10 of the World's best guitar players - What do they struggle with whilst visualizing the fretboard?

[@tomquayleguitar]

Hi everyone - I hope you enjoy the little jam at the beginning of this video with Beebee and I. It was super cool to hear from each of these incredible guitar players about the personal struggles they've had with visualizing the fretboard. Lots of things I can relate and I'm sure you can too and it's really nice to hear that even the best players have the same issues with this fantastic instrument. Thanks to everyone who's checked out the new course and Solo v.2 - lots more coming your way soon. Have a great day and happy practicing! Tom

[@wooliegeek]

Is that Mike’s Eastman?

[@wooliegeek]

Apparently it is. Fun!

[@luckylicks3497]

Hi Tom, I just got the course with the NAMM50 promo code, and got access to the course. Looks so well planned out, thanks! Question: Does the course not include the app, or do I have to get the app separately? I have an iPad on loan so I could use the course and the app together. Note, months ago I bought Solo v.1.0 for my Android phone, so do I have to pay for Solo 2.0 separately or where can I download the new app? Thanks from Finland

[@Smarthalayla]

Stanley Jordan solved this issue long time ago. He was smart enough to follow the bass players way.

[@SkepticalLlama]

Yes, the app is separate. Well worth it.

[@JackGardiner]

So great to catch up with you and Beebee at NAMM! Absolutely killer playing at the beginning too! Massive congrats again to you guys on the new releases. Looking forward to checking out Solo v.2! 💙

[@tomquayleguitar]

YES! Always great to see you dude.

[@whatilearnttoday5295]

What did you get out of that playing at the beginning? What did you feel? Can you remember any of it?

[@cris_horizons]

i love your band Great job with WINTERSUN

[@musicafteroldage]

That intro brought back so many memories of when I found you maybe over a decade ago. Couch sessions with Marios, Graham, etc. Spent 2 days downloading thru my 14.4k modem hahah A true inspiration at my old age dear Sir!

[@tomquayleguitar]

Oh man...those were the days!

[@david.cutipa]

Being a jazz player, i've been using the usual 5 shapes (jimmy bruno and barry greene videos helped me alot with these from a jazz point of view) and trying to see every triad, arpeggio, pattern and chord within those fingerings. Also TRANSCRIBING lines and playing them in each fingering, basically trying to map the fretboard by lines (pat martino - creative force video is an example on how he does it with minor lines). I cannot stress enough how much transcribing has helped me

[@tomquayleguitar]

No doubt about it - transcribing is huge for learning both the fretboard and vocabulary.

[@basselmtaweh3103]

One of the Best Decisions I took in life is Tuning in Fourth 8 years ago :P Just Turned 30 ... when I'll have kids later on and he/she would choose to play the guitar...I'd definitely teach them using the fourth tuning. And Tom ..you're such an inspiration to all of us.. We miss the Guitar Hour ...bring it back.

[@tomquayleguitar]

Yes! It's one of the best decisions I ever took too! I'd love to do the GH livestreams again - it's just a such a nightmare trying to get us all in the same place at the same time. Haha

[@antonlasy7501]

Absolutely ! The same for me, the best decision ever. As soon as I discovered Tom (what is it, 7-8 years ago !? gosh) and tuned into 4th I finally started to improvise much more fluently, saved a ton of time and frustration by not going with caged as well.

[@bassyey]

Well, that's the default in bass so it only makes sense to me lol. When I first played a guitar, I thought "why tf is this string offset". So I just tuned it up.

[@michaeldennisguitarlessons]

Group the guitar fretboard into “2 string groupings” - ⑥⑤ - ④③ - ②① - play any melodic phrase “exclusively” on any one of these “2 string groupings” - simply move the exact same “phrase/shape” to the other string groupings - obviously you will run out of room at either end of the fretboard. This will be a “great starting point” for many guitarists.

[@tomquayleguitar]

Oh nice! I like that idea - thank Michael.

