Notes In The First Five Frets

Music Theory Neck Notes, TAB, Chord & Scale Diagrams
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Hi @maryj

First, welcome to the forums. Lots of really good information here! It can keep you reading for days at the beginning. :slight_smile:

It looks like you are asking about changes to the software display? I think the tool can be a handicap.

I’ve been working on memorizing notes for a while now. I don’t work very hard on it, but I have a few tips useful for me:

  1. think in terms of the instrument you are playing, not the piano.
  2. learn the notes in the C major scale (super easy - CDEFGABC…)
  3. understand and memorize the offset sequence in the major scale (for any key) - TTSTTTS (T=tone offset, S=semitone offset).
  4. know the open notes of the strings (6 to 1 → EADGBE for standard tuning)

You have three sequences to memorize here, and they are not too long. From this you can think through any fret on the fretboard and figure out what note it will be. Yeah, you may need to count it out, but eventually, you will start to not need to.

You will also start to identify patterns. Patterns will become an important part of learning to play more complex things. The first pattern you may see is that at fret 5, the notes there are just the string below open (except for string 2). It won’t take long before you automatically know that “A on string 6” is just fret 5.

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I find mindfully playing the C Major scale is helping me to pick up the first 3 frets fairly quickly. I pick the note of the scale while looking at my finger on the fret, then I pick the same note while looking at my picking hand - I say the name of the note each time I pick it. Then, I close my eyes and repeat the process, while picturing my hands’ positions in my mind. Two 15-minute sessions and I can already feel the names of the notes and their positions coming more quickly.

Should I wait to move on in PMT until I have an automatic recall for the first 5 frets? I guess I’m trying to ask how perfected this should be before I move on. Thank you!

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@Talia41414 you’re doing fine - ready to move on :slight_smile:

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