Originally Posted by: ChristopherSchlegelMaybe if I practiced playing the game I could get faster, but that's diminishing returns. After all, once you know the notes, it's time to play music on the guitar instead of the internet game.[/quote]

Concur 100%. I practise what you preach above.

Originally Posted by: ChristopherSchlegelOn more observation. In many situations, the player decides the notes that will be played by thinking about which notes or chords they choose, or by deciding on a musical event, pattern, or whole song.

Once you initiate that choice, you set in motion the chain of events that are to occur: some specific series of musical events (notes, scales, chords, progressions, song forms) that require a great deal of automated physical motions ("muscle memory").[/quote]

Concise written précis. Thank you. Reaffirms and reinforces in part Helen's short but helpful pragmatic broad brush delivery on the topic here which resonated with me on a (musically) sensual and spirtitual level.

Originally Posted by: ChristopherSchlegelIn this game there is no musical event or pattern.

[quote=ChristopherSchlegel]There is a parallel to reading sheet music that occurs here. You look at the music to prompt you, like you look at the game interface. And then you have to react.

But even then, when you are sight reading you don't react in one note blocks in which the next random note is hidden from view! You can & must look ahead & see how one note leads to the next, to form an integrated pattern of musical events.

[p]

Exactly. There's no musical sequence where one can anticipate associatively from the phrase and key words with the 'sentence'. A similar analogy I'd relate occurs in aviation RT comms where, one of the purposes of rote set phrases beside standardisation and minimisation of frequency occupation per communication is that they inadvertantly serve anticipation of what's coming. I know for instance the sequence instructions with be given to me by Area, Approach and Tower control respectively as I am handed off sequentially and can [u]anticipate[/u] and [u]give my attention[/u] to the instructions and parameters following the key words, divergent instructions, headings, tracks, altitudes, e.g. "(Callsign) XYZ Good evening, radar identified, turn left heading 340 to intercept the 190 radial, descend to FL140, report established". Instinctive subliminal discernment and SNR filtering.

[quote=ChristopherSchlegel]I think the fretboard trainer can be helpful to beginners. But it's ultimately of limited value. Once you know the notes, use them to play music!

Thanks. My take too.