also played trumpet in high school, so I can read the staff really well). Except for some notes, the 5-10 fret region of the neck was a Bermuda Triangle for me...I didn't really know those notes all that well, and had to think about it for a second (too long if improvising). I got lost in knowing all these scale and arpeggio patterns...if I knew the note on the 5th or 6th string, then I just blindly followed a pattern, and that worked....for awhile. With that I didn't need to know each note name, just the pattern brought me there. Now I'm older, and I'm playing just for my own enjoyment at home, and I'm back at it with exercises to immediately know the note names...I'm close, but not quite there yet. I feel this is an underappreciated skill...and surprisingly many guitarists don't know all the names either. Always trying to improve :) Thanks again for your great content!! Dave M
I think this is fantastic advice and recently discovered it for myself when adapting to a seven string, and also trying to internalize the minor scales a little better. It's kind of absurd, but many of us guitar players get too comfortable too early and overlook something for many years so basic as getting the notes on all six strings solidly memorized all the way up. When you think about it if you've been playing the guitar for years but you can't instantly name any note anywhere on the neck, unless you have some kind of memory issue that prevents it, why would you find that acceptable, when it's really only matter of a week or two of study to get it down? Another great exercise everybody wanting to get better should do is taking musical phrases and playing them in different places; as many places as possible; same goes for chord voicings that can be moved from one set of strings to another.
The problem with focussing on scales is imo that the relation between notes and chords can get lost. I often close my eyes, hit an open E, A or D string and place a finger randomly on a string or, when a little more confident: somewhere on the fretboard and.... listen. What is the note telling/singing to me? Does it want to stay put or does it want to move somewhere else? In both cases it has a relation to the underlaying bassnote and the chord build on this bassnote. You probabely say: but there is no chord, only a bassnote. Yes and this just might be an advantage, because it confronts me with my imagination: what do i hear in my head as opposed to what does a tone or chord sound like AFTER i played it with the fingers. There's a saying hereo in the Netherlands: the soul travels on foot.
Hey mate, do you do one on one lessons for Canadians? Long time player who wants to get to a new level in terms of applying musical theory onto the guitar. Love your tone and want to work on my jazz / blues lines.
In my experience the problem with the guitar is one of the things that makes it easier compared to other instruments....namely the guitar is very visual and once you know a "pattern" of a scale it's very easy to transpose to a different key by shifting position but keeping the "pattern" the same, consequently you don't have to know the notes you are playing as you play through them . When you do try to force yourself to think primarily of the notes there is an enormous pull to see the patterns rather than being aware of the notes name.
Holdsworth was brilliant. I only discovered Holdsworth later on in my musical development, so I didn't take a lot from him musically. Though I do have the highest respect for his massive contribution to guitar, and music in general - one of the great musical minds of all time.
@@beneunson Very cool. I was inspired by him early in my development and I was able to meet him one time in Denton, Texas at a show of his. His greatest influence was John Coltrane. I was wondering that if I found a teacher that could play and teach Coltrane and Holdsworth , I would probably take a lesson. Lol
Merci, nice video. I'm trying to learn the ukulele fretboard, both tenor and baritone. I was frustrated that there were no black keys on the fretboard. So I did the next best thing. I put coloured postit notes on my piano, and now my piano has strings. This has helped since I'm trying to learn figured bass, and it helps see the intervals. I'm learning the different positions by learning the circle of fifths progression on different groups of strings. I find it easiest to stick with just the G Major scale until everything is automatic. Then I'll move to E minor, and only then take it around to all the keys.
ALL 11 Masterclasses in THE BGC BUNDLE: www.bensguitarclub.com/p/the-bgc-bundle
How To Practice BUNDLE (3 guitar masterclasses): www.bensguitarclub.com/p/how-to-practice-bundle-volumes-1-2-3
The Modern Soloing BUNDLE (5 soloing masterclasses): www.bensguitarclub.com/p/modern-soloing-bundle
I have been struggling with that, yet what has helped me to improve has been to work on visualizing triads. I discovered that it is easier for me to memorize the location of a "shape" than a location of a single note.
Thanks so much for sharing! Always great to hear another perspective on developing fretboard knowledge 😀
Great video Ben. When naming notes on a single string I like to have my students name them sharps when ascending and flats when descending that way they’re getting familiar with both sharps and flats and doing so separately.
