Guitar Fretboard Mapping: 3 Remarkable Rows

May 24, 2023

Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.

Let’s enhance our knowledge and skills a bit today with some fun fretboard memorization tactics. Today’s strategy will give us a much better grasp of just three specific rows of notes on our guitars, which will help us claim the fretboard faster. 

Now, is it possible to memorize the entire fretboard? Sure. Does it make sense to start with key marker points so we can get our bearings and speed up the process? Definitely.

Here’s my plan for my brief time with you today. I have six mnemonic devices I’ve either curated or created to accelerate your ability to memorize three remarkable rows on your fretboard for the purpose OF: 1) chord placement, 2) scale placement, 3) capo placement, and 4) anything else you want to discover and play up the neck. 

These six devices come in pairs, and we can find them ascending or descending across the frets at three locations where only natural notes exist. And where are these locations? See my table with this article (and on the video).

These rows are at frets 0, 5 and 10. Until we cross the repeating threshold at the 12^th fret, nowhere else on the guitar neck can natural notes be found straight across the frets in standard tuning. Every other fret has at least one, and as many as six notes that can be classified as either a sharp or a flat.

Let’s start with the open strings from lowest to highest. The notes are: E, A, D, G, B, and E. You may already know these, and you may even know the memory device I’m about to offer.

It’s: Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie. 

Nice, right? Let’s try going the opposite direction at this same location. The notes are: E, B, G, D, A and E. The memory device I’ll suggest here is: Easter Bunnies Get Dizzy At Easter.

Yes, I know these devices are just a little bit hokey, but hey, sometimes we need to get a little silly in order to memorize things well. Let those two devices sink in as you memorize these natural notes at fret 0.

Now, we move on to fret 5. These notes may not be as well-known to you, but fortunately I’m about to make them a whole lot more accessible.

From lowest to highest, they are: A, D, G, C, E, and A. The memory device I’ve come up with for these is:  After Dark, Gophers Chomp Every Apple.

Sure, gophers could eat apples if they wanted to, when they wanted to. So, picture a bunch of gophers chomping apples after dark.

Let’s reverse those notes with: A, E, C, G, D, and A. That memory device I’ve created is: All Elephants Consume Grass During April. Ok, so we’ve got animals eating plants here at the 5^th fret. That’s fine, but more importantly, we have some memory devices with mental handles that we can grab onto. Take time to become familiar with these two memory devices at fret 5. 

Finally, let’s jump up to fret 10, where we have one more row of natural notes. It’s time for some fun animals that like to move in a festive fashion, as we learn two memory devices I’ve made up for you.  

The ascending notes are: D, G, C, F, A, and D. Ready? My wacky mind goes here. I say: Dancing Gorillas Can Frolic All Day. Sure, why not?

And before the frolicking is done, we can go the opposite direction with: D, A, F, C, G, and D, because…wait for it…

Dogs And Ferrets Can Go Dancing. And that wraps up our mnemonic devices for fret 10.

Well, there you have it: six memory devices designed to help you memorize the natural notes in three remarkable rows, at frets 0, 5 and 10. I invite you to spool back through these to make sure you’ve got them. Say them and play them. Smile and shake your head at them.

More importantly, use them to claim essential locations on the fretboard. And before you know it, you won’t have to think about what you’re playing – you can just make great music!

Why is all of this relevant? Well, as I mentioned at the beginning of our time, we can quickly locate moveable chords and scales, and we can more intentionally place our capo, especially when we can leverage these marker points up the neck. 

And P.S. if you’ve looked closely at the names of the notes I’ve provided for these fretboard locations on today’s diagram, you’ll probably notice that some are boldface, some are plain type, italic, etc. And as you might have guessed, that’s because they are classified on my maps by register. So good, right?

Now remember, it IS possible to memorize the entire fretboard, but I’d submit to you that it doesn’t happen instantly.  We need to work strategically, over time. 

And the good news is, I have a method that I’ve never seen used by anyone else, and it has proven itself. 

The better news is that I’ve laid it all out clearly, with tools like the ones you’ve discovered today.  During this brief mini-lesson, I’ve given you a small window into what’s possible.  There is so much more.

In GuitarSuccess4U, my online monthly membership, my members go through a six-stage Success Path, where they move through carefully crafted lessons that lead to a clear understanding of the guitar. 

In the “Knowledge” stage of our Success Path, we take 18 weeks to steadily build out the fretboard so that we can claim it from every possible direction. 

This leads to better retention. 

And don’t worry – we also discover some amazing color chords each week of this stage to help keep the content fun, light, and musically interesting.

But as you might imagine, these materials are available to members.  Which leads me to the best news.  YOU can join this amazing community and raise your game as a guitar player, for the glory of God.

Check out GuitarSuccess4U.com to discover what you might be missing in your guitar experience.  I hope to serve you as a guide on your guitar journey. 

For more fretboard adventures, feel free to check out Guitar Serious Fun Episode 12 - “Fretboard Mapping: Like a Retro Video Game,” and stay tuned for more fretboard fun down the road with the “Five Sweet Boxes.” What are those about? You’ll see…

Keep showing up, and I’ll see you soon!