*NEW:* I'm currently rolling out *Improv 101,* a step-by-step improvisation course for guitarists of _all ability levels_ (there are _no_ prerequisites other than being able to physically play single-note lines on your guitar). You can get early access on Patreon patreon.com/fretscience or learn more at fretscience.com/2024/10/25/fret-science-improv-101/ Fret Science is a new and robust method for understanding the fretboard (learning all of your scales, arpeggios, and chords) with _dramatically_ less memorization. And then using that knowledge to improvise and play freely in _any_ style of music. The core method for learning scales and chords is available _for free_ here on RUclips. If you're new to the channel, I invite you to check out the "Big Picture" video and recommended video viewing order here: ruclips.net/p/PLMuHlX9RiFi1L1RdC0CzYa1qxZllD5Ujz&si=cOp25GnXrL28rbLQ If you want to go deeper or interact with me directly, come join me on Patreon patreon.com/fretscience where I'm sharing exclusive new lessons, breaking down classic solos, and rolling out a new improvisation method that will help guitarists of _all ability levels_ learn to improvise confidently over chord changes in any style. You can also connect with me at fretscience.com or support my work with a donation at buymeacoffee.com/fretscience 🎸🧪🤘
I can't believe it! It's like finding the holy grail of guitar instructional videos. This is the video I was hoping for when I clicked on the last 50,000 RUclips guitar videos! I just bought the cheat sheet pack and now I'm ready to stop "searching" and start "working". Thank you Keith!
I have watched this multiple times. I can’t tell you how valuable this is. A perfect explanation that makes sense and opens up endless possibilities. Extremely well presented in voice, visuals and pacing. As good as it gets. Thank you very much.
Holy crap…someone give this man a medal or some kind of award! This is gold! Something you maybe want to point out in your videos that you kind of skip over is how your shifting up and down takes advantage of the fact that the top and bottom strings are both E strings, and will therefore always have the same “pattern” on them and that is how you can “fill in” the notes as you shift a pattern up or down. That took me a second to figure out.
Thanks! That’s definitely a good point for 6-string guitar. I’m always thinking of how the method applies to 4-, 5-, and 6-string bass and 7- and 8-string guitars, where that doesn’t work, but it’s definitely something most of us can use 🎸🧪🤘
@@fretscience Yes, this works great with the 4-string bass as there is no warp. There was a video floating around that did something like this, but with 3 shapes. It was most useful in moving up and down the neck, but not as helpul as this approach using 2 shapes and moving vertically, and as a deeper learning tool as used with the companion videos.
@@enzocypriani5055 if you imagine a 7 string guitar which means the lowest string would be a B, the box on 7 and 6 strings would be the same as a the box on 2nd and 1st strings.
I’ve been playing the guitar for 30 years, and this lesson has completely changed how I understand the geometry of the fretboard. Absolute breakthrough moment. The scale forms we memorize are “true”, but they’re derived from the underlying pattern!
It’s already changed how I approach improvisation. Instead of thinking, which form do I need to use?, I just find the first root that I want to center the melody around and use the stack+rectangle to move around it. It’s so simple, and it ends up sounding so much better. This lesson was a massively important moment in my musical journey.
Seriously, I cannot express in words how your method of teaching is infinitely better at showing us what is actually happening on the fretboard. Why do so many other "beginner" lessons fail to even explain that the notes of one string continue onto the next every 5 notes? That seems like the FIRST thing you'd want to teach! The visuals are a language that's universal. Please, please understand that, from the very bottom of this complete stranger's heart, I truly do thank you for sharing your knowledge in this manner. I know it takes work to do it!
Within the space of four videos, Fret Science has quickly won my ‘Favourite New Channel’ accolade. What truly brilliant resources you’ve provided. I’ll certainly be going to buy the PDFs. Many thanks.
This is so good. After 30 years of playing by ear in cover bands, I’m finally trying to actually learn the fretboard the way I should have years ago. This logical framework is brilliant, and so much better than rote memorization. The animations are excellent. I purchased every PDF you offer - keep this great stuff coming!
Huge lightbulb moment from this video Sir. Absolutely fantastic lesson, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. Best explanation ive heard to connect the dots with root notes rather than memorising large patterns and a great insight on how to play specific notes to make improvisation sound a lot more musical!.
Brilliant! I've been studying guitar for a little over 2 years now and your approach to the shapes of the pentatonic scales is finally getting me over that hurdle of being able to visualize all of this information all over the fretboard while I'm playing. Thank you! It's just so good. On top of that, you've given me a whole new way to travel horizontally ("the other diagonal") that I've not seen or heard mentioned anywhere else. I'm really looking forward to jamming with that pattern to find out all the goodies hidden therein. Huge thank you for making this material available. You're on to something very powerful here. Please keep going and please keep sharing. You're helping to fill the world with beautiful music. A worthy endeavor indeed!
Without hyperbole, this is probably one of the most helpful guitar videos I've ever watched. I've been playing since 1991, but have always been stuck in memorizing the five positions. Playing in E or A has always been easy, as I use those most often and have them memorized. But get outside of those two and I'm struggling to overlay the boxes in the new positions. This lesson, however, has absolutely broken it wide open. THANK YOU! And I have purchased your PDF bundle as a way of saying thanks,
Finally. I knew this framework existed but lacked the experience to work it out myself. I’ve been searching for years without fully understanding what it is I’ve been looking for. Thank you.
This is the most value lesson on YT to understand the pent. scales and their shape relation. No nonsense, no blahblah en show off. Great! Thank you so much Fret Science 🙂
this is literally the best explanation i have ever seen! i have been playing since 16. i am 46 now and just trying to make my way through note identification on the guitar and understand better. i have never been taught this way and i get it now from all of your guidance on your channel. thank you so much brother. i really appreciate you and your work
Thank you so much. Your diagrams have really opened my eyes. Although I have learned many of these positions. I was not able to make the connection by understanding chord shapes up and down the fret board but was unable to make the connections as it relates to playing lead up and down the fret. Thank you for laying this out so clearly.
I cannot express how grateful I am for this video. This made it all click and within 30 minutes I could connect the entire neck of the guitar based on this structuring! Great videos!!😊
Innovattive attempt at increasiing the joy of sounding good, better, and best on the instrument. I have seen many and this one is definitely unique. Anything that simplifies a students conceptualisation on the dynamics of phrasing single notes into a cohesive musical moment up, down and across the neck is genius to me. The key is practice, practice, practice.
Thanks. Unique isn’t always better, but I’ve observed that this framework combined with my approach to modes, triads, CAGED, and 3nps does speed up the learning curve quite a lot on the path to improvising freely and musically.
Enlightning, mind blowing! It is so much easier to memorize and use scales. You just need to know the notes on the fretboard and you finally break out from those vertical shapes. Thank you!!!
Glad it was helpful! The same shapes are also useful for all sorts of arpeggios (lesson is currently only on Patreon), major scale modes (ruclips.net/video/jrukJYI8ecY/видео.html), and the harmonic and melodic minor scales (lesson on Patreon). It's a great way to unlock the entire fretboard 🎸🧪🤘
FINALLY! A RUclips video that actually helps understand and navigate the fretboard. The rectangle and stack with the locations of the root notes have unlocked the fretboard for me. Thank you!
