Learn the Neck Part Two (Guitar for Geeks)

Learn the Neck A Positional Analysis of the Guitar Fret Board Part Two ­ Position Number Five by Ed Shaw

Guitar for Geeks " Learn the Neck" is part of the " Guitar for Geeks" series of music instruction. The content in this e-Book, unless otherwise noted, is the original work of Ed Shaw. Rights to copy, distribute, and use have all been assigned to Creative Commons, with restrictions of the Fair Use clause; meaning, do what you want with it, provided source is creditied. Contact author at inbox. com. User name is writersblock

Introduction to Part Two -- The Fifth Position I am not in favor of dumbing down education to the lowest common denominator. My philosophy says the need in education and music education is not material geared to the casual maj ority, but, rather, to the serious student.

This series is titled " Guitar for Geeks. " The material is written for

the higher end of the interest and achievement spectrum. It does no good to have the ability if the interest is not there, and vice versa. Discussions in this book, quite frankly, can soon grow tedious and try both the patience and the academic skills of many a talented musician. My guess is that maybe one out of fifty will give this a second look. This is self published work, a different type on publishing from mainstream work. There is no editor or publisher looking over the writer' s shoulder, directing the work to the fattest part of the market.

Part Two is both a continuation of and a repetiton of Part One. The book will not simply lay down a formula and repeat . However, it will stick to a few basic principles. They are:

1) The guitar fret board may be seen as having six positions, roughly equivalent to the dots on the neck. 2) A position is effectively covers four frets, with one step moves either in the upward or downward direction to pick up the occasional stray that is not contained in the four frets of the position. 3) Each position has assets. The assets include but are not limited to the following: a. Scales . Each position lends itself to certain more compatible scales. b. Chords. To the usual open or barre chords that we know are added three note harmonic combinations called triads, and two note duplex chords, played in different orders and moveable to different frets. c) Progressions. Neck position and chord progressions are tied together like love and marriage. d) Bass lines. Played on the top three strings, and especially on positions one and two. These are the common assets we will be discussing in each position of the neck. They may be considered the foundation. This is knowledge the student will take to the practice studio, as he or she practices playing simplified melodies in all six positions. Let us now move on to a discussion of Position Five, frets nine through twelve.

Review

Third Position C Scales

Readers will certainly remember these two C maj or scales in position three from Part One of Learn the Neck, Guitar for Geeks, by Ed Shaw. Later in this Part Two when the three scales we have discussed are mentioned, these are the two from the third position, frets 5 - 9 or sometimes frets 5 - 10. Positions are a little flexible. I like to refer to them as four frets because that is the number of fingers we have on the board. Most guitar players doing this kind of music usually find that the middle range is the most useful. I find most of my solo work is on strings 2 , 3, 4 , and 5, the A, D, G, and B strings, saving both the high and low ends for effect. Everyone finds their own preferences. Bit by bit, as we work with this scale, the string and fret position becomes second nature. For example, the yellow circles above ( or below, depending upon how we want tolook at it) are each F notes. That is something that is pointed out later in this lesson. It goes to show how this method gradually instills a mastery of the neck.

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The C Maj or Scale at Fifth Position

Here it is, the position that is the subj ect of this part of the series. It is frets 9 - 13 with finger one, the index finger, on fret 10. The hand has to shift up a half to play the C note, and down a half to play the E note. In the key of C Maj or, the 10th fret C note is every bit the home base as the 5th fret C note. It is one octave lower. Look at what is on the 10th fret. From string 6 to string 1 are the notes D, G, C, F, A, and D again. What is more, up two frets, under finger three, the notes are E, A, D, G. B, and E again. What that means is that when playing the C Maj or Key, which has no flats or sharps, all the common notes are readily available. The same could be said for the Key of G Maj or, which has one sharp, the key of F Maj or which has one flat and the A Minor Pentatonic, which has no sharps or flats. On top of that, the relative minor pentatonics for G Maj or and F Maj or which happen to be E Minor Pentatonic ( for F maj or) and D Minor Pentotonic ( for G Maj or) have no sharps or flats, either. A scale pattern such as this, with strong parallels, is the Holy Grail of guitar players. These are the speed positions for soloing. In addtion, when we study the sixth position, we will find that the combination of positions five and six produces a powerful treble range for solos. We will find that positions three and four, combined, comprises the bread and butter guitar solo position, and that the five/six combination is used when the music wants to go treble. We can get into that at a later date. - 2 -

