my journey to englightenment (sight reading)

[brian_ok]

optional bragging, skip this part if you don't want to see it.

Okay, I've reached a turning point in my life as a guitarist. If you give me a tab or show me how to play a song, I can basically play the hell out of it. I can play Warehouse, the Stone, Tripping Billies, etc. and I regularly play/sing So Much to Say and Tripping Billies. Recently, I've learned Little Wing and some parts of Stream, and started writing my own music. (more about that later...)

bragging over

I feel that the next step is to get familiar with the notes on the fretboard, aka

1.)be able to find any note at any location
2.)be able to form (m)any type(s) of chord voicing quickly at any location
3.)become more familiar with arpeggios and scales to improve my soloing

These steps will ultimately lead to...

being able to pick up a piece of music written in standard notation (staff) and play it on guitar. Obviously, to get to this stage will take several years, but I plan on starting that today. well actually yesterday.

Yesterday, this this book came from amazon. Looking through it, I'd highly recommend it.

The book is about learning root patterns on the fretboard, and how these patterns apply to forming arpeggios, scales, chords, etc. on the fretboard.

I also bought Reading Studies for Guitar, which just focuses on sight reading. another recommendation, so far at least.

I will be working slowly through this (Fretboard Workbook), although the first few sections are review for me.

I have also made flashcards, (find E# on strings 1, 3, 5) (find A on strings 4,5,6)---about 50 like that, that I will start doing in a week or two.

My goals: (extremely tentative)

By February-May, be able to quickly (within 1 second) find any note in all of its positions on the fretboard

By this summer, be able to slowly sight read simple pieces of music.

By this time next year, have finished working through the Guitar Fretboard Workbook...be able to form arpeggios, chords, and scales quickly(er).

Obviously, these goals are very vague, but I know I'm going in the right direction.

So anyways, I'll update this once a week or so to let you know how I'm doing...I'll bet there are a few people at least that are interested in this same thing.

Please tell me if you're interested or not...if no one is, then I'll stop this thread.

~Brian

[Cor]

I'd be curious to see how your progress, but once a week seems a little much. Maybe once a month? Or maybe whenever you feel you've accomplished something, or are having problems and need some help, or something.

I know how extreme practice sessions go. I am doing them right now to get ready for my auditions for college. Good luck!

[gumbomadness]

hey, congratulations!
I play jazz and classical guitar, along with funk and blues and all those styles...
i play in my highschool jazz band and also a classical band at my separate music school,

so-- i am extremely proud of you (even tho i dont know you) because what you are doing is the WHOLE PURPOSE of any instrument and i think your drive is going to make you amazing.

Its been a while since ive said anything here regarding theory or technique but, if you ever need any help with theory (i.e. rock improvising, modal improvising, chord construction, chord forms (i can help you with some fantastic ones)), reading (rhtyhms, notation), or improvising (being able to "feel" progressions and learn the psychology of what tones work over which progressions to create such and such a feeling) just PM me or AIM me. (sn: gumbomadness)

good luck!

[brian_ok]

Thanks a lot both of you!

gumbomadness I'll definetly be talking to you.

also cor-good luck at auditions..and as far as extreme practicing goes, I'll keep that to a minimum. I'm looking at 2-4 20-30 minute targeted pracice times a day, as well as incorporating this direction into my everyday playing. (I'll try to start thinking in terms of notes instead of frets...standard notation instead of tablature, etc.)

about the once a week vs. month etc...

I'll just post what I've been doing, interesting concepts that I feel others might be interested in, etc. A week is a small increment to measure progress as far as something like this goes; I agree with you about that.

[Cor]

It's pretty neat actually; I have been using lead sheets from the New Real Book to start my jazz standard memorizing. I'm working on 15 different ones, and by the time I went through them all and started memorizing melodies, my sight-reading improved a decent amount. I suggest trying that. Also, it helped me to be a quick thinker when it came to chords in different voicings and positions, (particularaly 7th chords). I can give you some different voicings for Maj7s, mi7s, dom7s, and mi7-5s. If you want, hit me up on AIM, I can help you out.

[Machtimus]

Reading music becomes a very easy thing in my experience. I can read music faster than reading tab. Your knowledge on the fretboard should be an easy thing. You'll easily find patterns that will help you find notes fast.

