by Steve Herberman.

We all know how important fundamentals are. But are they mastered to the point that they can be called upon at any instant during performance? For instance when a guitarist comps, he/she must be able to put any note of their choosing on the top of their voicing quickly and accurately. Without knowing at least the common chord voicings in all of their inversions one’s comping may fall short of the mark. When soloing, having complete command of chord scales and arpeggios in a variety of positions is crucial. Getting serious about really knowing one’s fundamentals allows the musician to focus on the business at hand: music making.

I often ask students how well they know triads. The answer I typically receive is: “Sure I know those.” But can they be played quickly and accurately in all inversions on all adjacent string sets? Very seldom in my teaching experience. It’s an easy enough gap to fill along with possible other deficits in a player’s mastery of the fingerboard. So are you ready for the test?

I mentioned triads already. These are perhaps the most important of the fundamentals. Can you play adjacent string triads (major, minor, augmented, diminished) in tempo on the top 3 strings. Strings set 2-4, 3-6? I’d recommend that the tempo be somewhere near quarter note = 60 bpm for starters. Focus on major and minor first. Of course there are open triads that skip strings that should be investigated next.

Next play an F7 chord on the top 4 strings (strings 1,2,3,4) in 1st position. Then as quickly as possible play the next inversion in 3rd position, than 6th position and finally 9th position. Now repeat using dominant 7th inversions, major 7th, major 6th, minor 6th, and min. 7b5. Slide down one string set to strings 2,3,4,5 and play the min. 7th inversions. Now repeat using dominant 7th inversions, major 6th, minor 6th, major 7th, and min. 7b5. Finally play the inversions of all of these chord qualities on string sets 3,4,5 and 6th (the bottom 4). All 7th chords should have 4 different inversions for each string set.

Ready For Freddie? “Freddie Greene” voicings or big band rhythm guitar voicings are so important for a jazz guitarist to know thoroughly. Without getting into all of the reasons here, let’s see if you can play all of these 4 note inversions that omit the 5th string. In 1st position play an Fmaj7 on string sets 6, 4, 3 and 2. You should see a second inversion Am chord on string sets 2,3 and 4. Next play the other 3 inversions in 3rd position, 6th position, and 10th position. Most guitarists need to think in between each inversion. Work on them so they come automatically with little or no thought. Now on to major 7th, major 6th, minor 6th, minor 7th, dominant 7th and minor 7b5. It’s good to be aware that a min. 6, min.7 b5 and dominant 9th (with no root) all share the same chord shapes and notes. Example: Gm6 , Em7b5 and C9 with no root, all contain the notes G, Bb, D and E.

Scales in five positions of the guitar are next. Play an Ab major scale in 1st position. Then play Ab major in 3rd position, 5th position, 8th position, and 10th position. Let’s stick with 60 bpm on the metronome but the scale should be played in eighth notes without stopping from position to position. Next, lower the 3rd degree and play the Ab real melodic minor scale in these same positions. Then play Ab Dorian and Ab harmonic minor. The point is: can the scales be played accurately in each position without stopping? This will be necessary to freely improvise. All keys should be equally comfortable.

To really be familiar with all of the scales they need to practiced in intervals other than 2nds which were just played. For example can they be played in 4th’s or 5th? Can they be played in 6th’s harmonically (both notes sounding together)?

Of course there are many fundamentals I’ve omitted from the above exercises: Diminished scales and chords, whole tone scales and 7#5 chords, harmonized scales, arpeggios for all chord types etc. Suffice it to say, if I listed everything a guitarist should know in the way of fundamentals this would be a very long article! But this is a good start. I wanted to leave you with a very important thought: application is everything. If a player works on all of the above suggestions but uses them in the course of playing then they will be forgotten or at least will become cloudy over time. Luckily through teaching alone, the fundamentals stay sharp and in the forefront of my mind.

In April of 2008 I will conduct an online masterclass on this topic and play examples I’ve outlined here. The class will be archived so it can be downloaded anytime. Info is on my website at www.steveherberman.com or www.mikesmasterclasses.com. I hope I’ve been of some help to you and wish you the very best.