Been playing guitar for a while but you…

ELECTRONIC VERSION LAST UPDATED 15 JULY 2005.

KeyStrings LLC grants permission for this document to be freely copied and used but only under the following conditions:

1. Use for personal, non-commercial purposes.

2. Use for non-profit educational and research purposes.

3. Do not modify the document.

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KeyStrings LLC, PO Box 8068 Yakima WA USA 98908.

KeyStrings™ is the Key

to fingerboard knowledge!

The Key to KeyStrings™

The Key to knowledge is under the Strings!

Welcome to a whole new way

to see your guitar fingerboard!

w w w . k e y s t r i n g s . c o m

Published by KeyStrings LLC, PO Box 8068, Yakima WA USA 98908.

Unlock the Mystery with KeyStrings™ !

KeyStrings™ position markers stay with your guitar!

The Key to note knowledge stays under the Strings!

WELCOME!

In this book we share a discovery about the guitar fingerboard that unlocks the mystery of learning the notes. The discovery is a new way to see the fingerboard, and allows any player to recognize all the notes in just a few minutes time. This may seem like an impossible claim, but we will share everything you need to know to see for yourself in this book.

The reason it has always been hard to learn notes on guitar is: conventional fingerboard position markers were not designed to show notes. KeyStrings has the answer: Since the notes are under the strings, the only way to mark notes is to put the position markers under the strings! The KeyStrings breakthrough is to put just the right number of markers, with just the right shapes, PERMANENTLY on the fingerboard.

KeyStrings is so new that guitars with these position markers are not yet available in music stores. Until then, you can use the TRIAL VERSION of fingerboard stickers that are included in the back of this instruction booklet, see pages 26 and 27.

We recognize that few people really want fingerboard stickers on their guitar, so we emphasize that the stickers are only intended as a trial version. The trial version allows you to experience the amazing difference this new marking system makes by trying it out on your own guitar.

KeyStrings works for players of all abilities. Once your guitar is marked the new way, you won’t ever want to go back to playing in the dark!

Contents… page

KEYSTRINGS WORKS 4

KEYSTRINGS TEACHING METHOD 5

SCALE PATTERNS 8

MOVABLE CHORDS 14

OPEN CHORD REVIEW 20 (recommended for beginners)

BACKGROUND TO KEYSTRINGS 23

STICKER LABELS 26

LABEL INSTRUCTIONS 27-28

KEYSTRINGS™ WORKS

This simplified diagram shows the KeyStrings position markers at work. The note names are shown only for reference and would not be placed on the guitar.

Nut

The Key to KeyStrings™

KeyStrings works because…

þ KeyStrings position markers are aligned with each string, so they mark notes.

þ KeyStrings position markers are strategically placed at “sharp and flat” notes.

…like the black keys on a piano…

þ KeyStrings position markers have special shapes, so they are easy to recognize on the fingerboard.

To learn the notes, focus first on the left-hand square shaped marker. The musical alphabet begins with A, just to the right of this marker. Starting with A, just count up the alphabet on the unmarked fret spaces until you get to G. Then the pattern repeats again starting with A. It is helpful to see that the notes C and D are just to the left of the semi-circle markers resembling the letter shapes C and D. Also notice that the notes B, C and E, F naturally separate the sharps and flats into repeating groups of two and three. The group of two includes semi-circle shapes and the group of three includes the triangle, square, triangle shapes. Again, this pattern is the same as the repeating pattern of black and white keys on the piano. The system that works so well on the piano can now work for you on the guitar!

KeyStrings™ places position markers everywhere the sharp and flat notes are, throughout the entire fingerboard. This means that:

If you already understand the piano for locating notes, then you will instantly recognize all the notes on the fingerboard!

If you are just learning the notes, you can learn them all in just minutes. For example, pick your favorite note, such as G. G is always the note at any fret-space immediately to the left of any square-shaped position marker. You can play every single note G throughout the fingerboard with instant recognition! Compare this to the years of practice to accomplish the same feat using the old position markers.

With just minutes of memorization where the seven white key notes are, A through G, a player will be able to locate every note throughout the fingerboard. Amazing and simple at the same time.

You will want this reference system permanently on your guitar, just like piano players will never give up the black keys!

Look for KeyStrings™ to become the new standard in position markers for guitars, and all stringed instruments. It just makes too much sense!

TRIAL VERSION STICKER LABELS. Trial version sticker labels, simulating KeyStrings position markers, are included with this instruction book on page 26.

Read the HELPFUL HINTS (page 27) for placing the stickers on your guitar fingerboard. Please be sure to read the cautionary statements about putting sticker labels on your guitar, and if you choose to proceed, place the labels on your fingerboard. Now that your guitar is marked, let’s put this tool to work.

