Once you start heading for intermediate territory you will hear again & again the benefits of learning the location of all the notes on the fretboard. What you don’t often find is HOW to do that.
Learning the fretboard is basically an exercise in memorization. If you have the right plan of attack, then most of this work can be done at various times through your day. You don’t even need your uke!
The method I have found the best is as follows:
1. Get yourself a diagram of the fretboard.
2. Start by learning the notes across the frets with NO sharps of flats. Referring to your diagram you will see this happens at zero fret, or open (G,C,E,A). Then at the 5th fret (C,F,A,D) & again at the 7th (D,G,B,E). And of course the octave at the 12th fret (back to G,C,E,A). Learn these first.
3. Now learn the frets that have ONE sharp/flat. These are the 2nd (A,D,Gb,B) & the 10th (F,Bb,D,G)
4. Next, you guessed it, the frets with TWO sharps/flats. 3rd fret (Bb,Eb,G,C), 4th fret (B,E,Ab,Db), 8th fret (Eb,Ab,C,F) & 9th fret (E,A,Db,Gb).
5. On to the threes! 1st fret (Ab,Db,F,Bb) & 11th fret (Gb,B,Eb,Ab).
6. Lastly, the final fret where all 4 notes are sharp/flat, the 6th. (Db,Gb,Bb,Eb).
Work your way one step at a time until you know the entire fretboard! It might help to use cue cards. You can mark one side with the number of sharps/flats & the other side with the corresponding frets.
