Unlocking the neck - put your ears on mainbeam

Recently, a road traffic incident meant that I had to attend a 'Speed Awareness' workshop. It was all about matching your speed to the road conditions. One of the techniques that they taught was 'keep your eyes on mainbeam'.

Keeping your eyes on mainbeam means not focusing on the car in front or the next 50 metres of road, but looking as far ahead as you can to anticipate the twists and turns of the road, and the actions of other vehicles. Then you can make sure you're in the right gear, at the right speed and in the right position on the road for the manoeuvre you want to make.

So what has this got to do with playing guitar?

Well, I've always struggled to be really fluid and smooth when soloing on guitar, and it feels like a bit like crunching the gears of a car, and wrestling with the steering wheel to avoid spinning out of control. I have compensated for this in two ways.

Firstly, I have written/learned solos by rote. This works fine when everything is going to plan but it only takes a relatively minor distraction to cause me to swerve or slam on the breaks, and then I can pretty easily lose my way.

Secondly, I have learned how to use a tried and trusted set of scales, boxes and licks with which I feel really comfortable. Again this works fine but can sound a little 'rote' at times, because that is exactly it is.

But following my Speed Awareness workshop, I started to think a little differently - how do I make sure I am in the right gear, at the right speed and in the right position on the road for the manoeuvre I want to make?

So I am working on two things:

Putting my ears on mainbeam - this means getting into the habit of focusing much more on the next chord, rather than just being so pleased and relieved that what I'm playing right now is sounding good. It's about thinking about the next curve in the road.

It is about being able to name the chord that's coming next and being able to visualise all it's positions on the neck in CAGED shapes, scales and boxes.

At the moment, I'm trying this with simple I-IV-V and i-iv-V7 progressions because they are so predictable.

Being in the right position on the road for the manoeuvre - after years in minor and major pentatonic boxes, I am using arpeggios to outline the chords and get ready shift to next set of chord tones. Once I get comfortable doing that, I then start to add some notes from scales or simply from adding 6ths, 9ths, b5ths or other notes to the chord shapes I can see.

Here's what I recommend you try,

1. Get a backing track with a simple chord progression - 3 or 4 chords maximum.

2. Write out a chord chart and practice playing chords along with the rhythm. This is so you know what is going to happen - it's like planning a route for a car journey.

3. Practice the arpeggio shapes for each of the chords in the progression in as many places on the neck as you can find them. TIP: Make the most of repeating two-string patterns so that you don't get lost.

4. Over you backing track, first play the chords, then play the simple arpeggios. Notice where the notes of arpeggios for different chords fall next to each other - these are often one fret moves that help you get to the next chord.

5. Do 10 - 15 minutes practice over your backing track 4 or 5 times a week for two weeks. Then move on to a different chord progression or song.

TIP: DO NOT TWIDDLE AND EMBELLISH WITH YOUR STANDARD LICKS. This will train your brain to rely on what you already know. This is like following the brakelights of the car in front. This is the habit you are trying to break.

PUT YOUR EARS ON MAINBEAM!!

Here are two charts to help you nail those arpeggios

Arpeggios in the key of G (1)

Arpeggios in the key of G (2)

A Blues Workout

So you've memorized minor pentatonic scales in 5 patterns and blue notes, you can shift it all to major and you know your major and dominant arpeggios. But you still find yourself in the box when it comes to that spotlight solo.

So here's an activity to get you using the whole neck to express yourself. 

1. Get a 12-bar blues backing track in A with a quick change in Bar 2.

2. Follow this structure:

Bar 1 - over the I chord play a I chord in A shape and/or a lick in major pentatonic pattern 1

Bar 2 - over the IV chord play a IV chord then a lick in minor pentatonic pattern 1

Bars 3 & 4 - over the I chord play a I chord in E shape then licks in major pentatonic pattern 2

Bars 5 & 6 - over the IV chord play a IV chord in G shape then licks in minor pentatonic pattern 2

Bar 7 & 8 - over the I chord play I chord in D shape then licks in major pentatonic pattern 3

Bar 9 - over the V chord play a V chord in A shape then a lick in minor pentatonic pattern 3

Bar 10 - over the IV chord play a IV chord in E shape then a lick in minor pentatonic pattern 4

Bar 11 - over the I chord play a I chord in C shape then a lick in minor pentatonic pattern 1

Bar 12 - over the V chord play a V chord in E shape then a lick in minor pentatonic pattern 5

3. Repeat in other keys.

Now this seems very mechanical and to begin with you may have practice licks in advance. That's fine. To begin with, having licks already worked out means you won't feel rushed.

And that is important because feeling rushed is what keeps us in a box when we don't know where to go next.

The first time around play chords and the second time round play licks.

After a few plays, that much sought after mental map of the neck will start to reveal itself.

Unlocking the neck - arpeggios #4

This exercise will take you through all the arpeggios in the key of G. 

Once you have mastered each if these exercises ascending up the neck, practice them descending.  When you are descending, you'll need to thing about the fingering to make the transitions smooth from one arpeggio down to the next.  Take your time on this as it is a great way to build some muscle memory in your fingers and this will help you fluency moving around the neck.

And for ease, here are the links to all the exercises.

Arpeggios #1 - key of C

Arpeggios #2 - key of E

Arpeggios #3 - key of A

And finally here is a 12-bar study

12-bar #1

12-bar #2