Fretography Zones

In the previous entry, you were introduced to the basic premise of Fretography; the mapping of the fretboard by means of systematically identifying significant landmarks. We looked at the three Axis positions which provide framework for a more detailed look at the overall note pattern.

Now we'll look at two of the five basic diatonic zones in the Fretography system. These zones are each named for the scale degree (numerical step of the scale) which is the lowest note in that zone. Because E is the 3rd scale degree in the key of C, and E is also the lowest note on the guitar, we begin with the III Zone (at the left of the diagram above). The next zone we will look at is the VII Zone, which is based on the note B, which is the 7th scale degree of the key of C.

There are three more zones, but these are the primary zones due to their symmetrical relationship to each other and the system as a whole.

Each of these two zones spans four fret spaces (including the open strings as a fret space). Because of this, it is possible to play all the notes in each zone without shifting the hand. Position the left hand so that there is a finger over each fretspace in the zone and play each note with the appropriate finger from the lowest to the highest, string by string.


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