[@michaeldennisguitarlessons]

You're welcome! This always seemed to me to be a very good organizational strategy for learning the guitar fingerboard. @@tomquayleguitar

[@gitarmats]

I can relate most to Guiseppe in this video. I find the way I see the fretboard is dependent on what and how I'm actually playing. If I'm holding on to a sustained melody note like a B over an Am7, I might see that as the 9th in relation to A. But if I'm for example playing pop rhythm guitar, I'm probably seeing chord shapes. If I'm doing a fast scale based lick, I might see it as one of the scale position or several positions if it connects multiple of them. Arpeggio shapes also. It all blends together into one big thing that is assembled over time, and it's a bit hard to pinpoint exactly what it is. I know the interval functions and the shapes in relation to the root in all those settings, but that seems to mostly come into focus when landing on a note or when doing more slow "melodic" playing, for lack of a better term. I find the biggest difficulty now in regards to this stuff is to actually consistently execute stuff you see/think/hear of in improv. But I think that's more of a vocab/technique issue rather than visualization for me.

[@DanielSeriffMusic]

Too cool, Tom! Love it and so excited for you about Solo V.2!

[@tomquayleguitar]

Thanks dude - 2024 has to involve me, you, guitars, beers in the same room!

[@DanielSeriffMusic]

Dude!! We are going to make it happen. @@tomquayleguitar

[@joeblakeukeman]

Jake Willson says it all “For me, the difficulty is the major third in the B and the G string.” After decades of trying to deal with that ‘trip wire’ as I call it - I gave up! I tune all 4ths, and revel in the secure ground I’m dancing on, the logical consistency, the knowing the connection between the interval and the physical movement. Tom Quale helped me make the transition, and although I remember the sweet chords I used to play, I want to improvise freely, and this works! Thanks, guys!

[@SkepticalLlama]

I bought the course a week ago, and have had the app for a year or so. It’s unlocking a lot for me. If you’re on the fence about the course, guys, just do it. I’m convinced this is the most practical way to learn the guitar, in any tuning.

[@JosephAnidjar]

Was great catching up with you, Jake and Beebee! thanks for the mention it means a lot coming from you!

[@tomquayleguitar]

You too dude! Hope your Airbnb rating is still intact!

[@DavidBeebee]

Great to hang again mate! Thanks for the chat, disappointed Tom didn't 4:3 for your bit though!

[@Dave-nm3xc]

Thanks for this video; there is a lot of good information here. Also, thanks for including Andy Wood. He is my favorite player of all time.

[@tomquayleguitar]

My pleasure - Andy is one the greatest and an incredible human being whom I'm proud to call my friend,.

[@picksalot1]

A few things that have helped me visualize the fretboard are finding fingerings that work across multiple strings and maintain the same intervals. So, fingerings on the 6th and 5th strings also work on the 4th and 3rd, and the 2nd and 1st string. I generally think of the 4 low strings as one group, and the top two strings as a second group. The bottom 4 strings chords, and the top 2 for melodies. The bottom 4 strings can be further broken down into the 2 lowest strings for bass notes and the next 2 for harmonies. I also look for fingerings that can "bridge across" the M3 interval between the 3rd and 2nd string, yet maintain their pitch and fingering integrity. For instance, a M3 can be fingered using the 3rd and 1st string, and that same fingering, interval, and pitch can be played 5 frets up on the 4th and 2nd string of the 7th fret. There are many more fingerings combining different strings than one might expect.

[@michaelzinna6536]

The only guy in my opinion who had the most educated practical view was Mattea Mancuso. He said he just doesn’t see a chord but the key it comes out of and all it offers . Key and chords are what the instrument is all about.

[@tomquayleguitar]

Definitely a very useful and cool approach - he really is incredible.

[@sethroberts627]

Also very relatable in the complaints about the g and b string throwing off the patterns

[@michaelzinna6536]

@@sethroberts627 really? How

[@michaelzinna6536]

@@sethroberts627 what do you mean?

[@jessekuntz458]

I haven't heard of any of those guitarists, but I don't listen to fusion or jazz. I'm here for the fretboard visualization stuff. Thank you for freeing me from my boxes.

