A Practical Approach to Learning the Guitar Fretboard

There are lots of guitar gurus who will tell you they have the secret formula for learning the notes on the guitar fretboard. Don't believe them. There is no simple formula. If you know the notes of the guitar fretboard you have probably spent years playing and studying the instrument.

However, having said that, there are effective strategies and not-so-effective strategies. And there is no guarantee that the strategy that works for one person will work for another.

Here are some things about learning the guitar fretboard we can say with some certainty:

1. The fretboard has a lot of notes. Learning them all at once is very difficult for most of us. You need a strategy that simplifies the task.
2. Some notes will be used over and over again. Learning the most important notes is an easy and effective place to start.
3. Because of the way the guitar is tuned there are simple-to-learn, repeatable patterns. Learning these patterns will help a lot in understanding the fretboard.
4. You have to play all over the fretboard in order to really learn the notes and lock in their locations. Use it or lose it!

There you have an outline of an effective strategy.

1. Learn the most important notes. See some suggestions here...
2. Learn the most important patterns. See some descriptions here...
3. Find some exercises that target note locations up and down the neck...
4. Play songs and melodies, scales and arpeggios at different locations up and down the neck...