I've written several articles about the 'chord of the moment', and
for good reason — it's all there really is when you're actually
playing a tune. The song is a series of moments, you're always in 
one, and that moment's musical rules are dictated by the chord that 
was written into the tune by it's author. Realising this fact -- (a 
brief byword here: I never know which spelling to use in these 
articles, US or the rest of the World. Words like realise and center,
realize and centre... maybe I'll mix them up and use both.) -- where
was I? Realising this fact, that there is always only one chord to
contend with at any given moment, gave me hope, as a beginner. There
seemed to be so many chords to learn, but it struck me that at least 
they came one at a time, and if I devoted all my attention to the
chord of the moment, at each and every moment, all would be well. My
quest has always been to simplify, to strip away as much detail as 
possible, see the bare bones of the music first, and build it from 
there, like the way one those internet pictures load up, resolving to 
finer detail as they go. 



This how my mental picture loads (let's say I've been invited to sit
in with a band and I've never heard the tune):
 

I first determine the key by asking the guy next to me 'What key are 
we in?' My fret board adjusts itself for that key, for example, B 
flat. I won't give it all away here, because I want to sell more 
books, but I apply a simple visualisation trick to have my fretboard
laid out in B flat from nut to butt. I'm now holding a B flat
guitar.

 

Next, my ear determines what kind of music we're playing and the 
details start getting filled in. If it's 'major' music, as in NOT
blues, my mental image resolves one way. It includes the major seven
note and the four note. It excludes the flat three. I can see where 
these notes are on the fret board, instantly, everywhere. It might
take me a couple of seconds to name them as