KEYSTRINGS TEACHING METHOD

If you are just beginning guitar, you may want to go to the OPEN CHORD REVIEW section first (page 20), or just continue on if you like.

The method used here was developed especially to take advantage of the power of KeyStrings. It is an abbreviated method designed to get you exploring and recognizing notes on the entire fingerboard very quickly.

OVERVIEW. The power in this abbreviated method is what KeyStrings allows you to do with movable chords and note patterns. The method uses just a few patterns and chords, but ones which you can use in a great variety of playing situations. KeyStrings unlocks the mystery by showing exactly where the notes are on the fingerboard. Then you can place your note pattern or bar chord (barre chord) right where you want it, right in key.

BACKGROUND. You will need to be familiar with a fingerboard diagram, so let’s cover that first.

To read the diagram, picture it lying flat on a table. The edge of the diagram that is “closest” to you (low pitch E string) is the TOP part of the fingerboard when playing. The above diagram can be used anywhere on the fingerboard. When referring to notes next to the nut (end of the fingerboard nearest the tuners), the following diagram will be used. This diagram shows the KeyStrings position markers in solid black.

GETTING STARTED. Let’s start with some single note playing patterns you can use to create different “soundscapes” on the guitar. These patterns show up in rock, blues, folk, and country styles of music.

A powerful concept for learning guitar is that once you learn a pattern, you can use it in any different key of music. The patterns and chords are movable. The hard part is knowing where the “keys” are—and that’s where KeyStrings™ will come in.

For right-handed players, refer to the picture of the left hand to learn your finger numbers. If you play left-handed, go to www.keystrings.com where there are exercises adapted for left-handed players.

Fingering numbers.

Once in position, each finger has its own territory, or fret-space, that it is responsible for. (Note: this may be hard at first, especially for your 3^rd and 4^th fingers, but they will get stronger the more you play.) Match up your four fingers with four fret-spaces wherever you want to play the pattern. The circles show where to press down on the strings to play each note.

Finger Territories for a Major Scale Pattern.

IMPORTANT CONCEPT: THE TONIC NOTE. The circles with the black stars in the center show the tonic notes of the pattern, or scale. The tonic is what the other notes are “anchored” on. The tonic is the foundation that the pattern / soundscape / scale “house” is built on. If you were playing a solo with other musicians in a group, the tonic would also be the letter name of the chord, or key, that the musicians are playing together. While the group plays on the E chord, you would play notes from an E scale pattern, anchoring on the tonic note E.

SCALE PATTERNS

A scale is a pattern of notes selected by a defined rule, resulting in a characteristic sound. There are many different scales and they can be played many ways on the guitar. We will focus on some of the most common and simple ones.

In the note patterns that follow, start out playing the patterns on the left side of the page, playing the notes one at a time. For the top example (No. 1) on each page, you may pick any fret-space you want to start on when playing the pattern. Up where the high notes are on the fingerboard is easier because your fingers won’t need to reach as far. The middle and bottom examples (Nos. 2 and 3) on each page focus on a specific tonic, but the position markers will guide you to the tonic note.

Play the notes of the pattern by starting on the low pitch E string. Press the indicated finger down on the fret-spaces marked with circles, and pluck the string with the pick in your right hand to play each note. Work your way through the pattern from left to right, and switching down to the next (higher pitch) string as you go. Then play the last (highest pitch) note again and work back down to the start. For example, the Major scale pattern starts out with Finger 2 on the E string going to Finger 4, then Finger 1 picks up on the next string down (A string).

When you are comfortable going up and down, try picking any note and sequence of notes from the pattern, one at a time, playing whatever sounds good to you. When you are comfortable with the patterns on the left side of the page, try the full range patterns on the right. These are the same scales but just continued through all the strings.

ANCHORING PATTERNS IN KEY. By learning three different patterns, you actually just learned at least (3x12=) 36 different scales. One for each note of the chromatic scale. Now all you need to know is where in the world those 12 notes are on the fingerboard. This is where KeyStrings™ comes in.

Let’s look at the Major scale pattern again. To play a C Major scale, position your left hand fingers so that the circle with a star inside (tonic) of the pattern is under your 2^nd finger, anchored on the note C on the guitar. Where is C? Look along the low pitch E string. C is always the fret-space immediately to the left of any semi-circle marker that is shaped like a C. Now play the pattern “anchored” on the tonic C, as shown in the diagram below. Remember, just anchor with your 2^nd finger on C and play the pattern. You don’t need to worry about the other position markers when you are just starting out—just focus on the tonic note markers to anchor your pattern. Have a friend “chord along” with a C chord, and you are soloing in the key of C!