[@tomquayleguitar]

My pleasure!

[@hanovergreen4091]

You, Jens and Andy. My day ends well :) Thank You for the video and Best Regards and Best Wishes!

[@koho]

Very interesting, thanks for pulling this together. Also noted that no one mentioned triads.

[@CompleteProducer84]

Thanks Tom! I just purchased your Ultimate Visualization course along with Solo. I also have your older course, and so far I am loving how the new one is organized.

[@tomquayleguitar]

Fantastic! Thanks.

[@englushboy1243]

Just brought the Guitar Course, G.O A.T. got the earlier android Version of SOLo, about to purchase a IPad over the weekend.this is a little price to pay to eat for a life time.Question? Can we download the course for offline learning.

[@CompleteProducer84]

@@englushboy1243 I’ll have to double check if there is a downloadable version tomorrow when I’m up, but I believe this course requires internet as it’s hosted on a website this time.

[@v2vroth]

Interesting to hear these incredible players tell us how they did it. Love your channel thanks for sharing 😎🎸🎶

[@icarusi]

I play quite a lot on 8 string, so the bottom 6 strings are all 4ths, and the top 6 are as per guitar 'mostly' 4ths, so I do zonal thinking depending on which set of strings I'm on. I did use a 'sliced fretboard' idea for transferring lines from 'mostly' 4ths to all-4ths zones, so imagine the fretboard is sliced between the B & G strings and you can slide the upper part back 1 fret. Anything you play on B & G strings on 'mostly' 4ths upper 6, you move the A string notes 1 semitone sharper than you would on the all-4ths lower 6 strings. Otherwise I tend to think in 4 string groups, so anything on adjacent 4s in the lower 6, but 'mostly' 4ths on the upper 4 strings.

[@robvandevelde5141]

Hey Tom, nice video, I have your course visualizing the fredboard and the app solo for Android, it open so much more doors for me, as a guitarplayer.Thanks Tom and David.

[@tomquayleguitar]

Thanks Rob.

[@TomCTHC]

amazing Friday Night in SF vibes in the intro there.

[@johnmiller3804]

Thanks Tom, It’s really amazing to have a peak into the mind of these great players! Very kind of them , and very generous of you for sharing. Thanks 🙏 , -John M.

[@tomquayleguitar]

My pleasure!

[@rhoydotp]

this is an amazing video! Very relatable to many of us mere guitar mortals 😊 Would love for you to expand a little bit on what Matteo said here.

[@MrNamePerson]

How very fun... Especially to note many similarities in issues. Great idea.Thanks Tom!

[@tomquayleguitar]

Definitely - there's a very common thread to the problems of visualizing on the guitar, but then everyone ends up with a unique final approach to help solve said problems!

[@1man1guitarletsgo]

I'm just happy if I get through a song without making too many mistakes! I can't play jazz for toffee; more of a country and pop picker, and would say that everything I do is based on CAGED, major & minor pentatonics, modes (for which I simply play the "wrong" major scale), chromatic runs, and double stops galore, but always with the chord tone in there somewhere.

[@DaveBrons]

Fascinating video . Thanks Tom

[@lukemakayabu4369]

Dear Tom, I might have missed the deadline of the special, I bought solo and would like to learn from the course as well, could activate the NAMM 50 coupon for a day or 2 please 🙏

[@einarabelc5]

If you ever want to discourage someone from getting back into guitar, this is the video. I remember all of these. I think I'm going to learn Mandolin now.

[@kevinriveraguitar]

I think memorizing/learning the notes on the fretboard is a bit underrated. It’s tedious but it will make the basics like intervals and the major scale make more sense and be a lot more useful. Also buy any piano or keyboard, they’re really helpful for studying.

[@Dr-Curious]

It's amazing how none of our greatest songs equate to knowing "which scale to play next".

[@tomquayleguitar]

They might if you were trying to improvise over them, but totally get your point.

