The Steel Guitar Forum

I am trying to memorize the notes of the fretboard and have come up with an aid for learning the first fret notes, no pedals, no levers.

This tip is to help you memorize the notes on the first fret going from the 8th to the 1st string:

F G A C F A E G

For Grandparents Always Cry First at Every Graduation.

9 is Eb and 10 is C. Just memorize those.

Knowing the first note will help you memorize all the rest of the notes to the right of the first fret. And notice that you also have the 13th fret memorized.

I hope this helps. Happing pickings to all.

Jason Rivet
Richardson, Texas

Not to dissuade you from your current line of study, however I'm going to tell you something I wish I was told when I first started playing steel and have been told by several of the most known steelers in the world. Don't study the notes, study the intervals. This thinking has fundamentally changed my learning, playing and knowledge of the fretboard.

https://www.paulfranklinmethod.com/post ... -intervals

Justin Emmert wrote:Not to dissuade you from your current line of study, however I'm going to tell you something I wish I was told when I first started playing steel and have been told by several of the most known steelers in the world. Don't study the notes, study the intervals. This thinking has fundamentally changed my learning, playing and knowledge of the fretboard.

https://www.paulfranklinmethod.com/post ... -intervals

EXACLY!!!! Paul Franklin accelerated my playing beyond any expectations by introducing me to intervals and diatonic harmonies.


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It doesn’t take a whole to confuse me ,but what does Paul ,mean by (low to high),on the different inversions,thanks
Larry

Larry, the root position of a C chord is with the note C as it’s lowest note, so CEG on the 8th fret, strings 8(c)-6(e)-5(g) would be one place to find that.

The first inversion would be to place the E as the lowest note, so again on the 8th fret, you’d be looking at strings 6(e)-5(g)-4(c).

Second inversion is GCE, so strings 5(g)-4(c)-3(e) at the 8th fret.

The major chord is spelled with a 1st (c), 3rd (e), and 5th (g). So Paul is saying that rather than memorize the individual note names everywhere, just memorize where to find those intervals and inversions. Strings 8-6-5 in the example above are the 1-3-5, first inversion is 3-5-1, and second inversion is 5-1-3.

Larry Hopkins wrote:It doesn’t take a whole to confuse me ,but what does Paul ,mean by (low to high),on the different inversions,thanks
Larry

Low to high = Lowest String to Highest String.

Thanks guys ,
Larry

Another vote here for learning intervals rather than note names, but whatever works, works!

Even when I'm notating riffs, intros, etc... on my lead sheets, I use scale tones rather than notes. One advantage (that comes up semi-regularly) is that it's easy to change keys.

Verbally saying the names of the notes as you play can help. Playing written music is a valuable skill also.

Joe Wright also has some very good teaching on intervals. I laminated the one by Paul Franklin and cut the charts into flash cards and carried them in my shirt pocket to study them until I learned them by heart. Joe says learn intervals not notes. This has been a very big help to me.

I agree 1000% that intervals are the best way to play the steel monster!

As a new steeler I would like to know the name of every note on every fret. This is not to enhance my playing skills, but to enhance the synapses in my 72 year old brain.

Thank you for all your comments.

Jason Rivet
Richardson, Tx

The suggestions for learning the intervals is not just an alternative. It is part of a process that can help with learning the note names.

The principle in your opening comment - knowing the note name of the first string (or any string, really) - and then applying the knowledge of the intervals between each successive pair of adjacent strings should get your synapses fired up. This is a more logical and methodical way to go rather than strict memorization.

There is also of course the issue of the note name/interval sequence changing every time a pedal or lever is activated. And I hope to heck you aren’t trying to come up with a “backronym” for every fret!

+1 for intervals. I tried the memorization of notes when I first started, but it didn't serve me well. Of course. After 51 years of playing, I can quickly determine the note names, but thinking in intervals is what served me best.

Fred... thanks for using the name "backronym". I wasn't sure what you meant until I looked it up. I thought you were referring to the back injuries we all have from carrying heavy steel guitars and amps.🤔😜🤣🦽

Fred is spot on here, I believe. Once you've got the interval relationships between strings in your brain, everything else falls into place. If you're looking for an E and you know your scale intervals and strings, you'll know where you can find it as a root, 9th tone, 3rd tone, etc... I'm pretty slow, and this is the only way I have a shot at "thinking fast"

I had a Commander like you in the Air Force, Fred. I never argued with him because I knew it would be like bringing a knife to a gun fight.

Have a great weekend.

Jason

Jason Rivet wrote:I had a Commander like you in the Air Force, Fred. I never argued with him because I knew it would be like bringing a knife to a gun fight.

Have a great weekend.

Jason

Having never served, I’m not 100% sure of the sentiment, but that might be the highest compliment I’ve ever gotten.
Aim high, Jason.

I have found that learning the solfege is helpful although I don't find myself using it too much.

Jason Rivet wrote:I had a Commander like you in the Air Force, Fred. I never argued with him because I knew it would be like bringing a knife to a gun fight.

Have a great weekend.

Jason

Aren't you not supposed to argue with your Commander anyways?