I suspect most teachers pass on the knowledge in the same way they learned it, which is why, for example, the CAGED methodology hasn’t been significantly updated in 50 years. Cheers! 🎸🧪🤘
Fantastic organizational logic! I've been playing 40+ years with a degree in music and jazz studies and I gleaned a ton out of this. Great work at a production level also. Thanks...
Excellent video! I memorized the 5 minor pentatonic boxes in a very “rote” way. The not-so-good news is, I use them the same way …always starting from the sixth string even if I don’t play a note. This is another cell block of the dreaded “scale jail.” This video might be the file in the cake…Subscribed!
Watching your videos feels like diving into a scientific paper that cracks the secrets of the universe. I’m truly amazed by what I’ve learned, and your approach makes everything click and make sense to me. Thank you so much, Keith!
Subbed. Watched all of your videos. Made my purchase of your bundle to support your channel. As a 60-yr old Mechanical Engineer, I love your systematic approach to teaching music. Thank you.
Ok, this is positively brilliant. There are about a million videos out there on the "five positions," the "pentatonic equator," and on and on and on, and those are fine (or at least a lot of them are). But this is UNIQUE - you broken things down into a more fundamental level of structure and therefore have a "simpler model." Outstanding - thank you very much for this.
As a CS major myself, THANK YOU for sharing this with the world. You are a true guitar savior. All geek guitarists UNITE HERE. This channel's about to blow up big time!
Fantastic lesson. I’ve spent so much time on major scales and was looking for a good approach to pentatonic and this just knocked it out of the park. Thank you so much 💯👍🎸
Thanks, Keith, it is refreshing to step back a few decades to almost start over again with my guitar practice, experience and knowledge. There is a wealth of information on RUclips, which I have found overwhelming at the very least. I do believe you have analysed your music and guitar skills over the years to offer us 'wannabes' new perspectives and quicker more efficient methods to reach our goals with our instruments, which is very refreshing. PS. I listened pretty intently to the Michael Gumley interview, all the best for a promising future. Thanks.
This video is not only clear and with great visuals, it helped me piece together a lot of the theory I had already learned. Had quite a few "ah-ha" moments and keep coming back to review/replay it as my skills/understanding improves. This is well narrated with little repetition to get the most out of your time. FANTASTIC work and a favorite of mine! THANK YOU!
That’s great to hear…having a good coach to answer questions and to suggest exercises to go along with the videos would be a dream combination for quick advancement. Thanks! 🎸🧪🤘
This is an absolutely fantastic video. Everything is properly and expertly explained, to the point where even _I_ started jamming out in minutes. Many thanks!
This video was very amazing for piecing together my previous knowledge I can navigate my entire fretboard with relative ease now! Thank-you very much for sharing your knowledge!
I have to say that the production value of all of your videos is incredibly high. Im a beginner at soloing, but thanks to your it starts to sound really good more often. Cheers from Austria!
The video that changed my 40-year guitar life. Absolutely original and fantastic. Keith is a genius. Now for the first time in 40 years, I'm gliding up, down, and across the fretboard. I even decided to memorize the fretboard (finally!) to take even more advantage of the stack and the rectangle (and of course as the result of Keith's advice). I've memorized 4 strings (it was easier than I thought) and just 2 to go. Keith, thank you absolutely. In the future, would you be able to tell us the rules of stacking the stacks and the rectangles laterally and vertically? I've figured out that the stacks are connected diagonally at the corner point, stacks and rectangles alternatve vertically, going up the fret one fret per pair. These are in your videos and cheat sheets. Then there are more rules which have not yet been explained. I've figured out the rules for the stack and the rectangle connecting laterally (rectangle's and stack's top are aligned when rect connects to stack's left side, bottom aligned when connecting to stack's right side). Then I got completely lost on how the rectangles (by themselves) connect laterally -- I eventually figured it out (there's a 2-fret overlap) but it would be terrific to hear the master himself explain these rules. This is so useful because now I see the shapes and I can see INSTANTLY where I can play. Thank you in advance.
Thanks for your kind words! In the video and cheat sheet, I laid out the connections that I use most often. For other movements, I tend to jump from root to root. If you want to find other ways of moving around the lattice of rectangle and stacks, I’d recommend drawing out an “infinite fretboard” of 12-18 frets and ~10 strings. Ignore the “warp” and use the rules you know to fill in rectangles and stacks. Then look for relationships that you think might be useful and practice applying them on the real fretboard. It’s a little more work, but you’ll find the connections that work best for you. 🎸🧪🤘
@@fretscience Got it, Keith. I kinda did that, I think, and nearly had a stroke - but thankfully didn't. In the process, I found a couple of interesting'useful rules... I would love to be able to get around to writing it up one day for you and that could be a topic for another video for you down the line perhaps.
Thank you very much for your insight. Had memorized the pentatonic scale for a long time, but now I see all the modes so clearly and my playing is just so much more melodic, harmonic and enjoyable. Well presented. Great work. Thanks again
This is INCREDIBLE. So glad I found this channel. I have been playing for 20+ years and more-or-less plateaued 10ish years ago. This feels like the next step to leveling up my chops. Can't wait to dig in more and practice this!
Thank you for putting this content out. I've always had hard time "connecting" patterns to the shapes of scales that could be easily memorized and your series is definitely a great investment to improve my skill!
after watchin g hundreds of videos on guitar...finallly found the one that demystified it and blew mind mind on understandin g scale 🙏🙏🙏....thans a lot and God bless you for sharing this...ill buy your cheat sheets from gumroad soon
1:29 THE RECTANGLE AND THE STACK 1:37 PATTERN FOR INFINITE STRINGS TUNED IN FOURTHS 1:49 TONAL CENTERS FOR MAJOR AND MINOR PENTATONIC 2:27 THE FIVE PENTATONIC FORMS DIAGRAMS 🧿3:02 Examples for A minor 3:20 FORM 5 3:31 1st finger on 3rd string root 3:41 3rd finher on 1st string root 3:51 FORM 1 4:00 4:02 FORM 2 4:11 4:12 FORM 3 4:22 4:26 FORM 4 4:35 4:515:09 HOW TO MAKE IT MUSICAL : 1. Know scale degrees 5:10 MINOR IN MAJOR CONTEXT 2. Target chord tones 5:12 flat 3rds 5:25 5ths 5:31 flat 7th 5:37 MAJOR 5:39 3rds 5:44 5ths 3. Know where to bend 5:48 4. Add grease 6:39
I subscribed and bought the lesson materials. Incredibly useful content here that will help me in giving guitar lessons as well as my own mastery of the fretboard.
It’s extra gratifying to get this kind of feedback from an experienced teacher and player…thanks! 🎸🧪🤘 PS: please send your students to the channel. 😉 In all seriousness, it’ll help you focus with them on the more fun aspects of making music!
