Fretboard Navigation

Learning the notes of the neck can be done in one of two ways. The non-musical way or the musical way! Traditionally beginners have been encouraged to learn the neck parrot fashion, which can be slow and unrewarding, and not a terribly musical approach. You need learn the spatial relationships between the notes. This means both the physical and pitch relationships between them. Everything that happens on the neck is a reflection of how the guitar is tuned. Understand that and everything becomes a lot simpler. For the most part the guitar is tuned in 4ths meaning that there are 4 scale steps between each string. E.g. E , f, g, A or A, b, c, D and so on until we hit the G and B strings which only have 3 scale steps separating them. Logical huh! Below is a diagram showing the same e pitch played on each string.

The 5 Fret Rule

Each is separated by 5 frets except those on the G & B strings. We must account for this inconsistency continually. We can call this the 5 fret rule.

To find the same pitch on an adjacent string move either up or down 5 frets.

The Octave Rule

Another method of fretboard navigation is to use the Octave shape. This is a common way of fingering two notes an octave apart and is used a lot.

Note how the pattern extends by one fret when it encounters the G/B string quirk. Can you see the 5 fret rule in play within this diagram?

The 7 Fret Rule

One way of finding Octaves in relation to open strings is to use the 7 Fret rule.

An open string or note will have an octave on the next string up, 7 frets higher.

This configuration is used a lot for riffs and rhythm patterns.

How to apply this.

Simply take a small series of notes that you know well and “navigate” around the neck using these rules to find them in different registers and on different string sets (Ex. 4 from Picking Technique No.1 is ideal). This way you take a small amount of information and expand it into a larger set of relationships all over the neck. In no time at all you can cover the entire neck and you will start to see how the patterns repeat over the different strings.