Fretboard Mastery

Fretboard
Mastery

Learn the guitar fretboard the easy way.

mattwarnockguitar.com

Written By: Matt Warnock
Matt Warnock Play Koentopp Guitars
© Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved
mattwarnockguitar.com 2
Table of Contents

Introduction ........................................................................... 4
How to Use This eBook ....................................................... 5
Open Strings and 12th Fret Notes .................................... 6
White Keys of the Piano ..................................................... 9
Black Keys of the Piano ................................................... 11
Introduction to Key Signatures .................................... 13
Single String Scales ........................................................... 19
Single String Arpeggios ................................................... 23
Single Note Recognition .................................................. 28
Note Group Recognition .................................................. 31
Scales in Position .............................................................. 34
Arpeggios in Position ....................................................... 37
Soloing in Position ............................................................ 40
Interval Recognition Root to Perfect 4th .................. 42
Interval Recognition Tritone to Octave ..................... 47
Blank Staff and Tab Paper .............................................. 53
Blank Fretboard Diagrams ............................................ 55
About the Author ............................................................... 59

Introduction
Welcome to Fretboard Mastery - great to have you here!

Learning the fretboard is tough, especially if you come from a more
easily organized instrument such as piano.

But.

Finding, learning, and memorizing notes on guitar doesn’t have to be
impossible or boring.

Instead, learning notes on the fretboard can be fun, entertaining, and
full of creativity.

The material in this eBook does just that – teaches you the fretboard
while making the exercises creative and engaging.

Learning all the notes on the fretboard is essential, but it should also be
enjoyable, otherwise it feels like a chore.

And nobody likes chores.

So, grab your favorite guitar, turn up your amp, and let’s get started on
your journey to fretboard mastery.

Cheers,
Matt

How to Use This eBook
The material in this book is broken down into two sections, the first
three chapters and the rest of the eBook.

The first three chapters show you the white and black notes of the piano
on the guitar and key signatures.

These three chapters build your knowledge of notes on the guitar and
how to group notes into key centers.

They also act as a reference that you can return to later when working
exercises from the eBook.

From there, the remaining sections contain various exercises to solidify
the notes on the fretboard in your playing.

Every section of this eBook is designed to accomplish one goal, to have
you know every note on the guitar instantly.

This goal will take time; so don’t rush through any exercise.

If you can’t play an exercise quickly and accurately, then stay on that
workout until you reach that goal.

Over time all of this material becomes easy, but only if you give it the
time it deserves in the practice room.

Lastly, you can’t cram this material, so working 3 hours today and zero
hours tomorrow doesn’t work when learning the fretboard.

Instead, a few minutes a day, consistently 5 to 7 days a week, goes a long
way to mastering the fretboard.

Have fun with this material, and now it’s time to dive in and start your
journey to fretboard mastery!
Open Strings and 12th Fret Notes
The first group of notes you need to learn and memorize are the open
strings and the 12th-fret notes, both the same letters an octave apart.

Knowing these notes is essential for any guitarist; so make sure to know
these notes before moving forward in the eBook.

Here are the notes on the open strings and 12th fret to memorize before
moving on to the next section of the eBook.

The reason you memorize the open strings, besides it being essential
learning in general, is to find notes quickly below the 6th fret.

When first learning notes on the guitar, you often start with what you
know, like an open string, and count up the notes from there.

When looking for notes lower than A#/Bb on the 6th string, counting up
from the open string is quicker than down from the 12th fret.

Here’s an example of looking for G on the 6th string by counting up from
the open E string.

You can do this two ways, chromatically or using the white notes of the
piano to find that second note.

Chromatically you count E-F-F#-G to find the note.

Using the white notes of the piano you count up E-F-G to find the same
note on the 6th string.

Eventually you won’t have to count up to find any note, but in the
beginning it’s a helpful tool to find notes on the guitar.

The reason to learn the 12th-fret notes is to count down from the 12th
fret to find notes closer to that part of the neck.

Here’s an example of where that knowledge is helpful.

If you’re looking for the note C on the 6th string, you start at the 12th fret,
then count down from E to C to find it on the 8th fret.

As you learn the fretboard you can count down in two ways,
chromatically or using the white keys of the piano.

Chromatically you count down E-Eb-D-Db-C.

If you count down with the white keys only, you count E-D-C.

Either way you land on C on the 8th fret, which is closer to the 12th fret
than to the open strings in this case.

With the open strings and 12th-fret notes under your belt, take a look at
the white keys of the piano on the fretboard.

