by Mike Overly
If you were to learn any subject and you began with the exception to the rule, without even knowing there was a rule, do you think you would learn that subject very well? Of course not! So, let’s begin this lesson by stating a simple rule: all musical sounds on your guitar may be played by using a left-hand finger.
This rule is true in all cases, even if the sound is at the nut. Simply defined, the nut is a vertical strip of plastic or bone near the headstock, which raises the strings above the fretboard so that they can vibrate freely. To continue, even the sound of E on string 6, the thickest string on the guitar, may be played by placing your left-hand finger at the nut. In other words, using a left-hand finger to play a sound on your guitar is the rule, or, as I like to say, is the suggestion.
The reason I say suggestion is because "exception to the rule," which is the way most people say it, never made any sense to me. This is because exception to the rule leads to the next thought: rules are made to be broken! I could never understand why anyone would want to learn a rule just to break it. This is why I like to think of "rules" as simply suggestions. Suggestions are not bound by ridged, confining and limited thought, but rather, they can expand in an unbound, open and limitless manner. Said more simply, suggestions may be accepted or not. You take it or leave it.
Now, with all that said, I hope you will follow the left-hand fingering suggestion presented in this lesson, as it will greatly clarify, simplify and "speed-up" your technical skill… and that's always a good thing!
Okay, let's proceed. The reason why it's best to begin playing guitar by using a left-finger to play the nut, is that we only have to remember one technical idea, and that is: to make a musical sound on your guitar, use a left-hand finger. With this one simple beginning suggestion, you will be able to play all musical sounds on your guitar, no matter what string or fret that sound is on.
This is interesting. If you were asked to play the sound of B on fret 7 of string 6, you would use a left-hand finger without even being told to do so. This is because you realize that you cannot make a fretted sound without using a finger. In Latin, this concept is called a priori, which means: existing in the inner mind before it is actually experienced in the outer world. In other words, when you think fret, you think finger.
In the Tone Note® Music Method for guitar, the nut is called fret zero. Therefore, when you play a sound at fret zero you you automatically know to use a left-hand finger. It's a priori because when you think fret, you think finger. Alright, now that we understand the left-hand finger suggestion, let's move on and learn about the exception to this suggestion: open.
Open is when you make a sound on your guitar, but do not use a left-hand finger. The standard guitar only has six strings, therefore, there are only six sounds at the nut. In the Tone Note® Music Method for Guitar, this "no left-hand finger" technique is called hybrid open. This is because, simply stated, hybrid means: more than one. For example, a hybrid car runs on more than one fuel, electricity and gas. And since you can make a sound at the nut in two different ways: left-hand finger at fret zero, or no left-hand finger at the nut, the second way to make the sound at the nut is called hybrid open. What's important to remember about these two ways of making a sound at the nut is that when you use a left-hand finger you can play all sounds on the guitar. In contrast, when you don't use a left-hand finger, hybrid open, you can only play six sounds!
Here's something revealing. I've asked many guitar beginners, what is this symbol O? Surprisingly, the answer most often given is a circle! I find this fascinating because a symbol is something that represents something else and when a circle is used to symbolize a number, it is 0, as in fret zero. However, when a circle is used to symbolize a letter, it is O, as in open. Now, just for fun, read this telephone number: 555-1230. I'm curious. Did you read five-five-five-one-two-three and the number zero? Or did you read: five-five-five-one-two-three and the letter O? Most people read the number zero but say the letter O. Why is that? One of my younger students said it's because O represents “Operator” on the telephone key pad. Good answer, I replied. However, notice that zero ends with the letter O, and most people, instead of saying the complete word zero, have shortened it to just the letter O. I find calling a number a letter strange and confusing, and in fact, it is this confusion that often occurs with guitar tablature, TAB.
Simply defined, TAB consists of six horizontal lines symbolizing the six strings of the guitar, with numbers on those lines to indicate which fret number to place a left-hand finger. Many guitar players read, and therefore play, TAB incorrectly. This is because, just like the telephone number example above, they read fret number zero 0, but play it as hybrid open, the letter O. As Dr. Seuss would have told them: say what you read and play what you say.
