Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

Hello,

I’m very interested in the concept of learning intervals rather than shapes but with triads, I don’t understand how thinking about the next shape can be avoided and was wondering if someone could help me.

In lesson FTR 01, I play a root position C major triad on strings 5 4 3, naming the intervals as Do Mi So. Next, I play first inversion while naming the intervals, Mi So Do. The first note is on the 7th fret, 5th string. To know the next note on the fourth string, I think of the shape. How can I avoid thinking like that?

From the lesson, it seems you learn the scale on the 5th and 2nd strings, so I’m not sure how to go from each inversion without either knowing all the notes on the fretboard or thinking about the shapes of the inversions.

Thank you.

I may be completely wrong but here's what I'm thinking. Using it as a tool to remember where the notes are at and how to play them, I don't see anything wrong with. But if you get to the point where you are always thinking specifically as a shape first then I can see it becoming more of a crutch.

I agree with Moises, there’s nothing wrong with memorizing those shapes as long as you understand the scale degrees comprising that shape. there’s nothing wrong with it. in fact, how could you do otherwise? I always think of triads in terms of scale degrees, for example, if moving from route inversion to first inversion on any of the string sets,, I will always think of Do to me, and I will realize that it is a major third distance, i.e. four frets, and a shape will come to mind for the fingerings as well. I don’t even look at the fingerboard when I’m doing this actually because I can’t, I am blind. But being cognizant of the distance, in terms of major, or minor third etc. facilitates this very well. In fact, I would recommend doing it with your eyes closed. There is a fellow named buddy Emmons, who is a premier pedal steel guitarist who would play without vision, and when I asked, he said he had a fear of losing his vision and not being able to play anymore so he would intentionally practice with eyes closed or blindfolded. Really does have some advantages.

I'm starting to work on triads as you are saying.
Free from shapes and cages.
My end goal is to build the triads and inversions on the fly based on sequence of Tritones and Fourths.

For doing this I'm going back practicing tritone intervals, major and minor, and fourths on two strings at a time.
I then exercise moving these intervals on the fretboard horizontally and vertically.
I hope this will help to move to the further step that is playing the triads out of the "boxes"

My Goal is to build triads following these schemas, once learned perfectly the above

For Major Triads
[] Major Tritone + Minor Tritone (Major Triad)
[] Minor Tritone + Perfect Fourth (Major 1st Inversion)
[] A Fourth + Major Tritone (Major 2ndInversion)

For Minor Triads
[] Minor Tritone + Major Tritone (Minor Triad)
[] Major Tritone + Perfect Fourth (Minor 1st Inversion)
[] A Fourth + Minor Tritone (Major 2nd Inversion)

I hope exercising this way, I will learn to play triads out of Boxes, Shapes and Cages.
This will also help to move further in building Full Chords (7th, 9th etc)

That’s quite a task you have set for yourself. You will certainly know your intervals this way. One thing that confused me at first was your use of the word tritone. I think you meant to say thirds either major or minor as a tritone is basically three whole tones or six semitones. But I quickly caught on to what you meant by the use of tritone as thirds. Just another case of confusing language. I still do make use of the shapes, though, kind of like a form of short hand for the fingers. I don’t think there’s any problem with it as long as you are thoroughly familiar with the intervals and scale degrees that go into those shapes. What can I say, I like patterns.