[@Wadey1960CS]

LEGENDS! ❤️🙏🏻

[@BasedRaven96]

This is awesome!

[@danielvelazquez18]

Hello Tom! I'm here to annoy you about the android version for solo v2. Thank you for your contributions to guitar teaching!

[@tomquayleguitar]

Thanks Daniel!

[@fmps2950]

Vaya. Nunca sabrás lo que es un buen guitarrista hasta que te deleites con un maestro flamenco. Lo siento. Saludos.

[@TimvanCann]

When can Android users expect the updates? The changelogs look absolutely amazing!

[@billh9722]

The NAMM50 code has expired. Any chance of an extension or new code? I just discovered this channel and I’m interested in your course.

[@nelsonbrilhante]

same...

[@Thijs-Kuiken]

wow.. is the dandruff on the shirt coming from the beard?!? Silly jokery aside; great player/educator you are Tom! On a binge of watching your content.. a lot of it flies over my head but enjoying it nonetheless.. 😀

[@rootblack8745]

Hello Tom, the Ultimate Fretboard Visualization course works with strandard tuning right? thx

[@tomquayleguitar]

Hi there! It does indeed.

[@ecorbeille1071]

I have the android solo app, will that work for the visualization course?

[@jiasdfadfdeygshjklsIlgs]

I am surprised to hear that the 'note redundancy' on the guitar is seen as a problem and not as an advantage. Yeah, you have to remember more things and spend more time, but it's totally worth it and pays off immensely.

[@tomquayleguitar]

Gives you huge tonal flexibility too.

[@dmitrymashkov9379]

Wait what is that video about modal notes by Guthrie that Josh was talking about? I'm going to dig that out

[@donald-parker]

When I learned to play lead there was no internet. No tabs. No KZbin. Just records and my ears. Johnny Winter And Live was my bible. From that I learned Major and Minor pentatonics (but I have no idea they were called that until years later - I just thought of it as "the good notes") and I didn't even really have a clear concept of the Major and MInor being two different scales because in Johnny's style he flipped back and forth between them all the time, often in a sort of "call and response" way. And with no lessons or ability to see him play, I somehow got the idea in my head that, when playing lead, the "goal" was to find ways to play all notes, as much as possible, 2 frets apart. Which necessitated going up and down the neck. So I ended up with pretty much a "whole neck" concept of how to play these scales in any key. I never really groked "the boxes" until years later. And while I know them now, I still tend to ignore them for the most part and use the whole neck. There were exceptions. Like the infamous "chuck berry" sort of lick tends to start you off in the minor pentatonic "box 1" but I never thought about picturing boxes or moving between boxes.

[@tomquayleguitar]

Love stories like this - super interesting how unique everyone's journey with the fretboard is. Thanks for sharing that, Donald!

[@tinkerwithstuff]

Same pain (severe learning inefficiency) on keyboards. For some hundred years different chromatic keyboards have been built, but it was too late, the classical one too entrenched. (on which the additionally anti-intuitive notation is based, hiding the different intervals between named notes). Examples are at "le nouveau clavier" /english pages, qoting a (probably misspelt) "Bernard Schumann" - that design seems quite nice.

[@tinkerwithstuff]

​@@jsoundshare yeah, I've read about that, too. But as a universal system, the standard keyboard and the standard notation are pretty horrible, IMO. Alone the black/white key pattern that destroys intuitive physics w.r.t. distance -> interval, that could otherwise be utilized to get a feeling for intervals quickly, instead of memorizing everything 12 times, if you want to keep things universal. E.g. transposing would be a nothingburger without those quirks, instead of a hard-learned skill. (same for using a notation system with one simple, universal set of rules such as *_ClairNote SN_* , instead of learning millions of things because "that's how we do things") It's an order of magnitude more learning effort than objectively necessary ( = insanity for someone in engineering & who way _not_ indoctrinated in these systems at young age ;) ), and I bet it is _one_ of the things holding back a number of people from more seriously getting into music - even though they might have an aptitude for it otherwise. Musicians who already spent the time don't typically even realise how unnecessary this is and it feels like nothing to them, and usually attribute these valid concerns to laziness - but while learning is a virtue, learning stupid is not. One could certainly do better things with one's time than burning it "because that's how we do it", like learning further music stuff instead of memorizing silly patterns! And there is nothing blurring in the "Bernard Schumann" design I referenced. *You can even see the diatonic stuff* if you look at it in a certain way. I don't need it, I hear intervals in my head, and play the ones I like.