This whole idea is so brilliant I can't find words to say it. I practiced modes until my fingers bled for a few years and didn't INTERNALIZE the positions solidly...a few watchings of this and I can confidently say that my pentatonic, modal, and major scale playing is 100% better...I can pay more fluently and musically than ever before...YOU JUST REMOVED MY BLIND SPOTS....I just wish you'd have taught me that when I was 16 and not 63..... :)
I have a couple of guitars tuned to perfect 4th. With no 3rds tuning, I can play triads with only 3 shapes vertically or horizontally. Makes it very easy to visualize an infinite number of frets or strings with the same 3 shapes. Simplifies everything! Thanks for posting.
Your way of explaining totally clicks with me. Second video I've watched on your channel and again the simplicity to which to break things down to is just mind boggling. Outstanding work!
This is a true game changer way to look at it. With the minor pentatonic you instantly have your 1 b3 5 and b7 all within the rectangle stack. And to have all those plus the 4th in the square shape. Amazing. Thank you for this 🙏
Super helpful video! Mapping the fretboard with shapes makes so much sense, especially because I’m a bassist and don’t have to deal with the “warp.” Also, how is the first time I’ve ever heard of the hexatonic scale!? I love the 2nd/9th interval and try to incorporate it wherever I can.
I am listening to your interview with Michael Gumley right now and so glad to have found you. God bless your work and I look forward to learning from you. I play at church most weekends. I have been playing for over 40 years, but often feel retarded when it comes to memorizing progressions and/or scale patterns. Thank you for being here.
@@fretscience i downloaded the audiobook for the Fast and Slow thinking. I have been listening to Tom Quayle recently. I bought his Solo program for my iPhone. I am thrilled with your concepts. God bless.
@@BrianVallotton Nice! I'm going to do a video that talks about how to apply Thinking, Fast & Slow to guitar sometime relatively soon. I like Tom Quayle's "Solo" app quite a lot for drilling intervals...definitely a useful tool.
I like this concept, I’m a bit confused about when to apply the box vs rectangle pattern if I target a random note as the root what leads you to decide I’m going to use the box vs the rectangle? If I could understand that aspect I think this system would be great
It depends on whether you’re visualizing the minor or major pentatonic scale. If minor and the root is under your index finger, you’re playing the rectangle. If the root is under one of your other fingers (I say ring finger in the video) you’re playing the stack. These are reversed for the major pentatonic scale because of where the roots sit inside the rectangle and stack shapes.
Thanks, Chris! With this one, my goal was to jam as much useful information as I could into 10 minutes, without making it too complex…I’m afraid I may have squeezed in a little too much 🤣
I have been playing guitar by ear and not having any idea of what I am doing, and being extremely limited in improvisation because I have never even started to grasp all of those intimidating and complicated patters. With this method, of course there still a lot for me to work out, but it all makes perfect sense, and that's so rewarding
@enzocypriani5055 That’s great to hear! If you want to learn to improvise, be sure to join my mailing list at fretscience.com…big announcement coming soon 🎸🧪🤘
Very helpful, only wish I had sounds (some playing) so I can connect the head knowledge to the music. Knowing how all the notes sound in relation to the root seems super helpful while learning these. At least for a beginner with little ear training.
I agree, and I’ve started including more live demonstrations in my newer videos, but it’s also essential to do this with your own guitar. In addition to connecting shapes to sounds, it also ties in the physical movement. Glad you found it helpful! 🎸🧪🤘
That’s great to hear…definitely check out my other videos…several of them build on this in interesting ways, and you don’t need to master each piece before learning about the next one because they all work together. 🎸🧪🤘
i can’t figure out how you know where the stacks line up in relation to the rectangles. in form 5, the stacks line to the right most fret. in form 1, the stacks line up to the left most fret. in form 2, the bottom stack lines up to the right most fret, while the stack on top the rectangle lines up to the left most fret, and then adjusts one fret over on the B. it seems pretty random unless you put all the forms together
This is the effect of the “warp” between the G and B strings. The underlying pattern is shown early in the video, and you can see that the alternation is staggered to the left as you move to higher strings. After you shift the upper two strings to account for the odd interval between the G and B strings, you get the familiar pentatonic forms. Check out this video to understand the warp in more depth: Learn the best way to visualize chords and scales to easily move them across the fretboard ruclips.net/video/Qd8pyJ9A5W8/видео.html
Same here. Do we just familiarize which forms have the stacks to the right or to the left? I've watched the previous video about the "warp" but it gets kinda confusing in my mind when I have to think of putting all the forms together vertically before knowing which stacks lean to the right or to the left. Is there a better way of visualizing it? :)
Over time you’ll internalize the standard five pentatonic positions and this will be less of an issue, but I recommend watching the video on the warp again. If you have a rectangle, the stack above it is always aligned to its left, and the one below it is aligned to its right. It only seems different when the warp falls in between them, in which case everything “north” of the warp is shifted up one fret. This holds true for all geometric patterns on the fretboard, so it’s worth studying until it makes sense
hi there thanks a lot ! I didn't get the finger positioning part could someone re explain with other words how is that working? amazing video btw ! first time i'm actually grasping all this
Many guitar players play the two-note-per-string pentatonic shapes primarily using two fingers - the index (first) and ring (third). I used that in the video as a shorthand for talking about where your hand falls relative to the rectangle or stack that you're playing. You can use whatever fingering works for you, but you'll find that it's awkward to play the root in the minor pentatonic rectangle with your ring finger, or the root in the major pentatonic rectangle with your index finger. I hope that helps! 🎸🧪🤘
I use two patterns as well, but they’re grouped together different. The same mindset is involved,, though. Two patterns are all you need and you always know where the scale tones are because they always come out in the same place within the patterns, of which again there are only two. And then, minor 7th arpeggios; Same thing, just leave out the 4th.
Keith MASSIVE THANK YOU from accross the Atlantic + purchased sheet (the best 5$ i have spent) + thumbs up + subscribed I first bought the sheet as a thank you but then realise that this is absolute essential to assimilate the video as it fully complements. I always need paper in my hand to assimilate a concept - I will strongly recommend for everyone taking this concept further to get the sheets Been playing pentatonics for years but have little time to practice and was always getting minors and majors jumbled up - the biggest thing to hit me is that a rectangle can be made minor or major depending on root and same with stack - WoW and WoW - i can just play & combine anything to anything - its literally like LEGO and i love LEGO. still digesting this God Bless ....
This is a true reference for me - every time I look at it since my first discovery I pick something new. These few minutes of a You Tube video are compacted with knowledge- each sentence has a new message Respect - thank u 🙏🏽
This is such a revelation! Thanks for that! One question tho: Why do we use the 3rd finger on the root of a major pentatonic scale, instead of the 4th finger? Wouldn’t it be easier to use the 4th finger, since „the rectangle“ shape is always 4 frets apart?
Great question! You can use either your third or fourth finger (and even sometimes your middle finger), and your choice will likely change depending on the lick you're playing and how high up the neck you are. If you watch a lot of the greats, you may notice that they barely ever use their 4th finger for anything. 🎸🧪🤘
@vivekanandaroy8682 I'm glad it connected with you! Once you have this down, I highly recommend you check out the "Hidden in plain sight" video if you're at all interested in the modes: ruclips.net/video/jrukJYI8ecY/видео.html
How do you know whether to put down a rectangle or a stack? And how do you know where the next stack will be? Some are to the right of the rectangle, some are to the left. Do you have to know all the roots first?
