Hello again, my musically literate brethren and sistern. Last time around we examined a super-cool chart that had a little bit of everything in it. We talked through counting the rhythms out loud, as well as using every bit of info on the page to make finding the notes easier. Those clues included the key signature and the chord names above the staff. When you put all those things together, we can demystify notation like Ex. 1. Two sharps, right? A descending melody that starts on the top line of the staff, composed of three eighth-notes and an eighth-rest, followed by four sixteenths that ascend. What else do we see? A Dmaj7 chord for the first two beats, and an A7 for the next two. You should be able to grab all these notes in at least two positions, and you should be going there instinctively. Same with the next bar.
Side note: It should go without saying that you know every note on the guitar neck cold. If you don’t, don’t worry. Just learn them. There are diagrams all over the Net that clearly illustrate this. There are only 12 notes, and they keep repeating and they always go in the same order. Etch them in your brain. It will make everything easier.
Now look at Ex. 2. Go ahead and get your bearings. Look at the key signature, the chords above the notation, and the notation itself. Figure out what’s going on, and start playing. But here’s the catch: You can’t stop. Set a metronome (don’t tell me you don’t have one… there are tons of free ones online). Set it to a very slow tempo, like ridiculously slow. Then count yourself in, start playing, and do not