That's a fantastic approach, thanks so much for sharing!
This approach was also mentioned in Mick Goodrick's great book "The Advancing Guitarist": when you can play both in positions and up/down one string, you can combine them and you'll finally master the whole fretboard. Also it's useful to practice scales and intervals in two adjacent strings, then three etc. Thanks for a fine video and all the best from Finland!
Thanks for sharing, and thanks for watching!
A few things that have helped me visualize the fretboard are finding fingerings that work across multiple strings and maintain the same intervals. So, fingerings on the 6th and 5th strings also work on the 4th and 3rd, and the 2nd and 1st string. I generally think of the 4 low strings as one group, and the top two strings as a second group. The bottom 4 strings chords, and the top 2 for melodies. The bottom 4 strings can be further broken down into the 2 lowest strings for bass notes and the next 2 for harmonies.
I also look for fingerings that can "bridge across" the M3 interval between the 3rd and 2nd string, yet maintain their pitch and fingering integrity. For instance, a M3 can be fingered using the 3rd and 1st string, and that same fingering, interval, and pitch can be played 5 frets up on the 4th and 2nd string of the 7th fret. There are many more fingerings combining different strings than one might expect.
I enjoy your Channel, and guitar playing insights. Thanks
Fantastic, thank you so much for sharing your insights! I really appreciate it.
Great lesson Ben. Your recent videos have been excellent
Thanks Jack!
Yes, I am 73 old. I learned this and it is a very good way!
Fantastic! Thanks for watching!
I've recently picked up Mick's book the Advancing Guitarist and playing single strings, even just over the course of a few days, has dramatically improved my fretboard knowledge. The key to this practice is that you are *unable* to rely upon the patterns that you use when playing in a position. Patterns are great, but they allow your brain to turn off your awareness of the notes, which ultimately can prevent you from learning them. Even more depressing is that it makes it very difficult to play something new to yourself.
After playing on single strings, the next step is two strings at a time. I was very surprised at how difficult it was to keep focused on note awareness. Even with just two strings, patterns creep back in and threaten your ability to be aware of what's going on.
I'm coming to guitar from piano, where I'm far more comfortable. I can say that what makes things easy for me on the piano after many years of practice is that my mind can recall notes in many different ways, often simultaneously. If I'm playing over an Fmaj7 chord in the key of C and I play an E, I'm instantly aware of 1) it's the 7th of the chord 2) it's the 3rd of the key 3) it's interval relationship to other prominent notes 4) many ways to move away from the note. It's the combination of all these things that allow fluidity in my improvisation on the piano. I've found it incredibly difficult to gain the same awareness on the guitar. Part of it is the patterns, part of it is the guitar is far less visual, part of it is the major 3rd between the G and B strings shaking everything up, part of it is the multiple places to play the same thing, etc. Guitar is just hard man.
Anyway... play on single strings. Be amazed at the results.
Thanks for sharing!
I learnt every note per fret. Only fret by fret up to 12th fret.
Them I would open , say, Guitar pro and using note capture function I would randomly lay down notes on the staff randomly all over, maybe a couple pages long. Then play each note without looking at the fretboard by remembering what fret closest/relative to the one I just played that holds the next note to be played
for example I would start with frets 1 to 6. Then 6 to 12. Believe me you will cover the fretboard in no time and gain an accurate working knowledge of the fretboard and subconsciously and without practicing boring scales and patterns. Scales fall into place after that.
You practice this enough and you will become a thinking man guitarist
Thank you for sharing!
Hi Ben, an important lesson I think.
What really made me see the layout of the notes on the neck in a better way was: playing all scales up, but backwards. so down the neck, and back up the neck again.
Thanks so much for watching, Wil - and thanks for sharing your insight as well!
Great video! I've been playing guitar since 1987 and I've struggled (and still do) with IMMEDIATELY knowing the guitar notes on the neck, with no thinking. I know the notes up to the 5 fret pretty well, as when I started I didn't use TAB and read the music off the staff (I also played trumpet in high school, so I can read the staff really well). Except for some notes, the 5-10 fret region of the neck was a Bermuda Triangle for me...I didn't really know those notes all that well, and had to think about it for a second (too long if improvising). I got lost in knowing all these scale and arpeggio patterns...if I knew the note on the 5th or 6th string, then I just blindly followed a pattern, and that worked....for awhile. With that I didn't need to know each note name, just the pattern brought me there. Now I'm older, and I'm playing just for my own enjoyment at home, and I'm back at it with exercises to immediately know the note names...I'm close, but not quite there yet. I feel this is an underappreciated skill...and surprisingly many guitarists don't know all the names either. Always trying to improve :) Thanks again for your great content!! Dave M
Thanks Dave, I really appreciate your insight here - thanks for sharing!
