Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

The most useful fact about the fingerboard that I have discovered to date is the way the Circle of fourths lays out on the neck in standard tuning. The number sequence 3, 6, 2, 5, 1, 4, is tattooed on my brain because it gives the scale degrees of any given key along a single fret from 6th string to 1st. Each higher string is a 4th above the current note and below is its 5th ( 5 1 4). So, for example, if I'm on the 6th string fretting the 3rd degree of the major scale, then 3 6 2 5 1 4 runs straight across the fingerboard. And it works backwards as well. Of course, when crossing from the 3rd to 2nd string everything moves up one fret but that's easily accounted for.
The whole upshot of this is that if I know what scale degree I am on, then using this fact I also know where every other scale degree is located nearby, both vertically and horizontally. I'm sure others here have discovered this as well, but man is it ever helpful. It has been especially useful when comping chords too, since it shows where all the roots are on any string. If I need a seven or five chord, or whatever, I know where those notes are and canbuild a chord from it.
So why am I posting this? I don't know, for discussion I guess. Does there always have to be a question?😁

Thank you for sharing this, what do you mean by this sequence 3, 6, 2, 5, 1, 4? are you saying the since the guitar is tune by fourth starting from the low E. This implies that whatever note you are on in the low E string, the fret directly under it is the fourth of that key, is that what you are referring to? if so, yea this is another super useful tool!

To elaborate further, if you fret string six at the fifth fret, then moving from low string to high string along the fifth fret you have Notes a D G C F B flat. Notice each note is the fourth of the previous note. And running backwards from string one to string six each subsequent note is the fifth degree of the prior note. Naturally going from Strings 3 to 2 you have to advance up a fret because of the tuning differential but anyway, if you were in the key of F then these notes are from 6 to 1 the three, six, two, five, one, 4° of the key of F major scale. So, if you know what scale degree you’re fretting in whatever key, then you automatically know what scale degrees are right around you in that area