A lot of people resist the thought of learning the notes on the fretboard because it seems like such a daunting task. But there are a limited number of notes to learn and once you can identify a few on each string, you can easily find all the others. And you don’t have to be able to find notes at lightning speed to begin learning new things more quickly and playing up the neck with more ease. As you start doing more it will cycle upward, until one day you realize you’re finding the notes you want as you play!

First, Tune Your Guitar

Before you get started, be sure you’re well versed in the relative tuning method. If you’re not, you can learn it here. It’s important to know, not just for note finding, but also for understanding the fretboard and developing your aural skills!

My Tried-and-True Method

In this video, I show you my favorite method for finding notes quickly. Use it consistently to “shrink” the fretboard. If you already know how to find notes and barre chords, you can just watch from 3:20 – 9:00 to discover how to find them more quickly and, ultimately, to memorize them.

If you’ve tried other methods and failed, commit to doing it this way and practice it regularly. It works!

And Then Do This

Once you know how to find notes, do it every time you play. You can even practice it when you don’t have a guitar in your hands, by either visualizing the fretboard or writing on a blank fretboard diagram. Just pick a note and find it on every string.

Like most things, learning the fretboard can be accomplished one painless step at a time. Once you can find the notes with ease, your guitar will open up to you in ways you might not have imagined!