Image: laurapalumbomusic.com
As owner of independent veterinary practice RockStar Vet and lead of a television series of the same name, Dr. Laura Palumbo balances caring for animals with a musical career. Dr. Laura Palumbo also teaches guitar as well as piano and voice.
To memorize the notes on a guitar fretboard, you first need to understand a basic scale. Some teachers recommend learning a C major scale, which spans an octave with no sharps or flats, while others believe that the consistent half-steps of the chromatic scale offer the most consistent basis for fretboard memorization. Whichever method you choose, you will need to learn the progression of notes by heart.
Once you know your scale, you can place it on the lowest two strings of your instrument. Each fret corresponds to a half step on the chromatic scale. If you are playing a C major scale, however, you will need to skip a fret unless you are moving from E to F or B to C. These transitions occur over a half step.
When you can play your scale on the lowest two strings, you can use those frets as guideposts for the higher strings. Each note on the lowest and second-lowest string corresponds with a note two strings and two frets higher. For example, the F on the first fret of the lowest string indicates that the third fret of the third-lowest string will also be an F. When moving from the third-lowest string to the second highest, however, you must move three frets higher instead of two to find octave correspondence.
The final key to memorizing the fret board is that the first string has exactly the same notes in the same places as the sixth string. When in standard tuning, both of these strings have an open tone of E and an F on the first fret. By understanding these relationships and hearing how they sound on your instrument, you can begin to increase your comfort level with the guitar and your overall musicianship.
Dr. Laura Palumbo's Blog 
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