I think this is fantastic advice and recently discovered it for myself when adapting to a seven string, and also trying to internalize the minor scales a little better.
It's kind of absurd, but many of us guitar players get too comfortable too early and overlook something for many years so basic as getting the notes on all six strings solidly memorized all the way up. When you think about it if you've been playing the guitar for years but you can't instantly name any note anywhere on the neck, unless you have some kind of memory issue that prevents it, why would you find that acceptable, when it's really only matter of a week or two of study to get it down?
Another great exercise everybody wanting to get better should do is taking musical phrases and playing them in different places; as many places as possible; same goes for chord voicings that can be moved from one set of strings to another.
Thanks so much for sharing your insight Greg, and thanks for watching as always!
excellent advice, thanks - and a cool Canadian guitar!
Thanks so much! And yes, I love this guitar!
Super Clear dude, nice! 👍
Thanks so much!
The problem with focussing on scales is imo that the relation between notes and chords can get lost. I often close my eyes, hit an open E, A or D string and place a finger randomly on a string or, when a little more confident: somewhere on the fretboard and.... listen. What is the note telling/singing to me? Does it want to stay put or does it want to move somewhere else? In both cases it has a relation to the underlaying bassnote and the chord build on this bassnote. You probabely say: but there is no chord, only a bassnote. Yes and this just might be an advantage, because it confronts me with my imagination: what do i hear in my head as opposed to what does a tone or chord sound like AFTER i played it with the fingers. There's a saying hereo in the Netherlands: the soul travels on foot.
Thanks for sharing!
Excellent video, thanks Ben
Thanks Andreas!
Thanks, Ben. A nice reminder.
Thanks for watching, Eric!
Yes! This is fantastic
Glad you liked it!
Hey mate, do you do one on one lessons for Canadians? Long time player who wants to get to a new level in terms of applying musical theory onto the guitar. Love your tone and want to work on my jazz / blues lines.
Absolutely, send an email to bensguitarclub@gmail.com to book a 1-on-1 lesson! Thanks for watching
What city?
In my experience the problem with the guitar is one of the things that makes it easier compared to other instruments....namely the guitar is very visual and once you know a "pattern" of a scale it's very easy to transpose to a different key by shifting position but keeping the "pattern" the same, consequently you don't have to know the notes you are playing as you play through them . When you do try to force yourself to think primarily of the notes there is an enormous pull to see the patterns rather than being aware of the notes name.
Great observation, thanks so much for sharing!
UNLOCKS 101:First step,Open the guitar case and pick up the guitar and play 48 hours per day
Hahaha great answer! 🤣🤣🤣
Awesome ❤
Yes
Thanks for watching!
the root note thing is what unlocked the fret board for me
Fantastic!
Whitch pick do you use ?
Dunlop Tortex Sharp 1.14mm
Ben I know you are a bebop monster but I’m curious if you have ever played an Holdsworth solo. Does Holdsworth interest you?
Holdsworth was brilliant. I only discovered Holdsworth later on in my musical development, so I didn't take a lot from him musically. Though I do have the highest respect for his massive contribution to guitar, and music in general - one of the great musical minds of all time.
@@beneunson Very cool. I was inspired by him early in my development and I was able to meet him one time in Denton, Texas at a show of his. His greatest influence was John Coltrane. I was wondering that if I found a teacher that could play and teach Coltrane and Holdsworth , I would probably take a lesson. Lol
Merci, nice video.
I'm trying to learn the ukulele fretboard, both tenor and baritone. I was frustrated that there were no black keys on the fretboard. So I did the next best thing. I put coloured postit notes on my piano, and now my piano has strings.
This has helped since I'm trying to learn figured bass, and it helps see the intervals. I'm learning the different positions by learning the circle of fifths progression on different groups of strings. I find it easiest to stick with just the G Major scale until everything is automatic. Then I'll move to E minor, and only then take it around to all the keys.
That's a great approach! Thanks for sharing it!
Niccolo Paganini