Part 10: Connect the neck without losing the music · Lesson 093 / 117
Put an arpeggio inside the map
Use chord tones as destinations before adding scale notes.
Choose two adjacent C-major regions. In each, play C, E and G individually. Say root, third and fifth relative to C. These arpeggios are the chord skeleton inside the broader fretboard map.
Now play a short E–G–E phrase in one region and find the same pitches elsewhere. Keeping the exact pitches makes this a relocation, not a transposition. You may hear a different string colour, but the notes remain the same.
Only after that, add D as a connection in E–D–C. The scale note now has a specific job between chord-tone destinations. This is a more useful relationship between scales and CAGED than putting a dense scale diagram over every chord shape at once.
Limit the task to one chord. Changing chord, key, region and rhythm simultaneously would make it difficult to know which part needs practice.
Hear it
Relocate
Audio fileFour-beat count-in · 60 BPM · Warm sampled electric guitar. Listen once before playing along.
A concrete example
E4 can be B-string fret 5 or G-string fret 9. G4 can be B-string fret 8 or high E fret 3. Verify exact pitch rather than letter name alone.
Try it, slowly
- Play C–E–G in one region.
- Find E and G at another set of addresses and preserve the phrase.
- Add one connecting note and explain its role over C.
Check one idea
What is the difference between relocating and transposing this phrase?
Show the explanation
Relocating preserves its sounding pitches but changes addresses. Transposing changes pitches by a chosen interval while preserving musical relationships.
A good place to stop
You can distinguish a new location from a new key.
Return to the example after a short break. A clear explanation matters more than speed.