You may need to watch it again to catch the details, but all of that is in the video. The choice of rectangle or stack depends on whether you are playing major or minor pentatonic and whether it’s your index finger or another finger that’s on the root. Your index finger is on the root for the major stack and minor rectangle. You’ll typically use your ring finger on the root for the minor stack and major rectangle (you can use any finger you want - this is just what is typical). The shapes stack vertically in a predictable pattern, as long as you take the “warp” into account. That aspect of the video could definitely be more clear.
@Overlordgoreskull There are a couple of ways to approach it. First, I highly recommend knowing where the roots are in both the rectangle and stack, and their relative position will always be either up two strings and two frets or down three strings and up three frets (except where affected by the warp). When you are playing the rectangle, the stack above it (on higher-pitched strings) is left-aligned with the rectangle. The stack below it is right-aligned. If you're playing the stack, the rectangle above is right-aligned and the rectangle below is left-aligned. You can see this alignment in the video at 1:45. You just have to watch out for the "warp" between the G and B strings, which shifts everything over by one fret. I hope that helps!
@@fretscience Thanks so much for this! I tried both methods, and the right and left-aligned rule (before warp) was the fastest for me, and I error checked it all over the fretboard in both major and minor and it worked. I purchased your PDFs a few days ago, thanks so much for putting this out there, I can finally work on improvisation without the overwhelming task of learning a million different scale patterns. Super grateful 🙏
Perpetual beginner here, but I’m going to buy your download and try this. And… wow, no matter how hard you try, there’s always someone waiting to take you down. Heh, guitarists and pilots. I can only imagine the dustup when two guitarist-pilots get together!
Watched this video a bunch of times and also read your blogpost. Awesome stuff! Do you have specific exercises that you can recommend for cementing this knowledge? Greetings from Switzerland👌🏼
Whenever you learn a lick, riff, or solo, practice identifying which elements are being used; make sure you always know where the root is, and try moving it to another part of the fretboard. If you improvise, always be conscious of where the root is relative to your fingers, and build outward from there. Maybe sure you practice moving between these shapes in all directions. Practice overlaying the modes (as shown in one of my other videos). It’s far better to identify where your knowledge is shaky and make up an exercise to strengthen it than it is to follow a list of someone else’s exercises. All that said, I should probably make a video about practicing and recommended exercises 🤣🎸🧪🤘
*NEW:* I'm currently rolling out *Improv 101,* a step-by-step improvisation course for guitarists of _all ability levels_ (there are _no_ prerequisites other than being able to physically play single-note lines on your guitar). You can get early access on Patreon patreon.com/fretscience or learn more at fretscience.com/2024/10/25/fret-science-improv-101/
Fret Science is a new and robust method for understanding the fretboard (learning all of your scales, arpeggios, and chords) with _dramatically_ less memorization. And then using that knowledge to improvise and play freely in _any_ style of music.
The core method for learning scales and chords is available _for free_ here on RUclips. If you're new to the channel, I invite you to check out the "Big Picture" video and recommended video viewing order here: ruclips.net/p/PLMuHlX9RiFi1L1RdC0CzYa1qxZllD5Ujz&si=cOp25GnXrL28rbLQ
If you want to go deeper or interact with me directly, come join me on Patreon patreon.com/fretscience where I'm sharing exclusive new lessons, breaking down classic solos, and rolling out a new improvisation method that will help guitarists of _all ability levels_ learn to improvise confidently over chord changes in any style.
You can also connect with me at fretscience.com or support my work with a donation at buymeacoffee.com/fretscience
🎸🧪🤘
I can't believe it! It's like finding the holy grail of guitar instructional videos.
This is the video I was hoping for when I clicked on the last 50,000 RUclips guitar videos!
I just bought the cheat sheet pack and now I'm ready to stop "searching" and start "working".
Thank you Keith!
Thanks for your kind words! I have a feeling you’ll like some of my other videos too 🤣🎸🧪🤘
I have watched this multiple times. I can’t tell you how valuable this is. A perfect explanation that makes sense and opens up endless possibilities. Extremely well presented in voice, visuals and pacing. As good as it gets. Thank you very much.
Much appreciated, Tom! I’m so glad you’re finding it helpful 🎸🧪🤘
EXACTLY!
I love this channel!
Holy crap…someone give this man a medal or some kind of award! This is gold!
Something you maybe want to point out in your videos that you kind of skip over is how your shifting up and down takes advantage of the fact that the top and bottom strings are both E strings, and will therefore always have the same “pattern” on them and that is how you can “fill in” the notes as you shift a pattern up or down. That took me a second to figure out.
Thanks! That’s definitely a good point for 6-string guitar. I’m always thinking of how the method applies to 4-, 5-, and 6-string bass and 7- and 8-string guitars, where that doesn’t work, but it’s definitely something most of us can use 🎸🧪🤘
@@fretscience Yes, this works great with the 4-string bass as there is no warp. There was a video floating around that did something like this, but with 3 shapes. It was most useful in moving up and down the neck, but not as helpul as this approach using 2 shapes and moving vertically, and as a deeper learning tool as used with the companion videos.
Can you please explain that concept to me? I can't visualize it
@@enzocypriani5055 if you imagine a 7 string guitar which means the lowest string would be a B, the box on 7 and 6 strings would be the same as a the box on 2nd and 1st strings.
I’ve been playing the guitar for 30 years, and this lesson has completely changed how I understand the geometry of the fretboard. Absolute breakthrough moment. The scale forms we memorize are “true”, but they’re derived from the underlying pattern!
It’s already changed how I approach improvisation. Instead of thinking, which form do I need to use?, I just find the first root that I want to center the melody around and use the stack+rectangle to move around it. It’s so simple, and it ends up sounding so much better.
This lesson was a massively important moment in my musical journey.
This is fantastic to hear, and it exactly mirrors how I felt when it clicked for me. Cheers! 🎸🧪🤘
Seriously, I cannot express in words how your method of teaching is infinitely better at showing us what is actually happening on the fretboard. Why do so many other "beginner" lessons fail to even explain that the notes of one string continue onto the next every 5 notes? That seems like the FIRST thing you'd want to teach! The visuals are a language that's universal. Please, please understand that, from the very bottom of this complete stranger's heart, I truly do thank you for sharing your knowledge in this manner. I know it takes work to do it!
Thanks so much, Fred! Comments like this definitely help keep me going as I’m slogging through 100+ animations for the next video 🤣
@@fretscience Wow!!!
Within the space of four videos, Fret Science has quickly won my ‘Favourite New Channel’ accolade. What truly brilliant resources you’ve provided. I’ll certainly be going to buy the PDFs. Many thanks.
Thanks, Chris…your kind words are greatly appreciated! 🎸🧪🤘
This is so good. After 30 years of playing by ear in cover bands, I’m finally trying to actually learn the fretboard the way I should have years ago. This logical framework is brilliant, and so much better than rote memorization. The animations are excellent. I purchased every PDF you offer - keep this great stuff coming!
Thank you! There’s more in the works…I’m doing this alongside a non-music full time job, so it’s a bit slower than I’d like 🎸🧪🤘
Ditto, everything you said jjolson!