I'll have more to say about TAB in future lessons, but for now, here’s a trick question. How many frets are there on a 24 fret guitar? Surprisingly, the answer is 25. Think about it this way: 24 frets + fret zero = 25. Amazing, there are 25 frets on a 24 fret guitar!
Here's a related question. How many sounds are there on a 24 fret guitar. Here's the math: 6 strings x 24 frets + 6 sounds at fret zero = 150 sounds. Said a different way: 6 strings X 25 frets = 150 sounds. Here's another quick question. How many of these sounds can be played by following the left-hand finger suggestion? The answer is all 150 of them. And one last question. How many of them can be played hybrid open? The answer is 6 only.
As you can see, the left-hand finger suggestion makes makes playing the guitar more efficient as all sounds are fingered the same. In contrast, the exception to the suggestion is limited to only six sounds at the nut. It should be noted however that both techniques are important, one is not better than the other, they’re just different. Each technique has its own unique benefits which we will explore in later lessons. Viva la Difference!
'Til next time, have some fun at the nut, no matter how you play it... I'll be listening!
Globally-renowned guitar and bass instructor, Mike Overly easily combines the worlds of deeply-rooted academic study with a well-textured performance resume. His pathbreaking 12 Tone Music Publishing products, including the newly released "Tone Note® Music Method for Guitar," provide valuable illuminating insights while simplifying the learning process.
Join Mike at www.12tonemusic.com to explore and expand your knowledge of these two iconic instruments through a variety of reviews and interviews, tips and tricks and free lessons of remarkable originality, all presented in a family-friendly forum. Plus, as an added bonus, you get to follow Mr. Pick as he introduces you to fun fretboard games, jokes, riddles, quotes and more. Be sure to read the 12 Tone Music Blog where Mike offers a behind-the-scenes look at the development of his unique approach to solving the problems of modern musical notation and traditional guitar and bass methods.
Mike Overly's unmatched perspective on fretboard education has something for everyone ~ from the amateur hobbyist to the serious professional player ~ as well as any music enthusiast who wants to come along for the ride.
If you were to learn any subject and you began with the exception to the rule, without even knowing there was a rule, do you think you would learn that subject very well? Of course not! So, let’s begin this lesson by stating a simple rule: all musical sounds on your guitar may be played by using a left-hand finger.
This rule is true in all cases, even if the sound is at the nut. Simply defined, the nut is a vertical strip of plastic or bone near the headstock, which raises the strings above the fretboard so that they can vibrate freely. To continue, even the sound of E on string 6, the thickest string on the guitar, may be played by placing your left-hand finger at the nut. In other words, using a left-hand finger to play a sound on your guitar is the rule, or, as I like to say, is the suggestion.
The reason I say suggestion is because "exception to the rule," which is the way most people say it, never made any sense to me. This is because exception to the rule leads to the next thought: rules are made to be broken! I could never understand why anyone would want to learn a rule just to break it. This is why I like to think of "rules" as simply suggestions. Suggestions are not bound by ridged, confining and limited thought, but rather, they can expand in an unbound, open and limitless manner. Said more simply, suggestions may be accepted or not. You take it or leave it.
Now, with all that said, I hope you will follow the left-hand fingering suggestion presented in this lesson, as it will greatly clarify, simplify and "speed-up" your technical skill… and that's always a good thing!
Okay, let's proceed. The reason why it's best to begin playing guitar by using a left-finger to play the nut, is that we only have to remember one technical idea, and that is: to make a musical sound on your guitar, use a left-hand finger. With this one simple beginning suggestion, you will be able to play all musical sounds on your guitar, no matter what string or fret that sound is on.
This is interesting. If you were asked to play the sound of B on fret 7 of string 6, you would use a left-hand finger without even being told to do so. This is because you realize that you cannot make a fretted sound without using a finger. In Latin, this concept is called a priori, which means: existing in the inner mind before it is actually experienced in the outer world. In other words, when you think fret, you think finger.
In the Tone Note® Music Method for guitar, the nut is called fret zero. Therefore, when you play a sound at fret zero you you automatically know to use a left-hand finger. It's a priori because when you think fret, you think finger. Alright, now that we understand the left-hand finger suggestion, let's move on and learn about the exception to this suggestion: open.
