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Such a treat to see you use all 7 positions on the etude. Certainly way beyond anything I have done, although now watching you I wish I had the discipline to have completed that exercise. I’m currently on volume 2b etudes and I find myself being thwarted by my lack of familiarity with the locations of the non-arpeggiated intervals and altered extensions on some of the positions (especially 2,3, and 6). Had I followed your example it would no doubt be easier for me.
I do think that playing, practicing and being facile in all 7 positions is a must to have fretboard mastery. Leaving out certain “stretchy” patterns is like trying to speak a language but limiting oneself to words that start with the letters from A to S and avoiding the letters T through Z. You can speak that way, but by limiting your vocabulary your expression is suppressed .
I’m going to try and play the etudes in 7 positions too. However, I would suggest that it is not necessary to be quite that exhaustive on each etude. Plus they get more jazzy and fun as the book moves along.
I’ll be looking for your future posts to see what other things I can try to improve my playing and technique. Great job!
That is an interesting way to look at the numbering of the tones when changing chords.
The reason it doesn’t really help me in the grand scheme of things is because whatever chord you change to it is crucial to know what position that note is in the new chord scale. By knowing if it is a 3rd or a b7 alters how you approach it or enclose it and adjustment can be made if you are in a dorian, ionian, locrian, etc… If you think of it relative to the chord you came from it loses its context and I not sure if I am playing a chord tone, an extension, or an avoid note.
That is an interesting way to look at the numbering of the tones when changing chords.
The reason it doesn’t really help me in the grand scheme of things is because whatever chord you change to it is crucial to know what position that note is in the new chord scale. By knowing if it is a 3rd or a b7 alters how you approach it or enclose it and adjustment can be made if you are in a dorian, ionian, locrian, etc… If you think of it relative to the chord you came from it loses its context and I not sure if I am playing a chord tone, an extension, or an avoid note.
Love your videos.
Your form looks too smooth to be just on the second module!
When I learned this portion of the course I was too inexperienced to use patterns 2, 3, 6 and 7 so I concentrated on the calisthenics with just the blues classic 1, 4, 5 both ascending and descending.
Now that I am more comfortable I practice this with all of the patterns and with ionian, locrian, supralocrian, and dorian. What you are doing so well that I wish I had done is speaking which interval note you are playing. Knowing the specific chord tone you are on is a real fundamental that pays dividends down the road.
I was referring to the etudes that come after the preparatory excercises. Sorry if that was ambiguous. I wanted to express that building a foundation in fingering and picking on something as simple the beginning exercises pays dividends down the road.
For the etudes, which will be coming soon, I was sharing that I didn’t have the initial ability to always hear the rhythms on my own. For this, I found the mp3s that are included invaluable.
After I have the rhythm and the melody down for each etude I then played them against the appropriate backing track (also an mp3) or using the band in the box (BIAB) file (like playing with a jazz trio — really fun). BIAB lets you pick the accompanying instruments, the key, and the tempo very precisely. In my experience the BIAB was a worthwhile investment.
Hope that clarifies things.
I can give you my perspective having used the books and system for over a year. I begin by learning the preparatory exercises (like on pages 10-12) and eventually the etudes using the intervallic charts. For the etudes, in the beginning I needed to listen to the mp3 versions furnished in the download section in order to learn how to recognize certain rhythm patterns. After some time these became second nature.
After your fingers memorize the exercise or etude and you no longer need to refer to the intervallic chart (motor memory), the next step for me was to analyze my fingering to see where I could bar across frets and generally play with as little left hand motion as possible, anchoring my index finger to the first fret of the particular pattern I am playing in. After that, I focused on my right hand to make sure that I was alternately picking whenever possible.
I was only then that the patterns became ingrained enough that I could immediately tell if I was playing a 3 or b7 or whatever without referring to the intervallic chart. I think after it is memorized the greatest value lies in understanding which arpeggiated tone, or extension you are playing since the ultimate goal is knowing where that note’s relationship is to the scale of the moment.
Hope that was useful.