Huge lightbulb moment from this video Sir. Absolutely fantastic lesson, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. Best explanation ive heard to connect the dots with root notes rather than memorising large patterns and a great insight on how to play specific notes to make improvisation sound a lot more musical!.
That’s great to hear…glad it was helpful! 🎸🧪🤘
Brilliant! I've been studying guitar for a little over 2 years now and your approach to the shapes of the pentatonic scales is finally getting me over that hurdle of being able to visualize all of this information all over the fretboard while I'm playing. Thank you! It's just so good.
On top of that, you've given me a whole new way to travel horizontally ("the other diagonal") that I've not seen or heard mentioned anywhere else. I'm really looking forward to jamming with that pattern to find out all the goodies hidden therein.
Huge thank you for making this material available. You're on to something very powerful here. Please keep going and please keep sharing. You're helping to fill the world with beautiful music. A worthy endeavor indeed!
Thanks, Brett! I’m so glad this was helpful 🎸🧪🤘
Without hyperbole, this is probably one of the most helpful guitar videos I've ever watched. I've been playing since 1991, but have always been stuck in memorizing the five positions. Playing in E or A has always been easy, as I use those most often and have them memorized. But get outside of those two and I'm struggling to overlay the boxes in the new positions. This lesson, however, has absolutely broken it wide open. THANK YOU! And I have purchased your PDF bundle as a way of saying thanks,
Much appreciated, thanks! 🎸🧪🤘
This series might be the best one I have ever watched about scales / notes on the guitar. Extremely helpful, thank you!!!
Great to hear…cheers! 🎸🧪🤘
Finally. I knew this framework existed but lacked the experience to work it out myself. I’ve been searching for years without fully understanding what it is I’ve been looking for. Thank you.
Glad it helped! 🎸🧪🤘
Same with me. This is the explanation I needed.
That’s awesome to hear! 🎸🧪🤘
This is the most value lesson on YT to understand the pent. scales and their shape relation. No nonsense, no blahblah en show off. Great! Thank you so much Fret Science 🙂
So glad you liked it…thanks, David! 🎸🧪🤘
This channel is absolutely brilliant. Beautifully presented. A true gem.
Thanks for your kind words, Darren! 🎸🧪🤘
Thanks!
Much appreciated! 🎸🧪🤘
This is an absolute game changer!! I started playing with this yesterday and I’m having so many revelations of the fretboard. Finally!!
That’s great to hear! 🎸🧪🤘
this is literally the best explanation i have ever seen! i have been playing since 16. i am 46 now and just trying to make my way through note identification on the guitar and understand better. i have never been taught this way and i get it now from all of your guidance on your channel. thank you so much brother. i really appreciate you and your work
I’m glad you’re finding this material helpful…cheers! 🎸🧪🤘
Thank you so much. Your diagrams have really opened my eyes. Although I have learned many of these positions. I was not able to make the connection by understanding chord shapes up and down the fret board but was unable to make the connections as it relates to playing lead up and down the fret. Thank you for laying this out so clearly.
I'm so glad it helped, Harold! 🎸🧪🤘
Wow! What an eye opener. Here I was memorizing patterns with no understanding. Thanks for helping me see the light!
Glad it was helpful! 🎸🧪🤘
Same here. This makes sense of it all.
I cannot express how grateful I am for this video. This made it all click and within 30 minutes I could connect the entire neck of the guitar based on this structuring! Great videos!!😊
Thank you, Josh...I so glad it helped!
Innovattive attempt at increasiing the joy of sounding good, better, and best on the instrument. I have seen many and this one is definitely unique. Anything that simplifies a students conceptualisation on the dynamics of phrasing single notes into a cohesive musical moment up, down and across the neck is genius to me. The key is practice, practice, practice.
Thanks. Unique isn’t always better, but I’ve observed that this framework combined with my approach to modes, triads, CAGED, and 3nps does speed up the learning curve quite a lot on the path to improvising freely and musically.
Enlightning, mind blowing! It is so much easier to memorize and use scales. You just need to know the notes on the fretboard and you finally break out from those vertical shapes. Thank you!!!
Exactly, and in fact the only notes you need to be able to locate by name while you play are the roots! 🎸🧪🤘
Visualizing these shapes lets me move pentatonic ALL over the fretboard. Great lesson.🎉
Glad it was helpful! The same shapes are also useful for all sorts of arpeggios (lesson is currently only on Patreon), major scale modes (ruclips.net/video/jrukJYI8ecY/видео.html), and the harmonic and melodic minor scales (lesson on Patreon). It's a great way to unlock the entire fretboard 🎸🧪🤘
FINALLY! A RUclips video that actually helps understand and navigate the fretboard. The rectangle and stack with the locations of the root notes have unlocked the fretboard for me. Thank you!
Glad you liked it! My other videos (and my improvisation course) build extensively on this idea. My “big picture” video is a good place to go next 🎸🧪🤘
This is how I've viewed the fretboard for decades. I can't believe this isn't how it's always taught. People love to over complicate things.
I suspect most teachers pass on the knowledge in the same way they learned it, which is why, for example, the CAGED methodology hasn’t been significantly updated in 50 years. Cheers! 🎸🧪🤘
@Skippy you might want to check out the next video in the series. CAGED is great, but it’s not usually taught effectively…I’m trying to change that
It was easier for me to just play all the patterns over and over again all over the neck until it worked itself out. To a jam track, of course.
Search for books, you will find tremendous amounts of information...
Fantastic organizational logic! I've been playing 40+ years with a degree in music and jazz studies and I gleaned a ton out of this. Great work at a production level also. Thanks...
That’s awesome…thanks, Steven! 🎸🧪🤘
Excellent video! I memorized the 5 minor pentatonic boxes in a very “rote” way. The not-so-good news is, I use them the same way …always starting from the sixth string even if I don’t play a note. This is another cell block of the dreaded “scale jail.” This video might be the file in the cake…Subscribed!
Thanks, Tony...I'm glad it's giving you another way to think about things!
Watching your videos feels like diving into a scientific paper that cracks the secrets of the universe. I’m truly amazed by what I’ve learned, and your approach makes everything click and make sense to me. Thank you so much, Keith!
Much appreciated, thanks! 🎸🧪🤘
Subbed. Watched all of your videos. Made my purchase of your bundle to support your channel. As a 60-yr old Mechanical Engineer, I love your systematic approach to teaching music. Thank you.
Ok, this is positively brilliant. There are about a million videos out there on the "five positions," the "pentatonic equator," and on and on and on, and those are fine (or at least a lot of them are). But this is UNIQUE - you broken things down into a more fundamental level of structure and therefore have a "simpler model." Outstanding - thank you very much for this.
Glad it was helpful! 🎸🧪🤘
As a CS major myself, THANK YOU for sharing this with the world.
You are a true guitar savior. All geek guitarists UNITE HERE.
This channel's about to blow up big time!
Much appreciated, thanks! 🎸🧪🤘
I can't believe how good this video is, especially considering how new your channel is. Thank you !
Glad you enjoyed it! 🎸🧪🤘
Fantastic lesson. I’ve spent so much time on major scales and was looking for a good approach to pentatonic and this just knocked it out of the park. Thank you so much 💯👍🎸
🎸🧪🤘
So lucky to have found this channel. Things are making more sense. Thank you!