This next section acts as a reference for future exercises, and has you
visualize the “plain” notes on the fretboard at the same time.

Exercise

Ø Pick an open string.
Ø Play that string and name it, the letter name.
Ø Check your work with the diagram above.
Ø Repeat with all other strings.
Ø Repeat with each note on the 12th fret.
White Keys of the Piano
Now that you’ve memorized the open strings and 12th-fret notes, you
move on to identifying the white keys of the piano on guitar.

These notes contain no sharps or flats, and therefore are the same notes
as the key of C major.

Don’t worry about memorizing these notes now if that’s too difficult.

Instead, use this diagram as a reference to return to as you work the
exercises later on in this eBook.

This diagram allows you to check your work, ensuring you’re correct
when finding notes, scales, keys, and arpeggios on the fretboard.

Here are all the white keys of the piano on the guitar to use as a
reference or memorize in your studies.

As well as looking at the white notes on the piano on guitar, the key of C
major, you should identify the half steps within those notes.

Half steps are the closest distance between any two notes in Western
music, such as the B-C and E-F displayed below.
By knowing where these half steps are, it helps you identity these notes
on the fretboard quickly and accurately.

It also helps you in the beginning stages of learning notes on the
fretboard if you need to count up or down the fretboard to find a note.

Here are the half-step white-key notes to use as a reference, and
memorize now or later as you dig into the exercises below.

Now that you explored the white keys on the piano, and where the half
steps lie in those notes, you move on to the black keys of the piano.

Exercise

Ø Play the white notes of the piano on the 6th string.
Ø Read the notes and say them first time through.
Ø Look away and play those notes, saying each one.
Ø Sing the notes if possible, but not essential.
Ø When a string is memorized, move to other strings and repeat.
Ø Repeat but only play the half steps on each string, B-C and E-F.

Black Keys of the Piano

After you find the white keys on the piano, move on to identifying all the
notes between those white keys, the black keys of the piano.

Again, use this diagram as a reference for now, coming back to it to
check your work when doing exercises later in this eBook.

To begin, here are all the # notes on the fretboard to look over, play, and
come back to as a reference as you work exercises later in the eBook.

As each sharp can also be written as a flat, here are those same black
keys of the piano written with b’s instead of #’s.

There are different rules for when to use #’s and when to use b’s in your
thinking and writing, but here are a few that most people use.

Ø If the key has a b in it, use b’s.
Ø If the key has a # in it, use #’s.
Ø Don’t mix #’s and b’s in major based keys.
Ø If you’re using chromatic notes, #’s going up and b’s going down.

Now that you know where all these notes are, white and black keys of
the piano, it’s time to organize them on the fretboard.

To begin, look at how key signatures help you organize notes into
groups on the fretboard.

Then, when you’re ready, move on to the single-string scales as you take
all this knowledge to the guitar.

Exercise

Ø Play the sharp notes only on the 6th string.
Ø Read the notes and say them first time through.
Ø Look away and play those notes, saying each one.
Ø Sing the notes if possible, but not essential.
Ø When a string is memorized, move to other strings and repeat.
Ø Repeat but say the flat notes on each string.
Introduction to Key Signatures
Though key signatures aren’t necessary to learn the notes on the
fretboard, they’re essential to organizing notes on the fretboard.

If you know what key you’re in, and how many sharps or flats are in that
key, you can visualize those notes across the fretboard in that key.

If you don’t know what keys are, what key signatures are, or how to see
them on the fretboard, it won’t stop you from playing.

But, it will make it harder to master the notes on the fretboard,
especially if you play an improvised music such as jazz or fusion.

This section of the book introduces key signatures and explains how to
quickly figure out how many sharps or flats are in any given key.

As this isn’t a theory book, it’s about learning the fretboard; you focus
on major key signatures in this section.

You can also get into minor key signatures if you want, but that’s not
covered here.

As a quick reference, any major key and its relative minor key share the
same key signature.

So, G major and E minor both have the same key signature, one sharp,
F#, as E is the relative minor to G major.

To begin, here’s a C major scale, no key signature, written in one octave
on the guitar.

With this scale, since there isn’t a key signature, you play the notes as
written, so F is F, G is G, etc.

Audio Example 1

You can now see those same notes written with a key signature, in this
case one sharp, F#, putting it in the key of G major.

Notice that the notes look the same on the notation, F looks like an F,
but the key signature makes that note an F#, which you see in the tab.

Key signatures allow you write “normal” notes on the staff, but the key
signature makes them #’s or b’s unless otherwise indicated.

Audio Example 2

Now that you know what key signatures are, it’s time to learn how to
identify them on the staff.

