Fretboard patterns and other observations

I find myself tinkering around with music theory usually when my technique is failing me and I need a distraction from what my fingers are NOT doing right... :-)

Anyway, I have discovered some really amazing things (well, amazing to me) that have helped me understand music and the guitar in way that makes sense and ultimately helps me play better.

If anyone is interested I would be happy to share. Please reply to this post and let me know.

Hey, man.

If it's helping you, it could help others.

Please share if you can :)

OK cool... I just have to figure out how to upload attachments but here is what I have to offer.

1. A single finger pattern that works for every major, minor, penta and blues scale and I really mean ONLY ONE SINGLE PATTERN for the whole fretboard!!! I discovered this on my own and it really works. I had already learned all the various individual patterns the hard way before I discovered this. IF ONLY SOMEONE TAUGHT ME THIS ORIGINALLY.... I will be very curious to see if anyoe else has ever discoverd this as well.

2. A chart that shows very clearly why certain scales and chords sound good for a given key. This is nothing earth shattering but it puts it on a single page in a visual way that really ties it all together.

3. A chart that shows why chord shapes look the way they do and why the guitar is designed and tuned the way it is. It is certainly not necessary to understand this because most people just memorize chord shapes. For me this was just "fun" and "cool" to understand the history of the guitar and it also ties ties back to the single "golden" pattern I referred to in number 1.

I will post all three with attachments and explanations. I hope you enjoy them.

Sounds good.

To upload attachments, go to "manage attachments" below themessage box, and browse to your local file and select it. :D

New to the guitar and the site. Your ideas sound great. Cant wait to see them.

Looking forward to seeing what you have to offer man!

@kslowman1 seems to have disappeared.

I guess we will never know the amazing patterns! :o

I also discovered the "single finger pattern" that works for the whole fretboard, for every major, minor, penta & blues scale... it was like being hit with a thunder-bolt... keep in mind, this approach uses just ONE finger, and its just ONE SINGLE PATTERN that works for the four scales I mentioned... I'll try to explain, so bear with me and follow along if you can...

Ok, we'll take it slow... lets start a Major Scale using your fore-finger... and we'll start on the 6th string, Low E... place it at the 5th fret... play the note carefully, and listen to the tone... now, this is the note "A"... so what you have is pattern "1", and its your first finger on the 5th fret.. play through the pattern a few times, take it slow and don't worry if you make mistakes... ok got it? Now, this pattern is the first note of A Maj. But, and here's where it gets freaky... its also the first note of A Minor!! That's right! Let's set it up again... place your first finger on the 5th fret of the Low E string and play it... hear it now? A Minor...! It gets even more amazing when you discover that this pattern will also work for the Pentatonic scales, and popular Blues scales. If you're having trouble recognizing the scale type, try using a backing track in the key of A Maj... then play through the pattern... it will fit perfectly! Then get another backing track that is Blues in A... play the same pattern... presto! The really cool thing is that you can transpose this pattern to any string & any fret, and it will continue to work, as long as the backing music is also in the same new key!

I'm working on a text book and video series that will explain this pattern more thoroughly, and I'm toying with the idea of switching it up by using different fingers, such as my middle finger, but this is a ways down the road yet!

Originally Posted by: Slipin Lizard and its just ONE SINGLE PATTERN that works for the four scales I mentioned... I'll try to explain, so bear with me and follow along if you can...

Read through your post a couple of times - so what is the SINGLE PATTERN?

If I'm being dumb, I apologise! :o :)

Originally Posted by: Slipin Lizard
I'm working on a text book and video series that will explain this pattern more thoroughly, and I'm toying with the idea of switching it up by using different fingers, such as my middle finger, but this is a ways down the road yet!

Ha ha, awesome! :D

(I don't think other folks are getting this thread...)

I'm trying to wrap my head (and my finger) around this. Guitar can be soooo hard... ;)

Sorry about being offline for so long... busy travelling and just got back today.

So, I will type up an explanation to go with the charts that I have made and upload everything. I should be able to get to it over the Thanksgiving holiday when I have some free time.

I promise it will be worth it :-)

Still waiting, Mr SLOWman....... ;) :D

Happy Thanksgiving !!!

As promised, here is the first of several things I promised to share with you.

This is a chart that I made that I think "shows" you in a visual way much of the key concepts in music theory.

I tried to keep the explanation to a minimum so you could look at the chart and try to understand it visually. Please post any questions you have.

I encourage you to make a chart like this for the other keys. The hands-on process of actually making the chart will really help you understand this.

I would love to hear your feedback on this. I hope it helps :-)