Thanks, Keith, it is refreshing to step back a few decades to almost start over again with my guitar practice, experience and knowledge. There is a wealth of information on RUclips, which I have found overwhelming at the very least. I do believe you have analysed your music and guitar skills over the years to offer us 'wannabes' new perspectives and quicker more efficient methods to reach our goals with our instruments, which is very refreshing. PS. I listened pretty intently to the Michael Gumley interview, all the best for a promising future. Thanks.
Thanks, Tony! 🎸🧪🤘
This video is not only clear and with great visuals, it helped me piece together a lot of the theory I had already learned. Had quite a few "ah-ha" moments and keep coming back to review/replay it as my skills/understanding improves. This is well narrated with little repetition to get the most out of your time. FANTASTIC work and a favorite of mine! THANK YOU!
Thanks so much, Francois…I’m thrilled you’re finding it useful!
My students are always asking me what channels I might recommend … your channel just moved to the top of my list. Great video.
That’s great to hear…having a good coach to answer questions and to suggest exercises to go along with the videos would be a dream combination for quick advancement. Thanks! 🎸🧪🤘
This is an absolutely fantastic video. Everything is properly and expertly explained, to the point where even _I_ started jamming out in minutes. Many thanks!
That’s great to hear! 🎸🧪🤘
This video has unlocked a few of the fretboard mysteries for me, what a great way you have, your presentation is clear and concise. Thank you.
Thank you for your kind words...I'm glad you found it helpful!
What Tremendously important lesson. It shows how invaluable music theory is.
This video was very amazing for piecing together my previous knowledge I can navigate my entire fretboard with relative ease now! Thank-you very much for sharing your knowledge!
Thank you! 🎸🧪🤘
I have to say that the production value of all of your videos is incredibly high. Im a beginner at soloing, but thanks to your it starts to sound really good more often. Cheers from Austria!
That’s awesome to hear…cheers! 🎸🧪🤘
The video that changed my 40-year guitar life. Absolutely original and fantastic. Keith is a genius. Now for the first time in 40 years, I'm gliding up, down, and across the fretboard. I even decided to memorize the fretboard (finally!) to take even more advantage of the stack and the rectangle (and of course as the result of Keith's advice). I've memorized 4 strings (it was easier than I thought) and just 2 to go.
Keith, thank you absolutely.
In the future, would you be able to tell us the rules of stacking the stacks and the rectangles laterally and vertically? I've figured out that the stacks are connected diagonally at the corner point, stacks and rectangles alternatve vertically, going up the fret one fret per pair. These are in your videos and cheat sheets.
Then there are more rules which have not yet been explained. I've figured out the rules for the stack and the rectangle connecting laterally (rectangle's and stack's top are aligned when rect connects to stack's left side, bottom aligned when connecting to stack's right side).
Then I got completely lost on how the rectangles (by themselves) connect laterally -- I eventually figured it out (there's a 2-fret overlap) but it would be terrific to hear the master himself explain these rules. This is so useful because now I see the shapes and I can see INSTANTLY where I can play.
Thank you in advance.
Thanks for your kind words! In the video and cheat sheet, I laid out the connections that I use most often. For other movements, I tend to jump from root to root. If you want to find other ways of moving around the lattice of rectangle and stacks, I’d recommend drawing out an “infinite fretboard” of 12-18 frets and ~10 strings. Ignore the “warp” and use the rules you know to fill in rectangles and stacks. Then look for relationships that you think might be useful and practice applying them on the real fretboard. It’s a little more work, but you’ll find the connections that work best for you. 🎸🧪🤘
@@fretscience Got it, Keith. I kinda did that, I think, and nearly had a stroke - but thankfully didn't. In the process, I found a couple of interesting'useful rules... I would love to be able to get around to writing it up one day for you and that could be a topic for another video for you down the line perhaps.
You can also send me a sketch if you find something useful that’s hard to put into words. I do enjoy visualizations 😅
Thank you very much for your insight. Had memorized the pentatonic scale for a long time, but now I see all the modes so clearly and my playing is just so much more melodic, harmonic and enjoyable. Well presented. Great work. Thanks again
I’m glad it helped! 🎸🧪🤘
This is INCREDIBLE. So glad I found this channel. I have been playing for 20+ years and more-or-less plateaued 10ish years ago. This feels like the next step to leveling up my chops. Can't wait to dig in more and practice this!
Welcome aboard! 🎸🧪🤘
I’m loving your tutorials. The fretboard just became a little less mysterious. Thanks.
Thank you, Chris…I’m glad they’re helping!
For me, a LOT less mysterious and beautiful in its consistent logic
Thank you so much. This material is amazing. You have opened up a whole new world for me 😀
Glad it helped! 🎸🧪🤘
Your graphs will really help with adding chord tones and “appropriate” bends to my pentatonic improvisation. Thank you for this impressive work! 10:28
You’re welcome, Daniel…I’m glad it was helpful! 🎸🧪🤘
Best guitar teacher I’ve ever seen. This is finally starting to make sense thank you
Glad it helped! 🎸🧪🤘
Thank you for putting this content out. I've always had hard time "connecting" patterns to the shapes of scales that could be easily memorized and your series is definitely a great investment to improve my skill!
Thanks Daniel…my hope is that it’s good mental scaffolding that gets you going quickly and provides better overall understanding.
Mind. Blown. My tele and my neighbors thank you!
Thanks, Nikolaj!
Truly brilliant. I am in awe of how insightful and useful this framework is
Much appreciated, thanks! 🎸🧪🤘
This is the single most valuable video on pentatonics I've ever seen. Revelation.
Just wait until you see how the “hidden in plain sight” video takes this and gives you all your major scale modes for free 😉🎸🧪🤘
This just absolutely blew my mind. Buying the cheat sheet.
Glad it helped, and thanks for your support! 🎸🧪🤘
You did it again! Incredible visuals and explanations. Just printed the PDF's and going straight to practice. Thank you!
Thanks for the kind words, Charles! 🎸🧪🤘
after watchin g hundreds of videos on guitar...finallly found the one that demystified it and blew mind mind on understandin g scale 🙏🙏🙏....thans a lot and God bless you for sharing this...ill buy your cheat sheets from gumroad soon
Glad it helped! 🎸🧪🤘
1:29 THE RECTANGLE AND THE STACK
1:37 PATTERN FOR INFINITE STRINGS TUNED IN FOURTHS
1:49 TONAL CENTERS FOR MAJOR AND MINOR PENTATONIC
2:27 THE FIVE PENTATONIC FORMS DIAGRAMS
🧿3:02 Examples for A minor
3:20 FORM 5 3:31
1st finger on 3rd string root 3:41 3rd finher on 1st string root
3:51 FORM 1 4:00
4:02 FORM 2 4:11
4:12 FORM 3 4:22
4:26 FORM 4 4:35
4:51 5:09 HOW TO MAKE IT MUSICAL :
1. Know scale degrees
5:10 MINOR IN MAJOR CONTEXT
2. Target chord tones
5:12 flat 3rds
5:25 5ths
5:31 flat 7th
5:37 MAJOR
5:39 3rds
5:44 5ths
3. Know where to bend 5:48
4. Add grease 6:39
Many thanks for this lesson 🙏🏻
Helps open up the fretboard in an easily understood way.