To identify the order of sharps in key signatures that use sharps, here’s
a saying that has the order of sharps as the first letter of each word.

Memorize this saying as it helps you quickly know the order of sharps in
any key signature.

Ø Father
Ø Charles
Ø Goes
Ø Down
Ø And
Ø Ends
Ø Battle

Now that you know the order of sharps, here are those key signatures as
a reference.

You can use the saying in two ways to find any key signature that
contains sharps.

The first is that the key signature you’re in is a half step (one fret)
higher than the last sharp in the key signature.

So, if you have 3 sharps, F#-C#-G#, the key is A major, as A is one fret
higher than G#.

The other way to use the saying is to start with the key and then figure
out how many sharps are in that key signature.

To do this, you go one fret lower than the root, that’s the last sharp in
the key signature.

From there you say the phrase until you reach that sharp.

So, if you’re in the key of B major, you go back a fret and find the last
sharp, in this case it’s A#.

Then, use the saying and stop on A# to find out how many #’s are in that
key signature, in this case it’s 5, F#, C#, G#, D#, and A#.

Father Charles Goes Down And.

Here are the sharp key signatures to memorize and use as a reference.


Moving on to flat key signatures, the order of flats is reversed to the
order of sharps.

Here’s the saying to memorize the order of flats in any key signature.

Ø Battle
Ø Ends
Ø And
Ø Down
Ø Goes
Ø Charles’
Ø Father

Now that you know the order of flats within key signatures, here are
those key signatures to use as a reference.

A shortcut to finding the key signature when dealing with flats is to look
at the second last flat, that’s the key you’re in.

This means you can use this technique in two ways.

The first way is if you see a key signature, you look at the second last
flat, and that tells you the key you’re in.

If you have 3 flats, Bb-Eb-Ab, the second last flat is Eb, therefore you’re
in the key of Eb.

The other way to use this technique is to start with the key, say Ab
major, and then work through the saying to find the flats.

Start by saying the words and stop one flat after Ab, so Ab major would
be Bb, Eb, Ab, and Db.

Battle Ends And Down.

Here are those flat key signatures as a reference.

Knowing key signatures, and how to figure them out, helps you identify
groups of notes on the guitar.

This makes finding the right notes in any key, or scale, fast and easy
once you know where those notes on the fretboard.

So, now that you know about key signatures, work towards being able
to see any note on the fretboard instantly.

This is the pathway to true fretboard mastery.

Exercise

Ø Write out the order of #’s in key signatures.
Ø When you can do this from memory write out the order of b’s.
Ø Write out the key signatures that contain #’s.
Ø When this is memorized, write out key signatures containing b’s.
Ø Create flashcards for each key signature and test your knowledge.

Bonus Exercise

To solidify key signatures going forward, whenever you choose a scale
to practice in the next section, write down the key signature.

Rather than think of the key of A as A B C# D E F# G#, just think that the
key of A has three sharps, F#, C#, and G#.

This connects key signatures to the fretboard, and connects your theory
chops to practice material, such as scales and notes on the neck.
Single String Scales
Now that you looked at the notes on the neck, and learned about key
signatures, work exercises that teach you those notes on the guitar.

One of the most enjoyable, and beneficial, exercises to learn notes on the
neck is playing single string scales.

Working a scale on one string at a time teaches you the notes on the
neck, the key signature of that scales, and gets you solos with scales.

In this section there are three examples of this exercise in action, but
first check out how to work single-string scales on guitar.

Here are the steps to working single string scales in the practice room to
check out.

Ø Pick a scale to work on, say C major.
Ø Write out the notes in that scale, CDEFGAB in this case.
Ø Find those notes on each string, one at a time.
Ø Say each note as you play it on the guitar.
Ø Put on a C major backing track and solo one string at a time.
Ø Repeat with other keys for major scales.
Ø Repeat with other scales such as Dorian, Lydian, etc.

Now that you know how to work scales one string at a time, here are
examples of that exercise in action.

Here’s an example of a C major scale, CDEFGAB, on the 6th string.

Notice that you start on E, the lowest possible note of the scale, and
move up the string from there.

After you can find these notes, repeat that exercise on other strings, and
then solo with this scale over a backing track on each string.


Audio Example 3

When finding the C major scale is easy, move to flat key scales, such as
the F major scale below.

Adding scales that have flats in your studies teaches you where those
notes are on the guitar, as well as teaches you about key signatures.

If you can’t remember the notes of these scales in the moment, write the
letter names down and use that as a reference with this exercise.

