step 1 to soloing over chord changes: find root shapes

Jacob writes:

Hi Barrett,

I was running through Fretboard Workbook as a review now that I'm on Chord Tone Soloing and I was wondering, with the 5 root shapes aspect, should I have simply learned the 5 shapes themselves or learned them to the point where I could play them at ears glance. As in, if someone said, play the root shapes in F sharp, I'd be able to play them in it immediately with any of the 5 patterns? Or is that a too advanced requirement for the first book of a series? Thanks again Barrett!

Hi Jacob,
Thanks for getting these books and working with them. Sounds like you are working pretty hard! It'll pay off.

In order to best apply the concepts in Chord Tone Soloing, yes, it is a great idea to know your fretboard patterns as deeply as possible. Finding root shapes for the chords in the closest available position will allow you to solo melodically without jumping up and down the neck, so there's less chance of getting lost.

Say for example you are soloing, with your hand at the 5th fret, over these chords:

|A C#7| F#7 | Bm F#7| Bm |

Nearby shapes are:
A pattern 4

-5-
---
---
-7-
---
-5-


C#7 pattern 2
---
---
-6-
--
-4-
---


F#7 pattern 5
--
-7-
---
-4
---
---

Bm pattern 3

-7-
---
-3-
--
---
-7-

That progression is the first four measures of "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out," by the way. It is a slow 8-bar blues. Here are the remaining four bars.

D D#dim7 |A F#7 |B7 | E7 |

Barrett