I've been doing this all wrong. I learn any instrument by ear at first just so I can play simple stuff right away without actually learning any formula or rule other than what I already know about how something is supposed to sound.

Reading this thread I guess it's about time to see what learning intervals can do for me. Can anybody explain it to me in a few sentences? A chart would be real handy if you know of one...

thanks,
Ed

Edward:

If you learn about, say, the key of E, where all the notes of key are, where the chords are, etc., that only gets you knowledge about the key of E -- no help on other keys. So, take what you learn about the key of E and think about it in terms of intervals -- like, the second note of Emaj scale is F# -- but now we call that the "2" note of the scale -- the interval between the root and that note is called a "2nd" -- so we call the notes by the interval between them and the root note -- the A chord is the 4 chord, the B chord is the 5 chord. (Some call this the Nashville system but it's used everywhere.) By generalizing to intervals, you remove the note names and now you can talk about any key.

Simple example: the 8th string on a E9 is an E -- the 7th string is an F# - so that is where where the 2nd note of the E scale is -- BUT, if you notice that the F# is actually a 2nd from the root, now if you move the slide to another fret, the 2nd will still be on the 7th string -- so now we've generalized the knowledge out of the key of E and onto ANY major key.

Edward Dixon wrote:I've been doing this all wrong. I learn any instrument by ear at first just so I can play simple stuff right away without actually learning any formula or rule other than what I already know about how something is supposed to sound.

Reading this thread I guess it's about time to see what learning intervals can do for me. Can anybody explain it to me in a few sentences? A chart would be real handy if you know of one...

thanks,
Ed

As the OP has stated, the topic isn’t about the right or wrong way to learn how to play. It is about learning the note names on the fretboard as a mental exercise.

It has been suggested that learning the open string intervals would help in this process. The reasoning is that if you want to be able to rattle off note names at any given fret and you know the intervallic relationships of all ten strings, one note name of one string can directly lead to the note names of the remaining 9.

One easy way to start learning note names using intervals on the E9 neck is to recognize the octaves going across the open strings:
10 & 5 (B)
8 & 4 (E)
7 & 1 (F#)
6 & 3 (G#)

That just leaves the two D’s - 9(D) and 2(D#).
Then just add 1/2 step intervals to each note name for every fret you go up the neck.

OK, this post will be more into what the OP wanted.

I think in the beginning the actual note names are not much worth memorizing, but something very useful is to know what triad chord intervals exist in each of the common pedal/lever settings or "positions". There are three positions that are most common for major chords:

open (no pedals/levers)
AF
AB

Here are the intervals present:

Open: (example at fret 1 is Emaj)
1: second or ninth
2: seventh
3: third
4: root
5: fifth
6: third
7: second or ninth
8: root
9: flatted seventh
10: fifth

AF: (example at fret 3 is Emaj)
1 suspended fourth
2 second or ninth
3 fifth
4 third
5 root
6 fifth
7 suspended fourth
8 third
9 flat ninth
10 root

AB: (example is at fret 5 Emaj)
1 sixth
2 flat fifth
3 root
4 fifth
5 third
6 root
7 sixth
8 fifth
9 suspended fourth
10 third
(jeez I hope I didn't make any mistakes there)

Keep in mind this is only for 3 positions and only when those positions are played as a major chord. Additionally, there is the E lever position for major chords (and maybe BC), and then the numerous positions for minor chords. All in all, it is a lot of information to memorize, which is why newbie players should limit memorization at first to not get overwhelmed (like just work with a subset until you are familiar with it, then expand from there -- I think in general this gradual introduction of things is essential to having a good experience learning the instrument unless you are a genius of some kind or spend 8 hours a day studying it).

I've actually made a personal chart listing all this out which is very handy reference and I can share it. I also added what the pedals/levers do to the intervals for each position so I know what my options are. I still have work to do to flesh out the minor chords in my chart.

Edward Dixon wrote:I've been doing this all wrong. I learn any instrument by ear at first just so I can play simple stuff right away without actually learning any formula or rule other than what I already know about how something is supposed to sound.

Reading this thread I guess it's about time to see what learning intervals can do for me. Can anybody explain it to me in a few sentences? A chart would be real handy if you know of one...

thanks,
Ed

It’s all right here. Study this, then just ask specific questions about this. https://www.paulfranklinmethod.com/post ... -intervals

Along similar lines, I made an interval chart for my S-10 E9 PSG. I don't have it all memorized, but I've found this approach helpful.

In the chart below, letters “A” “B” and “C” correspond with the first three foot pedals (from left to right). Letters “D#” and “F” correspond with the knee levers which lower and sharpen the two open E strings. And lastly, letter “C#” corresponds with the knee lever which lowers the 2nd string either a half or whole step.

Roman numerals refer to the harmonized major scale. Upper-case roman numerals signify a major chord, and lower-case roman numerals signify a minor chord. Unless specified, the bar is not moved to achieve the indicated chord. In fact, most of these pedal/lever/string combinations can be practiced without using a bar at all.

Thanks for all the responses. I remember now that I did briefly consider this when learning the "grips" and the major scale. The charts are very helpful too. I will go back and look at this again...