Audio Example 4


The final example adds sharps to the mix, as you find the A major scale
on the 3rd string.

Again, don’t forget to solo with these scales on one string at a time.

Soloing on one string teaches you those notes and does so in a creative
and fun way.

It also builds your soloing chops, so it’s a win-win in the practice room.

Audio Example 5

Here are the note names for each scale with sharps as a reference.

Ø C = C D E F G A B
Ø G = G A B C D E F#
Ø D = D E F# G A B C#
Ø A = A B C# D E F# G#
Ø E = E F# G# A B C# D#
Ø B = B C# D# E F# G# A#
Ø F# = F# G# A# B C# D# E#
Ø C# = C# D# E# F# G# A# B#


Here are the note names for each scale with flats as a reference.

Ø C = C D E F G A B
Ø F = F G A Bb C D E
Ø Bb = Bb C D Eb F G A
Ø Eb = Eb F G Ab Bb C D
Ø Ab = Ab Bb C Db Eb F G
Ø Db = Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C
Ø Gb = Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F
Ø Cb = Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb
Single String Arpeggios
As well as working scales on one string at a time, you can work
arpeggios on single strings to learn the fretboard.

The exercise is basically the same as the scale exercise, though now you
work arpeggios on each string of the guitar.

Here are the steps to working single string arpeggios in the practice
room to check out.

Ø Pick an arpeggio to work on, say Cmaj7.
Ø Write out the notes in that arpeggio, CEGB in this case.
Ø Find those notes on each string, one at a time.
Ø Say each note as you play it on the guitar.
Ø Put on a Cmaj7 backing track and solo one string at a time.
Ø Repeat with other keys for maj7 arpeggios.
Ø Repeat with other arpeggios such as m7, 7, m7b5, dim7, etc.

Now that you know how to work arpeggios one string at a time, here are
examples of that exercise in action.

Here’s an example of a Cmaj7 arpeggio, CEGB, on the 5th string.

Notice that you start on B, the lowest possible note of the arpeggio, and
move up the string from there.

After you found these notes, repeat that exercise on other strings, then
solo with this arpeggio over a backing track on each string.

Audio Example 6

You can also work m7 arpeggios, such as this Cm7 arpeggio on the 2nd
string, C-Eb-G-Bb.

Working different arpeggios, such as m7, m7b5, and 7th chords, for
example, is just as important as working different keys.

This teaching you about the fretboard, but also teaches you to visualize
chord tones for various arpeggios at the same time.

Audio Example 7

Here’s an example of a D7 arpeggio on the 1st string.

Again, make sure to pick an arpeggio, find those notes on each string,
then solo with that arpeggio over a track one string at a time.

Doing so teaches you to recognize notes and chord tones on the
fretboard, but also teaches you to solo with arpeggios as well.

Audio Example 8

After you work through these three examples, pick another arpeggio
and find it on each string, one at a time.

Though it’s a simple exercise on paper, one-string arpeggios test your
fretboard knowledge in a fun and unique way.

Here are the notes for common maj7 arpeggios as a reference.

Ø Cmaj7 = C E G B
Ø Fmaj7 = F A C E
Ø Bbmaj7 = Bb D F A
Ø Ebmaj7 = Eb G Bb D
Ø Abmaj7 = Ab C Eb G
Ø Dbmaj7 = Db F Ab C
Ø Gbmaj7 = Gb Bb Db F
Ø Bmaj7 = B D# F# A#
Ø Emaj7 = E G# B D#
Ø Amaj7 = A C# E G#
Ø Dmaj7 = D F# A C#
Ø Gmaj7 = G B D F#

Here are the notes for common 7th arpeggios as a reference.

Ø C7 = C E G Bb
Ø F7 = F A C Eb
Ø Bb7 = Bb D F Ab
Ø Eb7 = Eb G Bb Db
Ø Ab7 = Ab C Eb Gb
Ø Db7 = Db F Ab B
Ø Gb7 = Gb Bb Db E
Ø B7 = B D# F# A
Ø E7 = E G# B D
Ø A7 = A C# E G
Ø D7 = D F# A C
Ø G7 = G B D F

Here are the notes for common m7 arpeggios as a reference.

Ø Cm7 = C Eb G Bb
Ø Fm7 = F Ab C Eb
Ø Bbm7 = Bb Db F Ab
Ø Ebm7 = Eb Gb Bb Db
Ø Abm7 = Ab B Eb Gb
Ø Dbm7 = Db E Ab B
Ø Gbm7 = Gb A Db E
Ø Bm7 = B D F# A
Ø Em7 = E G B D
Ø Am7 = A C E G
Ø Dm7 = D F A C
Ø Gm7 = G Bb D F

Here are the notes for common m7b5 arpeggios as a reference.