[@dennisn.9583]

Hey Tom, what video games are you playing besides guitar?

[@pmrparts]

Good video. I hope you will be at the International Musicians Summit.

[@tomquayleguitar]

Thanks - I would love to attend. Kevin is a legend!

[@UnderratedRiffs]

Too many new faces! I only know the first two gentlemen! Maybe that's because I quit playing a long time ago. Thanks, Tom!

[@ExperienceJacob]

That green bar was very distracting haha! Love the solo app! It would be great to have some jam tracks in the app that relate to some of the exercises, sometimes I feel like I can get a bit stuck in the theory.

[@tomquayleguitar]

Ha! Sorry about that green bar - Studio One recording my voice in the background, So glad you're enjoying Solo.

[@Cornelixx]

Jack Gardiner's voice is superb

[@tomquayleguitar]

Nearly as good as his playing! lol

[@davedave8608]

fantastic.. cheers

[@YMESYDT]

Man I miss just hearing you play on here!

[@tomquayleguitar]

There’s more coming. Planning on doing way more playing vids.

[@Voytek777]

Beautiful jam 🎸❤️

[@tomquayleguitar]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. Live jamming with Beebee.

[@whatilearnttoday5295]

What is the first guy attempting to say with that playing? I hear some attempts at phrasing ideas, but nothing is connected. Like someone mumbling at me.

[@joshuacohen5618]

This is a lot of info. Could be an episode for each one

[@MusicianTracks]

Awesome !!!

[@toddmcdaniels1567]

There are only two patterns. The fretboard is actually quite easy if you don’t waste your time with CAGED. In fact don’t even look at arpeggios as chords at all. That stunted my progress more than anything. There are only two arpeggio patterns and only two diatonic scale patterns.

[@Kaisiilerite]

What's that...can you pls explain

[@user-og782]

Grazie😊

[@Garflips]

"The Third from Nowhere" would make a pretty scary sci-fi..!

[@tomquayleguitar]

Close encounters of the 4ths kind!

[@andersestes]

Not native englishspeaker here: what does he call the method, at 7:15 ? kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWfQopSqr8tgeJo

[@deluxairhead]

Andy Wood is my pick he's a freeking talented dude....

[@tomquayleguitar]

One of the best our there.

[@deluxairhead]

He seems to be able to play anything that's thrown at him, total package....@@tomquayleguitar

[@frankschlegel9126]

I just saw Tom alternate picking. That's rare.

[@darrenmuso2621]

Comments section here very informative too👍

[@tomquayleguitar]

Good to hear

[@DaveManleyguitar]

One thing guitar players should do to help them solve this issue with visualization is spend time compartmentalizing every segment of the fretboard. Every three strings is an octave, if you add a fret above, and below the 3,string octave shape, you can pretty much play in all 12 keys without moving your hand. It does take time to do this, but it solves a lot of issues especially when you’re dealing with playing through changes because you begin to see what notes change and what notes stay the same between keys and chord qualities. You should also be able to play an all 12 Keys doing this using triads. This method of compartmentalizing the fret board between stings 1 & 3 and 2& 4 can solve a lot of the issues that the B string presents. I was able to solve a lot of those mysteries by doing it this way. Doing this in every position is a microcosmic way of learning the fretboard and can really free you up to not think at all and just hear and react when playing. it also gets the guitar players out of easy traps like playing arpeggios and scales every time you see a chord. It opens up a much more melodic way of playing, especially rhythmically and melodically.

[@larsdahl6594]

Solo 2 for Android?

