After watching Justins latest instruction video about learning the fretboard I purchased the training app.
Must confess I think itās great, the different games set up to help me learn are good and I have to say Iām finding it slightly addictive.
My only question is how can I be sure the knowledge I gain by āplaying the appā will stay with me when I have my guitar in hand.
During the session a person asked should they use the app when playing guitar, Justinās answer was no, when you have your guitar in hand play music, use the app when youāve not got your guitar.
I wouldānt dream of questioning Justinās advice, that would be foolish on my part but as I play the game and learn just hoping my knowledge transfers from screen to my guitar fretboard.
Youāll probably find youāre heading to a particular note on the fretboard after a while without realizing you thought about it. Nothing wrong though with using the game to test your knowledge and finding the note on the guitar I think. Then compare your answer to the test answer. Why not?
Your knowledge will transfer. Itās like looking at chord sheets memorizing the G-C-D-G of a verse. You donāt have to have your guitar with you for that to work.
There has been research that shows that recall of information is much better if it is learned in the same environment that it will be needed. This concept is called ācontext dependent memoryā. So if revising for an exam, you are better off learning sitting at a desk rather than lying in bed.
I think the best way to learn this stuff is with a guitar in hand, and the very best way IMHO would be to use it to play music - so playing songs you know but using more of the fretboard - playing all barre chords / power chords for example.
However if you donāt have a guitar in hand, then Iām positive itās going to help, just perhaps not as effectively as with a guitar.
I donāt know the answer to the original post. In my experience Iāve tried a couple of times to learn on the guitar but have never got good at it. Itās a boring practice exercise and Iāve never been able to stick with it for long enough. Maybe I should try the app.
Interesting what you wrote about environment-related studying!
So, maybe after working with the game/tool, when you get back to guitar, you could sort of review your game session on the real fretboard, trying to find the same notes, or playing the game in your head now with the real fretboard to solidify the "offline"session?
I remember I once came across a similar software and one mode was giving me note names and then it waited for me to play the note on the guitar and say āokā or not. But this worked only in one direction to use my real fretboard.
Hello, I guess Iām just unlucky but my experience with the Note Trainer App on a Samsung phone has been nothing but frustrating. I will start the Find the Note game, press the screen where the desired note is located and told Iām incorrect. It then shows that I pressed usually 2 frets away from where I actually pressed. Good thing the App only cost $5 or I would be asking for my money back.
