Videos are great but for something as complex as this, maybe you need a video series. I haven't found a good one yet . I did find a book that teaches caged in depth which is a good way to navigate the fretboard and scales. Finally got my answers from here. The book is called fretboard logic. I'd recommend getting both volumes. I'm still working through them. There's so much content and all of it relevant to understanding the fretboard.
https://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060
If you're looking for something formal, and you have the discipline to set up a routine, get yourself a copy of Fretboard Logic. It won't teach you how to play songs -- it will help you master your instrument.
If you're into learning from books, check out Fretboard Logic.
Yup. the book fretboard logic se. Easy to read and understand. Definitely helped me get a grasp on caged.
https://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060
Also check out stitchmethod on YouTube. He has a bunch of basic caged tutorirals. Great teacher.
Here you go bud, this book has been great and exactly what you’re looking for:
https://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060/
It covers CAGED chords, pentatonics, scales, modes, lead lines, and arpeggios. It shows you how they all combine and interact across the entirety of the fretboard.
Nothing has been as helpful to me as this book so far, except a handful of YouTube videos. Also maybe Tomo and StitchMethod.
A little late, but it kind of depends on what you want to play. But I really like Fretboard Logic and the CAGED system, makes chords/scales pretty logical:
https://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060
But there's a ton of free resources out there too. YouTube isn't a bad place to start.
Look into lead patterns along the neck. More specifically per your example, pentatonic lead patterns. It's actually very simple. The hard part is expanding on it and avoiding doing the same stuff all the time, which I'm still working on.
I know there's endless information on the internet, but this book was easy to understand and helpful. It's not heavy on theory. More pattern recognition. http://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428073262&sr=8-1&keywords=fretboard+logic
If this thread had more action you'd have probably gotten a hundred people telling you Fretboard Logic. I'm just digging into it myself and I've already found it to be an awesome book. I don't know if it'll do much for metal specifically, that's not my thing, but you should know the hell out of the guitar after reading through it.
I have used this Fret Logic SE
You are most likely already used to moving the A and E shapes around. I tend to simplify the fingering for the C, G and D shapes personally omitting the high E string :)
I thought this book was great and the scale patterns especially helpful.
Jeah! Thanks! Finally help has arrived!
I someday will grasp all that music theory stuff! I promised that to my younger self more than once. It's about time anyway, because i'm playing guitar for about 15 years now :( Currently i am trying to force my fretting habits into the CAGED-system, proposed in Fretboard Logic SE and working on the cleanliness of my soon to be awesome sweeping skills. edit: sorry for telling without beeing asked
The video alone explains a lot. Thanks for that. I'm off reading that Circle-of-Twelves stuff a gazillion times...
Thanks again.
I was in your situation years ago, basically a raw self taught player with no theory knowledge and hardly a musical genius. There is no single book or site that I know of that will get you the knowledge you seek. For me it was a combination of a lot of reading, watching videos, and reading a few websites. First step for me was Music Theory for dummies, just to get an idea of music in general. No shame to admit that. Once I understood some basic theory I purchased a few books on scales and theory as it is applied to guitar. Learned the fretboard, chord shapes, and the pentatonic scale. One series of books that helped me was the CAGED system books such as FretLogic. From there my practice routine was totally revamped to concentrate on theory on some nights and technique on others. In a nutshell for my particular journey it required a bunch of different sources, one book would connect ideas where another one left off and that seemed to be the way things unfolded for me. In the end, you need to decide how much you want to work at it because it really amounts to that.
I think you targeted some areas that you'd like to work on in your own post. I've only been playing for a couple of years, but there is one book that has truly been a building block for knowledge and speed. Fretboard Logic
This book contains tons of theory about chord building and how those chords relate to scales. I've set down and come back to this book many times simply to brush up on scales and re-read through the building parts of the text. It takes time to learn the scales, and it's not all that fun, but if you sit down with a metronome and grind out some scales for a couple weeks you'll be blown away by the level of improvisation that comes to you naturally.
Get this one to start
https://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060
It comes with volumes 1 and 2 combined as a single book
Check out this book if you can
https://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060/
This is how I know what I know https://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060
https://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060
Just in case. Probably worth rebuying!
This one
https://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060
It’s confusing and says there’s 2 editions but it’s combined here
Check out the book fretboard logic se for this: https://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060/
And for the fundamental philosophy: https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Guitar-Philip-Toshio-Sudo-ebook/dp/B00AK78PK0/
You should really get yourself the book fretboard logic se
https://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060
It covers all of caged
You should really get yourself the book fretboard logic se
https://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060
It covers all of caged
if you want a clear, organized, straightforward path forward start here
>Fretboard logic volumes 1-3
is this the right one? This is volume 1 btw.
It's almost impossible to discern just chords from videos/pictures. When I watch videos of myself, it looks like am a ham-fisted idiot... What's confusing is that the unused fingers do things that look like they're doing something - but they are not.
As for your Bb question - that's a barre chord... All the strings are being held by the 1st finger... Even though they are being pressed on the 3rd fret by other fingers... See what I mean???
Why don't you just get a book that will make you learn all of the major/minor chords and some of the variations... That isn't really 'theory' - that's just learning chords for 90% of pop/rock music.
In your hand-drawn chart - everything is wrong but the Am - but you're not signifying that the A string and the E string are open.
If I were you - get a book about the CAGED system and immerse yourself in it... Trust me... Learn the CAGED system now..... There are Books all over the Internet called 'Fretboard Logic'..... Drop everything and learn that.. you'll thank me
​
https://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060
Paul Davids Music Theory on Youtube
Justin Guitar Music Theory The first three lessons are free.