Ø Cm7b5 = C Eb Gb Bb
Ø Fm7b5 = F Ab B Eb
Ø Bbm7b5 = Bb Db E Ab
Ø Ebm7b5 = Eb Gb A Db
Ø Abm7b5 = Ab B D Gb
Ø Dbm7b5 = Db E G B
Ø Gbm7b5 = Gb A C E
Ø Bm7b5 = B D F A
Ø Em7b5 = E G Bb D
Ø Am7b5 = A C Eb G
Ø Dm7b5 = D F Ab C
Ø Gm7b5 = G Bb Db F
Single Note Recognition
Once you work on finding the notes on the guitar, you need to test your
knowledge to see how you did with those exercises.

One of the best places to start is to do single note recognition exercises
in the practice room.

Here are the steps to test your fretboard knowledge one note at a time.

Ø Pick a note from the white notes of the piano.
Ø Find that note on every string of the guitar.
Ø Check your work with a fretboard diagram.
Ø When you can find all the notes with no errors, pick a new note.
Ø When that is easy, move on to # notes then b notes and repeat.

Here’s an example of this exercise with the note F on each string.

After you work this example, pick another single note from the white
notes of the piano and repeat this exercise.

When you can do that easily, move on to the next step, adding #’s and
b’s to your single-note recognition exercise.


After you work on the white notes of the piano one at a time, move on to
sharp notes.

The procedure is the same; you just choose a sharp note to find on the
fretboard with the exercise.

Here’s an example of that exercise with the note G#. Find that note on
each string then check your work to see how you did.

You can also pick flat notes, such as Bb, which you see laid out on the
fretboard below.


Now that you worked on these three examples, pick some notes and test
your fretboard knowledge with this exercise.

When this exercise is easy, one note at a time, move on to the next
section as you work on two or more notes at a time with this exercise.
Note Group Recognition
As well as finding one note at a time on the fretboard to test your
knowledge, you can find groups of notes.

When working groups of notes, start with two notes, then when that’s
easy move on to larger groups of notes from there.

Here are the steps to work this exercise in the practice room.

Ø Pick two notes to find on the guitar.
Ø Find those notes on every string on the guitar.
Ø Pick two other notes and repeat.
Ø Move on to larger note groups, 3 or more, and repeat.
Ø Always check your work with a fretboard diagram.

Here’s an example of those two notes, F-B, on the fretboard within the
first 12 frets.

The note B on the 2nd string is on the 12 fret, but you can find that on the
open string as well, or both if you prefer.

If a note is on the 12th fret/open string, I tend to find one since the 12th
fret is always the same note as the open string.

But, if it’s helpful to play both the open string and 12th fret notes, go for
it, whatever works best for you is what you should do with the exercise.


You can also work three-note groupings, such as the following group
that contains the notes F#-G-Bb.

Again, start by writing out the notes you want in your group, then find
those notes on the guitar.

You can do this by finding those notes one string at a time, or you can do
it in position, or both.

However you find the notes is up to you, as long as you find the note
groups on the guitar it’s all good.

Here are those three notes on the guitar to use as an example of this
exercise.

Once you work out these examples of two and three-note groups on the
fretboard make your own groups and repeat the exercise.

Begin with random two-note groups, close together or far apart, and
then move on to three, four, and more note groups from there.

Testing your memory and fretboard knowledge in this way prepares
you to find licks, melodies, chords, and other devices on the guitar.

To make sure you find the notes on the right frets, use the neck
diagrams at the start of this eBook to check your work.

If you have trouble finding two notes, keep at it until you can do that
easily, then move on to more notes from there.

There’s no rush to pile on the notes in this exercise, it’s much better to
be accurate with two notes than inaccurate with five.
Scales in Position
Besides working on scales on one string at a time, you can put scales
into position to take that exercise further in your studies.

Working scales in positions begins your journey to recognizing notes
vertically on the guitar, as opposed to horizontally.

Seeing notes up the strings, vertically, is tough, which is why you learn
notes horizontally first, then work these types of exercises.

Eventually you’ll be able to see notes on any string, as well as in any
position, giving you complete mastery of the fretboard.

The first step towards vertical recognition of notes is to work scales in
single positions, such as in this exercise.

Here are the steps to working this exercise on the guitar.

