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November 14th, 2009 by Mitch Gallagher

As guitarists, many of us have a tendency to play scale and melodic passages across the neck, from the lower
strings to the high strings. It¶s perfectly understandable, since many of the scales we¶re taught, such as the
standard blues box, are laid out across the fingerboard.

But, there are definite advantages to also learning to play along the fretboard. The sound is different as you play
along the strings, plus position shifts get much easier. You may even find yourself trying melodies and licks you
never would have found playing across the neck.

One way to practice playing along the neck is to use our old friends, scales. I¶ve included three exercises, each
using the G major scale laid out along the G string.

Exercise 1 simply plays the scale up and down on one string. I haven¶t included a fingering, as there are a lot of
things to try. Try playing the entire scale fingered with just one finger, and then try with the each of the other
three fingers. Then try playing it with a more normal fingering, where you play two or three notes in each
position.

Exercise 2 is what I call a ³ladder´ scale. You move up the neck in groups of three notes, one step at a time.
Note that the rhythm is straight eighth notes, not triplets. Be sure to set your metronome correctly and to play
the right groupings ² this will help you develop flexibility in your picking hand for accenting.
Exercise 3 is a similar ³ladder´ scale, but with opposing motion in the note groupings (which, again, are straight
eighth notes, not triplets ² play them correctly!).

Exercise 4 (shown ascending only; continue the pattern when descending) and Exercise 5 (also shown
ascending only) add a skip to the mix. As before, don¶t accent the first note in each 3-note grouping ² play the
notes as evenly as possible, as straight eighth notes.
Here are the challenges when practicing these scales:

yV ‰lay the exercises slowly ² perfection is the goal, not speed. Increase the speed as you practice, but
never to the point where you can¶t play the scale perfectly.
yV pse a metronome to help you play them perfectly in time, including the shifts.
yV ‰lay each scale with a constant volume level from note to note. You should not hear a shift point as an
accent or volume change.
yV Minimize squeaks when sliding the fingers along the string for the shifts.

Any of these exercises can, of course, be moved up and down the neck to practice in other keys. And, you can
use any scale you like; try working through the modes to give your fingers good variety. Finally, you can take
Exercises 4 and 5 up a notch by skipping other intervals; fourths and fifths work well.