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If you come from an instrument so logically laid out and visually easy to understand such as the piano, switching to guitar can be very frustrating, provided you want to go beyond just learning where to put your fingers down, playing some simple chords and having fun. There is no black and white, no hints as to which notes are natural, sharp or flat. On the piano, notes don’t occur in more than one place. There is one middle C on the piano. On the guitar there are four or five.

There is no magic trick for this but there are things you can do and use to help you. Here are a few, although there are more than just these.

1. Memorize the 12 chromatic notes and their frets on the low E string to the octave. The chromatic sequence applies to all strings, but starts in different places so E 5th fret is the same as A open, etc. Also memorize the dots on the E string to the octave, G,A,B,C#,E. Knowing the dots can get you from place to place much quicker. It’s a good idea to at least know the dots on the lowest two strings because it will help you find barre chords and scale positions much faster.

2. Remember the guitar strings are in 4ths with one exception, G-B is a M3. Use this interval knowledge to get from place to place. A few examples are: low E fret 3 or G, to A fret 3 is a P4, or C. A fret 2 is a M3, B. A fret 5 is a P5. Memorize the intervals within an octave crossing one or 2 strings and the note recognition will start to sink in and get quicker. You can also learn and use intervals across all 6 strings, for example fret 5 low to high is: A,D,G,C,E,A (P4,P4,P4,M3,P4)

3. Learn scale positions, for example, these for a G major scale. They are movable in order to play in any key but also if you know the names of the notes in different scales you can combine the scale degrees with the note names to know what you’re playing.

Bottom line, learning the fingerboard is a combination of memorization and learning how to use physical shapes and roadmaps to get from place to place. It takes time but the knowledge does tend to snowball as you move forward.

If you come from an instrument so logically laid out and visually easy to understand such as the piano, switching to guitar can be very frustrating, provided you want to go beyond just learning where to put your fingers down, playing some simple chords and having fun. There is no black and white, no hints as to which notes are natural, sharp or flat. On the piano, notes don’t occur in more than one place. There is one middle C on the piano. On the guitar there are four or five.

There is no magic trick for this but there are things you can do and use to help you. Here are a few, although there are more than just these.

1. Memorize the 12 chromatic notes and their frets on the low E string to the octave. The chromatic sequence applies to all strings, but starts in different places so E 5th fret is the same as A open, etc. Also memorize the dots on the E string to the octave, G,A,B,C#,E. Knowing the dots can get you from place to place much quicker. It’s a good idea to at least know the dots on the lowest two strings because it will help you find barre chords and scale positions much faster.

2. The guitar strings, E,A,D,G,B,E are tuned in 4ths with one exception, G-B is a M3. Use this interval knowledge to get from place to place. A few examples are: low E fret 3 or G, to A fret 3 is a P4, or C. A fret 2 is a M3, B. A fret 5 is a P5. Memorize the intervals within an octave crossing one or 2 strings and the note recognition will start to sink in and get quicker. You can also learn and use intervals across all 6 strings, for example fret 5 low to high is: A,D,G,C,E,A (P4,P4,P4,M3,P4)

3. Learn scale positions, for example, these for a G major scale. They are movable in order to play in any key but also if you know the names of the notes in different scales you can combine the scale degrees with the note names to know what you’re playing.

Bottom line, learning the fingerboard is a combination of memorization and learning how to use physical shapes and roadmaps to get from place to place. It takes time but the knowledge does tend to snowball as you move forward.

If you come from an instrument so logically laid out and visually easy to understand such as the piano, switching to guitar can be very frustrating, provided you want to go beyond just learning where to put your fingers down, playing some simple chords and having fun. There is no black and white, no hints as to which notes are natural, sharp or flat. On the piano, notes don’t occur in more than one place. There is one middle C on the piano. On the guitar there are four or five.

There is no magic trick for this but there are things you can do and use to help you with this. Here are a few, although there are more than just these.

1. Memorize the chromatic sequence on the low E string. Remember that the sequence applies to all strings, but starting in different places so E 5th fret is the same as A open, etc. Also memorize the dots on the E string to the octave, G,A,B,C#,E. Knowing the dots can get you from place to place much quicker.It’s a good idea to at least know the dots on the lowest two strings because it will help you find barre chords and scale positions much faster.

2. Remember the guitar strings are in 4ths with one exception, G-B is a M3. Use this interval knowledge to get from place to place. A few examples are: low E fret 3 or G, to A fret 3 is a P4, or C. A fret 2 is a M3, B. A fret 5 is a P5. Memorize the intervals within an octave crossing one or 2 strings and the note recognition will start to sink in and get quicker. You can also learn and use intervals across all 6 strings, for example fret 5 low to high is: A,D,G,C,E,A (P4,P4,P4,M3,P4)

3. Learn scale positions, for example, these for a G major scale. They are movable in order to play in any key but also if you know the names of the notes in different scales you can combine the scale degrees with the note names to know what you’re playing.

Bottom line, learning the fingerboard is a combination of memorization and learning how to use physical shapes and roadmaps to get from place to place. It takes time but the knowledge does tend to snowball as you move forward.