Ø Pick a scale to work on, such as major.
Ø Pick a key to work that scale in, such as G.
Ø Find the notes in that scale, G major = GABCDEF#.
Ø Find those scale notes in first position, frets 1-4.
Ø Find those scale notes in second position, frets 5-8.
Ø Find those scale notes in third position, frets 9-12.
Ø Repeat with other keys and other scale types.

To help you see these steps on the guitar, here’s a G major scale in all
three positions.

The notes of G major are G-A-B-C-D-E-F#, which you can see in first
position of the guitar, between frets 1 and 4, in this example.

Audio Example 9

Once you can play the scale notes in the first position, move those notes
to the second position, between frets 5 and 8.

When doing so, you need to find the scale notes on the fretboard in that
single position.

Here’s how that looks for the G major scale you worked on in first
position as an example.

Once you can play this example, repeat the exercise by finding other
scales in other keys in this second position of the guitar.

Audio Example 10

The final step is to take the scale notes and play them in the 3rd position,
between frets 9 and 12.

Here are those notes as a reference.

Again, after you play this example, use other scales in other keys to find
those notes in this 3rd position of the guitar.

Audio Example 11
Arpeggios in Position
As well as working scales in position, it’s a good exercise to work
arpeggios in position.

The process for learning arpeggios in position is the same as with scales,
but you now find arpeggio notes as compared to scales notes.

Here are the steps to working this exercise on the guitar.

Ø Pick an arpeggio to work on, such as maj7.
Ø Pick a key to work that arpeggio in, such as F.
Ø Find the notes in that arpeggio, Fmaj7 = FACE.
Ø Find those arpeggio notes in first position, frets 1-4.
Ø Find those arpeggio notes in second position, frets 5-8.
Ø Find those arpeggio notes in third position, frets 9-12.
Ø Repeat with other keys and other arpeggio types.

To help you see these steps on the guitar, here’s an Fmaj7 arpeggio in all
three positions.

The notes of Fmaj7 are F-A-C-E, which you can see firstly played in first
position of the guitar, between frets 1 and 4.

Audio Example 12

Once you can play the arpeggio notes in the first position, move those
notes to the second position, between frets 5 and 8.

When doing so, you need to find the arpeggio notes on the fretboard in
that single position.

Here’s how that looks for the Fmaj7 arpeggio you worked on in first
position as an example.

Once you can play this example, repeat the exercise by finding other
arpeggios in other keys in this second position of the guitar.

Audio Example 13

The final step is to take the arpeggio notes and play them in the 3rd
position, between frets 9 and 12.

Here are those notes as a reference.

Again, after you play this example, use other arpeggios in other keys to
find those notes in this 3rd position of the guitar.

Audio Example 14

Soloing in Position
Once you work on scales and arpeggios in position, you can take that
material further by soloing with it in position.

When working on soloing in position, you mix arpeggios and scales
together to find the notes in the key in that position.

Soloing in position is a creative way to learn the fretboard, test your
fretboard knowledge, and build your soloing ability at the same time.

Here are the steps to practicing this exercise on the guitar.

Ø Pick a position such as frets 1-4
Ø Pick a key to work on in that position, such as G.
Ø Find the notes in that key in that position (scales and arpeggios).
Ø Put on a backing track in the key of G.
Ø Solo over that backing track while staying in that position.

Once you work through the exercise once, you can repeat it with the
following variables to extend it further.

Ø Repeat with the same key in other positions.
Ø Repeat with other backing tracks in that key.
Ø Repeat with other keys.

As you can see, you can work this exercise a bit each day for months on
end before covering all the variables in your workout.

Because of this, you can either put a few minutes aside each day to solo
in position.

Or, if that’s too time consuming in your practice routine, work it for a
week or so at a time, then move on to other material.

Come back to this exercise once in a while to test your ability to solo in
position, see progress, and find out where your weaknesses lie.

Soloing in position is a fun and creative way to test your fretboard
knowledge, teach you about positions, and build your soloing chops.

All beneficial items in any practice routine.

Interval Recognition Root to Perfect 4th
The final exercise for fretboard mastery is to recognize intervals on the
fretboard in multiple positions.

Intervals are the distance between any two notes on the guitar, and are
also used to build all scales, chords, and arpeggios.

So, as you can see, recognizing intervals is an essential skill for any
guitarist to have down.

Because this eBook isn’t a theory volume, you focus on recognizing
these intervals on the guitar in these two final sections.

From there, you can use this knowledge when you encounter intervals
in your theory study in the woodshed.

As well, these intervals focus on notes from the root to the octave, there
are no compound intervals here.

Compound intervals are intervals that are larger than an octave.

