Opening Up the Fretboard

by Dan Miller
In this months lesson we are going to look at some methods that can help you open up the fretboard by using
what many refer to as box patterns. However, before we look at the patterns I recommend that any student of
the guitar memorize two things. First, I will encourage you to memorize the names of the notes on every fret of
the low E string and the A string. Secondly, I recommend that you memorize three simple one-note fretboard
patterns (which I will outline below). The one-note patterns will help you easily nd the location of any single
note on the entire ngerboard. In other words, if I asked you to quickly nd every G note that is located on the
entire ngerboard could you do it? If not, the one-note patterns will help you.
Armed with all the note names on the low E and A strings and the one-note patterns, and a knowledge of the
ve major scale patterns that are presented later in this lesson, you will be able to play all of the major scales at
any location on the ngerboard. After all of these patterns are laid out for you, I will then show you how you
might work with them, in a practical manner, to advance your comfort level and ease of use when playing any
song anywhere on the ngerboard.
Here are the four steps that will be outlined in this lesson:
Step One: Memorize the Notes on the Low E and A Strings.
Step Two: Memorize Three Main One-Note Pattern Relationships.
Step Three: Memorize the Five Major Scale Patterns.
Step Four: Put it all to Good Use By Working With a Tune.

Step One: Memorize the Notes on the Low E and A Strings.

This step is fairly simple. Look at the diagram below and simply memorize the note names at each fret on
these two strings (low E and A). If this seems like too large of a task, then just focus on learning the low E string
rst, that is the most important one to learn. One way to do this is to get out your guitar, play each note all the
way up the string, and name each note as you play it. In order to become familiar with the enharmonic notes
(F# is enharmonic with Gb, etc.) without it being too cumbersome when you are naming the notes as you play
them chromatically, simply name the sharps as you are moving up in pitch (from the nut towards the saddle) and
then as you move back down in pitch (back down towards the nut), name the ats. For example, as you play the
notes moving from lower to higher pitch on the low E string you would say, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, etc. Then
as you move back down you will say, E, Eb, D, Db, C, B, Bb, etc. Memorize these note locations to the point
to where someone could say to you, Eigth fret, A string and you would immediately be able to respond, F
without hesitation.
E
B
G
D

A#/B

F#/G

C
G

b
G#/Ab
C#/D

D
A

b
A#/Bb
D#/E

b
C#/Db
F#/G

G
D

b
D#/Eb

G#/A

A
E

oo

Step Two: Memorize Three Main Note Pattern Relationships

G Note Patterns:
Below are a few of the patterns that you can use in order to find various notes on the fingerboard. Here we are just
looking at the G note, as an example, but the same patterns apply to all notes.
Pattern I: Diagram I
The first set of patterns are shown in diagram I. Do you tune your guitar by fretting the 5th fret on the low E string
(A note) and matching it with the open A note and then fretting the 5th fret of the A string (D note), etc.? If so, you
know that this works on every pair of strings except the G to B strings where you have to offset one fret to get the
match. If you know this tuning method, then the patterns shown in diagram I are familiar to you. Take a look at the
diagram for a moment. You will notice that with the exception of the G to B string, everywhere on the fretboard you
find a G note, you will find that same note on the next lower-pitch string five frets up. This is a very useful pattern
to know when you are moving from one area of the fretboard to another, i.e. moving from a down-the-neck position
to an up-the-neck position or vice-versa. Knowing exactly where all your root notes are, and being able to find them
quickly, makes it is easier to move around the fingerboard in an efficient manner when improvising. When learning
any of these patterns, do not simply memorize the locations intellectually. Play these patterns and gain a good
kenetic feel for their spacing and distance.
G Note Patterns on the Guitar Fretboard I

G
G

G
G

G
G

G
o

oo

G
o

Pattern II: Diagram II

The second pattern will be familiar to you if you have ever played the bass guitar. Many bass guitar lines work
around this particular pattern. Take a look at the pattern. You will notice that from the low E and A strings you can
find another G note on the fingerboard by moving two strings higher in pitch and two frets down the fingerboard.
The same is true at the 10th fret of the A string moving to the 12th fret of the G string.

G Note Patterns on the Guitar Fretboard II

G
G

G
G

G
G

G
o

oo

G
o

Pattern III: Diagram III

The third pattern is simple and pretty obvious. Since the low E and high E strings are both E notes, then it stands
to reason that at every fret going down the fingerboard on those two strings the notes will be the same. This is a
good thing to remember.
G Note Patterns on the Guitar Fretboard III

G
G

G
G

G
G

G
o

G
o

oo

How can using these patterns help me?

Do you realize that if you know these three patterns and then memorize where the G notes on the low E string of
the guitar are located (third and fifteenth frets), that you can easily find all of the other G notes on the fingerboard
in seconds! From one of the two G notes on the low E string, any other G note is only one or two steps away using
a combination of one or two of these patterns. Test yourself and see how fast you can get from one G note, to the
next, to the next, to the next. See if you can identify any new patterns, or note maps, that work for you. Finding
useful ways of visualizing the fingerboard will give you a good mental picture of how all the notes are laid out. This
can be very useful because if you are improvising in the key of G and you have a good mental picture and intuitive
sense of where all the G notes are located you will always be able to find your way back to the root should you get lost.
Finding the root will help you reorient yourself and you will be able to continue with your solo instead of having to
crash and burn.
Familiarization with the G note patterns is just the beginning step in your fingerboard familiarization training,
but it is an important one. Think about itif you can find all the G notes quickly, using these patterns, then you
can apply these same patterns to the other notes as well. Since youve memorized all of the notes on the low E and
A strings, once youve memorized these patterns, you will be able to easily find any note on the fingerboard.
Getting a Feel for the one-note patterns
Anytime you learn a new pattern, lick, or phrase it is desirable to work to get it out of your head and under your
fingers in such a way that it becomes second nature. It transforms from an intellectual idea to a intuitive feeling.
This requires getting the knowledge out of your head and into your hands. In order to do this, you need to gain a
muscle memory of these patterns. Here are a couple of excercises you can practice to begin to build muscle memory
of these patterns and positions. These are just two examples. After working with these see if you can come up with
a few more of your own.