Position Five of the Guitar Neck Showing Pattern (left) and Notes (right) This fifth position C Maj or Scale is a great place to begin your mastery of sight reading sheet music. In playing from the staffs, the musician slowly but surely ingrains the notes and their places on the neck. When combined with the third position, as a starting point, the results can be nothing short of magical. I will continue to offer insight into practice techniques come across and trust you will discover many techniques on your own. Since we are discussing and working with the C maj or scale, that will be the readers' focus in practicing the scale and learning to associate the notes on the guitar with notes on the printed sheet. Still, always remember that the ultimate goal will have all the positions blended into one. So, when that scale noted by the red stars has become comfortable, then branch out beyond it in either direction, higher or lower. The quicker eye recognition and hand coordination becomes, the more fluid and accurate playing will become. Those enj oying the process and having fun with it will be the ones more likely stay with it through the sometimes tedious learning process.

There is an urban legend, I don' t know if it is true or not, that folk singer Bob Dylan stuck his finger with a G string tip while restringing his guitar, and a drop of red landed on the 11th fret G position, right between the two rails. According to the legend, that was when a title occurred to Bob, " Blood on the Tracks. " Who knows, might be true. What is true for sure, though, is that those rails are well known to guitar players, and especially to blues " pattern" players around the world. Here it is again (above) leaving nothing out.

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This is the perfect opportunity for me to point out a relationship that is so obvious once it is seen, one wonders how on earth he could have so long without noticing it. This is the chord progression map referred to in Part One of this series. On strings 4, and 5, which are the A and D strings, the root, the 4th degree and the 5th degree always follow the same pattern. The 3rd is directly below the Root, and the 5th is directly above it. Those familiar with the 1 - 4 - 5 chord progressions, something all musicians certainly must be pay attention to, will notice this formula on the D string in three places. The C - F - G is the 1 - 4 -5 of the Key of C Maj or, of which C natural is the root note. The 1 - 4 - 5 of the D Maj or Scale is D - G - A. The 1- 4 - 5 of the B Maj or Scale is B - E - F#.

There are two more things to notice: 1) Since there is no string above the 6th string E String, the five must be found by going up a full step from the three on the 5th string A. 2) In a like manner, because of the detuned B string, while the four is directly below the root on the B string, the five is found one half step lower than what the formula calls for. Note the C - F - G pattern at the upper right in the diagram. - 4 -

Looking Ahead:

Fourth Position C Scale: Frets 8 through 10 We will hit the fourth position hard in Part Three. These are very dense and complex patterns which, especially when combined with position three, form the basis of both our solo and rhythm guitar work. Those two positions ( 3 & 4) are really the heart of the neck. If you reach too high on the neck for repetitive rhythm strums, you' ll wind up sounding like you are playing a mandolin. Some players can get away with it (I' m thinking of Wilson Pickett, ) but most wind up annoying the audience.

Position Six

This is when the player goes " up top" as the j azz men say, for the solo, the chicken picking for country folk, or the piercing strum. It includes the double dot octave fret (12) and above. It starts the repeat of the bottom end of the neck. - 5 -

Second Position

Position two, like position one, has limited applications in solo or melody, for most players. Exactly the opposite is true for rhythm or bass work, be it rhythm strumming, playing the first position chords or playing, landing on, or sliding down to any of the triads or their inversions. The 3 - 5 -1 at the F or G frets receive maximum attention. Often, C backed melodies and chords want to resolve down to the first, third, and fifth frets.

Last but not least, the First, or Open, Position at frets 1 - 4. Most books cover this in the begininng, but I wait until the end. I consider this position to be least useful in soloing Unless, that is, you happen to be Creedance Clearwater Revival. Most of us aren' t.

First Position

Always remember that from the root (first degree) or any other degree of the scale, the option to follow the melody or shred either up or down the string is always there. In fact, in tradtional guitar instruction, one of the first lesson is " Notes on the E String. " That kind of instruction has more or less faded away, as guitar has become the rhythm, blues, and rock instrument of choice. Too bad, because it is such fundamental knowledge. - 6 -

An exercise in associating fret diagrams with neck positions: Here are the six neck positions we are working with in this series. Can you pick out the third position, the position we discussed at length in Part One of this manual? I' m sure you can. Position Three has the C note on the top, or lowest tone, E string, at the eighth fret. In that third position, we can see that the 1-3-5 have been circled. Those are the C - E - G notes of the scale. Those with good memory and particular discernment, will also be able to pick out the first and second inversions of the C chord.