Though they’re important to learn, if you have the root-octave intervals
down pact, compound intervals are fairly easy to learn.

So, this material sets you up to master root to octave intervals and you
can use that knowledge to explore compound intervals later on.

The first interval to study is the smallest interval on the guitar, the
minor 2nd, which is one fret away from any root note.

Here’s the formula for finding minor 2nd intervals on the guitar.

Ø Strings 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 = one fret over on same string.


The next interval is the major 2nd, which is found at the start of any
major or natural minor scale.

These intervals can be located in a few places on the guitar, but the
easiest is to play them on the same string.

Here’s the formula for finding major 2nd intervals on the guitar.

Ø Strings 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 = two frets over on same string.

Moving on to larger intervals, here are minor 3rds on the fretboard
across all strings.

To help you find these intervals quickly, here’s the formula for minor
3rds on any/all strings of the guitar.

Ø Strings 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 = three frets over on same string.


As well as learning minor 3rds on the same string, they sit well on
adjacent strings on the guitar.

Because of this, it’s worth learning this interval in two positions, on one
string and on adjacent strings, when studying them on guitar.

Here are the formulae for finding minor 3rds on adjacent strings.

Ø Strings 6, 5, 4, and 2 = two frets back and one string up.
Ø String 3 = one fret back and one string up.

The next interval to study is the major 3rd, which is found on both one
string at a time and on adjacent strings.

As many common guitar chords are built in 3rds, both major and minor,
recognizing major 3rds on the guitar is essential learning for any player.

To begin, here is the formula for finding major 3rds on the same string
of the guitar to help you memorize these important intervals.

Ø Strings 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 = four frets up on same string.

Here are major 3rd intervals on adjacent strings, as they sit nicely in this
fretboard positioning as well as on one string at a time.

The formula for finding these adjacent string major 3rd intervals is as
follows, which you can use as a reference.

Ø Strings 6, 5, 4, and 2 = one fret back and one string up.
Ø String 3 = same fret and one string up.

The next interval, the perfect 4th, is found on adjacent strings only, at
least the easy way to locate is on adjacent strings only.

Here’s the formula for finding perfect 4th intervals on any string of the
guitar to use as a reference.

Ø Strings 6, 5, 4, and 2 = same fret and one string up.
Ø String 3 = one fret over and one string up.

Exercise

Ø Pick a note, say C.
Ø Pick an interval, say minor 2nd.
Ø Play C then a minor 2nd above each C on the fretboard.
Ø Repeat with other starting notes.
Ø Repeat with other intervals.
Ø Check your work with the above examples and formula.
Interval Recognition Tritone to Octave
You now move on to intervals in the second half of the octave, ones that
are a tritone or larger.

These intervals require you to stretch more when playing them on
adjacent strings, or to add string skips to make them playable.

As was the case with the first group of intervals, there are other ways to
visualize these intervals, but these tend to be the easiest to learn.

The first interval in the second half of the octave is called a tritone, or
augmented 4th, or even diminished 5th interval.

I prefer tritone as it implies that it is built with three tones, hence the
name, and it divides the octave into half.

Notice the dissonant sound that the tritone produces, which is why it
was avoided in classical music for many years before being accepted.

Here are the formulae for finding tritone intervals on the guitar.

Ø Strings 6, 5, 4, and 2 = one fret over and one string up.
Ø String 3 = two frets over and one string up.

The next interval, the perfect 5th, is the last interval found only on
adjacent strings.

From here on out, all intervals will either have two options, or only be
available with a string skip between notes.

Here’s the formula for finding perfect 5th intervals anywhere on the
guitar, notice the “power chord” shapes down low for this interval.

Using something familiar, like a power chord, helps to recognize and
memorize devices like intervals on the guitar.

Ø Strings 6, 5, 4, and 2 = two frets over and one string up.
Ø String 3 = three frets over and one string up.

The next interval to learn is the minor 6th, which can be found in two
places on the guitar.

The first place is on adjacent strings, such as 6-5, where you can use the
following formulae to find m6th intervals anywhere on the guitar.

Ø Strings 6, 5, 4, and 2 = three frets over and one string up.
Ø String 3 = four frets over and one string up.


Sticking with the minor 6th interval, here it is with a string skip between
the lowest and highest notes in the interval.

When working out minor 6th intervals, with a string skip, you can use
the following as a guide to these notes on the fretboard.

Ø Strings 6 and 5 = two frets back and two strings up.
Ø Strings 4 and 3 = one fret back and two strings up.

The next interval to study is the major 6th interval, which you can see
across the fretboard below.

