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Fretboard Wizard
I’m getting a little discouraged with FW. I have memory issues and it’s really being a problem with FW. I guess I just need time to rest and come back again tomorrow. It’s very frustrating.
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6 Replies
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Hey @stevieblues , I feel your pain and I think you have the right solution to rest and come back tomorrow.
But, I’d like to add one other thing if you are willing to hear it. This information isn’t for memorizing. This isn’t academic information. This information is long term, muscle memory info. Take it slow and have fun… and do it regularly. Just like guitar in general, it’s going to take a long time, but you can have fun in the meantime. And just like guitar, some of the info can be applied right away in you “fun” sessions.
Over time, you won’t need to “remember” this stuff, it will just get into your fingers and you’ll just use it to have fun and make beautiful noise.
MG 😀
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@stevieblues : Don’t give up. I did the FW original and I think I redid it a dozen times. And had to ask plenty of questions of the forum when doing it (or I would have quit). My advise, is don’t give up. Redo a section if need be, if it’s still fuzzy, come back to it later. Take notes! But, I think the one thing that will help us out is to apply this to the Wednesday challenge. Try to figure out what Key the backing track is in. You can check to see if you were correct in the Thursday challenge. Once you have the correct Key, figure out the Chord Matrix. Figure out those flats and sharps and write them down.
This is something I did to help me out with the ‘find the key by ear’. I googled easy songs in the Key of C (or any key). Now sound out the notes on the E string. You know it’s a C note. So if you know which note is going to ring out. But listen to the difference from the right note to the one before and after. It helped me out, I had problems hearing the difference. Good luck and just remember you are not the only one having a hard time.
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Hi @stevieblues , remembering the information presented in FW can be a challenge. I can appreciate your frustration. To help myself with that I employed a couple strategies ( pretty much covered in the comments above already).
First, I internalized that FW is not a sprint – no need to hurry through it. I am really taking my time with each step of the lesson. Depending on how quickly I grasp it or due to time constraints this may happen over weeks.
Second, I really utilize the PDF reference provided with the redo of FW. It captures all the key things to remember. It is a great reference.
Third, I have taken time to create my own references (examples: Major and minor chord matrices for each of the 7 letters of the musical alphabet). Then I compare the matrices to chord diagrams that note the majors and minors in the chords to see if I have it right. Then I use them to play “chord scales” as part of my warm up.
Finally, I set out in a practice session with an intent to utilize some part of FW in a real world application. For example listening to a song I play regularly to figure out the chords using the chord matrix as my guide, or figuring out notes in the scales provided in the daily challenge)
The main thing that is connecting all of the above is taking my time and repeating my exposure and application of the material.
@N-lightMike and @Cadgirl covered most all of these strategies in their posts. Sorry for the repetition, however wants to let you know I am also in the “little by slow” mode with FW.
Hang in there and stick with it, @stevieblues ! Celebrate the process of learning and exposure to the info. That in itself is a win!
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Thanks for your support everyone! I appreciate your suggestions and encouragement. I basically need to clear up the stress, and go with the flow of learning. I am learning something new every day and that’s part of keeping my brain in shape.
Today’s lesson was a train wreck. But after I stopped stressing over it, I laughed about it. I can go back and redo the lessons until I get it as long as I’m a TAC member. 😎
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Good on you @stevieblues ! 👍
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I would like to clear one thing up, @Kitman , @Cadgirl and @stevieblues , A, B, C, D, E, F, and G is not the musical alphabet. It is only the alphabet of the key of C. We don’t use any other letters, it’s true. But we do have 5 other notes. The names of those notes are determined by the context of the key. And those notes fall in between the notes that have a space.
It makes everything much easier when you see this. The musical alphabet is:
A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab. The five extra notes are called “enharmonic” notes since they have 2 names. The reason we have 12 notes is because the spaces between the 7 notes of the major scale, 8 notes with the octave, are not evenly spaced. So, we put a note in between the notes that are not “next” to one another. Now we have an even spacing and we can transcribe. (True, this is a simplification. But it makes things clearer to recognize this from the beginning.)
Don’t let this stuff confuse you. Just allow it into your head, then let it percolate. It’ll be coffee in it’s own time. 😎
MG 😀
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