GUITAR
HOW TO UNLOCK YOUR FRETBOARD | David Harsh
If you’ re feeling stuck behind the 3 rd fret, spending most of your time playing open chords and notes, and you know there’ s something more waiting for you higher up on the fretboard, you need this article and video. Today’ s discussion applies to any style of guitar playing. I highly recommend referencing the accompanying video as you go through this discussion – see if you can track with( or even get ahead of) me as I work up and down the strings.
It is my goal today to make it much easier for you to move past this threshold of the 3 rd fret so you can more fluidly leverage the capo, bar chords, scales, and more. I’ m only going to map out markers on two strings for you today, but in this process, I’ m going to pull back the curtain and de-mystify the fretboard for you in a seriously fun way.
If you’ ve got any piano background, you know that the black and white notes are significant in how they’ re configured. The musical alphabet is just A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. 7 notes. The black sharp( or flat) notes make up 5 notes that appear inside each set of 12.
Have a look at the diagram to the right.
Look closely, and you’ ll see that it frames the notes on the 6 th and 5 th strings from open to the 12 th fret, some important locations highlighted.
Today we’ re going to mark out 4 white, natural notes on each of these two strings.
Now, there are a lot of notes on these strings. But here’ s the deal – we don’ t have to randomly try to find our way and get lost, and then frustrated. This is where things get interesting. I want you to commit to memorizing 4 notes on each string. Just 4 notes. That’ s it. Here they are on the 6 th string: the open E, the 5 th fret A, the 7 th fret B and the 12 th fret E. To memorize them, let’ s try a handy memory device: Every Acoustic Busker Earns. Try playing the notes while saying the memory device. So, E, A, B and E.
In some ways, the fretboard is like a vast desert, but along the way, these markers are like an oasis where we can stop and refresh ourselves on our journey. What these markers allow us to do is – get ready for this – they allow us to access any note in the 12-tone chromatic scale, without ever having to travel more than 2 frets in either direction. Sometimes we’ ll travel just 1 fret, and sometimes we won’ t have to travel at ALL for a note, because the note we’ re looking for will be one of these markers.
Please watch the accompanying video to see me in“ spontaneous mode” as my wife calls out random notes, and I quickly find them in relation to these markers.
As we continue, here comes the memory strategy for string 5. We’ ve got 4 more markers I want you to commit to memory, and here’ s the deal- they’ re in the same fretted locations as the 6 th string. We’ ve got the open 5 th string A, the 5 th fret D, the 7 th fret E, and the 12 th fret A. As you might predict, I’ ve got another memory device for you and it has to do with the amazing shape and sound of the guitar I’ m playing in
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