Thanks, Scott…glad it helped! 🎸🧪🤘
Just mind blowing! You did it again. This is great. Thank you very much!
Thanks, Jose! 🎸🧪🤘
I subscribed and bought the lesson materials. Incredibly useful content here that will help me in giving guitar lessons as well as my own mastery of the fretboard.
It’s extra gratifying to get this kind of feedback from an experienced teacher and player…thanks! 🎸🧪🤘
PS: please send your students to the channel. 😉 In all seriousness, it’ll help you focus with them on the more fun aspects of making music!
@@fretscience I DEFINITELY will!
OMG you guys are awesome I have been struggling for 20 years and I totally had that AHAH moment when I saw your videos on this! THANKS!
That’s awesome to hear! 🎸🧪🤘
This whole idea is so brilliant I can't find words to say it. I practiced modes until my fingers bled for a few years and didn't INTERNALIZE the positions solidly...a few watchings of this and I can confidently say that my pentatonic, modal, and major scale playing is 100% better...I can pay more fluently and musically than ever before...YOU JUST REMOVED MY BLIND SPOTS....I just wish you'd have taught me that when I was 16 and not 63..... :)
That's great to hear! It took me over 30 years to figure it out, so you're definitely not alone on this 😅
I have a couple of guitars tuned to perfect 4th. With no 3rds tuning, I can play triads with only 3 shapes vertically or horizontally. Makes it very easy to visualize an infinite number of frets or strings with the same 3 shapes. Simplifies everything! Thanks for posting.
4ths tuning makes it quite hard to play a lot of classic riffs, but it’s definitely a lot simpler conceptually!
🔥Best mnemonics and infographics on the topic I've ever seen! Thank you! 🙏
Your way of explaining totally clicks with me. Second video I've watched on your channel and again the simplicity to which to break things down to is just mind boggling. Outstanding work!
That’s great to hear, thanks! 🎸🧪🤘
This is a true game changer way to look at it. With the minor pentatonic you instantly have your 1 b3 5 and b7 all within the rectangle stack. And to have all those plus the 4th in the square shape. Amazing. Thank you for this 🙏
Glad it helped! 🎸🧪🤘
@@fretscience 🙏🙏🙏
Super helpful video! Mapping the fretboard with shapes makes so much sense, especially because I’m a bassist and don’t have to deal with the “warp.” Also, how is the first time I’ve ever heard of the hexatonic scale!? I love the 2nd/9th interval and try to incorporate it wherever I can.
Glad it was helpful! 🎸🧪🤘
I’m a novice guitarist, keyboard background - fretboard science is absolutely illuminating
@djhedflux That's great to hear...cheers! 🎸🧪🤘
I am listening to your interview with Michael Gumley right now and so glad to have found you. God bless your work and I look forward to learning from you. I play at church most weekends. I have been playing for over 40 years, but often feel retarded when it comes to memorizing progressions and/or scale patterns. Thank you for being here.
Thanks, Brian...glad to have you here! 🎸🧪🤘
@@fretscience i downloaded the audiobook for the Fast and Slow thinking. I have been listening to Tom Quayle recently. I bought his Solo program for my iPhone. I am thrilled with your concepts. God bless.
@@BrianVallotton Nice! I'm going to do a video that talks about how to apply Thinking, Fast & Slow to guitar sometime relatively soon. I like Tom Quayle's "Solo" app quite a lot for drilling intervals...definitely a useful tool.
@@fretscience Wonderful!!
@@fretscience looking forward to the Thinking, Fast & Slow to guitar video! thank you for sharing 🙏
Woow your videos ara incredible easy to understand but deep in content. Thanks a Lot, really, thanks.
Thank you, Osvaldo...your kind words are deeply appreciated!
I like this concept, I’m a bit confused about when to apply the box vs rectangle pattern if I target a random note as the root what leads you to decide I’m going to use the box vs the rectangle? If I could understand that aspect I think this system would be great
It depends on whether you’re visualizing the minor or major pentatonic scale. If minor and the root is under your index finger, you’re playing the rectangle. If the root is under one of your other fingers (I say ring finger in the video) you’re playing the stack. These are reversed for the major pentatonic scale because of where the roots sit inside the rectangle and stack shapes.
Have been trying this after reading it on the web site, but now there is a video! Thank you!
Thanks, Hristo…much appreciated!
Best video I’ve seen to teach movement and have saved it in case I need a refresher.
Thanks, Craig…glad it was helpful! 🎸🧪🤘
Love how you simply!
Thanks, Chris! With this one, my goal was to jam as much useful information as I could into 10 minutes, without making it too complex…I’m afraid I may have squeezed in a little too much 🤣
I have been playing guitar by ear and not having any idea of what I am doing, and being extremely limited in improvisation because I have never even started to grasp all of those intimidating and complicated patters. With this method, of course there still a lot for me to work out, but it all makes perfect sense, and that's so rewarding
@enzocypriani5055 That’s great to hear! If you want to learn to improvise, be sure to join my mailing list at fretscience.com…big announcement coming soon 🎸🧪🤘
I love guitar channels like this, this knowledge helps so much
Thank you! 🎸🧪❤️
Great graphics and explanation. Interesting way of presenting. I'm sure this channel will grow.
Thanks, George…definitely just warming up over here 🤣🎸🧪🤘
GREAT CHANNEL! I will be promoting this!
Much appreciated, Kelly! 🎸🧪🤘
Brilliant and useful and the only few videos I watch over and over to get it to stick. Takes a few weeks.
There’s definitely a lot packed into each of these videos 🤣
Very helpful, only wish I had sounds (some playing) so I can connect the head knowledge to the music. Knowing how all the notes sound in relation to the root seems super helpful while learning these. At least for a beginner with little ear training.
I agree, and I’ve started including more live demonstrations in my newer videos, but it’s also essential to do this with your own guitar. In addition to connecting shapes to sounds, it also ties in the physical movement. Glad you found it helpful! 🎸🧪🤘
Great! Very simple and very useful. Thanks a lot...
Glad it was helpful! 🎸🧪🤘
Iv been stuck in the intermediate level for years.
This is exactly what I need to proceed
Thanks for this
That’s great to hear…definitely check out my other videos…several of them build on this in interesting ways, and you don’t need to master each piece before learning about the next one because they all work together. 🎸🧪🤘
Simple. Clear. Perfect.
