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Moving around the fretboard


alowdon

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Posted

Hi everyone,

 

I'm looking for some help with my soloing. I've been playing for a couple fo years now and I'm enjoying my soloing, especially blues and rock. However, I really want to be able to move up and down the fingerboard to add more levels to my improvising. I currenlty get stuck in the same scale "box" and the only way I can move up or down is by moving up or down 1 octave.

 

When I watch guitarists on the TV they are always running up and down the neck. How do they do this?? Is it because they know all the positions of the scales?

 

Say I was soloing over this chord sequence (which may sound horrible, I've just thrown it down):

 

Am / / / Dm / / / G / / / Em / / /

 

I would use an Am pent all the way through it..... but, could I use the Am pentatonic, then the Dm pentatonic then the G major scale etc etc?

 

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

Cheers

 

Andrew

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Posted

When I watch guitarists on the TV they are always running up and down the neck. How do they do this?? Is it because they know all the positions of the scales?

 

 

Memorized patterns.

Posted

Hi everyone,


I'm looking for some help with my soloing. I've been playing for a couple fo years now and I'm enjoying my soloing, especially blues and rock. However, I really want to be able to move up and down the fingerboard to add more levels to my improvising. I currenlty get stuck in the same scale "box" and the only way I can move up or down is by moving up or down 1 octave.


When I watch guitarists on the TV they are always running up and down the neck. How do they do this?? Is it because they know all the positions of the scales?


Say I was soloing over this chord sequence (which may sound horrible, I've just thrown it down):


Am / / / Dm / / / G / / / Em / / /


I would use an Am pent all the way through it..... but, could I use the Am pentatonic, then the Dm pentatonic then the G major scale etc etc?



Any help would be greatly appreciated!!


Cheers


Andrew

 

Hey there! Check out my blog at http://blog.markwein.com

 

I the last 3-4 lessons are about moving ideas around the neck in A minor pentatonic....I also have some written lessons here that you can print out:

 

http://markwein.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=38

 

 

 

:)

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Posted

When I watch guitarists on the TV they are always running up and down the neck. How do they do this?? Is it because they know all the positions of the scales?


Say I was soloing over this chord sequence (which may sound horrible, I've just thrown it down):


Am / / / Dm / / / G / / / Em / / /


I would use an Am pent all the way through it..... but, could I use the Am pentatonic, then the Dm pentatonic then the G major scale etc etc?

 

 

1) Yes

 

2) Yes. Or you could think interms of chord tones or search for melodies that weave their way through the chord tones / tensions of those chords.

 

To be able to move around that fretboard, you need to know the fretboard in terms of the harmonic environment (chords) that you are using. This is no small feat, requiring significant time and effort. The easiest way to start might be to learn as many different arpeggio fingerings as you can find for a chord you know pretty well.

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Posted

Don't forget to work out Am pentatonic up and down the neck on each string. Try jamming on each string for two minutes a day (or more), then try jamming in groups of two the same way, etc. That'll get you seeing beyond the box shapes.

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Posted

Two of the best books going for explaining how to get your head round this sometimes tricky subject:

Guitar Fretboard Workbook
Chord Tone Soloing

Both by Barrett Tagliarino. Use them as described and explained in the books themselves and you too will soon be playing like a monster.

Well, if not a monster, at least like someone who's worked their way through these two books... which isn't too shabby... ;)

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Posted

do a search on YouTube for "hopsctoch Method"...... very cool stuff.... basically helps you link the patterns in to ONE MASSIVE pattern... helped me a lot!!

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Posted

Hi everyone,


I'm looking for some help with my soloing. I've been playing for a couple fo years now and I'm enjoying my soloing, especially blues and rock. However, I really want to be able to move up and down the fingerboard to add more levels to my improvising. I currenlty get stuck in the same scale "box" and the only way I can move up or down is by moving up or down 1 octave.


When I watch guitarists on the TV they are always running up and down the neck. How do they do this?? Is it because they know all the positions of the scales?


 

 

Easy. Learn the notes on the fretboard. The A minor pentatonic scale consists of A, C, D, E, G. Those notes occur all over the fretboard. You should be able to find 3 A's or 3 D's within 2 seconds. Furthermore if you play 1st string-8th fret, for example, you should know quickly what note you're playing. Better yet, you should know before you even play it.

 

Learn the notes on the guitar and you will have no problem improvising up and down and all around the guitar.

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Posted

none of the above. start somewhere at random. play that note. play whatever melody is in your head starting from there. you'll have to figure out how to move around up and down and from string to string.

 

or just play a ton until you know what everything sounds like.

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Posted

Learn patterns/theory to get you used to where the notes are, how they sound and where you can use them, use your ears to tell you what sounds good and what doesn't, play what comes into your head. If you aren't playing what comes into your head - you aren't improvising.

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Posted

do a search on YouTube for "hopsctoch Method"...... very cool stuff.... basically helps you link the patterns in to ONE MASSIVE pattern... helped me a lot!!

 

Searched but couldn't find it. :(

 

Ahh. Nevermind, found it.

 

 

Pretty cool. Thanks :)

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Posted
http://markwein.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=38



I like those 3-2 type ideas. Here's another 3-2 type thing that stays in one position:

r3a.jpg
r3b.jpg

At any given time you play 2 on one string and 3 on the other...but the whole pattern is basically combining 2 pentatonic shapes in one riff. This is one way to "see" where all the notes are.

I know for me, when I just concentrated on the 5 individual patterns, it was hard to see how to link them. So combining 2 at a time is one way to break through that. Some of the combinations are quite a stretch I must admit.

When you add the b5 into the mix you can get some easier fingerings. Like in the above pattern, I opt for the b5 instead of the 5 on the G string.

If I recall that hopscotch vid talks about looking at 2 srtrings at a time. Limiting yourself to 2 strings (or even 1 like bdemon says) is also a great way to break out of the box.

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