Learning the notes of the ukulele fingerboard allows you to get beyond memorizing countless shapes and get to what music is. The notes and fingerings and patterns.

Through a series of exercises and drills, you can actually master the ukulele fingerboard.

It's actually a bit crazy to think that a musician, and yes, you are a musician, would NOT know the names of the notes on their instrument.

The ukulele, with its non-equidistant tuning system (perfect 4ths and one major 3rd) and re-entrant tuning, is using a high-tuned string four that’s at least partially responsible for the confusion on note locations. Other string instruments have equidistant tuning, valve or key combinations, or the more obvious black and white setup of the piano.

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On To Finally Learning You Own Instrument

And the steps do not have to be in order. Although the first three are a great start and will make 4 thru 10 a lot easier.

1 Sequential Fret Order — One fret at a time and same string order — a HORIZONTAL, across the strings approach. One fret at a time along each string, fret by fret. This method is a bit slow and prone to error and takes too long to get the information that you really need — What is this note?

Start with the Natural Notes: A B C D E F G A…, starting with what ever the open string is.

2 Random Fret Order — One fret at a time and same string order. This is a VERITICAL along a string approach. 3 Key Frets Concept — Primary (Key) Frets, Secondary Frets, and Derived Adjacent Frets from string four to one and one to four. This is the method that is used for this series of lessons. 4 Three Element Drill — Fret, Name, String? This is a great goal. Given two of the three elements, you can name the third. This is when you REALLY, REALLY know the names of the neck of your own instrument.

Try this away from the Ukulele. This is the a great goal to achieve. and you really are starting to know the notes of the fingerboard (neck). 5 Geometric Shapes — Random shape and name the notes. 6 Chord Shapes — Finger any chord you already know - doesn't matter if you know the name of the chord or not. This can be done with or without the ukulele. Hold the chord down or imagine it. Then name the notes. Name them from low to to high, high to low. It actually doesn't matter if you get the right sharp or flat name. Later on you can learn which sharp or flat en-harmonic identity would be correct.< 7 Isolation Drill — Look or in your mind visual a string, frets, string and name the note. Again the en-harmonic is optional. 8 Visualization — Just visualize you playing and something you already know and simple identify everything you are actually playing. It doesn't have to be in tempo. 9 Name Notes in Rhythm — Sing the names of the notes as you playing a single note melody or riff. 10 Rapid Note Jumping. Identify individual notes in extreme random order.

Basically ALWAYS know what your are playing - regardless whether it's scales, arpeggios, chords, reading, improvising, etc. Eventually this becomes second nature and the names come to you whether you need them or not.

This is one of the elements of learning a fretted stringed instrument that really, and I mean really, has one of the biggest returns for the time and effort it takes to really learn the neck. In the corporate world, they call it the ROI, Return On Investment — Just what will we get out of it.

NO matter what you are doing, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS know each note you are playing. As a player there is NO excuse for not knowing the notes or YOUR OWN instrument.