MIXING SHAPES ACROSS THE FRETBOARD

This exercise is mostly for soloing although you can gather up some nice riffs by exploring the shapes chord wise meaning double and triple stops. Start by playing the scale shapes melodically meaning not up and down.

Practice going up Shape 1 and down shape 2 in one octave, on the bottom 3 strings. It looks like this in ascending notes…A C D E G A… and in shape 2 the descending notes look like this… C A G E D C…and finally back to shape 1’s A.

Now that you can play comfortably (in one octave) going in and out of shape 1 and 2, try shape 1 and shape 3. Then try shape 1 and shape 4 and finally shape 1 and shape 5.

Keep going with this order. Shape 2 and shape 1. Shape 2 and shape 3. 2 and 4. 2 and 5.

Then 3 and 1. 3 and 2. 3 and 4. 3 and 5.

4 and 1. 4 and 2. 4 and 3. 4 and 5.

5 and 1. 5 and 2. 5 and 3. 5 and 4.

After you are done doing this you can explore the shapes on the bottom 3 strings, strings 5 4 and 3 and then 4 3 and 2.

There is no pdf here because its better that you know your neck rather than always relying on tab.

CHORDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SHAPES

Shape 1 is right on the i chord.

Shape 2 is on the III chord.

Shape 3 is on the iv chord.

Shape 4 is on the v chord.

Shape 5 is on the VII chord.

What I mean by this is that these shapes are in the exact same fret as the chords mentioned above. In A Minor, shape 1 starts on the 6th string fret 5 and so does the Am barre chord or A5 power chord. The 2nd shape which is also known as the major pentatonic, is on the 8th fret and so is the C Major or C5 power chord. The 3rd shape is exactly where the Dm chord is or the D5 chord on the 10th fret. Shape 4 is on fret 12 where E Minor sits and finally shape 5 is on fret 3 or 15 where G Major or G5 is.

This holds true for all minor keys.You don’t need to worry about the major keys since they are all relatives of these minor keys. You already know them. There is no need to know them from the Major perspective but you can if you want to. If you know them because you studied the Major pentatonic first then thats okay, keep it like that in your head. Its whatever is easier for you. If you learned them with the minor pentatonic first then keep them like that in your head.

I won’t get into the Major perspective since it simply starts on Shape 2.

SEQUENCES

If you want your technique to improve this is a great way to go through the shapes. Ive listed some of the ways you can play the scales which allow you to come up with interesting scale runs if you like to shred. If you don’t like to shred you can simply go slower and come up with cool, melodic lines. Either way, sequences will help you out navigating the fretboard while improving your technique.

Up 3 notes form the 1st note, then up 3 notes from the 2nd note and so on…do the same when you descend the scale. Up 3 strings from the 6th string, then up 3 strings from the 5th, the 4th and finally the 3rd. Do the same descending – down 3 strings from string 1, down 3 strings from string 2 and so on… 1st note, 2nd note and 1st note again. 2nd note, 1st note and back to 2nd note. Do this pattern on each string. String Skips Descending Runs 3rds Up 3 notes Up 4 strings, come back down 1 string and then up the last 4 strings 3 notes per string doubling up each string Doubling up each note Tripling up each note Quadrupling up each note Up 4 notes from each subsequent note of the scale String skipping Connecting adjacent shapes Connecting non-adjacent shapes

Feel free to combine any of the sequences to come up with your own as well as fresh ways to run up and down the neck.

FINGERING THE SHAPES

Im gonna suggest 2 types of fingering here:

One is to use each subsequent finger for each note. For whole steps you can use fingers 1 and 2 or 1 and 3. For minor 3rd’s use 1 and 3, or 1 and 4.

This means you can try the scales with each fingering and see which one works best for you. Practice as much as you can, on a daily basis preferably. The more dexterity you have the better off you will be.

Pentatonic Punishment – go through all the shapes 10-50x each

For Online guitar lessons in rock or metal

—>$25 per half hr<—