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Lost
Hi, I am a total newbie. I just started fretboard wizard and the first lesson is overwhelming. He starts out doing music theory which is awesome because I’ve been taking piano for a few years. Then halfway through the video, he starts teaching patterns and I am lost. What are the patterns for? He’s kinda fast so I am having trouble where to put my fingers. I printed off the TAB and it looks like a foreign language. The TAB doesn’t make sense. There are no breaks for each pattern in the TAB. It’s all just a bunch of strings and numbers. I’m also lost as to the strings. Do I strum all the strings along with the pattern? Or do I strum some strings? If so which strings do I strum? When I go back through the video over and over and over I think I am figuring out where to put my fingers on the fretboard but what if I can’t get my fingers to go where they need to go?
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7 Replies
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Hi,
When reading TABS the TAB lines represent the open strings of the guitar (E,A,D,G, B, E). The bottom line of the TAB is the low E string /6th string of your guitar and the next line up is the open A string /5th string of your guitar and so on. The top TAB line is the high E string/1st string of your guitar. The #s on the TABS represent the fretted string to be played. So if the top TAB line has a 0 on it, you pluck the 1st string/high E string open. If it has the # 2 on the line, then you would finger the 2nd fret of the 1st string and pluck it. If there is no # on the line you don’t play the string. If several of the tab lines have #s on them all lined up under each other in a row, that’s when you would play those strings together or strum them. You can look online you can find lots of info about reading TABS.
I’m not sure which week and day you were struggling with, but if you can tell us which day’s TABs you were confused with that would help. I would just take it slow. Sometimes you can skip over the part you don’t understand and comeback to it later. I had to go over some lessons several times. Also I think some of us will have to go through the course a few times before things start to sink in. Hope that helps some.
Kim
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So if there is no number on the line then you don’t play it. That answers my question. Your explanation was great. Thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to help me!
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Glad to help
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Hello! Ditto all the good info Kim mentioned! Posting the lesson you had trouble with would help.
Make sure you finish the course 30 Days to Play first….
I read some comments concerning the first two lessons in Fretboard Wizard…..
Quite a few members commented on the course Foundations of Fretboard Navigation.
It’s under Skill Courses – Fretboard Skills – Foundations of Fretboard Navigation.
(https://tonypolecastro.com/courses/foundations-of-fretboard-navigation/)
They said it was helpful going thru that course before/with Fretboard Wizard.
Keep at it!!
Dust off those rusty strings just one more time…. 🙂
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Sounds like I should just stick with 30 Days to Play. I got excited and dived into 30 Days AND Fretboard Wizard. From what you’re saying it’s best to stick to just 30 Days. That’s probably better so I don’t get so overwhelmed. Thanks for taking the time to respond. It helps a lot!
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@pixnchrisgmail-com First, welcome to TAC! It’s great to have you here.
I agree that @Kim-Fitz and @Booker had some great suggestions.
I see you’re starting with Fretboard Wizard first. If you are a complete newbie, it is probably better to hold off for a short time taking Fretboard Wizard until you are more acclimated with the basics of the guitar. My suggestion is to start with the 30 days to play, the next 6 chords, the 5 day guitar routine, stretching, etc., and then incorporate the daily challenges once you have a basic grasp of the guitar. Here’s a link to the beginning courses that I suggest https://tonypolecastro.com/skills/. From there, you could pursue any skills course that you’re interested in. There isn’t really a curriculum. We set our own goals. Pickup Fretboard Wizard after a while, and you will probably be able to work through it with more ease. There is a lot of information provided/covered in Fretboard Wizard, so take your time. You own the course for life, so there’s no rush.
Don’t be a stranger to the forums. The members can assist you in so many ways. Good luck and have fun.
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I didn’t realize that I own Fretboard Wizard for life. That really takes the pressure off of trying to juggle the theory and the other lessons. It’s a little hard to know where to start but your explanation really helped. Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions!
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