To find this interval anywhere on the guitar, here are the formula to use
for each string.

Ø Strings 6 and 5 = one fret back and two strings up.
Ø Strings 4 and 3 = same fret and two strings up.


Moving on, you can now find minor 7th intervals on the guitar, which are
found in m7, m7b5, 7th, and other common guitar chords.

Here’s the formula for finding m7 intervals on any string of the guitar.

Ø Strings 6 and 5 = same fret and two strings up.
Ø Strings 4 and 3 = one fret over and two strings up.

The next interval is the major 7th interval, which is also called the
leading tone as it resolves up to the root in most instances.

This interval is also found in maj7 chords, and other harmonic devices
in modern music.

Here’s the formula to find major 7th intervals anywhere on the guitar.

Ø Strings 6 and 5 = one fret over and two strings up.
Ø Strings 4 and 3 = two frets over and two strings up.


The final interval to work on is the octave, which is the same note
played in two spots on the guitar, one an octave higher.

Here’s the formula for recognizing octave intervals on the guitar.

Ø Strings 6 and 5 = two frets over and two strings up.
Ø Strings 4 and 3 = three frets over and two strings up.

Octaves come in handy as they help you find root notes in other areas of
the fretboard.

This allows you to play chords, scales, arpeggios, and other musical
devices across the fretboard with ease.

Exercise

Ø Pick a note, say D.
Ø Pick an interval, say perfect 5th.
Ø Play D then a perfect 5th above each D on the fretboard.
Ø Repeat with other starting notes.
Ø Repeat with other intervals.
Ø Check your work with the above examples and formula.
Blank Staff and Tab Paper

To help you practice away from the guitar, keep scrap notes, and work
on physically writing notes down, here’s blank tab and staff paper.

Print out as many copies as you like, use them to keep notes, do rough
work, or work away from the guitar when needed.

As well as learning the fretboard on the fretboard, it’s helpful to work
away from the guitar with this material.

Especially when testing your memory, which can be easier when
holding a guitar, but tests your skills when doing it on paper.


Blank Fretboard Diagrams
The next few pages can be printed and used to write notes, work out
notes on the fretboard, or any other fretboard exercise in the woodshed.

They’re also handy when practicing away from the guitar, as you can
work on memory and finding notes on the guitar without a guitar.

The first page contains all 12 frets, the first octave of each string on the
guitar to use when working on keys and larger melodic shapes.

As well, the second page of diagrams covers the first 6 bars of the
fretboard, and the last page covers frets 7-12.

Combined, you use these blank fretboard diagrams to keep notes, test
your memory, and build fretboard recognition away from the guitar.

Print as many as you want, use them often, and always have a few blank
fretboards handy in case you’re stuck in traffic or on the subway.

There’s no better way to kill time in airport lounge or hotel lobby then
learning your fretboard. At least to me there isn’t.



About the Author

Like many guitarists, I grew up listening to classic Rock and Blues, and I
still love those styles of music.

But it’s the improvisation I really love, and that’s what drew me to Jazz.
My love of Jazz has taken me from small town Canada around the globe.

I was able to study at three of the top Jazz programs in the world.
Starting with McGill University, then Western Michigan, and finishing
with a Doctorate in Jazz from the University of Illinois (UIUC).

It’s also allowed me to teach over 5000 private Jazz guitar lessons. My
students have ranged from complete beginners, all the way to
Professors of Jazz at NYU, and everything in between.

I’ve also taught Jazz guitar, popular music, and music business at:

Ø Western Illinois University
Ø Western Michigan University
Ø University of Illinois
Ø Carleton University (Canada)
Ø Concordia University (Canada)
Ø The Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory
Ø University of Ouro Preto (Brazil)
Ø University of Sao Joao Del Rei (Brazil)
Ø University of Juiz de Fora (Brazil)
Ø Leeds College of Music (UK)
Ø University of Chester (UK)

My love of Jazz has also enabled me to play over 2000 gigs in 8
countries.

These gigs run from mostly empty coffee shops, to sell out concerts. I’ve
even shared the stage with Jazz legends such as Randy Brecker, Stefon
Harris, and Slide Hampton.

Some of my favorite gigs include shows at:

Ø Lincoln Center
Ø International Association for Jazz Education Conference
Ø NuJazz Festival (Brazil)
Ø Savassi Jazz Festival (Brazil)
Ø International Jazz Day Festival (Nepal)

Jazz has been in my life for 20 years, and every day I’m glad I found this
great music. Because of this, I want to share this love of Jazz and guitar
with you. You never know where it’ll lead you.


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