Mini Lesson-Learn the Notes!!!!
I had the priviledge to study with Billy Bauer..he was an AMAZING teacher and musician. One of his pet peeves was that string players relied too much on finger patterns. He was a big proponent of learning the notes...ALL the notes. I totally agree...playing music with finger patterns is like visiting another country with a phrase book...you are only going to get so far...
So learn the notes!!!! Learn them as they are, not as part of some pattern.....take one note per day...find them all over the neck....do this every day...eventually, it will be second nature...
Take a map of the notes of the fingerboard and put it somewhere where you work...toolbox, desk, clipboard, etc....just staring at it a bunch of times will help...
There are also a TON of apps that will help...they are generally free or only a few dollars..they are like games that will test you....
Name the notes of EVERYTHING you play (obviously not on stage...lol)...associate the notes of the chords or riff...this will help you to be more conscious of them...
Note driven playing is a first step toward playing real music...not just "stuff"..
Lots of luck in the woodshed and on stage....contact me with questons!!!
More to come!!!!!