Mr. Rearden,

Tab by itself can be a distraction to learning the fretboard and note names. I was one of those that played guitar for 20+ years without really learning the fretboard. It wasn't until I started playing bass guitar, when I basically HAD to learn the fretboard.

How did I learn it? I made myself a bunch of flashcards that I kept in my backpack and quizzed myself with any down-time that I had. So, now I know the bottom 4 and top e strings on guitar without even thinking about it. Tablature did not help because I didn't force myself to learn notation at the same time as tablature telling me exactly what string/fret to push down.

Tab and 'moving tab' (which is really what fretlight is) will help you to play the correct notes, but it will not help you to learn the note names all by itself. You will have to discipline yourself to learn the note names/staff position while using the fretlight.

Again, I have a friend that is ready to unload his strat-style fretlight. It's not a bad quality instrument, but it is a lower quality instrument than if you spent the same money on a non-fretlight instrument. That's my opinion after just holding it and playing it un-plugged. Would light-up keys help you to learn to play piano better? The same can be asked about the fretlight. It's likely a bit better of a learning tool than the light-up keys keyboards, because you do have a more complicated situation with the non-linear layout of a guitar keyboard as compared to linear piano-style keyboards.

What is your learning style - is it visual, oral, tactile, etc? It could be that this might be just the ticket, or just another source of frustration for you.

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