6.TRAVEL THE SPACEWAYS
See how the roots in Fig.
5 appear on the fifth and
third strings? That’s because
we’ve shifted the entire
root template down one
link and added the missing link one octave
higher. This maps out all six A’s between
the open and twelfth positions and creates
a visual variation in our “Big Dipper,” but
all we’re really doing is starting the same template from a different reference point.
Fig. 6 bumps the template down another link
to reveal six G’s, and Figures 7 and 8 continue
the process with E’s and D’s respectively,
until we come full circle back to C.
Place the template anywhere on a 12-fret
grid to immediately locate all six locations
for any note, and then repeat it beginning
12 frets higher to cover the full range of
the guitar. Why use C, A, G, E, and D as
reference points? Glad you asked!
7.REDISCOVER YOUR ROOTS
Our “Big Dipper” also provides
a moveable template
of all root locations and connections
for the five basic
open-string, major chord
shapes—C, A, G, E, and D. (What’s that
spell?) These are determined and named
by their lowest possible fretboard positions,
and each shape utilizes a different
configuration of root notes, as confirmed
by the memory-refreshing chord grids
in Fig. 9. Always, and without exception,
you’ll find the roots of these chord shapes
located as follows:
“C” shape = roots on fifth and second
strings.
“A” shape = roots on fifth and third
strings.
“G” shape = roots on sixth, third, and
first strings.
“E” shape = roots on sixth, fourth, and
first strings.
“D” shape = roots on fourth and second
strings.
(Did I mention always and without exception?)
Line ’em all up on the grid, and…
8.CONNECT THE DOTS
Fig. 10 shows how the C,
A, G, E, and D shapes connect
to form five different
C-chord voicings between
the 1st and 13th frets.
This unifies the fretboard
and illustrates how each shape connects
via one or two root notes. Sing it with me
now: “The “C” shape’s connected to the
“A” shape, the “A” shape’s connected to
the “G” shape, the “G” shape’s connected
to the “E” shape, the “E” shape’s connected
to the “D” shape, the “D” shape’s
connected to the “C” shape,” and so on.
Now, look deeper and…
