How to Memorize the Fretboard - My Top 6 Tips!

Hello friends,
and welcome to the first ever #SwiftChallenge! Every week I will be prescribing a simple initiative that will have a positive impact on your playing. This week I challenge each of you to learn the names of the notes on the fretboard. This is the single most powerful thing you can do to quickly evolve as a guitarist. Let's check out my top six tips for memorizing the notes on each string. Enjoy your progress!

Enjoy this lesson with fretboard diagrams at:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Links:

[guitarbrenda]

the hardest thing about learning the fretboard, IS LEARNING THE FRETBOARD

[brianwood]

I have to roll my eyes every time I land on a YouTube guitar lesson where I see this comment "I have been playing XX amount of years and this is the best video I have seen on {current video topic} on YouTube. {Guitar Teacher} you are the best teacher on YouTube."

BUT this is the best tips video on learning the fretboard of the dozens that I have watched. Mr. Swift explains things much better and some of the WHY as to what he is teaching. My only gripe is that he's a fast talker and that's true for all the Swift lessons, but that's on me to keep up. : )

[keithpressey]

Started playing as a teenager, when Mom paid $5 for a 45 minute lesson. (But most of the time, the teacher was just playing and I tried to look impressed, while thinking, How about teaching me instead of just showing off?) So now in my Social Security years, I'm playing catch up. Never too old to learn the basics. And man, that fretboard is one big mystery!! Fortunately this video helps to de-mystify. Much thanks!

[captainkangaroo]

Not only is it important to know every note on the fretboard but it is essential to know what it will sound like BEFORE you play it.

[swiftlessons]

Hey friends,
I want to see your progress! Tag me at Twitter.com/Swiftlessons and use the hashtag #swiftchallenge. Can you name the notes on the first three frets? How about all the notes on the E and A strings? Can you tell me the note names inside four basic chords? Prove it!

[chesterburnett]

Great lesson. Another helpful tip was taught to me at my first guitar lesson. Memorize the following acronym: BEADGCF/BbEbAbDbGb. Then, to know the note name
of the next note going across the neck, start with any note you do know and apply the rule. So, e.g. if the 7th fret on the E string is B, the note on the next string over is E, and
so forth. If the 8th note on the A string is F, the next note over on the D string is Bb.

[richardvaughan]

I love the part where you said to sing the notes and apply it, that is such amazing advice my friend

[annabellecaedo]

OmG this is the clearest and easiest tutorial I have watched so far. Thank you :)

[signin]

This has been so helpful for me! I have been playing the guitar for 2 years. I started memorizing the chords first when I was a beginner, but I did not learn the parts of the fret board because I dont see any tutorials about that in any youtube videos and there you are man! thanks and I should really learn these basic tips. keep the videos coming! It helps a lot of people and aspiring musicians!

[Korezbot]

You have great tips! What helped me tremendously is learning all the notes on one string at a time. Thank you :D

[jcjc]

Thanks for your effort. It's not easy but I trust that your easy manner of delivery belies the serious approach you take to make us that much matter to get us on the way to the big Pay Day at the end of it all. We really appreciate your style and dedication therein. Patience and trust is key.

[marcus]

Not only a talent for playing guitar but a talent for teaching it! Very grateful for your lessons.

[Ryan]

When I was learning this, and let's face it I'm still learning it because the fretboard is so full of surprises... it helped me to just remember that the notes along all the strings follow the same sequential logic as the keyboard, of whole steps and half steps with sharps and flats between. This same sequential logic applies with the chord shapes as well. Say if you take the F shape (which is an E shape with a bar added behind it) and walk that from the open F up a half step it's now an F sharp, further half step takes it to a G and so on following that sequential. For the open shapes, these are the same principal just add a bar behind them one step as you walk them up the neck and the follow the same sequence of notes, (chromatic) This blew my mind when I first connected this piece of info with the fretboard note map. It's all about learning slowly but surely where the notes are in relation to each other in shapes, octave shapes follow a pattern of two down and two (or three depending) across, arpeggio shapes will help as well but I haven't gotten that far and thus at this stage don't really understand how they're laid out on the neck even though I know what an arpeggio is, unison notes is a great place to begin as there are a few different places on the neck the same notes can be played, (I found this out when I tried to learn that solo in the Paul Kelly song to her door, which has one-foot int he G major scale near the nut and the other staggering all over the neck in the most catchy way) scales will also help. You can wrap them around octave shapes and chords if you connect the two together. At this stage, I'm just getting started learning scales and am a little overwhelmed as to where to begin, what's most important and how do modes and positions come into it. Like I've noticed in the melodic songs ive learned, there are often box-like patterns that walk up and down and overlap like steps, I often see other guitarists follow this logic as well and I'm itching to know more about it, but really have no idea where I should start. But when I began to connect the fretboard notes, (I don't have to instantly be able to identify a note at a seconds notice) with the chord shapes, the barr chords and CAGED, I had the best time.

[mahmoudeledrissi]

tell me people if i am wrong this guy is teaching from his heart. thats why we tend to be learning a lot from him. thanks bro God bless you,

[eddiemattison]

Great practice add. This is one of the best videos I've seen for making the fretboard learning easier. Clumps :-)

[TigerWill]

It is great to know the minor and major scale and try to make it on each string one by one, memorizing the notes, and try to think where the scale begins and when it ends and knowing it's form, one important thing, the minor scale it's just a backwards major scale, just try to make a minor scale on guitar and a major scale beside it, or think like this:a minor or a major scale has 2 notes on first string and 3 on the other two, if u do the Basic root note on the e string and other root on the D

[zyzz]

Your lessons are appreciated so much 🙏🏽 keep it coming

[hawkdl]

Tip 3 seems so obvious, but until you pointed it out I was resigned to learning only the notes on the E and A string. Now, thanks to your tip, I have almost all the notes on the fretboard figured out. Great videos - all of them.

[thomaswalton]

Very helpful stuff, I know loads of scales and licks but know idea what notes I'm playing, I'm going to learn them all now.

[gregdionne]

Great tips my friend .I've been putting this part of my playing off for many years. I'm at a place were I need this imfo. to move on. I love your simple but effective method. Your Awesome!!! Thanks