iconic Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 (edited) Although I've been noodling for some time now, my fretboard knowledge is sometimes found wanting Every other day I find a note, normally past the 7th frets I can't find without reference to another....you know from a an octave or a 5th away etc. Don't get me wrong I get there usually OK but it's not always instant. Saw these and thought I'd give them a whirl, stick them on my daughter's bass....no one will know they are for me They aren't the usual individual decals, but come in a strip so [i]should[/i] be a breeze to fit. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bass-Guitar-Fretboard-Note-Labels-Fret-Stickers-Online-Lessons-Learning-Aids-/171045008138?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item27d313b30a#ht_2464wt_1330"]http://www.ebay.co.u...#ht_2464wt_1330[/url] Edited June 7, 2013 by iconic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 (edited) how about just using 3 5 7 9 (after all you know 12 is same as 0) and 2 4 6 8 are just the sharp or flat of the one below or above wouldnt bother with 10 and 11 tho nobody goes up there much Edited June 7, 2013 by steve-bbb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 You could try a thing like this to sharpen up your skills? [url="http://www.fretboardmaster.com/fretboardgame.html"]http://www.fretboardmaster.com/fretboardgame.html[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bassman7755 Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 (edited) Best excercise for learning the fretboard I've found is to pick a note, say E then play it on every string (up or down the strings), then pick another and repeat. Start with just one or two notes and add more as you get fluent in the existing ones. Cycle of 5ths ( F C G D A E B F# C# Ab Eb Bb) works well as the note sequence because 1) they are nicely spaced out so you cant use the previous one a reference easily, and 2) its single most important construct in music. When youve mastered this then play the entire cycle on each single string in turn. Forget about stickers / flash cards / software etc, I've tried it all and nothing works as well as the above approach IME. Edited June 7, 2013 by bassman7755 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share Posted June 7, 2013 [sub][size=3][size=5]Something happended a year ago, my ear got tuned into playing by ear far better than I ever thought possible (for me, I'm nearly tone deaf!) and since then I haven't been 'searching for notes' so much by using tabs and sheet, sort of made me lazy in a reverse manner ...just when my knowledge was starting to get there....[/size][/size][/sub] [sub][size=3][size=5]....saying I know the 'sound' of 'intervals' better sounds far more convincing....to me[/size][/size][/sub] [sub][size=3][size=5]thanks for the advice guys[/size][/size][/sub] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 I suspect some of the stickers might be a bit a bit irritating if you play jazz ...especially where Bb and Eb are concerned ( seems they are shown in the alternative as A# and D# ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Rich Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 [quote name='iconic' timestamp='1370598018' post='2103162'] [sub][size=5]Something happended a year ago, my ear got tuned into playing by ear far better than I ever thought possible (for me, I'm nearly tone deaf!) and since then I haven't been 'searching for notes' so much by using tabs and sheet, sort of made me lazy in a reverse manner ...just when my knowledge was starting to get there....[/size][/sub] [sub][size=5]....saying I know the 'sound' of 'intervals' better sounds far more convincing....to me[/size][/sub] [sub][size=5]thanks for the advice guys[/size][/sub] [/quote] It's like a lot of music theory.... you learn it, learn the sound of it, use it in your playing, then gradually forget the theory again. In some ways if your fingers are finding the right notes and it's not holding back your playing then maybe it's less important, but if your struggling to find the notes in a band situation it doesn't look good. Also, a lot of players that struggle to read music because it turns out they don't know the note names on the bass. I found the "Bass Clef" app really useful for learning the first 5 frets (and notes on the stave too if you set it to notation mode). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthurhenry Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 It sounds like you're already doing the right thing. You care about knowing which note you are playing, which is the most important thing and you are also able to name the note by referencing another. You may be slow at doing this in some areas of the neck, but it will come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coilte Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 [quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1370597254' post='2103142'] Best excercise for learning the fretboard I've found is to pick a note, say E then play it on every string (up or down the strings), then pick another and repeat. Start with just one or two notes and add more as you get fluent in the existing ones. Cycle of 5ths ( F C G D A E B F# C# Ab Eb Bb) works well as the note sequence because 1) they are nicely spaced out so you cant use the previous one a reference easily, and 2) its single most important construct in music. When youve mastered this then play the entire cycle on each single string in turn. Forget about stickers / flash cards / software etc [/quote] I agree with this. The only thing I would add, is to say or sing the notes out loud as you play them. It is the ears that need to learn, not the eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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