Fretboard Logic SE book that I just started based on recommendations I found on reddit.
These are all guitar focused and not general music theory.
🙋♀️ also on the spectrum. Music absolutely helps me and I didn’t start playing an instrument until about your age. I started with guitar at around 27, then piano at 35, and just added bass at 41. I’m not a fantastic player but I love studying the instruments and theory. There are an endless number of facets to explore and pivot points to improve on. I can put on the radio and play along with what’s on or formally study songs to try to learn them but I enjoy most just improvising.
There’s so much knowledge available on the internet that you can learn pretty much anything at any age if you want to put in the effort. Bass is an absolutely awesome instrument. Good luck!
Also, I recommend Fretboard Logic to anyone interested in the guitar and Bass Logic
Fretboard Logic was a game changer for me.
It's not as much memorizing notes, and more an explanation of the rules that organize notes.
Oops sorry. This is the version I have: https://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060
There are used options on Amazon.
If there's one book I think every frustrated guitarist should read it's Fretboard Logic.
If you really want to dive in on the theory side of things, the best resource I've found for getting started with pure music theory is a book called Scales, Intervals, Keys, Triads, Rhythm and Meter.
When it comes to improving rhythm playing, as well as overall fretboard knowledge, I'd recommend diving deep into the CAGED system and learning how to play chords and progressions in different areas around the neck. Fretboard Logic is pretty much the classic book on the topic.
Learning to focus on chord tones while soloing/improvising, as u/pigz points out, is also massively important. The 12 bar progression is definitely a great place to start with this, but as you get comfortable with it, it's worth branching out and practicing the same thing over other common progressions.
Also, if you're pretty comfortable with the pentatonic shapes, it's probably a good idea to start practicing the shapes of the major scale. I'd still focus on the pentatonic stuff when you're practicing soloing and improv and stuff, but go over the major shapes as a separate part of your practice to start laying the groundwork.
Also, if you don't already, it's a tremendously good habit to sing along when you practice. I don't mean singing songs, rather when you practice scales and/or licks, try to sing the notes as you play the scale, or sing the lick before playing it. This will help you build a connection between the notes you hear in your head and where they are on the fretboard.
Fretboard Logic is a pretty good place to start in terms of learning how theory applies to the guitar. Guitar Grimoire series is a pretty good reference tool for scales and chords. I'd definitely check out the videos too, the books are pretty much strictly reference but the DVD is pretty thorough in how to actually use it for practice.
Of course you can get pretty much all of this information for free online if you're willing to sift through forums and youtube videos, etc., but if you don't mind shelling out a few bucks these tools really do pack a lot of information into a simple package.
I like the fretboard logic book series. http://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060
Technique: start here. (Please donate or buy something from that site if you use it intensively, he puts a massive wealth of info out for nothing-- so it's nice to show him some appreciation)
Frets are the raised metal bars on the neck of the guitar. They divide the neck into fixed intervals within an octave. Having frets that are machined properly (no burrs, evenly sized, etc) is important because the resonance of your string against the fret is what shapes the note you're playing.
Scales? That's up to you. Pentatonic is the most universal. Learn the CAGED system. This book helped me tremendously.
The wood question is very, very intensive. Check out this section of Wikipedia on tonewoods. Play a lot of different guitars. Pick what you like from that experience.
Tuning: have the shop you buy your guitar set up your guitar. That'll tune it the first time (and probably for the first few practices). Standard tuning is, in order from fattest to thinnest, EADGBe. If you're lazy (like me), you can buy one of these to tune your guitar. There are a myriad of other tunings depending on how you play.
Strings: for my acoustic, I buy Elixir Lights .012-.053. The shorthand vernacular for string gauge is just to call them by the size of the thinnest string. When you go into a shop and ask for your strings, they'll ask, "What size?" I say, "Twelves." Elixirs are on the more expensive end for strings-- but they last a while, rarely rust and have great tone. Again, they might not be right for you. You might prefer a hex-core or a flat-wound string.
Other equipment you might be interested in:
A capo. That device clamps around the neck, effectively moving your nut up the fretboard. It raises the pitch.
A slide. You slide this up and down the fretboard in order to get a very distinct, very bluesy sound. It's a technique in and of itself. There are an assortment of slides on the market made out of different materials.
Metronome. Important. Buy one early and it'll really help you with your rhythm. You don't have to buy a Korg brand metronome-- that's just the kind I have and I like it.
Finally, picks. You'll play with a thousand picks before you decide which one you really like. Or, you might not like picks whatsoever and decide to play with your fingers. Picks are generally fairly cheap and one of the easiest ways to shape your sound. There's no excuse not to play with as many as you can.
EDIT: change "lowest" to "thinnest"-- as that might cause confusion.
The Amazon page for this book sounds awesome. I'm really thinking of getting it, can you talk about the strategies he uses in the book?
Most of the good ones have been posted, but if you can buy Fretboard Logic it will make learning so much easier.
Buy this book. It totally demystifies the guitar. You can't develop dexterity and technique without practice, practice, practice, and this book will give you the motivate you too do just that.
http://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-SE-Reasoning-Arpeggios/dp/0962477060
Knowing theory can open up a whole new world of creativity. But it does help to have a good teacher to make it exciting. Just learning theory for the sake of theory is only analyzing music. You need to learn a practical application of theory. Take a look at these books: