Guitar Fretboard Trainer, A small tool
-Zion-
May 20 2009, 06:49 PM
Learning Roadie
Posts: 713
Joined: 20-May 08
From: copenhagen
Hello everyone..

So along with my 1st anniversary here at GMC (EDIT: and 500th post.. weee laugh.gif), I've created a small program which I think could benefit some of the newer players here.

I present to you

Guitar Fretboard Trainer



The General Idea
I know there is a lot of other fretboard learning programs out there, but I've always had some problems translating the onscreen fretboard onto my guitar. Therefore I created this program.

The idea behind is that you should always have your guitar in your hands, and when a certain amount of time passes a random note will be chosen. This note is also spoken out loud, so you dont have to look at the screen all the time.

How it works
In the program you define the interval at which your random notes should appear. The default time is 5 seconds (I've based this time interval on practicing on 1 string at a time) for beginners (like myself), but I wanted to give others the opportunity to change the interval in case they wanted to work on more strings at a time.

Furthermore, there is a "practice" time, which is default set to 15:00 minutes. This is the total time the program will call out random notes. This was made in order for the user to set a specific time to work into their own practice schedule, and not worry about not practicing enough or practice too much.

The "Rules"
Interval Timer
This is a program to help you memorize the notes on the strings, and I just want to stress one EXTREMELY important thing: It is *NOT* a competition. The interval timer should be set to a time where you can get all the notes without rush and preferably with a little time to spare. Remember: It's about getting the notes RIGHT, not fast.

So lets say I wanted to use the program to practice notes on the 6st string, and only up to fret 12. I would set the interval timer for 3 seconds. If i wanted to take the whole string i would set it to 5 seconds.

Now, if I wanted to practice on both the 5th and 6st string, I would probably set it to around 12-15 seconds. You get the idea.

So the interval timer should be set to a time where you don't stress and have a little time to spare.
The interval timer is placed to the right of the big "Note" display. There is also a small progressbar, so you can see how much time there is left before next note is presented.

Playing the notes
Okay, I will tell you how i practice notes. At the moment I am practicing on both the 5th and 6th string. Lets say that the B note is called out. I start on 5th string 2 fret and play that note. I go onto 6th string 7th fret and play that note.. Then I continue on and take 5th string 14th fret and finally 6th string 19 fret. My hand is now long way up the neck.

The next note is called and it's E. Now the idea is to find the *CLOSEST* E note from where my hand is currently located. It happens to be the 5th string 19th fret, then the 6th string 12th fret, then the 5th string 7th fret and finally, this may seem stupid but I put my finger above the 6th string 1st fret on the headstock. The idea is to imprint the note into your memory, and doing this is a good idea I think.

One more thing. I *ONLY* use my index finger. Again this is to imprint the notes at my "starting" position. Furthermore I've added a little time to my interval, so I can practice vibrato on every note as well (wow.. double technique practice) laugh.gif

Different note types
When you first open the program, you will probably notice 5 checkboxes at the bottom. I will shortly explain what they mean here.
It may be overwhelming for new guitarplayers to have ALL notes thrown at you, so I've given you the opportunity to specify which notes you want to practice.
  • Regular: C, D, E, F, G, A, B
  • Sharps: C#, D#, F#, G#, A#
  • Flats: Db, Eb, Gb, Ab, Bb

There are also two more checkboxes which will include the special flats and sharps. Those that may seem odd, but are perfectly valid notes, and they are.
  • Special Sharps: B#, E#
  • Special Flats: Cb, Fb

Requirements
The program is written in C#, so here are the requirements.
  • A Microsoft Windows Operating System
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 (can be downloaded here)
  • Around 1 MB free harddrive
  • EDIT: No installation needed. It's just an .exe file.

Bugs
Even though I'm the greatest developer in the world laugh.gif, there could still be some bugs in the program. Should you happen to encounter any bugs I have included an email address on the "About" screen.
If you left click the link, your default email program will try to launch.
If you right click the link the email will be copied to your clipboard and you can paste it into your web mail (or whatever else you use).
You can also just message me directly here on GMC. Whatever you think is easier/best.
EDIT: You can also contact me on my practice agenda.

