Hi Everyone.

I'm spending more time on this topic atm.
I came across Genius Chord Warmups, as I'm sure many of you must've done.

I'm kind of over not knowing all the notes of the touchboard. I know there are many resources for stickists. What methods do folk use to get their fluency in note recognition?

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Hey Bruv.

Thanks for the vid link tweaking. I’ve been a bit spare around here lately and had forgotten how to send.
Hope you’re good?

Some people put temporary dots on the various locations of C on the fretboard


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Re learning the notes...

This was the primary reason why I went with Matched Reciprocal... I've been playing bass for a long time so am very used to having fret markers at 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15 and 17, and already know the note names relative to those markers.

I've added those cues, putting paper dots at 5 (very useful), 9 and 15 to augment the existing inlays. I can't see 3 anyway since it's up near my ear.

MR "breaks" the logic of the relationships across the two sides of the fingerboard as shown and described in Free Hands but my brain is already wired to think of notes in relation to fret markers.

The thing that I'm still struggling with is the 5ths tuning on the bass side. Having the notes on the frets where I expect them to be is great, but it's hard to get away from all that muscle memory regarding scale patterns and intervals. It feels kind of upside down and backwards all at once.

Have you tried playing with your eyes closed?
Finding the notes by listening, instead of seeing.

It's like learning Tai Chi, slow everything down at first.
Later on, everything happens at lightning speed
as your muscle memory takes over.

Hey Werk.

I have been closing my eyes to get my physical placement of notes together.
I'm trying to bring it all together atm. Visual note recognition, closing my eyes and transcribing a bunch of stuff that really has me looking at different part of the touchboard.

Hey Bruv.

I find that thinking of the bass side as a 7th Chord builder is helpful. I understand that you would have trouble, coming from bass.. I'm also a little more carefree (or careless) about my bass lines a times, so I just go for walks and use that 5ths tuning a s a way to get an agile baseline happening.

Maybe the dots can be moved between C and G, I dunno, just making shit up. I find having different songs that I return to, help me get used to some keys/parts of the board.

It all helps.... And just the pleasure of working on something new.

Lotsa luv to All.

I enjoyed hearing this guy's approach, it was a bit long, so I have it queued up to watch more in a bit. You've got me up at 4am watching theory videos you mad lad Rad!

While the instrument does create learning opportunities with method and technique by virtue of its design, playing what "feels" right is my preference. Having these exercises in your pocket helps to build that muscle memory, but also to understand how combinations of chords are used to generate a musical feeling, expression or tone. They also have practical applications, and in our musical world, it's like wiping your feet before you step inside someone's home I think drummer's have a very unique opportunity to approach the instrument - one that is more rhythmically driven and unconfined by convention.

Recently, I had a grand time arranging a few chords around the royal road progression and just lost myself in how just hearing it - I thought of anime. It was just ingrained in me, in the culture. Now that I have played it myself, for what seemed like 2 hours, it's second nature and part of my musical being.

I love how you said it Rad, it is the pleasure of playing something new! I am 18 measures into the 4th invention. I never thought I would start another but I'm 1/3 of the way there and I am especially enjoying the time learning it from Greg's Bach songbook.

Hugs from Murrieta, CA Rad!

Power brother Gene!

It's such a treat to talk to you "up in here."

There's a lot to unpack in your response, and of course there's the dubious honour of having you watch theory at 4am, the sage's hour. I'll take it as a medal #_#

Hey, Werk. I was thinking more about your aural and visceral approach. I think I come off sounding like too much of a disciplinarian when I type. But really, this forum is an amazing family and a way for me to reflect on how I communicate ideas. Always the most adult place to be online. Anyhow.... enthusiasm machine.

So my question is, do you get the spacial awareness of the frets distances when you close your eyes? I've been doing this a lot, in certain areas of familiarity on the board.

GP. What you said about drummers playing stick. Some of my writing before I knew what i was doing, had a certain freedom of approach. It was all about my ears and what looked curious as a movement of geometry on the touchboard.

I keep hearing you, reminding me to get my Bach on, so your efforts haven't gone to waste. #_#
Like we said, nobody's counting. Congrats on getting to number 4, bastard!

Hey, not trying to show off but I will anyway. I just started leaning into Lucky Ocean's Secret Steel album again. I'm transcribing half a dozen of his songs. Amazing on stick. I'm also lifting some of the approach from Dave Brewer, his guitarist on that album. There's still opportunity to play with him in a trio, so it's on my bucket list.

David Sanborn passed, there's another thread, hit me like a tonne of bricks. I've been listening to him since the mid 70s.

Catch yas. #_#

Knowing where the frets are located is simply a matter of practice. Some musicians can see where their fingers strike an instrument, but still cannot make a proper sounding note. At the end of the day, it is your ears that determine if the proper sound is coming out of an instrument.

I play keyboards, sax, guitar and Stick without looking at any of them while playing. This started at the age of 9 when I received my first electric guitar but had no money for an amp. I would play it laying down each night and usually find the guitar on the floor the next morning. I would play until I fell asleep. There were no lights at night to visually see anything, so I relied on my ears. There was no amplification, so I listened closely while playing.

Later on in life, I started playing other instruments. I can literally pick up any instrument and figure out how to get some sort of music out of it. I'm not a super talented musician, but I have learned to play well enough to entertain myself. Music is how I relax and unwind. Many musicians will stress to impress others, but I'm not wired that way.

My passion in life is repairing things. Finding out why things failed and learning how to prevent them from failing again. Many every day items are actually designed to fail after a certain period of time. This is the economics of a throw away society. Quality items like the Chapman Stick are becoming a rarity. My Stick is 46 years old and still plays like the day it was manufactured. This sort of thing impresses the heck out of me. It was designed properly.