In the last post I explained my systems’ concept of locating
all of the basic elements; scales, key components and of
course, the chords themselves off of the type 1(6th string)
and type 2(5th string) roots. The faster you can find these
notes, the faster you can locate all of the information you
need. In this post I will show the type 2 chord forms, both
major and minor and the notes/roots on the first 12 frets.
Note that the type 1 chart in the last post contained all 12
notes/roots in the chromatic scale, so you can already play
one version of every available major and minor chord! The
type 2 form gives a different way and a different fret to play
these chords. So you are not learning all new chords, just
another way to play the 12 major and 12 minor chords you
learned the last time. The reason you need to play the same
chord in 2 different places is to be able to switch chords
fast enough. If you only know type 1 chords and you have to
switch between a G chord and a C chord, you will have to
jump 5 frets, from fret 3 to fret 8 in the type 1 chart. But
if you know both type 1 and type 2, G and C chords are
next to each other on fret 3!, type 1 G and type 2 C both on
3rd fret. By knowing both types of bar chords you will
never have to jump more than 3 frets to get to another
chord. This is crucial when you’re playing a song and only
have a fraction of a second to get to the next chord. Also
notice that after the 6th or 7th frets, type1 and type 2
chords start duplicating on the lower frets, like I said in
the last post. For instance, a type 1 D on the 10th fret
can be played as a type 2 D on the 5th fret. A type 2 G on
the 10th fret can be played as a Type 1 G on the 3rd fret,
etc. With both types of chords you never have to play
any higher than the 7th fret. The higher notes from fret
8 to fret 12 are mainly used to locate scales and key
components. (You still have to get them down!)
Type 2 chord forms (5th string root)
X 1–3–3–3–1 X 1–3–4–2–1 (fingers)
FRETS NOTE/ROOT NAMES (5th string)
0 A
1 A#/Bb
2 B
3 C
4 C#/Db
5 D
6 D#/Eb
7 E
8 F
9 F#/Gb
10 G
11 G#/Ab
12 A
TIPS ON MEMORIZING THE FRETBOARD
Learning the type 1 and 2 note names in sequence doesn’t
work that well. Since you know them in sequence it’s
hard to just jump to a fret and know the name, you have to
count out the sequence to get to the fret. Learning to find
a note quickly takes a little more work.
- First, use those fret markers! Those dots on the fret
board are there for a reason. Learn the names of the notes
on the 3rd,5th, and 7th frets (G,A,B for the 6th string and
C,D,E for the 5th string). This will give you a base to build
on.
-Next, remember your alphabet! The entire musical scale
only consists of the first 7 letters of the alphabet A thru G.
Higher notes on the higher frets, lower notes on the lower
frets. So the next note above B must be a C and the next
note below G must be an F.
-Finally, know your half steps. B&C and E&F are both one
fret apart (half step), everything else is two frets apart
(whole step). Remember this when locating notes.
Along with understanding sharps and flats (explained in
the previous post) you can work out the location of any
note. Practice naming any note (F,D,Bb, etc.) and see if
you can locate it on both strings. It will take a while at
first but if you keep at it you’ll get faster.
This concludes the first quarter lesson plan; 10 minutes
a day, 5 days a week. 5 minutes of bar chord and note/fret
location and 5 minutes of jamming. Remember this
quarter is about building a practice habit, so go easy!
