Want to expand your versatility on the guitar? Don't use your head use your neck!
We're going to use a "G" chord and a G major pentatonic to illustrate how we can use 5 basic chord shapes to move up and down the neck of the guitar.
These 5 basic chord shapes are the open forms (played at the end of the neck near the tuning pegs) of the "G" chord, the "E" chord, the "D" chord, the "C" chord, and the "A" chord. Of course, when we play the chord shapes in different positions, the chord name will no longer be "E", "D", "C", or "A". In fact, the chord will be a "G" chord every time we play it although we use the fingerings normally associated with the open "E", "D", "C", and "A" chords.
At the Beginning the "G" chord
We'll start with the basic open "G" chord. The chord form is:
ooo- open
|||||| 1st fret
|x|||| 2nd fret
x||||x 3rd fret
The pentatonics in this form of the chord are these:
E03 B03 G02 D02 A02 E03
Note that the third fret on the two "E" strings and the second fret on the "A" string follow the basic "G" chord form.
The following box demonstrates the tab above and shows the basic chord form. The "c" is a note in the chord form, the "r" is the root note of the chord, and the "x" are the extra notes that, when combined with the "c" and "r" notes, make up the pentatonic.
xxcccx open
|||||| 1st fret
|cxx|| 2nd fret
r|||xr 3rd fret
Second Stop on the Fretboard - the "E" chord
To move down the fretboard, we're going to use the barred form of the "G" chord. This is basically the open "E" chord; however, played at the third fret it gives us a "G" chord. The chord form is:
xxxxxx 3rd fret
|||x|| 4th fret
|xx||| 5th fret
Note how the third fret of the "c","r","x" pattern links these two chord forms, since they have notes in common.
The pentatonics in this form of the chord are these:
E35 B35 G24 D25 A25 E35
Following the same "c", "r", and "x" notation as above, here is the pentatonic pattern:
|xxx|| 2nd fret
c|||cr 3rd fret
|||c|| 4th fret
xcr||x 5th fret
Third Stop on the Fretboard - the "D" chord
We'll slide on down a couple of frets to the next position on the fretboard. We're now using a form similar to the open "D" chord.
xxx||| 5th fret
|||||| 6th fret
|||x|x 7th fret
||||x| 8th fret
The fifth fret notes link this chord form to the previous one.
The tab for the pentatonic of this form looks like:
E57 B58 G47 D57 A57 E57
Here's the "c","r","x" pattern:
|||x|| 4th fret
ccr|xx 5th fret
|||||| 6th fret
xx|c|c 7th fret
||||r| 8th fret
Fourth Stop on the Fretboard - the "C" chord
Continuing down the fretboard we're now using a chord form similar to the open "C" chord. It looks like this:
x||x|x 7th fret
||||x| 8th fret
||x||| 9th fret
|x|||| 10th fret
The linking notes between this chord form and the previous are the seventh and eight frets on the G, B, and E strings. We'll play the pentatonic for this form as follows:
E710 B810 G79 D-79 A710 E710
and the "crx" pattern is:
cxxc|c 7th fret
||||r| 8th fret
||cx|| 9th fret
xr||xx 10th fret
Last Stop on the Fretboard - the "A" chord
One more pass down the fretboard, where we'll play the open "A" form of this chord. The chord pattern is:
xx|||x 10th fret
|||||| 11th fret
||xxx| 12th fret
The 10th fret from the previous "crx" link with this current chord form. We'll play the pentatonic like so:
E1012 B1012 G912 D912 A1012 E1012
The "crx" form of this pentatonic pattern is:
||xx|| 9th fret
cr||xc 10th fret
|||||| 11th fret
xxcrcx 12th fret
All Done That Brings Us Back to "G"!
We're now at the 12th fret, so we've completed the octave! We can now start over again using the patterns and shapes we began with.
For instance, the next chord pattern will be the original open "G" pattern just played 12 frets further down the keyboard. The pattern is:
||xxx| 12th fret
|||||| 13th fret
|x|||| 14th fret
x||||x 15th fret
which is exactly what we began with except the "D", "G", and "B" strings are no longer open. We can use the same patterns we used originally, we'll just shift everything 12 frets down the fretboard.
Summary
So that's how you can move up and down the fretboard using 5 chord shapes the "G", the "E", the "D", the "C", and the "A". Remember, even though we may be using a "D" shape, it's still a "G" chord if we play it at the 7th and 8th frets!
Also, note how the "crx" patterns show you the linking notes between all each pattern and its neighbors.
I've used a "G" chord in this illustration however, it should be apparent that by shifting things up or down a fret, you can work your way around the fretboard no matter what chord you're following.
Joey Robichaux maintains the Free Sheet Music website at http://www.freesheetmusic.net
About the Author
Joey Robichaux maintains the Free Sheet Music site at http://www.freesheetmusic.net