Fusion Playi

ng:-
Learning TheFretboard

ByTom Quayle

©Copyri
ghtTom Quayle2011
 Learning the Fret Board
For the modern guitarist, a good working knowledge of the fret board is
essential. Ask yourself some questions,
Do I know my major/melodic minor modes in all 12 keys all over the neck?
Do I know my basic triads all over the neck in all inversions?
Can I find intervals easily across the neck?
I would imagine for most guitarists including myself that the truthful answer to
these questions would be no. It’s not a bad thing but it does mean that we all
need to do work in this area; in my mind fret board knowledge is your best
friend.
Many people learn to rely solely on their ears when playing. This is
undoubtedly a great way to play – after all, music is primarily an aural art form
– however, imagine how much better you would play if you had the
confidence to hear and KNOW where each note was before you played it.
This is one of the advantages fret board knowledge can give you. It also gives
you options that may not have been available to you previously. You can’t
expect to be able to hear everything that you play and good aural training
comes from good fret board knowledge, expanding the range of sounds you
can hear and improving your confidence with those sounds.
Let’s tackle scales first. One of the problems many guitarists run into when
learning scales is getting away from ‘box patterns.’ I’ve taught many guitarists
who can play me all of their major scale modes as six string patterns using
either 3 note per string or CAGED shapes but struggle to freely move them
around the fret board when faced with key changes or a desire to play lines
horizontally across the neck. The problem with box patterns is that they only
really work in a vertical manner and give you a large number of notes and
string to think about in one go. I remember whilst learning melodic minor scale
modes that the 3-note per string patterns were just not working for me. I
simply couldn’t connect anything together in my mind and I was really
struggling to see the neck as a whole rather than a series of individual boxes.
The method I used instead was to first choose a root note (we’ll use G) and
make sure that I could find that root note efficiently and easily all over the fret
board. This is your first fret board challenge – finding root notes. See how
many G’s you can find – any method is good for now but try to remember
where they are on each string and try not to miss any out if you can. Now start
on the G at the 10th fret of the A string and play a G major scale through 1
octave starting on the first finger. Make sure you only play an octave. Try to
memorise this pattern of 8 notes – how they look and how they sound. Try
also to number each note in your mind; you needn’t think note names, just the
interval of each note against the root note. In your mind, paint a picture as
vividly as you can of how each note in the scale LOOKS in relation to the root
note G. The reason we don’t want to think note names is that they will change
if we change the root note to say C or some other note. The visual look of the
notes in relation to our root note won’t change though – it’s generic and
makes our visualisation process much quicker! Now repeat the process, again
through one octave, but start on the 2nd finger. Don’t move out of position.
You’ll find you have to locate the notes on different strings this time. Again,
work hard to remember the visual shape of the scale and number each note in
your mind. Finally, repeat the steps above but start from the 3rd or 4th finger.
Either will give you another scale shape but either the 3rd or 4th finger will feel
more comfortable depending on where the other notes in the scale are
located.
If you get stuck with the method above I have written out all the major scale
and melodic minor scale modes using this system through one octave from
the 10th fret G on the A string.
The next step is to repeat the process using the same fingerings you just
learned from every G on the fret board. What you’ll find is that each fingering
segues into another. In other words, as you finish one fingering you’ll hit
another G note with either your 1st, 2nd or 3rd/4th finger. Then you simply use
the scale shape required that starts on the finger. So long as you only think
about 1 octave at a time you shouldn’t become over whelmed and eventually
you’ll start to connect these small 8 note shapes all over the fret board.
Remember that this process will need to be completed descending as well as
ascending but you already have the fingerings required to do so.
Take your time with this kind of visualisation and don’t move onto the next
scale type until you really feel like you’re making progress with the first. This is
a long process but really works to help you see the fret board as a whole
rather than individual box patterns.
If you spent the time to remember the interval names of each note along the
way then you should also be able to pick out the 2nd or 3rd or 7th etc within
your lines. Imagine how useful this is for playing chords and triads. If you can
always see the 3rd and 5th from any root note then playing major triads or any
other triad becomes so easy.
Once you are becoming more familiar with a scale, always try to use it
musically over a backing track or with a band. As soon as you know a scale
you want to create something with it. Create melodies and don’t worry about
note density or speed. Eventually you will be able to play as many notes as
you want but your goal is to be able to create music with your new found fret
board freedom.
Good luck!

Tom