Hey all, Had some time to reprogrammed my effects this afternoon into my Boss ME80 this afternoon in preparationfir a gig with my covers band at the weekend so thought I would record a few clips of me noodling around with my loop 🎸

I've got a question for the guitarists here, especially those who have gone deep into learning the fretboard and theory. A bit of background... I've been playing guitar for over 25 years. I started young and learned almost entirely by ear. Since then, I've continued learning through online tutorials, tabs, chord charts, and just countless hours of playing. Like most guitarists, I feel like we're always learning and improving. The interesting thing is that my ears know where to go, but my brain doesn't always know why. If you play something, I can usually hear it, work it out, and find it on the guitar. I tend to feel my way around the fretboard rather than consciously thinking about note names or theory. It's always just been instinctive. Now I've reached a point where I really want to connect the dots. Learning all the notes on the fretboard and understanding how everything fits together feels surprisingly difficult. After playing by ear for so many years, my default is always to rely on what I hear and what my hands already know. Trying to think about note names almost feels like learning the instrument all over again. So here's my question... If you were starting to properly learn the fretboard after 25+ years of playing by ear, what would be your first steps? Would you focus on: - Learning every note on the fretboard? - Intervals? - The CAGED system? - Triads? - Scale degrees? - Something else entirely? I'm also aware that I'm pretty set in my ways after all these years, so it feels like quite a daunting challenge. But I know that adding this knowledge could open up a whole new level of freedom and understanding. I'd love to hear from anyone who's been through a similar journey or teaches guitar. What approach helped everything finally click for you?

@Zeph C. What a cool guy! Met him through @Elliott H and got to hang out with him last weekend at my studio! Great player, knows a lot about music and theory, and just instantly can see, hes one of us! I think he’s going to be one of my future in-person students. We just really all hit it off. Great to have you! @Jordan Howes Welcome to the community. You just joined, and I see you play guitar. We look forward to getting to know more about you! Great having you! Please join me in making our new members feel welcome!

@Aeric Bansuri Welcome to the community! I know you just joined, but we are looking forward to getting to know you, and learning more about your guitar playing journey! @Phil Smith Great to have you! Already you've been posting and sharing your music and getting into the community, and I couldn’t be more thrilled! You definitely fit the vibe! Welcome!

So this is pretty cool! Two total surprises here! @Philip Cliff was a Facebook friend from over 20 years ago when we used to play an online game together and he was in my clan! Recently I learned he's a guitar player too, so I invited him to our community! He was a great mate back then, looking forward to becoming reacquainted with him in a new context! @David Aebisher Wow! David is one of my overseas online Academy students! I’m so excited to welcome him! Awesome guy - how did you find this place? Welcome, my friend!