Locating the frets

maiduguri

Hi,  I play fingerstyle on a classical guitar, using tabs.

I can find the first five frets easily, but have trouble finding the 7th fret upwards without looking.  Therefore, learning a new piece is very slow until I have memorised all the notes so that I can then look at the fretboard when playing.

What tips do you have to help me locate the fret positions without looking. I am not talking about the actual strings, simply the location of the frets.

drofluf

I wouldn’t get too hung up about not looking at the frets. Even the best players glance down to see where their fingers are. If you need to see where yours are then look; eventually the muscle memory will come and you’ll be able to do it without looking. 

maiduguri

Thanks for your reply.  Once I have memorised a piece I do look at the fretboard, but if I new exactly where a specific fret is, it make learning the piece easier, because I could play whilst reading the tabs.

FelineGuitars

assuming you play with thumb on the back of the neck how about putting something that you can feel as an anchor point to index from . could be a sticky backed dot and you'd put it somewhere that would prove to be useful like in the middle of the back of the neck behind 5th or 7th fret 

digitalkettle

Get used to glancing at the fretboard *edge*...you won’t always have everything memorised!

Also, maintain an ideal and consistent posture so the guitar is always in the same position...and keep your fretting hand in close contact.

Finally, practice position shifts.

maiduguri

Thank you for all your comments.  Much appreciated.

GuyBoden

I was restricted to playing songs/tunes in the open position until I knew all of the notes in that position, I wasn't allowed to move to the next position until I could do this without error, then I was allowed the play songs using the next position and then the next etc. This was drilled into me as a young man by an overly authoritarian classical guitar teacher, but it worked.