Fretboard Logic - Part 1

This is the first in a series of posts where I review a set of instructional books called Fretboard Logic.

Fretboard Logic (see Bill Edwards Publishing) is a three part system that teaches an in-depth understanding of the guitar fretboard in terms of the patterns of notes that it contains. These patterns differ from all other musical instruments because of the unique tuning system of the guitar.

I first saw Fretboard Logic advertised in Guitar Player magazine. The testimonials made it sound different from all the other instructional guitar books out there, suggesting that once I understood the guitar's fretboard, and the patterns of notes on it, I would be a much better guitarist. This struck a chord with me (pun intended) because I always hated being a hunt-and-peck guitarist but thought that I had to invest a lifetime of effort studying theory and memorizing modes to advance to the level where I wanted to be. And since guitar is my hobby and not my job, I don't have that kind of time to invest.

At the time of this writing I have just completed part 1 and am working through it again. The book suggests doing this in order to help it sink in, which I think is kind of cool. I mean, why rush it?

Part 1 introduces the series and then covers three main topics: the chord forms, the scale forms, and the lead patterns. There are five chord forms, five scale forms (whose patterns match the chord forms), and two lead patterns that also relate back to the chord forms (though not as neatly as the scale forms). All of this follows what is called the CAGED sequence. That is, the five chord forms follow the non-barred first position chords C, A, G, E, and D. Essentially, if you play one of the first position chords and then move up the fretboard and barre the next form at the same fret where the previous chord ended you are playing the same chord. The same basic concept applied to the scale patterns. The lead patterns are a little different since they cover more real-estate on the fretboard.

The more you practice the forms and patterns the more you start looking a little differently at the fretboard. So I guess the method is working. I downloaded some blues backing tracks (I'm going through a blues thing right now) and improvised over them during my practice sessions. At first I used only the scale patterns. They're very similar to what the pentatonic boxes are, but not exactly. I played songs in a number of different keys and used as much of the fretboard as I could (by using the different forms). As that got more comfortable I started focusing on only the notes in the lead patterns, which gave me some more options for moving from position to position while staying in key.

So far, I'm pretty happy with what I got out of my $43 investment, and I've only read the first part. In about a month of fairly regular practice using Fretboard Logic I honestly feel that I am improving as a guitarist. At the very least I am able to use more of the fretboard without any guesswork. So at this point I am leaning towards recommending this system. At least I recommend part 1.

Stay tuned for my thoughts as I work through part 2...