1

2 3

Position One Frets 1 - 4

4

5 6

7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Position Three Position Five Frets 5 - 8 Frets 9 - 13

Position Two Frets 3 - 6

Position Four Frets 7 - 10

Position Six Frets 12 - 15

Let this picture on the left refresh your memory. Remember the caution to block out those C Scale notes that are not in the 1 - 3 - 5 triad we a concentrating on. Is it getting easier to now see the pattern of the second inversion of the C chord triad? It should be As soon the C note on the top string is recognized, recognition of fret eight is automatic. - 7 -

The A Minor Pentatonic at the Fifth Position I can' t get away without charting and posting the fifth position Minor pentatonic scale, not that I would want to. The A Minor pentatonic consists of notes A - C - D - E - G - A. Note the C note is the flatted third of the A Maj or scale.

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A more detailed look at the A Minor pentatonic, including a unmarked version.

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Breaking into sight reading, a great way to learn the neck. Here is the part you have been waiting for. Your own Ed Shaw arrangement of John Newton' s classic, at the risk of sounding irreverent, you might even call it a Golden Oldie, penned in 17 7 2 , the timeless classic, " Amazing Grace. " In writing this arrangement, I worked from a reprint of John Newton' s hymn that was published in 192 2 by Hall- Mack of Philadelphiain a collection called " New Songs of Praise and Worship. " The verse is as originally written by John Newton. The original arrangement was by R. M. McIntosh. First, the hymn will be posted. Following that, some information on the art of sight reading and playing to backing tracks.

Suggestions: 1) Download the backing track and load it to a playlist or folder on a Walkman or other MP3 player. 2) Practice counting along with the track until the rhythm and chord changes are clearly recognized. 3) Use first position strums. 4) Practice playing the melody from the lead sheet using your knowledge of the three C maj or scales we have so far discussed: two at the third position, one at the fifth. 5) Take your time and enj oy learning to play melodies ffrom the lead sheet with the help of an MP3 backing track.

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The Amazing Grace lead sheet is posted here. It is available on Wiki Commons at the address attached. A computer generated rhythm and chord accompany track is available on Soundcloud at the address attached. Both can be downloaded. Soundcloud posted backing track is in 3/4 time. The key is C maj or, and tempo is 90 bpm. Four Bar intro plays once:

CC GG CC GG

Line One: CC CC FF CC Line Two: CC CC GG GG Line Three: CC CC FF CC Line Four: CC GG CC G7G7 (Repeat four lines. ) https: //commons. wikimedia. org/wiki/File: Amazing_Grace_Cmaj _Lead_Sheet. pdf https: //soundcloud. com/ed_shaw/amazing-grace-back Source for Amazing Grace, by John Newton, 1772 is New Songs of Praise and Worship. Hall Mack-Philadelphia 1922. Reprint is in the Public Domain. Ed Shaw Lead Sheet Assigned by Ed Shaw to Creative Commons Fair Use 2013. Creative Commons Lead Sheet search Amazing Grace Lead Sheet - 11 -

When this begins to make sense, you are getting somewhere. Do you find the fifth position? Do you see the C note on the fat E string, the number six string at on the top? Is it at the 8th fret, where it belongs? Can you easily locate the 12 th fret? Do you see those nice railroad tracks on frets 10th and 12 th? Do you see the first inversion C chord on frets 8th through 12 th? Do you see why it is designated the 3 - 5 - 1 ? That is E - G - C, isn' t it? Have you started to work these inversions into your music ? When I first discovered them, online, it was like, Holy Cow, there are 4 8 more chord positions that I didn' t know about. Try arpegiating these chords. Chord arpegiation is as old as the hills. Bach and Mozart arpegiated chords in their sonatas and symphonies. Are you above that? One of the most useful things about that pattern is that you can put a finger on the bottom two strings, slide to the desired root, and it will harmonize. Plus, one of the ( C - E - G) ( F - A - C) ( G - B - D) bass line is right there.

This concludes Part Two of " Learn the Neck. " See you in Part Three, the Fourth Position. - 12 -