March 29, 2021 by Klaus Crow
There are times when I don’t have my guitar with me or I can’t play for whatever reason and I am really eager to improve my skills and give my playing a boost.
When my kids are watching TV and I can’t interrupt, when I’m sitting or waiting somewhere and I am bored out of my skull I like to use my time wisely practicing without the guitar.
One of my favorite ways doing this is memorizing the notes of the scales, chords and random notes on the fretboard. I have noticed that knowing my way around the fretboard has an amazing impact on my playing.
Besides guitar playing there are a lot of things you can do to improve your playing. These are all things that really matter and make a big difference on you becoming an advanced player.
Here are 5 ways how to practice without the guitar:
1 – Memorize
Memorize all the notes on the fretboard one string at a time. Memorizing the notes on the low E string and A string is a must for every guitar player. Most barre chords, power chords and scales start off on these strings, so the notes on these strings determine what the name of the chords or scale is.
Memorizing all the notes on the other strings (D, G, B and high E string) will be a great advantage to your guitar playing and guitar vocabulary.
Remember: “The notes, scales, triads, intervals, and arpeggios are the letters and words to create phrases (melodies) which expand your guitar vocabulary”
Memorize the notes in small steps on a regular basis. Memorize in waiting rooms, while you are walking, when you are stuck in traffic or memorize in bed before you fall to sleep. Memorize notes of chords, scales, anything that will help you to know your way around the fretboard.
2 – Listen
Take your ipod to work or school in the car or in the bus and listen to guitar players. Listen to as many different guitar players as possible. Be inspired by their playing. Listen how they phrase, study their styles and skills. Learn from the greatest. Really listening and analyzing the music is one the best ways of practicing.
3 – Read
Read guitar magazines and guitar books. Guitar magazines often contain great articles from the best players in the world with great tips on how to improve your playing and stories on how they became better players. There is also a lot of info on guitar equipment, guitar setups, maintenance, guitar theory, technique and styles. Go to your public library for a great collection of guitar books.
4 – Watch DVDs
Watch great guitar players in concert. Check out guitar instructional DVDs. Watch them on your laptop or mobile phone where ever you go. There are many great guitar instructional DVDs that take you to the next step and can change your playing for once and for all.
5 – Practice theory
Grab yourself a pen and paper and write down the circle of fifths. Learn the key signatures, how many sharps and flats are in each scale. Study and learn the circle of fourths. Learn chord formulas and scale formulas. Practicing theory is most important when learning how to improvise, building chords and chord progressions. It’s the next step in becoming a better guitar player.
He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast. – Leonardo da Vinci
Leave a comment anytime.
Great post Klaus!
I love to listen to Guitar players. I commonly do it when I cycle around
town or whenever I need to go to work. It’s great and inspiring to listen to the heavyweights!
Thanks for the great post!
Thinking about the notes on the guitar is a great tip.
Im always listening to music & my own demos im working on while driving.
JB
Hi Vincent,
Right on! Cycling is a great way to listen to your ipod and learn from the masters.
Be careful in traffic though.
Regards,
Klaus Crow
Hey Johnny,
Memorizing the notes on the fretboard can keep you busy for quite some time.
It’ll keep you sharp! Never stop learning.
All the best,
Klaus Crow
Thanks Klaus!
JB
Thanks a lot.
Hi V, :-)
You’re welcome anytime!
Thanks for the great posts, Klaus- glad I found your site! Much useful info here- I’m putting you on my links page so my guitar students can benefit as well. Look forward to more of your posts!
Leslie @ No Strings Guitar Studio
Hi Leslie,
I’m happy to hear you like the content.
Thanks for the link. I really appreciate it a lot.
I hope your students like it as well.
Klaus Crow
This is a great post.
I am often frustrated by the desire to really immerse myself in a musical lifestyle but not knowing how. I try to improvise in my head along with whatever music happens to be playing, which has helped some.
I love the memorizing ideas. Memorization has always been a weak spot for me. You can bet I’ll be working on it.
Thanks for your thoughtful ideas.
So I got into some trouble and I have to spend 60 days in jail :( But I was wondering if you know of any way to practice with your fingers so I wont be all rusty when I get out.
Hi Klaus,
Thanks for the great post. I’m a beginner struggling on how to progress what to learn first etc etc. please could you give me some syllabus structure to learn. Thanks a lot.
Silam
Hey, tip for people trying to memorize all the notes on guitar neck, the way I did it was to look for a pattern (this was before I learned about theory) you just need to know the first note of each string, then the next fret down will be that note sharp an then the next fret will be the next letter on the alphabet. It respeats like this with the exception of e,f and B, c, which are always frets by each other. Hope that made sense here’s an example: notes on the first string- F, f#, g, g#, a, a#, b, c, c#, d, d#, e, f.
I carry a small digital recorder.when i dont have a guitar & I get a musical idea I hum it into the recorder to work out later on the guitar.