Fretboard Memorization Deck | 54 Flash Cards | Great Learning Gift for Guitar Players & Teachers, Music Theory, Alternative to Stickers & Posters

I'm including the top two paragraphs of this review to give you my guitar history, so you can see how you think you might match up, experience wise. Just to set the stage, I’m 66 y/o now for less than a month, and I just recently retired as a university professor. I’ve been playing the guitar since I was 16. I’m a good autodidact, but I've taken formal lessons at the university back in the mid-2000s because I got a break on the price. I’ve had many of the topics presented in these cards back then, but I mostly wanted to be better at playing barre chords, and playing up and down the neck. Not to become the next Stevie Ray Vaughn. To please my instructor I learned the C-Ionian and Aeolian Scales, in one position, and mode 1 of the minor pentatonic. To change things up though, I learned the A-Minor version of the Pentatonic Scale this time. (A music theory joke. Buy the cards to get it.) Otherwise, all that music theory went in one ear and out the other. Now, because of a recent tragedy, I’ve all of a sudden wanted to learn how to play lead. I saw an interview with Jerry Garcia recently, and he was asked if he knew much music theory. He said something to the effect of, "Oh sure. I didn’t at first, but I found that I had to know it to effectively talk to other musicians." With that said... As far as quality goes, these cards are just like a deck of Bicycle cards, except that your cards shouldn’t be used quite as hard as a deck of playing cards. They seem to have the same kind of plastic coating as most better brands of playing cards. My box is taking a beating, but that just shows that I'm using them. I see a rubber band in these cards future. I like the way they’re color coded. If you want to pull out the different patterns of the minor pentatonic, the color coding really helps in that regard. There are 6 different categories featuring: Note, String & Fret Memorization, Symbol Memorization, Interval Memorization, Essential Chord Shapes, Basic Theory, and Scale Memorization. I’m going through the deck methodically, which, once again, the color coding makes it very easy to do. I didn’t need to go through some of the categories because I'm classically trained in most brass instruments since I was in 5th grade, and I don’t need a refresher on how many beats are in an eighth note triplet, but if you do, then these cards are for you. Finally, these cards are very handy. For me, they're perfect as a learning aid. they should dovetail with any serious guitar instruction. Pull them out when you’ve got some free time. They fit in a guitar case, or a purse, or pocket. If you’re taking lessons, and your teacher wants you to learn music theory, and you want to become good, then these cards can really help you achieve that goal. All that said, just like the people who use their expensive treadmills as a place to throw their cloths after work, you’re going to need to have some sort of plan as to how to use these cards, because it’s a long way to the top if you want to Rock -n- Roll. The cards aren't magic, so you’ve got to put your scale time in. I'd suggest buying a metronome to build up your speed, and get a guitar teacher who will teach you the type of music you want to play. I’ve seen guys who wanted to learn Rock guitar, and the instructor's specialty was classical guitar. Can he teach you guitar? Sure, but he may not be familiar with all the licks you might want to learn. My only slight complaint would be that PDF files were advertised by going to his website, but you had to give them personal information in return for access. I didn’t sign on, so I couldn’t tell you anything about the lessons. I’m just funny about the information I put out there. Since this is getting long-ish, I'll finish this here. They’re good for what they’re good for, and relatively inexpensive, handy, and a great learning aid. Once again, as a supplemental learning tool they’re great. Later taters. c f van owen, md, phd (ret.)

These cards are helpful for learning and as a quick reference. They look nice and well made. I agree with other reviewers that they 'feel' pricey for what they are but, at the same time, I believe they provide a nice-looking convenience that spares you having to collect the information (yes all theory behind it is available for free all over the internet) yourself. Things I believe could be improved: - The cards are grouped into categories described in a piece of paper that comes in the package. I find it hard to find which specific category some of them are supposed to be in. - Provide access to a digital version (PDF) of the piece of paper in case I misplace it. - The cards belonging in the same category could be color-coded for easy reference. That way I can spot them easily in the deck and carry with me to focus only on that category. - The cards are super smooth and glossy and it's hard to keep them in a stack 😅. This is such a petty inconvenience, but would like to vent anyway. Overall, I'm a satisfied user.

Excellent

These flashcards are the perfect companion during the times away from the guitar and are also great for using with your guitar. I especially like the section on finding the notes on the fretboard, as that is something many people struggle with. Super easy to quiz yourself too! Fretboard skills are so important when learning to play guitar and these cards cover all the main topics. I use these cards myself, and as a guitar teacher I give them as gifts to my students. Everyone loves them. They are easy to use and really help develop your fretboard knowledge. I wish I had these twenty years ago!

These cards are too small, which makes them hard to read. The box they came in was low quality and damaged. I ended up buying the Amplify Fretboard Mastery cards. They're bigger, easier to read, and come in a luxury package that doubles as decoration in my living room.

I’m a guitar teacher and I bought these cards because I needed a good resource to point my students to. These have been a fantastic study reference for my students. I want to comment on some of the other reviews regarding this being “pointless theory” or “no instructions”. YES if you are a beginner you will more than likely find many things in this deck you won’t understand, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to seek out the information and learn it. If anything, not knowing something will help you identify what you’re missing in your theory knowledge and that’s a good thing. There ARE instructions but you need to download them from the website for free because it’s lengthy and you’re really just buying the deck. That said, the instructions don’t explain everything to a T, and honestly what’s covered in this deck typically takes students years to get into. My students have been able to memorize notes on the fretboard in just a few weeks using this consistently. Someone mentioned only 12 cards being actual fretboard references and I can tell you there are 12 note cards, 13 interval cards, 7 mode shapes, 5 pentatonic scale shapes, chord references and best of all the theory cards to help you memorize how to find the notes in any key, chord formulas, mode formulas etc... this deck has it all. Great job and thanks from me and my students!

The cards are the size of a small deck of playing cards and have small print, but they are very well-organized and geared to help us memorize important theory elements and the fretboard itself. I'm enjoying using them and am learning a lot from them!

The note name cards aren’t worth it other than to randomize your patterns. The interval cards are only for the first three strings. Chord shape diagrams are small and relegated to one side of one card for both major and minor. Scale diagram cards…exist. Not really a smart purchase if you’re actually trying to learn. Get an app instead. They’re free and are always with you, unlike a deck of cards that you can’t use with friends