I have good news: this isn’t rocket science. There’s a million great guitarists in the world, and most of them can’t figure out their taxes, can’t spell the word “unnecessary” and can’t name the last half dozen vice presidents. But somehow they still manage just fine.
Sure, we’re talking about internalizing a huge amount of information and then coordinating your hands so they do your bidding. But you could say the same thing about driving a car, navigating your smart phone or playing video games. And you do these things every single day. Heck, you probably do them while simultaneously eating and/or making conversation.
Fretboard Anatomy is the culmination of ten years of intense study of the art of teaching guitar. In addition to the obvious guitar-related inquiries, this path has led me deep into the human psyche, seeking out the best ways to learn anything new.
Let me tell you a story.
It’s my story, but I’ll bet it’s your story too. You play guitar. You’re pretty decent. You can play some songs, read tab, maybe even improvise over the blues. Your fingers mostly do what you tell them to, but you’re stuck. You’ve plateaued.
So you buy a book, a dvd, a guitar magazine. You get excited, which causes you to practice a bit more than usual, and you improve just a little. But then… your excitement fades. Life happens. That book you bought? You abandoned it before you got to the staples. The dvd? You didn’t finish it either. And truthfully, the lessons in the guitar mag seemed cool enough when you were thumbing through them in the store, but you tried them and they didn’t magically transform you into a guitar god.
Perhaps you started taking guitar lessons. Your new teacher got you amped up about guitar, taught you some cool things, even got you practicing a bit more, at least for a little while.
But then your teacher’s wonkish theory talk sailed over your head. You grew restless and bored trying to learn to read music with antiquated folk melodies. Maybe you even had the sobering the realization that there was no systematic plan in place to teach you all the things you need to know to play kick ass guitar.
So how do you get there from here?
Running a marathon is simple. You start running. Twenty-six miles later you stop. Just because it’s simple doesn’t make it easy. The story we tell ourselves about learning guitar is equally reductionist. It goes:
You need to practice that damned guitar. A lot. That’s how you get good.
Ok, so maybe there’s a few pieces of information we’ll need to pick up along the way. But we have google! There’s a hundred sites to show you how to play your favorite songs, a dozen that claim to simplify learning how the fretboard is laid out, and maybe even a handful that offer throwaway advice on practicing well.
So if it’s common knowledge that practice + (easy-to-find) information = guitar awesomeness, why aren’t you a better guitarist? Heck, why isn’t everyone you know a six string bad ass? Here’s exactly why:
It’s hard to know what to practice next.
It’s hard to retain what you learn.
And it’s hard to stay motivated.
With Fretboard Anatomy, the path towards formidable fretboard skills is finally clear and attainable.
Fretboard Anatomy is 100% explicit, on a daily level: do this today, for x minutes.
Fretboard Anatomy quizzes you right when you’re about to forget what you’ve learned, locking it into your brain.
And between its member forum and its encouraging daily format, Fretboard Anatomy is designed to keep you engaged and motivated.