Thanks, Tom! 🎸🧪🤘
very useful simple explanation
Thank you!
i can’t figure out how you know where the stacks line up in relation to the rectangles. in form 5, the stacks line to the right most fret. in form 1, the stacks line up to the left most fret. in form 2, the bottom stack lines up to the right most fret, while the stack on top the rectangle lines up to the left most fret, and then adjusts one fret over on the B. it seems pretty random unless you put all the forms together
This is the effect of the “warp” between the G and B strings. The underlying pattern is shown early in the video, and you can see that the alternation is staggered to the left as you move to higher strings. After you shift the upper two strings to account for the odd interval between the G and B strings, you get the familiar pentatonic forms. Check out this video to understand the warp in more depth: Learn the best way to visualize chords and scales to easily move them across the fretboard
ruclips.net/video/Qd8pyJ9A5W8/видео.html
Same here. Do we just familiarize which forms have the stacks to the right or to the left? I've watched the previous video about the "warp" but it gets kinda confusing in my mind when I have to think of putting all the forms together vertically before knowing which stacks lean to the right or to the left. Is there a better way of visualizing it? :)
Over time you’ll internalize the standard five pentatonic positions and this will be less of an issue, but I recommend watching the video on the warp again. If you have a rectangle, the stack above it is always aligned to its left, and the one below it is aligned to its right. It only seems different when the warp falls in between them, in which case everything “north” of the warp is shifted up one fret. This holds true for all geometric patterns on the fretboard, so it’s worth studying until it makes sense
Ahh thank you so so much! This makes so much more sense!
This was my question too, thanks for answering
THIS IS ABSOLUTE GOLD, THANK YOU!!!
Thanks, Matt! 🎸🧪🤘
great concept, very visual! It would be even more useful if the ideas were illustrated by small phrases on the guitar.
Agreed. On this one, I ran into a self-imposed deadline…but I’ll definitely be incorporating audio examples in future videos.
hi there thanks a lot ! I didn't get the finger positioning part could someone re explain with other words how is that working? amazing video btw ! first time i'm actually grasping all this
Many guitar players play the two-note-per-string pentatonic shapes primarily using two fingers - the index (first) and ring (third). I used that in the video as a shorthand for talking about where your hand falls relative to the rectangle or stack that you're playing. You can use whatever fingering works for you, but you'll find that it's awkward to play the root in the minor pentatonic rectangle with your ring finger, or the root in the major pentatonic rectangle with your index finger. I hope that helps! 🎸🧪🤘
Thanks a lot ! Very clear i got it ! Thank you so much again for your videos ! i bought the pdf really worth it !
@@fretscience
@HBasch my pleasure…thanks for your support!
Thanks! This is great. It would also be interesting to see this same video in a all-fourths tuning context.
Just shift the top two strings in every diagram over to the left by one fret…easy peasy 🤣
I use two patterns as well, but they’re grouped together different. The same mindset is involved,, though. Two patterns are all you need and you always know where the scale tones are because they always come out in the same place within the patterns, of which again there are only two. And then, minor 7th arpeggios; Same thing, just leave out the 4th.
Keith
MASSIVE THANK YOU from accross the Atlantic + purchased sheet (the best 5$ i have spent) + thumbs up + subscribed
I first bought the sheet as a thank you but then realise that this is absolute essential to assimilate the video as it fully complements. I always need paper in my hand to assimilate a concept - I will strongly recommend for everyone taking this concept further to get the sheets
Been playing pentatonics for years but have little time to practice and was always getting minors and majors jumbled up - the biggest thing to hit me is that a rectangle can be made minor or major depending on root and same with stack - WoW and WoW - i can just play & combine anything to anything - its literally like LEGO and i love LEGO. still digesting this
God Bless ....
Thanks for your kind words, Nadeem! 🎸🧪🤘
This is a true reference for me - every time I look at it since my first discovery I pick something new.
These few minutes of a You Tube video are compacted with knowledge- each sentence has a new message
Respect - thank u 🙏🏽
Excellent material.
Thanks, Michael...much appreciated! 🎸🧪🤘
🎉 mind blown by ur work very well done 👍🤓
Thanks, George! 🎸🧪🤘
thanks for this. it's a musical way to see the fretboard.
Glad it was helpful! 🎸🧪🤘
This is such a revelation! Thanks for that!
One question tho:
Why do we use the 3rd finger on the root of a major pentatonic scale, instead of the 4th finger? Wouldn’t it be easier to use the 4th finger, since „the rectangle“ shape is always 4 frets apart?
Great question! You can use either your third or fourth finger (and even sometimes your middle finger), and your choice will likely change depending on the lick you're playing and how high up the neck you are. If you watch a lot of the greats, you may notice that they barely ever use their 4th finger for anything. 🎸🧪🤘
Amazing…. Simply loved the analysis and guidance ❤️❤️❤️Kudos
@vivekanandaroy8682 I'm glad it connected with you! Once you have this down, I highly recommend you check out the "Hidden in plain sight" video if you're at all interested in the modes: ruclips.net/video/jrukJYI8ecY/видео.html
How do you know whether to put down a rectangle or a stack? And how do you know where the next stack will be? Some are to the right of the rectangle, some are to the left. Do you have to know all the roots first?
You may need to watch it again to catch the details, but all of that is in the video. The choice of rectangle or stack depends on whether you are playing major or minor pentatonic and whether it’s your index finger or another finger that’s on the root. Your index finger is on the root for the major stack and minor rectangle. You’ll typically use your ring finger on the root for the minor stack and major rectangle (you can use any finger you want - this is just what is typical). The shapes stack vertically in a predictable pattern, as long as you take the “warp” into account. That aspect of the video could definitely be more clear.
@Overlordgoreskull There are a couple of ways to approach it. First, I highly recommend knowing where the roots are in both the rectangle and stack, and their relative position will always be either up two strings and two frets or down three strings and up three frets (except where affected by the warp).
When you are playing the rectangle, the stack above it (on higher-pitched strings) is left-aligned with the rectangle. The stack below it is right-aligned. If you're playing the stack, the rectangle above is right-aligned and the rectangle below is left-aligned. You can see this alignment in the video at 1:45. You just have to watch out for the "warp" between the G and B strings, which shifts everything over by one fret. I hope that helps!
@@fretscience Thanks so much for this! I tried both methods, and the right and left-aligned rule (before warp) was the fastest for me, and I error checked it all over the fretboard in both major and minor and it worked. I purchased your PDFs a few days ago, thanks so much for putting this out there, I can finally work on improvisation without the overwhelming task of learning a million different scale patterns. Super grateful 🙏
@overlordgoreskull Glad it was helpful, and thanks for supporting the channel! 🎸🧪🤘
Perpetual beginner here, but I’m going to buy your download and try this. And… wow, no matter how hard you try, there’s always someone waiting to take you down. Heh, guitarists and pilots. I can only imagine the dustup when two guitarist-pilots get together!
Thanks, Patrick! Reach out to me via fretscience.com and let me know how it goes. I’m more than happy to answer clarifying questions if you have them.
Watched this video a bunch of times and also read your blogpost. Awesome stuff!
Do you have specific exercises that you can recommend for cementing this knowledge?
Greetings from Switzerland👌🏼
Whenever you learn a lick, riff, or solo, practice identifying which elements are being used; make sure you always know where the root is, and try moving it to another part of the fretboard. If you improvise, always be conscious of where the root is relative to your fingers, and build outward from there. Maybe sure you practice moving between these shapes in all directions. Practice overlaying the modes (as shown in one of my other videos).
It’s far better to identify where your knowledge is shaky and make up an exercise to strengthen it than it is to follow a list of someone else’s exercises.
All that said, I should probably make a video about practicing and recommended exercises 🤣🎸🧪🤘