ripock
Well-known member
You thought this was going to be one of those invasive personal polls, but it isn't.
My question is where are your fingers’ natural abode? I ask because I’ve been going through some changes lately and have been wondering about other people.
Over time I have been drifting up the fret board. Nowadays when I grab the ukulele my fingers naturally just go to that area between the 7th and 11th frets.
Part of why I do it is my preferred key, E. This area is bracketed by a root note and a dominant note, so it is good for me. Also this area has three pentatonic shapes (six, if I’m playing linear).
Part of why I do it is comfort. The 7th fret is right in the middle. Any lower and I have to stretch my arm a bit and any lower things start getting cramped.
I think I also like this 7 through 11 area because it gives me places to go. If I play down there in the first three frets (like most of us are taught) musically my back is against the wall. The nut blocks any progress toward lower pitches. Whereas the middle of the fret board allows movement in either direction.
The biggest challenge I have is the formation of chords. I am not exactly clueless; I do know the shapes for the essential chord qualities like the triads, dominants, add, and sus, but it takes me a moment or two to remember where the roots of those shapes are and where the corresponding notes are. And when you’re playing, you don’t really have the opportunity to call a time-out; you need to go before the next click of the metronome peals. That’s my burden and I’m working on it. Of course, it only applies when I’m improvising. When I have a plan like, for example, playing a Blues progression in Db...then, before I start, I can ratiocinate and locate my Dbs, Gbs, and Abs and plan which shapes to use.
My question is where are your fingers’ natural abode? I ask because I’ve been going through some changes lately and have been wondering about other people.
Over time I have been drifting up the fret board. Nowadays when I grab the ukulele my fingers naturally just go to that area between the 7th and 11th frets.
Part of why I do it is my preferred key, E. This area is bracketed by a root note and a dominant note, so it is good for me. Also this area has three pentatonic shapes (six, if I’m playing linear).
Part of why I do it is comfort. The 7th fret is right in the middle. Any lower and I have to stretch my arm a bit and any lower things start getting cramped.
I think I also like this 7 through 11 area because it gives me places to go. If I play down there in the first three frets (like most of us are taught) musically my back is against the wall. The nut blocks any progress toward lower pitches. Whereas the middle of the fret board allows movement in either direction.
The biggest challenge I have is the formation of chords. I am not exactly clueless; I do know the shapes for the essential chord qualities like the triads, dominants, add, and sus, but it takes me a moment or two to remember where the roots of those shapes are and where the corresponding notes are. And when you’re playing, you don’t really have the opportunity to call a time-out; you need to go before the next click of the metronome peals. That’s my burden and I’m working on it. Of course, it only applies when I’m improvising. When I have a plan like, for example, playing a Blues progression in Db...then, before I start, I can ratiocinate and locate my Dbs, Gbs, and Abs and plan which shapes to use.
