3 Overlapping Exercises That UNLOCK the Fretboard - 484

Three exercises for fretboard notes

0:00Lee here from Play Guitar Academy. Today we're talking about where the guitar strings overlap and how understanding this is going to help you open up the fretboard, but before we talk about that, I've got three exercises I'm going to share with you right now that can help you find the same notes in different locations. Here in exercise one on the top line, you're going to see we're going to be finding the E notes across the fretboard, then the B notes, and then the G notes, and then the D notes. So, we're going down the scales and finding all the notes underneath them as we move up the fretboard.

0:49That's going to help you find the same note across different strings, but what about scales? Let's check out exercise two. In exercise two, we're going to have different E notes across the fretboard. We're going to have the fifth fret, on the B string, the ninth fret on the G string, and then the 14th fret on the D string, and we're going to play an octave down and the major scale up to that note. So, we're going to start to see how we can play the major scale in different positions, different patterns, lines, but coming up to the same exact note across strings. It's going to sound a little different.

1:20So, we're going to take the same E major area with that octave that we started on, starting at the fifth fret on the B string, and we're going to make a little melody there. Then, we're going to map that melody to each of the sections that we just used to do. in the exercise before. So, we're going to take the same E major area with that octave that we started on, starting at the fifth fret on the B string, and we're going to make a little melody there. Then, we're going to map that melody to each of the sections that we just used in the exercise before. So, using those three exercises, doing them every day for a few weeks, you're going to start getting used to seeing relationships between similar notes and their scale patterns, and the intervals across different positions in the guitar.

Understanding guitar tuning intervals

2:16But, let's start to understand this a little bit. What do we have here? On the guitar, we have the six open strings. We've got E, A, D, G, B, and E going from lowest sounding to highest sounding. Each open string gives us the starting pitch. The two E strings share a name, but they are two octaves apart. So, E to E, and then another E to E here. The relationship between these strings is what we're going to be talking about the most today. Most of the strings that are next to each other are tuned to a fourth. What do I mean by that?

So, if I take my low E string and go up the E major scale, E, F sharp, G sharp, A, when I get to the fourth note of the scale, that would be if we just went up the string, that would be on the fifth fret, but it's also the sound of the next string.

3:08Now, that's a fourth. So, let's say we're in the key of A. We've got an A string now. A, B, C sharp, D. Well, there's the D string. It's the fifth fret, but it's also the open string. D, E, F sharp, G. D and G, they are a fourth apart. But now things get tricky. So, now we have G, A, B, and a fourth from G, the next note would be C. So, you would think we would have a C string next. E, A, D, G, C. And then from that C, C, C in whole step is D, D in whole step is E, and then F would be the high string.

3:50No, that would be a fourth away from C is F. So, if we did everything logically across the strings of the guitar, E, A, D, G, C, F. And I used to think, well, I wonder why someone did that. Why is this offset? Why are we always having this problem between the G string and the B string? And so, I tuned my guitar two-fourths all the way across, and I learned pretty quickly that somebody was very smart when they did that for the guitar. All of my bar chords were gone at that point. All my scale patterns started to go into stretches that were going to be uncomfortable for just things that I played normally, right?

4:29So, it's a convenience thing. It makes the fretboard easier to manage here. So, I have no problem with that now. I used to have a big problem with it. I know people like Stanley Jordan. He tunes all the way across and forth, so other people do too. But that's the reason why that we have this problem on the guitar. It's to actually make things better for us. But knowing this tuning and understanding where things are going across is going to help us be able to find the same note across strings.

5:03These relationships give us very predictable ways of finding notes, like we used in the exercise today. So, making sure you understand the tuning that you're using. This is going to prepare you to explore new places on the fretboard other than just the open strings.

String overlap and tone variation

5:19Okay, so what happens though, when we tune this way, guitar strings start to overlap. Let me show you what I mean. We get up to the 5th fret on the low E string.

5:33We have our A note. That's our 4th across. Well, that's also the same note as the next string. That's where we tune. You see a lot of people will tune at the 5th fret. But if they know one of their notes is in tune, I think I'm a little out of tune.

5:47But, as we go up, 6th fret on the low string is the same as 1st fret on the A string. 7th fret on the E string is the same as 2nd fret on the A string. 8th fret is the same as 3rd fret. 9th fret is the same as the 4th fret. 10th fret is the same as the 5th fret. They've overlapped. So we have the same notes going up alongside of them. So if I could... I can get an octave on 2 strings. I have to really stretch for them.

