5th Position

Since we're talking about branching away from C Major, let's also discuss moving away from open position. We've already touched on this with some of our barre chords, but we haven't tried to learn scales or some more intricate chord voicings.

Why Use Other Positions?

Extending the Guitar's Range

Open position has a nice +2 octave range (excluding harmonics); however, there's an additional octave and a half available as we move up the fretboard. On a 24 fret guitar, frets 5-24 contain notes on the high E string that are inaccessible in open position. That's 20 notes!

Alternate Chord Voicings

Different positions necessarily use different fingerings and thus voicings for the same chords. This can enhance voice leading or slightly change the flavor of each chord. Or it may simply make it easier to play, in-and-of-itself or in sequence with other chords.

   C   C   C
e--0---3---8-
b--1---5---5-
g--0---5---5-
d--2---5---5-
a--3---3---7-
e----------8-

Different Relationships with Open Strings

When we change positions, we get different intervals available for our fretted notes vs. the same string played open. This can make for some interesting hammer-on or pull-offs, as well as chord voicings. Some chord voicings are only possible using open strings outside of open position.

--0-h5-h7----0-h9-h12--

   C#m7
e--0-----
b--0-----
g--6-----
d--6-----
a--4-----
e--------

Making Runs/Arpeggios Easier

As discussed in a very early lesson, the guitar's octaves are laid out basically diagonally on the fretboard, making 2-3 position shifts for each octave allow us to simply repeat the same fingering pattern for multiple octaves. This can help make arpeggios or similar melodic or scale runs eaisier to visualize and execute.

Also, as we saw in the 1st string lesson, we can easily ascend or descend a scale in groups of three by shifting positions on a single string, rather than jump back and forth between pairs of strings.

Some runs are simply way eaiser to perform by using positional shifts. Consider this run that is a simple descending scale but adds 5th intervals above.

e-------20-------19-------17-------15-----
b-20\18----18\17----17\15----15\13----13--
  i  i  r  i  i  r  i  i  r  i  i  r  i

e-------20-------19-------17--------------
b-20-18----18-17----17-------------20-----
g----------------------19----19-17----17--
  p  m  p  m  i  r  i  r  i  r  i  p  i

Different Scale/Melody Fingerings

Sometimes changing positions makes you rethink how you look at a melody or scale and forces you to try new things. When the notes that you commonly hit with your index finger are now on your ring finger, your muscle memory will fail you. This makes for a great way to break out of a rut or develop new licks.

Natural Harmonics

Natural harmonics are fixed to certain places on the fretboard. You will have to change positions if you want to access them. The 2nd through 5th frets contain lots of harmonics. The 7th/19th fret and 12th fret harmonics can only be accessed at those locations.

Stretches and Compact Chords

The higher up the fretboard you go, the smaller the frets. This makes stretches eaiser. It can make certain chord shapes playable/eaisier. Conversely, chords that use compact finger groupings may be more difficult to play on smaller frets. Shifting position towards the nut can help ease their fingering.

C and G Major Scales in 5th Position

e-------------------------------------5--7--8--7--5------------------------------------------------
b----------------------------5--6--8-----------------8--6--5----------------------------------------
g----------------------5--7-----------------------------------7--5----------------------------------
d-------------5--7--9-----------------------------------------------9--7--5-------------------------
a----5--7--8-----------------------------------------------------------------8--7--5----------------
e-8-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------8--7--5--7--8-
  C Major

e--------------------------5--7--8-----------------------------------------------
b-----------------5--7--8-----------8--7--5--------------------------------------
g-----------5--7-----------------------------7--5--------------------------------
d--5--7--9-----------------------------------------9--7--5-----------------------
a-----------------------------------------------------------9--7--5--------------
e--------------------------------------------------------------------8--7--5-\3--
  G Major

C Major	G Major	\|x\|-\|x\|r\|-\| \|x\|x\|-\|x\|-\| \|r\|-\|x\|-\|-\| \|x\|-\|x\|-\|x\| \|x\|-\|x\|x\|-\| \|x\|-\|x\|r\|-\| 5	\|x\|-\|x\|x\|-\| \|x\|-\|x\|r\|-\| \|x\|-\|x\|-\|-\| \|r\|-\|x\|-\|x\| \|x\|-\|x\|-\|x\| \|x\|-\|x\|r\|-\| 5