GMG II Module 1 – The Unitar Copy
Welcome to the first step in this transformative journey- Single String Playing!
The first step of enhancing our control of fretboard mechanics begins with playing up and down a single string.
Where a guitarist tends to naturally gravitate only towards position playing, they may later experience a feeling of being “stuck in a box” (Haven’t we all experienced that?) Playing and exploring music horizontally is equally important: thereby exploring both dimensions.
Practicing scales and melodies on a single string is also a very solid, visual representation of the way they actually sound. This can directly contribute to the way we hear, feel, and express what we play. Just ask a trombone player!
In Eastern Asia music there are many different single-stringed musical instruments. They all appeared way back before the 6-string guitar was invented. For example, sitar phrasings naturally gravitate towards horizontal approaches to playing melodies, mimicking the sound of a human voice!
When East and West unite! ‘The sum is greater than the parts’
The full potential of your guitar expression lies in developing the freedom to navigate through any variety of musical situations. On the guitar fretboard this means combining, mixing, and matching both horizontal and vertical movements.
The two approaches blend together beautifully; they meet up, cross-fertilize, and become your faithful assistant, serving you in creating your musical flow.
Once again, I’m VERY excited for you and extremely pleased that you are here! It is my belief and wishes that your music and playing will flourish using the daily practice in these modules.
Fingering, number of frets, etc
On my guitar I have 22 frets; some guitars have less. If you have 21, play as if you had another fret; if you have less – as with some acoustic guitars – play all the way up the frets as far as you can and come back down.
Fingering: As you will notice in the videos for this exercise, I shift position every 3 notes, with my first finger moving to a new position.
At the end I play with 4 fingers and then come back, shifting positions with the 4th finger. This is one option that I would recommend practicing.
However, you can also start by practicing with one or 2 fingers; just make sure not to slide in and out of notes, in the interest of practicing the scales solidly.
Another thing that I believe will be a significant learning practice, is to slow the tempo and to speak – even better to sing – the names of the notes out loud as you are playing them.
As with anything of value, take your time and make this part of your daily routine. It may take some perseverance, but with practice, you will master the horizontal horizons of the guitar and a whole new game will open up for you.
About Key Signatures :
For the first exercise, I really want you to visualize the accidentals on each note.
Usually, music is written with key signatures. However, for the purposes of our first practice sessions, the following approach is really important to keep in mind.
Before being able to see the horizontal one-string positions, you’ll need to start out by thinking of the notes and their accidentals. As we progress through the module, we will come back to traditional key signatures later.
For a complete beneficial routine, remember to transfer these exercises to the rest of the strings.
Here’s an extra bonus for you:
- Choose a rather simple melody from any song and play it on one string.
- Now, play this melody on other strings.
- Then, play the same melody on other scales.