If you come from an instrument so logically laid out and visually easy to understand such as the piano, switching to guitar can be very frustrating, provided you want to go beyond just learning where to put your fingers down, playing some simple chords and having fun. There is no black and white, no hints as to which notes are natural, sharp or flat. On the piano, notes don’t occur in more than one place. There is one middle C on the piano. On the guitar there are four or five.

There is no magic trick for this but there are things you can do and use to help you. Here are a few, although there are more than just these.

1. Memorize the 12 chromatic notes and their frets on the low E string to the octave. The chromatic sequence applies to all strings, but starts in different places so E 5th fret is the same as A open, etc. Also memorize the dots on the E string to the octave, G,A,B,C#,E. Knowing the dots can get you from place to place much quicker. It’s a good idea to at least know the dots on the lowest two strings because it will help you find barre chords and scale positions much faster.

2. Remember the guitar strings are in 4ths with one exception, G-B is a M3. Use this interval knowledge to get from place to place. A few examples are: low E fret 3 or G, to A fret 3 is a P4, or C. A fret 2 is a M3, B. A fret 5 is a P5. Memorize the intervals within an octave crossing one or 2 strings and the note recognition will start to sink in and get quicker. You can also learn and use intervals across all 6 strings, for example fret 5 low to high is: A,D,G,C,E,A (P4,P4,P4,M3,P4)

3. Learn scale positions, for example, these for a G major scale. They are movable in order to play in any key but also if you know the names of the notes in different scales you can combine the scale degrees with the note names to know what you’re playing.

Bottom line, learning the fingerboard is a combination of memorization and learning how to use physical shapes and roadmaps to get from place to place. It takes time but the knowledge does tend to snowball as you move forward.

If you come from an instrument so logically laid out and visually easy to understand such as the piano, switching to guitar can be very frustrating, provided you want to go beyond just learning where to put your fingers down and play some simple chords and having fun. There is no black and white, no hints as to which notes are natural, sharp or flat,

There is no magic trick for this but there are things you can do and use to help you with this. Here are a few, although there are more than just these.

1. Memorize the chromatic sequence on the low E string. Remember that the sequence applies to all strings, but starting in different places so E 5th fret is the same as A open, etc. Also memorize the dots on the E string to the octave, G,A,B,C#,E. Knowing the dots can get you from place to place much quicker.It’s a good idea to at least know the dots on the lowest two strings because it will help you find barre chords and scale positions much faster.

2. Remember the guitar strings are in 4ths with one exception, G-B is a M3. Use this interval knowledge to get from place to place. A few examples are: low E fret 3 or G, to A fret 3 is a P4, or C. A fret 2 is a M3, B. A fret 5 is a P5. Memorize the intervals within an octave crossing one or 2 strings and the note recognition will start to sink in and get quicker. You can also learn and use intervals across all 6 strings, for example fret 5 low to high is: A,D,G,C,E,A (P4,P4,P4,M3,P4)

3. Learn scale positions, for example, these for a G major scale. They are movable in order to play in any key but also if you know the names of the notes in different scales you can combine the scale degrees with the note names to know what you’re playing.

Bottom line, learning the fingerboard is a combination of memorization and learning how to use physical shapes and roadmaps to get from place to place. It takes time but the knowledge does tend to snowball as you move forward.

If you come from an instrument so logically laid out and visually easy to understand such as the piano, switching to guitar can be very frustrating, provided you want to go beyond just learning where to put your fingers down, playing some simple chords and having fun. There is no black and white, no hints as to which notes are natural, sharp or flat. On the piano, notes don’t occur in more than one place. There is one middle C on the piano. On the guitar there are four or five.

There is no magic trick for this but there are things you can do and use to help you with this. Here are a few, although there are more than just these.

1. Memorize the chromatic sequence on the low E string. Remember that the sequence applies to all strings, but starting in different places so E 5th fret is the same as A open, etc. Also memorize the dots on the E string to the octave, G,A,B,C#,E. Knowing the dots can get you from place to place much quicker.It’s a good idea to at least know the dots on the lowest two strings because it will help you find barre chords and scale positions much faster.

2. Remember the guitar strings are in 4ths with one exception, G-B is a M3. Use this interval knowledge to get from place to place. A few examples are: low E fret 3 or G, to A fret 3 is a P4, or C. A fret 2 is a M3, B. A fret 5 is a P5. Memorize the intervals within an octave crossing one or 2 strings and the note recognition will start to sink in and get quicker. You can also learn and use intervals across all 6 strings, for example fret 5 low to high is: A,D,G,C,E,A (P4,P4,P4,M3,P4)

3. Learn scale positions, for example, these for a G major scale. They are movable in order to play in any key but also if you know the names of the notes in different scales you can combine the scale degrees with the note names to know what you’re playing.

Bottom line, learning the fingerboard is a combination of memorization and learning how to use physical shapes and roadmaps to get from place to place. It takes time but the knowledge does tend to snowball as you move forward.