# 4 .
& 4 .
1

T
A
B

# .
& .

.
.

.
. 10

10

12

10

12

12

10

10

10

12

12

10

10

10

12

..
10

12

10

10

12

.
.
..
.
.

Step Three: Memorize the Five Major Scale Patterns.

Now that you know how to easily nd any single note on the ngerboard, I am now going to show you how to
be able to easily play any major scale at any location on the ngerboard. However, it requires a little bit of work
because you need to memorize the ve box patterns that are shown on the next page.
Pattern 1 is built from a tonic, or root, note (I) that is positioned on the low E or high E strings. Pattern 2 is
built from a root note that is on the A string, Pattern 3 is built from a root note that is on the D string, Pattern 4 is
built from a root note that is located on the G string, and Pattern 5 is built from a root note that is located on the
B string.
Now that you know the location of every note on the ngerboard from your study of steps one and two of this
lesson, you should be able to look at these patterns and play a major scale from any note on the ngerboard. If
you take the time to memorize and familiarze yourself with these patterns, nding the major scales will become
second nature.
After you have memorized these box patterns, the next step in fretboard familiarization would be to learn how
to connect them, for instance you could play one octave of a scale starting with Pattern 1 and then when you get to
the root note on the D string, shift to Pattern 3 to play the next octave. There are many various ways to combine
these patterns. The more you work with these patterns, by themselves or in combination, the better informed your
ear and ngers will become.
The chart at the bottom right corner of the next page shows you the positions of various major scales. On this
chart the scale pattern numbers are along the top and the scale name is along the side. If you wanted to use Pattern
1 to play a C scale, youd simply look under the Pattern 1 column and follow it down to the C row and nd that
the root note is at the 8th fret. Of course, if you memorized your note map (steps one and two), youd already
know that! But this chart will help you in a pinch.
Segovia Scales
One way to practice connecting these box patterns in a more vertical fashion (moving up and down the neck)
is by practicing Segovia Scales. They are called Segovia Scales because they are based on ngering patterns
that were devised by the great classical guitar player Andres Segovia. Ive provided the Segovia G major scale
exericse here. If you would like to nd Segovia Scales for other major, and minor, scales, they can be found a
numerous web locations through an on-line search.
An examination of the Segovia Scale for G major reveals a movement from Pattern 1, to Pattern 3, to Pattern
2, to Pattern 4 while acsending. Then he moves from Pattern 4, to Pattern 5, to Pattern 1 on the decsending run.

Pattern 1
VII III VI II

Pattern 2
VII

I IV

V I

VII III VI
V I IV

G=3rd Fret

VII III

II V

G=10th Fret

VII

II V I IV VI II

VI II V I III VI
IV

Pattern 4

Pattern 3

VII

VII III
II V I IV VI II

VI II V I III VI

G=5th Fret

IV
VII III VI II

III VI II V VII III

I IV

IV

I IV

1 2 3 4 5

III IV II V VII III

I IV

G=8th Fret

II V

Key

VII III VI
V I IV

V I

Scales &
Patterns

Pattern 5

IV

VII

5 12 7 2 10

7 2 9 4 12

8 3 10 5 1

10 5 12 7 3

12 7 2 9 5

1 8 3 10 6

3 10 5 12 8

G=12th Fret

# 4 .

& 4 .

G Major Scale

Fingering

T
A
B
7

&

.
.

#
4

10

10

10

10

10 12

14 15 14 12

..
.
.

Step Four: Put it all to Good Use By Working With a Tune

The way I recommend you gain practical knowledge of these patterns is to pick your favorite song and then
learn to play it at every position on the ngerboard. The method would be to take the root note of the song and
then learn how to play it at each different root note position on the neck. As an example, Ive done this with the
rst 4 bars of the tune Blackberry Blossom as shown on the next page.
In Example 1, I start the G note on the open G string. In Example 2, I start the same melody on the G note at
the thrid fret of the low E string. In Example 3, I start the melody on the G note at the third fret of the high E
string. In Example 4, I start the melody at the G note at the tenth fret of the A string, and in Example 5 I start at
the G note located at the 8th fret of the B string.
Once you are familiar with scale patterns, takng any tune and playing at various locations on the neck is a fun
way to continue to explore the fretbaord and familiarize yourself with the patterns. Good Luck!

# 4

& 4

Example 1

T
A
B

0 4 2 0

Example 2

&

0 2

2 0

4 2 0

2 0

0 2 3

0 2 4 0 2

0 2

0 2 3

4 2 0

0 2 3 0
4

0 2

3 0

2 0

2 4

0 2

0 1 3

3 5 7 3

5 2 0

&

Example 3

3 5 7 3

2 3 5 2

0 2 3 0

3 0

0 2 3 0
2 0

0 3 5

3 5

7 5

2 0

Example 4

&

10

12 10 9

10 9

9 7 5

7 5 3

0 2

3 5 7

5 7

5 7 4

7 5

&

Example 5

10 8 7 10 8

9 7

10

7 9 10 7

10

7 10

10

7 9 7

10