[brian_ok]

Reading music becomes a very easy thing in my experience. I can read music faster than reading tab. Your knowledge on the fretboard should be an easy thing. You'll easily find patterns that will help you find notes fast.

Definetly an encouraging post! I agree with the quick progress...though the guitar is definetly harder to learn on than the piano or trumpet (due to its 2-dimensional nature), the fretboard workbook emphasizes root shapes.

I'll post a picture in a second.

And cor--I'd love some insight from you! I'll add you on aim, though I don't get on very often.

EDIT: this is the epiphany found in the Guitar Fretboard Workbook.



Everything in the book is based on those patterns, how they relate to each other and the scales, arpeggios, pretty much everything.

(sorry for the mess, if anyone wants a cleaner copy, i'll post one, or better yet BUY THE BOOK!!)

the red squares are the roots. The green circles are the root shapes that are stressed throughout the book...patterns 1,2,3,4 and 5.

[Cor]

Do you have a myspace? I thought I saw that you had one, but I can't find it. If you do, add me or post yours and I'll add you. It could be an easy way to communicate.

[MattJ]

I also bought Reading Studies for Guitar, which just focuses on sight reading. another recommendation, so far at least.

Good call. That one has been really helpful.

Try this one too:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/089898 ... s&v=glance

Chord voicings all over the neck, chord melodies etc.

[taylordb]

For goal #1 download Fretboard Warrior (its free).

[brian_ok]

Thanks Matt and taylor...Matt, that book looks good. and for under $10...score.


taylor, I'll check that out what I have some time. Can you describe it?

[mlb1399]

Something I did was print out all the notes on the fretboard in excel format and then highlighted the notes for every key along with their relation to the tonic. So what I do when I practice is mess around with different patterns starting from different points. It has helped me a lot in being able to recognize notes on the fretboard without having to think.

Sounds like a good book. I may have to buy it.

[taylordb]

Thanks Matt and taylor...Matt, that book looks good. and for under $10...score.


taylor, I'll check that out what I have some time. Can you describe it?

Yes.....what it is is a memory game for your computer. when you start it, it diplays a picture of the fretboard. Then a dot randomly appears somewhere on the fretboard.....you have to select the note that you think it is. Then it tells you if you are right or wrong. If you are wrong, you can pick again. But the computer is keeping track of how many right and wrong picks you make.....the whole time the clock is ticking down (you can pick from several different time durations). The object is to get better over time and get more right answers than wrong.

The only thing is that with the free version you are learning what note it is, but not where on the scale that note is. If you want to buy the full version, it will include where on the scale and the sight reading note. Here is a link:

http://www.francoisbrisson.com/fretboar ... rrior.html

[mlb1399]

b_fost,

Good call. I went and bought it.

Taylor,

Interesting. I will have to check that out.

[brian_ok]

Well, the journey is going well. I put it off a few days to finish up a few songs that I've been throwing around for a while...now that I have a good a/e guitar, I'll start recording a few songs for a potential demo, but that's off topic.

I've devoted most of my practice time to the Guitar Fretboard Workbook, and a few lessons that Corey has emailed to me. The book, and his lessons, are simply outstanding. Once I get more familiar with the fretboard, and the patterns on the neck, I'll worry about sight reading. I personally feel that being able to form many chord voicings, different scale shapes, and different arpeggios on the spot is more valuable than being able to sight read....but, luckily for me (and you guys), they go hand in hand, so I'm set!

I'll update after Christmas break maybe...by then I should be well along the way.

OH**...also, the author of the Workbook recommends taking 6 months to a year to go through the book. I think that I will follow his advice, more or less, because
1. I want to become VERY familiar with the information, not just gloss over it.
2. I have until I die to do this...so I owe it to myself to do it right.
3. I keep getting sidetracked. (kidding...I'm focused when I put my mind to something.)

So, sight reading will probably come before the completion of the entire book, but that's no biggie. In fact, sight reading will open up the door for my study of "Jazz Guitar Technique" and "Patterns, Scales, and Modes for Jazz Guitar", which will in turn strengthen the concepts in the Workbook.