The problem with most (legitimate) methods for learning the notes on the neck is that they focus directly on learning the notes on the neck, which can only be a laborious process with no wider context to make the notes actually stick in your head. I’ll bet you know the notes on the low E and A strings, not because you sat and played them chromatically until you almost died of boredom, but through playing songs with plenty of barre chords in them. My idea then, is to learn the notes in an indirect way by doing something slightly more interesting whose side-effect happens to be learning the notes on the neck.
The Power of Threes
Triads are the foundation of the chords in every key, and are also the building blocks for arpeggios. If we look how all the possible Major Triads (Root, third, fifth) are spelled out, we get the following:
C, E, G – C Major
G, B, D – G Major
D, F#, A – D Major
A, C#, E – A Major
E, G#, B – E Major
B, D#, F# – B Major
Gb, Bb, Db – Gb Major
Db, F, Ab – Db Major
Ab, C, Eb – Ab Major
Eb, G, Bb – Eb Major
Bb, D, F – Bb Major
F, A, C – F Major
So what does this have to do with learning the notes on the neck? In the above triad spellings, you’ll find all 12 notes repeated 3 times, and even all the enharmonic equivalents such as C#/Db, D#/Eb, F#/Gb etc. In other words, we have a pattern that contains all the information we want to learn in an easy-to-digest format such as triads! I’ve also ordered the triads in the circle of fifths which means there’s spaced repetition for each note—another aide memoire.
Right click and download the PDF file below which tells you exactly what to learn on each of the 12 days. Bear in mind that it gets gradually easier as the notes start to repeat, and from Day 8 onward there are actually no new notes to learn. Enjoy!
| how_to_learn_the_notes_on_the_neck_in_12_days.pdf |