Final words
At the end here I just want to say Thanks to Chris Evans for helping me out with this program (even though he hasn't seen it or anything). Without him the program would not be what it is today. cool.gif

I hope you like it, and message me if there's anything I can do to help you out.



EDIT:
One last thing i forgot to tell you..
Should you have any ideas on how to improve the program, feel free to contact me.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


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This post has been edited by -Zion-: May 20 2009, 09:01 PM
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Jesse
May 20 2009, 07:55 PM
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WOHO! How cool ,you made software?! Im going to try this out!

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Chris Evans
May 20 2009, 08:09 PM
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From: Sittingbourne, UK
laugh.gif that sounds just like me!! laugh.gif

thats so cool mate!

Nice little tool, I like it smile.gif

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Praetorian
May 20 2009, 08:40 PM
Learning Apprentice Player & Challenge Star
Posts: 1.995
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From: Albany NY USA
BRAVO!!!! Awesome tool bro!!! THANKS!!!

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skennington
May 20 2009, 08:40 PM
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From: Charlotte,NC USA
QUOTE (Chris Evans @ May 20 2009, 03:09 PM) *
laugh.gif that sounds just like me!! laugh.gif



Thought the same thing, but then again, I haven't spoken to many Brit's.. laugh.gif

It's a nice program you have here man, thanks for sharing it. smile.gif

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NoSkill
May 20 2009, 08:42 PM
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From: Canada
Cool idea!

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AlexLion
May 20 2009, 09:02 PM
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From: Latvia, Jelgava
Wow, the fact YOU made it by self makes me download it!

EDIT : Such a cool program! Really simple and very useful!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


This post has been edited by AlexLion: May 20 2009, 09:04 PM
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Bogdan Radovic
May 20 2009, 09:11 PM
Bass & Beginner Instructor
Posts: 15.614
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From: Belgrade, Serbia
This is great ! Thanks for sharing mate! smile.gif

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


This post has been edited by Bogdan Radovic: May 20 2009, 09:11 PM


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Ivan Milenkovic
May 20 2009, 09:26 PM
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Wow, that's pretty cool man, it's great that you can create your own software this way smile.gif

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Pedja Simovic
May 20 2009, 11:02 PM
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From: Nis, Serbia
Thats just amazing man, congratulations on your music software !
I think members will benefit from it along lessons smile.gif

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Emir Hot
May 20 2009, 11:46 PM
Instructor
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From: London UK
Very good man. I love programing but I stick to my PHP/MySQL smile.gif haha

This is a great tool and cool to hear that GMC has some programers in the community.
I also enjoyed reading the documentation. Looks like the ones for open source software which I love reading.

Also congratulations on your 500 posts smile.gif

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shrednbuttah
May 21 2009, 02:22 AM
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really helpful. thank you kind sir!

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Skalde
May 22 2009, 12:04 AM
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From: Germany
thank you for this programm. Sometimes it says G sharp, but only a G is displayed.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


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djohnneay
May 22 2009, 01:04 PM
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Cool program, very simple and helpful !

Could it be also possible to have the right note playing when time is up, so you know you've got the right ?
At the moment there is no foolproof way to see if you got it right or not.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


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-Zion-
May 22 2009, 01:08 PM
Learning Roadie
Posts: 713
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From: copenhagen
Thanks everyone.. I made this for myself and because I wanted to add something to the community..

QUOTE (AlexLion @ May 20 2009, 10:02 PM) *
Wow, the fact YOU made it by self makes me download it!

EDIT : Such a cool program! Really simple and very useful!

Thanks.. I tried to make it as simple as possible..

QUOTE (Skalde @ May 22 2009, 01:04 AM) *
thank you for this programm. Sometimes it says G sharp, but only a G is displayed.

Okay, could you provide me with a little more detail?? which checkboxes do you have checked?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

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