Success with Guitar: sight-reading and fingering

without memorizing

The most startling about working with PAD diagrams is that memorizing is not needed for the success !

No doubt, memorizing notes on guitar is useful, but just practicing regularly with scales and other diagrams trains sight reading and "finger memory" efficiently even without conscious effort to memorize notes, even without taking your look away from the diagrams. During this training fingers remember by themselves where each note is and eyes are getting used to note positions on staff and fretboard. Fingers are trained to jump easy to available notes from any position. As a result you train the direct link between visual perception of notes and tactile actions of the hand. Your fingers are remembering the notes, not your overloaded brain. As a bonus, your achieve good ear training.

No Memorizing !


Here is an example of training sequence. Go around PADs playing individual notes in any order and in different rhythms, with arpeggios, bass only, chords, triads and tetrads, slide along strings, go across the strings, jump from upper to lower frets. More ideas are in "Memorizing notes on Guitar" section:
1. Start with C major scale. And return to it often !

2. Continue with individual notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B.

3. Study the musical patterns of triads and tetrads (chords):

Notes of C major scale Name (with a link to available diagram)
(Note that numbers on chord diagrams do not match the scale. 1 there represents the chord root not C !)
1, 3, 5 C
2, 4, 6 Dm
3, 5, 7 Em
4, 6, 1 F
5, 7, 2 G
6, 1, 3 Am
7, 2, 4 Bdim
1, 3, 5, 7 Cmaj7
2, 4, 6, 1 Dm7
3, 5, 7, 2 Em7
4, 6, 1, 3 Fmaj7
5, 7, 2, 4 G7
6, 1, 3, 5 Am7
7, 2, 4, 6 Bm7b5

4. Study chords over scales and scales over chords:

Chords over C major scale: C, G, F, Em, Am, Dm, Bdim
Chords over A minor scale: Am, Dm, E, G, C, F, Bdim

5. If you wish, you can continue studying with C blues scale in the same manner:

C blues scale C7, F7, G7

Now your fingers are ready to play

and much more..

Continuing studying other keys and scales you will find no difficulty!
Sight reading is among the most valuable skills a guitarist can posess.
This method gives an perfect start for sight-reading: familiarization with the fingerboard.
From here you can use any other method of training.
If you would ever need it..

Now music is EASY!

Since now, concentrate on learning music, developing ear, technique, rhythms.
No more pain to remember where each note is and how to play it.

Good luck !

Home | Top | What is PAD: Perfectly Aligning Diagrams | How the method was developed | Basic chord fingering chart | Table of PADs in the Book: chords and scales, transposition table | Musical structure of guitar starting with C major scale | Essential guitar scale pattern on the fretboard | Notes along the fingerboard: note C | Grouping of notes across the guitar strings into fret groups | Notes along the strings | Thirds intervals on the Guitar. Exercise | Guitar Triads and Tetrads (Chords), Diagonal Structure, Exercise | Chords and Inverted Chords on a Guitar Fret Group. Exercise | PAD Chord Charts | Working with other keys, C blues scale and A minor scale and key | Key Signatures | Guitar Ear, Fingering, Memory Training with Visual Musical Notes Presentation | The book | Success without memorizing | Blogs, Forums, Groups

Available PAD in the key C - Am: Help | Home | Explanation | Musical Structure of Guitar | Success without memorizing | Forums, Groups
Notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B
Triads of C major scale: C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim, tetrads: Bm7b5, G7
Triads of A minor scale: E, other: A
C blues scale C7, F7, G7
Chords over C major scale: C, G, F, Em, Am, Dm, Bdim
Chords over A minor scale: Am, Dm, E, G, C, F, Bdim
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Key words: guitar, chord, scale, chart, classical, note, tablature, book, fingerboard, fretboard
Design and Copyright © 2011 Igor Polk.    Published by Yes San Francisco, LLC on 2011.01.1