How Do I Learn All the Notes on the Fretboard?
The guitar fretboard can be a very tricky instrument to memorize, but understanding how to visualize the notes on the neck is absolutely essential no matter what style you play. Start by learning your octave shapes and then moving them all over the neck while saying the name of the note out loud. Pretty soon, your eyes, ears, and fingers will start to connect and you'll understand the fretboard on a deeper level.
How Do I Learn the CAGED System?
The CAGED system is simply a series of shapes based on the open-position chords we are learn when we are starting out. These shapes can help you not only understand chords, but also scales, arpeggios, and pentatonics. Start with our in-depth CAGED lesson and really develop seeing these shapes all over the neck.
How Do I Learn Triads on the Guitar?
Having a deep understanding of triads all over the neck is the foundation for a well-rounded view of the fretboard. Start simple with a few shapes on the top three strings and then move those through a few keys. Once that feels good start slowly moving those shapes to other string sets. Not all of them will be comfortable or useful in all situations, but soon you will develop a vocabulary of shapes.
How Do I Learn Arpeggios on the Guitar?
What's an arpeggio? It's when you play the notes of a chord one at a time. Arpeggios can take many forms, so don't try to tackle them all at once. Start with triads on adjacent strings and then slowly expand to 7th chords.
How Do I Learn Pentatonics?
Pentatonics are the bread-and-butter of blues-rock guitar. The shapes are easy to get under your fingers and learning some stock pentatonic licks is relatively easy. One tip: Learn the scales horizontally up the neck in addition to the vertical positions. It will make shifting patterns much easier.
When you practice this, be sure to start slowly, then gradually build up speed. Also, you will want to try applying these concepts to other progressions you know to fully understand what is going on here.
That does it for this month. Be sure to visit mikecampese.com for the latest CDs and info.
This lesson I will be showing you how to play three octave arpeggios across the neck. After you learn your basic arpeggio shapes using one or two octaves and you are looking to get to the next level, you want to learn the full range of the neck.
We will start off by using three note triad arpeggios, and then four note versions, like maj7, m7 and dom7. All you do is repeat the same notes up the neck in all three octaves. For example, if you are playing a B major arpeggio (B, D#, F#) in three octaves, you will be using only those three notes continuously.
The key is to map out the notes so you can move smoothly across the neck. There are several ways you can play the same notes - below I''ve given you some examples to demonstrate you the concept. Be sure to follow the fingerings and then experiment with your own. This works in all keys and with any arpeggio type.
Example 1)
Here is a G major arpeggio (G, B, D) in three octaves. This is one of my favorite ways to play this arpeggio, as you can really fly across the neck very quickly. There are many ways you can play the same notes on the fretboard; try shifting to different strings to work your way up the neck. Also, be sure to follow the fingerings provided - you can use the same fingerings descending.
Example 2)
This is a three octave G minor arpeggio (G, Bb, D), very similar to the G major, but with a flatted third. I like to alternate pick these arpeggios, but you can also experiment with sweep picking. For example, you can hammer the first two notes and then sweep pick the rest. See what you can come up with.
Example 3)
Now we will be adding the 7th. This is a Gmaj7 (G, B, D, F#). I really like the sound of these. To play these quickly, you have to slide the 7th to the octave.
Example 4)
Here is a cool way to play a Gm7 arpeggio (G, Bb, D, F). You will notice this arpeggio is very similar to a minor pentatonic scale; the difference between the minor 7th arpeggio and the minor pentatonic is the missing 4th.
Example 5)
Our last example is a Gdom7 arpeggio (G, B, D, F). To play this one quickly you have to experiment with the fingerings - you can follow the ones I''ve listed or experiment with your own.
This is just one way to play these, as there are several ways to play three octave arpeggios. By practicing this way you can really learn the notes on the neck and the notes in each arpeggio. It will also help you develop your ear, which every guitarist needs to do. We''ll see you next month!
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