6:17Those are both B's right there.

6:21Okay, so the same note but different strings. This is where the guitar gets really exciting. We have different places of playing the same exact... It's not an octave. Not different. It's the same exact pitch. If I play this for you, E, E, E, E, E. And I don't have a 24th fret on the low string on this guitar, or else I would play that as well too. But these are all the same exact frequency. The same notes.

6:52Notice something.

6:56They don't sound the same. The strings are giving them a different tone, a different timbre. They're sounding warmer as we get on the bigger strings, especially the strings that are wound. Right? And this overlap of the same note in different places, but it sounds different in different places on the guitar, gives us options. The same pitch can be used many different ways and can give different emotions depending on what you're trying to get across. And the more you understand the neck of the guitar and can take advantage of playing the same melody in different places,

7:32the more choices you have, the more you're going to be able to fine-tune your solos and your melodies to the songs that are being played. And what else do we have with this? Because that note is being taken across the fretboard, it's landing in different patterns that we play. So here, we have pattern 3 in E. Well, this same E up here, pattern 2 up high, up at the 14th fret, has a much warmer sound, a much more mellow sound.

8:08But also, the reach of the other notes is different. The pattern is different. So I'm sure you've noticed by now, when you start to play in a different pattern higher up on the neck, when you find that same note, you've got different choices. The patterns are laid out differently. So you might be able to easily get to a note in one pattern, where in another pattern, it's a little bit different. And that changes your licks. You'll notice that you play differently depending on which pattern that you're playing in. But if you've got the same note in each of them, you can do something that's similar and start to get some really interesting choices.

Connecting scale patterns and melodies

8:41So let's go ahead and start using this to our advantage. Using that overlap to understand the fretboard, using shared notes as a reference point. Once you've got a familiar note that you can play in different places, you've got a starting point in an area of the neck that you might not play very often. I love the B.B. King box. B.B. King box is where you put your first finger on the B string in the key that you're in. We've been playing in E, so I'll put it at the 5th fret.

9:13Well, I can do that on every string. It doesn't have to be the B string.

9:21Switching from string to string to string gives me a completely different feel, a completely different emotion, a completely different sound. I'm playing the exact same notes, and they're very similar. In fact, the only one that's going to be different is the one that sits between the G string and the B string because of that tuning difference there. But knowing that scale pattern that you're using, where that note, where you find it, if you know what scale pattern it comes from, now you can start to surround that note with other ideas.

9:55Using that note to orient yourself with the pattern, come up with cool stuff, and also connecting your scale patterns together from that note. Some notes are shared between patterns. You might have where it's forward in one pattern and in the back of the next one there. So you can switch nicely between them, knowing where these notes are. One of the things I like to do is I like to play all the root notes in all five scale patterns.

10:28Knowing those notes and knowing these shared patterns is going to help you recognize how neighboring patterns connect together and moving between them. It's going to help you keep track of where you are on the guitar, too. Playing that same melody in different locations. That was the number three. You can get some ideas that maybe you play that same melody in a different place, but you might want to throw in a high note there. You know you're not going to be able to play that down here on the low strings or low pattern, so you've revoiced that melody using the tips that I've talked about today to get it in a place where you actually have access to a very high note.

11:05And that surrounding scale is going to help you find these extra notes to enhance your melody. Playing the melody in another location and listening to its tone change is very important, too. So this is going to let you explore which location you guys enjoy the most. We all have favorite places to go on the guitar. We have go-to places. If you can find a melody in a different place that gives you a sound and a fingering that you're wanting to play, this could be something that you'll be able to go through every day, enjoy yourself playing, and make up some really incredible ideas.

11:42Use all these ideas to start exploring the neck. There's no time like the present. The sooner you do it, the sooner this neck is going to open up for you. Explore which location gives you the sounds and the fingering that you need to create the solos that sound like you. If you'd like help putting all this into practice, if you'd like a plan that's built around your playing, you can check out my coaching. Right now, I'm working with students individually, but eventually we're going to group coaching formats. If you're looking for one-on-one coaching, now's the time to get in.

12:13If you've been considering it, I'm open, and you can send an application in to the link below. You can learn more over at PlayGuitarAcademy.com forward slash PlayGuitarCoaching. All right, that was fun. Thanks, and I'll see you next week. Bye-bye.