[@marcblum5348]

Was a guitar player for 20+ years. Thinking in dots and lines and shapes, really geometrical. Then moved to bass, esp sixstring; voila strict fourths between strings; and a low B. Everything broke! Never regained the ease and fluidity I had as a guitarist. Too old for reprogramming, I guess.

[@TheVinciol]

Matteo Mancuso is the best

[@tomquayleguitar]

He's truly amazing!

[@siavashdarmani1190]

Who else came to this video in hope of finding a crazy new guitar virtuso they didn't know already? :D

[@cris_horizons]

i have the best advice for the visualization...

[@SuppressiveSquirrel]

Q: Where's Tommy Emmanuel, Django and many others???

[@raybergstrom]

Django couldn't make it to NAMM this year.

[@robvandevelde5141]

😂

[@Boomsterblak]

Lol i only have heard of two..under a rock i guess.

[@tomquayleguitar]

Ha! You’ve got some killer new guitar players to listen to. 😂

[@Boomsterblak]

@@tomquayleguitar Yes..lol..we are living in a golden age of music..not only do we have every thing that came before but everything to come as well..

[@Tzzzmadiik]

The notes in between. It’s always been the notes in between.

[@Paddy126]

One things I notice is they all seem to be VERY intelligent folk. Were there no lady guitarists at the show?

[@tangobayus]

I went to DADGAD a few years ago. You can play anything in DADGAD. D is a good key for singing. With equal temperament, keys don't mean anything compared to the time of just temperament. Any piece can be transposed to D.

[@tomquayleguitar]

My Dad has explored DADGAD a lot - I've never dabbled. Maybe it's about time! Haha.

[@tangobayus]

@@tomquayleguitar It gives you 3 D's and 2 A's, so it's common to have ringing strings and overtones.

[@Max.Sinister]

The problem with the guitar is that you can't see the entire fretboard at once, so there's always room for error.

[@neilx-r2v]

Why would you want to see all the fretboard at once? All you need to see is the area you are playing in and have sight of the landing point in your head for changing to a different section of the fretboard.

[@damonkatos4271]

Tim Henson is making bank. I know him

[@LightningZtrikez]

Flamenco guitarists, who play with flamenco guitars or Spanish acoustic guitars made by professional luthiers (Conde, Vicente Carrilo, Mariano Bernal, etc) don't even have reference points on the fretboard, so... imagine that. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaSWmqChrJJ2apo&ab_channel=pitarate

[@NPCONSULTING247-jy3pz]

This guitar you played looks so small in your giant

[@tomquayleguitar]

😆

[@PitcockFTW]

Cmon, more like today 10 of the World's guitar players that sound, bend,vibrato,pharse the same....😂. Tobin Abasi is new player that i like, even that i dont listen to his music, i will get back listen to 70/80s guitarist or some mando ballad songs....

[@gramophoneloopers]

3/10 🫣😊

[@armandosinger]

I relate most to Andy Wood. I mastered the fretboard of multiple instruments, but once I made a mistake warming up….i wish! Really enjoying the new fretboard visualization course and Solo 2.0!

[@tomquayleguitar]

Awesome! Thanks.

[@chrisjames1924]

One of the weirdest things about NAMM is how noticeably absent women are. Could swear there were more women at my local throw a woman down a hill competition last year. Lots of men with women’s hair cuts though.

[@mattdelany6799]

You forgot Tory Slusher, who would embarrass any of these guys if they had the guts to sit with her in a room with a guitar.

[@ПётрАркадьевич-б4н]

Who are this people? Why they are best guitar players?

[@Kouros-t6d]

What we REALLY need are guitar players that form new bands and wrote new songs as legends like Van Halen..Toto..Journey...Boston...Zeppelin,,,Purple,,,,The Police...Simple Minds....U2...Yes...Genesis...Floyd etc....did.

[@yourbore]

Then make a band and write some songs

[@valebliz]

Boomer award goes to you

[@Kouros-t6d]

@@valebliz it's an honour we are superior beings