No More Guessing:


Memorize All Notes on the Fretboard Within FIVE MINUTES!

The #1 complaint of students starting to learn jazz? “I don’t know my fretboard well
enough to understand all these jazz chords and scales!” As difficult as jazz can be, your
own instrument shouldn’t be the thing that gets in the way of really making progress,
so let’s take JUST FIVE MINUTES to conquer your fretboard, once and for all.

One of the most confusing elements of the guitar is the fact that the very same note
has multiple locations: you can find the exact same note on multiple strings in different
positions on the neck, so let’s just eliminate that little bit of trickiness altogether. Every
exercise in this lesson will make use of only one string at a time. This helps us in two
big ways. Firstly, we don’t have to worry about how or when to change to another
string. And secondly, we’ll finally be able to see the shape of important musical
structures unfold across the neck!

What do we mean by “musical structures”? We’re talking about the building blocks of
jazz music: scales and chords!

The first thing we want to tackle is the most important musical structure in jazz: the
Major Scale. To use a metaphor, this is a collection of 7 notes that serve as the “colour
palette” that you’re allowed to “paint” with.

Each note in the Major Scale is spaced a certain sonic distance from the next: either by
a half-step or by a whole-step. On our guitar fretboard, two notes are a half-step away
if they are separated by one fret; if we have to move two frets away to reach the next
note, we’ve traveled a whole-step.

Take a look at the music below: I’ve labeled the names of the 7 notes of the C Major
Scale, what they look like in standard notation, and how far apart each note is from the
next - whether it’s a half-step or a whole-step. I’ve also numbered each note.

Fig. 1 - The C Major Scale

This might seem like a lot of information, but you really only need to remember one
thing: the locations of the half-steps. You see, there are only two half-steps in the
Major Scale, and they’re located between the 3rd & 4th degrees, and the 7th & 1st
degrees of the scale. For the C Major Scale, that is between E & F, and between B and
C. If you can memorize those, the rest is a breeze!

So, how do we transfer all of this to the guitar?

Well, remember how each fret represents a half-step interval between two notes?
We’re going to find all of the notes of the C Major scale on a single string. Once again,
the most important thing to remember is where the half-step locations are: between E
& F, and between B & C.

Let’s get started with our first exercise: play all of the notes of the C Major Scale on
the high E string. Take a look at the music below to see what notes we’re playing, and
where we’re playing it (TABS). Because the first note of the string is an open E, we
should be able to figure out what note comes next, and on which fret, no problem…

Fig. 2 - The C Major Scale on the 1st String (high E)

Again, the important thing is knowing what note you’re on, and which notes are
followed by a half-step interval. Are you on B, or on E? Yes? Then the next note is 1 fret
away. If not, the next note is 2 frets away. Simple? Take a quick minute to wrap your
head around at first.

Now that you have the basic idea, let’s deepen the memorization, in 3 steps. You’ve
already completed Step 1: that’s just finding the note locations on a single string.

• Step 1: Find the notes of the C Major Scale on ONE string;

• Step 2: Strum a simple C major chord (“cowboy” chord is fine);

• Step 3 is to improvise a simple, melodic line within the scale, entirely on that
string. (That’s just one line of “sentence” of music. Don’t noodle.)

Yes, you heard me: improvise! The absolute fastest way to learn the notes on your
fretboard is to use them to make music!

Don’t be afraid. Just strum that C major chord and then play a couple of notes. Strum
that chord again and play a few more notes. Keep repeating the process over and over,
doing more complicated moves around that string as you go: start with moving step-
by-step up and down the scale, then start trying to jump between far-away notes.

Here are a few examples of what this sounds like. Try them out for yourself at first if
you want to get some ideas, but you have to try improvising simple little phrases if you
truly want to learn the fretboard.

Fig. 3 - A Short, “Improvised” Solo on the 1st String (high E)

Making actual musical gestures (with a little bit of theory) is a much more effective way
of learning your fretboard than being told where to put your fingers. Take this 3-step
process through every string on your guitar, and you’ll learn the fretboard in no time!

If you want to practice all of the above in a “live lesson” video, check out this free
YouTube lesson from yours truly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TDlrK0C49k
(please don’t share or link to this video, as it is kept private for students!)

If you want to dive really deep in to learning the fretboard, check out our course, “Learn
The Fretboard 2.0” on JazzGuitarLessons.net