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'''{{loud|Knowing all the notes in the C major scale in open position isn't necessarily going to happen in a single lesson, and you shouldn't dwell on this information yet. The focus here should be on visualizing the scale and playing it using the references above in order to acquaint yourself with open position.'''}}
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'''Position ''' is a relatively simple concept - it refers to where your left hand is positioned on the neck, in terms of the fret number that your index finger will naturally fret. For example, in the tab below, your index finger would play the 2nd fret. This is 2nd position. So there are as many positions on a guitar as there are frets + , plus ''open '' position which is covered below.
--2--3--4--5--
2nd Pos.
''Note: The goal of this lesson is to <u>understand</u> the concept of '''position''', not to become a master of position-shifting. As a beginner, you will do most of your playing in open position and don't need to worry much about other positions just yet. Read through this lesson and try some of the tab, but once you understand it, move on to the next lesson.''
== PreReqs ==
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The easiest position for us to start in is <u>'''open position</u>'''. This is a bit different from all other positions because here our index finger is actually positioned to fret the first fret. However, because we are using open strings, it is called open position. The C major scale uses all the open strings and never requires playing any 4th fret notes, which means we don't need our pinky to do any work yet, which is good because it is naturally the weakest.
Each position contains a little more than 2 octaves of scale notes; however, depending on the position and scale, only one of those octaves may have continuous notes from the root note to its octave. If the scale has a root note on the 6th string, you will get 2 consecutive octaves - ''note that the low and high E strings have the same exact notes, but the high E string is 2 octaves above the low E string.''
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o|o|o|-|o|-|o|o|x|-|o|-|o|o|-|o|-|-|o|o|-|o|o|-|o|o|-|o|x|-|o|o|o|-|o|-| 0
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Very rarely will you ever be completely confined inside a group of 4 frets, where each finger aligns easily to juxtaposed frets. You'll often have to break such a fingering "box" to perform '''stretches'' such as below' where a finger reaches a higher or lower fret than usual:
--5--7--9--
E-5-7-9---------------------------
''Are we in 5th, 6th, or 7th position? '' Or are we switching as we change from the 6th to 5th and 3rd to 2nd strings? Trying to specify position ''strictly '' can get confusing. I don't like thinking in terms of position. ''I find most instruction overemphasizes the concept of position'' for beginners, feeding them examples where there are coincidentally no stretches, and the index finger is on the same fret for all strings. As your infant mind grasps to the concept of position, it becomes awkward to play and understand patterns that completely break the concept.
So my recommendation is to ''take the concept of position lightly''. I would call the above example 6th position on the basis that your index finger is ''mostly'' fretting the 6th fret. I find no persuasive reason to say anything further on the matter - it's clear to the player that it's not strictly 6th position, given the 6th and 2nd strings. Playing the -7-9-10- on the B string with your middle, ring, and pinky fingers will be difficult and awkward. There is no good reason not to shift positions one fret.
Thus, shifting positions makes sense when it alleviates fingering difficulties, but not to the point where it creates its own. As you grow as a player, you should be able to start breaking down both sets of issues; but until you are a virtuoso, don't be afraid or mystified by shifting position. It may seem to present its own difficulties at first, but ultimately it makes playing easier. And it definitely makes learning the fretboard easier.
Let's look at some examples of difficult fingerings and how positional shifts can help. '''Do not try to practice the tab below - as a beginner you will find it frustrating and it will not bring you any benefit yet.'''
E-----------------1-2-6-2-1------------------
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Position-shifting exercises are typically quite simple and tend to consecutive frets between left-hand fingers, making them good exercises to start developing good technique. It's a good idea to start developing technique, strengthening your finger muscles, and toughening up your finger tips on these less complicated, somewhat-mindless exercises before trying to get into more complex fingering patterns. Remember that ideal [[Basic_Technique#Left-Hand_Fretting|fretting technique ]] places our finger right behind the fret, so that the string sounds cleanly. When you shift positions, you should ''focus on cleanly fretting the first note after the position shift. Also, the shift should not be obviously noticeable.'' You shouldn't kill the note right before the shift early to make time for the shift - you just need to shift faster. Fast, accurate, subtle shifting in-time with that is aligned on the beat is your goal. A perfect shift should not be noticeable at all.
-1-2-2-3-3-4-4-5-5-6-6-7-7-8-8-9-9-10-10-11-11-12-12-13-13-14-14-15-15-16-16-17-
==Homework==
* Play through all the examples on this page, slowly, without worrying about keeping time yet. ** Familiarize yourself with the concept of position.** Concentrate on your fretting technique.** Get more and more comfortable making picking strokes.* Play the C scale in open position ascending and descending (descending has no tab example - I leave it to you to figure it out). Go slowly. You are going to make mistakes - that's ok. It will be difficult to pick the correct strings. This is more of a pre-cursor than a goal. The point is to develop understanding of how your fingers will eventually have to behave.* Try playing all 6 strings. * Familiarize yourself with reading tab and scale maps. * Practice the position shifting exercises on all strings with a metronome. Focus on getting it clean, then increasing speed. You may have to start painfully slow. If you get discouraged, take a break and come back to it. Speed will come in time, but speed without good technique will cause you to develop bad habits and accept sloppy playing that will prevent you from becoming a respectable musician.
==Q/A==
* [[Position-Shifting Exercises]]
{{crumbs|red|6top}}|Guitar Parts and Functions|Parts{{Beginner Lesson Crumbs|Holding the Guitar and Pick|Playing|Basic Technique|Technique|Tuning and Harmonics|Tuning|Music Theory Basics|Theory|Position|Position|1st String|1st String|1st and 2nd Strings - Intervals|Intervals|2nd and 3rd Strings|2nd/3rd Strings|4th, 5th, and 6th Strings|Other Strings|C Major in Open Position and Alternate Picking|Alt. Picking|C Major Chord|C Major|G Major Chord|G Major|F Major Chord|F Major|E Minor, D Minor, and A Minor Chords|Minor Chords|Music Theory - Diatonic Chord Progressions|Progressions6}}
[[Category:Guitar]]
[[Category:Beginner Lessons]]
[[Category:Open Position]]