Anyone else too lazy and depressed to learn note names?

[djchase7]

I

[Poparad]

When I was learning my letter names, I would pick a different scale each day for the beginning of my practice time and just improvise melodies and try to visualise the notes I was playing and how they lay on the fretboard in the particular key/scale. This is a great thing to do because you're working on becoming fluent with scales, learning the notes of the fretboard, and improving your improvisational skills.

I'd slowely run each scale in a position up and down saying and thinking the note names without actually looking at the fretboard most of the time. I'd also practice playing a note, then moving to the notes around in by half steps, whole steps, up or down a string or two, and so on. This helps learning where in proximity other notes are from a particular one, which is very important to know, becuase when you're playing scales, and especially when jumping around at different intervals, the hardest thing it knowing where that next note is. By knowing all the notes around, say a 7th fret, 5th string E, then jumping around to any other note near there is much easier.

Reading through a lot of music also helps in visualising how things lay on the fretboard a lot as well.

[jstrudwick]

This is the method I have been using.

http://www.wholenote.com/cgi-bin/page_view.pl?l=458

[FingerBone Bill]

Originally posted by jstrudwick This is the method I have been using. http://www.wholenote.com/cgi-bin/page_view.pl?l=458

 

 

I recon that would work well for you.

 

I'd make sure I had the notes ascending up the E string down pat first to avoid confusing yourself.

[jstrudwick]

I couldn't find the site that described this method, but another one that I thought would be helpful for myself.

Pick 1 or 2 notes such as C and E. Find all the positions for those notes on the fretboard, then play them in order from lowest string/tone to highest string/tone. Spend 5 - 10 minutes a day with these notes, and change the notes you are practicing with daily.

Hope I described that correctly. Let me know if it doesn't make sense.

[Flanger]

Originally posted by djchase7 Tell me what is the best way to learn note names, and to overcome this guitar depression!

I play scales from frets 1-12, with one note per string, startting with string 1 (the high E). I do down/up/down/up and then play the last note, one step higher, to end it at two octaves. Of course, I don't look at the fretboard while doing this exercise.

So for C Major, it would be

8-----------------------1-----------------------7-8
--3-------------------5--8------------------10----
----9---------------7------2------------12--------
------4---------10-----------9--------3-----------
--------10---2-----------------3----7-------------
------------5---------------------10---------------

[335clone]

Try this, it's a bit more fun than the others:

http://www.musictheory.net/load.php?id=81

[djchase7]

Originally posted by 335clone Try this, it's a bit more fun than the others: http://www.musictheory.net/load.php?id=81

 

 

very cool! thanks!

[335clone]

Originally posted by djchase7 very cool! thanks!

 

 

Enjoy. They have a couple of others too.

[djchase7]

I'm doing much better now with my playing and how I feel about music. I blew the dust of my Martin and put the others in their cases, purchased a few CDs, and felt inspired.

Although note names are hard for me to rember, I think I'm grasping the whole scale thing on a new level. I went back to the basics, major scale, open chords, and finger workouts. I'm starting to put some things together I didn't ever know before. Man what a differance just a few days can make! Got some gas in my tank again. Thanks guys.