Hello kiddies...

Here's another batch of Six String Fufu. This time it's just a bit heavier so fasten your seatbelts...  Now I've never been proficient at playing guitar with the exception of the basic chords, but I've certainly got the Stratocast(air) strapped on... get it? :D I hope you dig it.

The Guitar Hero series on Jemsite features interviews with guitarists and musicians who may not have star status YET, but their current situations have shaped them to be who they are--determined, fond of their craft, and heroes in their own right.  Perhaps you'll see in these upcoming entries the next Jimi Hendrix, Melissa Etheridge, or Duane Allman.  Or perhaps they'll become household names by doing what they do best--ripping a mean riff!

It's ok to call him a Guitar Geek.  In fact, he allows it! He doesn't mind the stigma. After all, he does go by the name JP Stratoblogster.

But this Stratocaster fan is so much more then just a Strato geek.  He's also a pure Fender Stratocaster aficionado, a guitarist extraordinaire, and the creator of Strat-o-blogster Guitar Blog targeting all thing--yep, you guessed it!---Stratocaster! 

There are two kinds of guitarist, those who know their fretboard and those who don't. Although simply memorizing all the notes won't make you into Jimi Hendrix overnight, you can be sure that the best guitarists are all in the camp of "those who do". Fortunately, you can learn a lot about the fretboard without eating up your precious practice time.

Although there are lots of different techniques for learning your fretboard the real key is repetition. Repetition helps you learn and refreshes the knowledge so you don't lost it. Here are ten different ways you can get your dose of repetition while not playing your guitar.

Fretboard Learning Exercises

1. Pick a note, name all the places it occurs on the guitar.
2. Pick a fret, name the notes on all strings.
3. Pick a chord position, name all the notes in it and their place in the chord position. Name their scale degree too.
   
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The Guitar Hero series on Jemsite features interviews with guitarists and musicians who may not have star status YET, but their current situations have shaped them to be who they are--determined, fond of their craft, and heroes in their own right.  Perhaps you'll see in these upcoming entries the next Jimi Hendrix, Melissa Etheridge, or Duane Allman.  Or perhaps they'll become household names by doing what they do best--ripping a mean riff!

Don't call him merely a guitar player.  Joe Vasconcellos won't just play one instrument, or put himself in one music genre.  Perhaps it's the fact that his family background is a plethora of cultures including Chilean and Brazilian.  Perhaps it's because he loves all people and all things and wants his music to say so.  Perhaps it's because he wants everything he does (play drums, write music, strum guitar, and combine Latin Rhythims with intense lyrics to reflect the beauty in the world. 

Some things in life occur instantaneously. Learning to play a musical instrument is not one of them.

Nevertheless, this doesn’t prevent many an aspiring musician from entertaining grand visions of becoming an overnight virtuoso. Here’s how it usually works: You hear someone perform a musical selection that sends shivers up your spine. Inspiration strikes and you determine that you, too, can learn to play that piece. So you set out to acquire the necessary equipment, music, and instruction to make your dream a reality. This is the oft-traveled path of an eager teenage student to the door of my piano studio. And so begins my role as teacher-turned-cheerleader-turned-counselor as I try to keep the dream alive amidst the rigors and realities of the daily discipline of learning a musical instrument.