Open is when you make a sound on your guitar, but do not use a left-hand finger. The standard guitar only has six strings, therefore, there are only six sounds at the nut. In the Tone Note® Music Method for Guitar, this "no left-hand finger" technique is called hybrid open. This is because, simply stated, hybrid means: more than one. For example, a hybrid car runs on more than one fuel, electricity and gas. And since you can make a sound at the nut in two different ways: left-hand finger at fret zero, or no left-hand finger at the nut, the second way to make the sound at the nut is called hybrid open. What's important to remember about these two ways of making a sound at the nut is that when you use a left-hand finger you can play all sounds on the guitar. In contrast, when you don't use a left-hand finger, hybrid open, you can only play six sounds!
Here's something revealing. I've asked many guitar beginners, what is this symbol O? Surprisingly, the answer most often given is a circle! I find this fascinating because a symbol is something that represents something else and when a circle is used to symbolize a number, it is 0, as in fret zero. However, when a circle is used to symbolize a letter, it is O, as in open. Now, just for fun, read this telephone number: 555-1230. I'm curious. Did you read five-five-five-one-two-three and the number zero? Or did you read: five-five-five-one-two-three and the letter O? Most people read the number zero but say the letter O. Why is that? One of my younger students said it's because O represents “Operator” on the telephone key pad. Good answer, I replied. However, notice that zero ends with the letter O, and most people, instead of saying the complete word zero, have shortened it to just the letter O. I find calling a number a letter strange and confusing, and in fact, it is this confusion that often occurs with guitar tablature, TAB.
Simply defined, TAB consists of six horizontal lines symbolizing the six strings of the guitar, with numbers on those lines to indicate which fret number to place a left-hand finger. Many guitar players read, and therefore play, TAB incorrectly. This is because, just like the telephone number example above, they read fret number zero 0, but play it as hybrid open, the letter O. As Dr. Seuss would have told them: say what you read and play what you say.
I'll have more to say about TAB in future lessons, but for now, here’s a trick question. How many frets are there on a 24 fret guitar? Surprisingly, the answer is 25. Think about it this way: 24 frets + fret zero = 25. Amazing, there are 25 frets on a 24 fret guitar!
Here's a related question. How many sounds are there on a 24 fret guitar. Here's the math: 6 strings x 24 frets + 6 sounds at fret zero = 150 sounds. Said a different way: 6 strings X 25 frets = 150 sounds. Here's another quick question. How many of these sounds can be played by following the left-hand finger suggestion? The answer is all 150 of them. And one last question. How many of them can be played hybrid open? The answer is 6 only.
As you can see, the left-hand finger suggestion makes makes playing the guitar more efficient as all sounds are fingered the same. In contrast, the exception to the suggestion is limited to only six sounds at the nut. It should be noted however that both techniques are important, one is not better than the other, they’re just different. Each technique has its own unique benefits which we will explore in later lessons. Viva la Difference!
'Til next time, have some fun at the nut, no matter how you play it... I'll be listening!
Globally-renowned guitar and bass instructor, Mike Overly easily combines the worlds of deeply-rooted academic study with a well-textured performance resume. His pathbreaking 12 Tone Music Publishing products, including the newly released "Tone Note® Music Method for Guitar," provide valuable illuminating insights while simplifying the learning process.
Join Mike at www.12tonemusic.com to explore and expand your knowledge of these two iconic instruments through a variety of reviews and interviews, tips and tricks and free lessons of remarkable originality, all presented in a family-friendly forum. Plus, as an added bonus, you get to follow Mr. Pick as he introduces you to fun fretboard games, jokes, riddles, quotes and more. Be sure to read the 12 Tone Music Blog where Mike offers a behind-the-scenes look at the development of his unique approach to solving the problems of modern musical notation and traditional guitar and bass methods.
Mike Overly's unmatched perspective on fretboard education has something for everyone ~ from the amateur hobbyist to the serious professional player ~ as well as any music enthusiast who wants to come along for the ride.