You can also play the minor pentatonic scale (simple blues) with your friend playing chord accompaniment. If your friend plays an A chord, you anchor your A blues pattern on the note A. The note A is always the fret-space immediately to the right of any square-shaped position marker.

EXERCISE: Explore the Fingerboard.

1. C Major Scale. Anchor on C. Play only unmarked fret-spaces.

2. A minor Scale. Anchor on A and play the same notes as for C Major.

3. G Pentatonic Scale. Anchor on G and play any note that is ½ step higher (one fret-space to the right) of any marked note.

4. Simple E Blues Scale. Same as G Pentatonic but add the note D to the scale, anchor on E.

5. F# Pentatonic Scale. Anchor on F# and play only marked notes.

MOVABLE CHORDS

Let’s move on to some chords. We will concentrate on bar (or barre) chords, because KeyStrings™ shows you right where to play them in key. If you are just beginning, you may want to go to the section on OPEN CHORD REVIEW (page 20) before trying the bar chords.

These bar chords are commonly named by their “shape”. For example, we call the first chord an “E shape” bar chord. This name comes from the relative fingering it has when compared to the open form of the chord. To see this, refer to the open chords given on page 21. The E shape bar chord is in the same “shape” as the E open chord (middle of page 21), but in the bar chord form the index finger stops the strings which in the open form rang open to the nut. This makes the chord movable to any other key by changing its location along the fingerboard. The only places that the “E shape” chord actually plays an E chord in concert pitch are in the open position and at the octave, which is 12 frets higher. When anchored at the first fret space, the E shape chord is actually an F chord in concert pitch.

Using the fingerboard diagrams which follow, play the chord forms shown. Again, the top example (No. 1) on each page can be played anywhere you choose on the fingerboard. As before, the circle with the star is the “anchor” note, which for chords is referred to as the “root” of the chord. For scales it is called the tonic. The root letter name (from A to G) is also the letter name of the chord. There are two things for you to remember as you learn each chord. (1) Remember the fingering/shape of the chord. (2) Remember the string that has the root.

The simpler forms of the chords are on the left, more advanced forms on the right. It is always a good idea to review the basics of good technique for holding the guitar and playing when learning new chords. There are many resources available so be sure to take advantage of them.

EXERCISES

1. Play the following notes everywhere they occur on the entire fingerboard. Complete the exercise for each note before moving on to the next.

D Ab G A F# B C E Bb C# D# F.

2. Play these chord progressions. Bar chords are in bold.

a. Gm7 (2 strums, 4 beats) Am7 (2 strums, 4 beats) Am (strum for 8 beats)

Play an Am blues scale over the top of this progression with a friend.

Use Em7 shape for the m7 chords and Em shape (or open Am) for Am.

b. D C G D (repeat)

Bm E Bm E A (to beginning).

Use Am shape for Bm. Play D, C, G, E, and A as open chords (page 20).

c. F#M7 D F#M7 D (repeat)

Use Major 7 shape (Bonus Chord) for F#M7 and open D.

d. Em Am Bm Am Em

Use fingers 3,4 on Em and 2,3,4 on Am, open. Use Am shape for Bm.

e. Bb F Gm C (repeat)

A shape E shape (easy) Em shape (easy) A shape (easy)

OPEN CHORD REVIEW

Open chords are usually played near the nut and are composed by strumming open strings (ringing freely from nut to bridge), along with strings that are stopped by fingers. They have a nice open, ringing sound and are generally easier to play. The beginning guitar player will be off to a great start by learning several open chords. Open chords are the foundation that you can use to build up to the freedom and power of bar chords. They are also easier on your fingers, and will help you improve your hand strength when just starting out. In order to show fingering positions in the diagrams, each finger is given a number as shown, and the fingerboard diagram is set up like this:

Fingering numbers.

Lesson 1

Summary of Lesson (Chord Diagrams are given on following page):

1. Em7 (E minor chord with the m7^th tone of the scale added to the chord)

2. Em (E minor). Using fingers 2 and 3.

3. Transition from Em to E (E major chord) by adding finger 1.

4. From E, lift finger 3 to get E7 (E major chord with the m7^th added, no diagram)

5. Am (same fingering position as E, but shifted down one string).

6. A (A can also be played using fingers 1 and 2 only; finger 2 bars G,B strings).

Play these chord changes:

1. Em E E7 Em E E7 (repeat).

2. E Am E Am (repeat).

Chord Diagrams for Lesson 1 are on the following page.

Remember. The chord fingerings are not set in stone, so experiment with different fingerings that help you transition smoothly from one chord to the next.

Lesson 2

Summary

1. D

2. C, use fingers 1, 2, 3 (finger 3 on the A string, don’t strum the low pitch E string).

3. G, use fingers 2, 3 and 4 (4 is your pinky).

For practice (See chord diagrams below):

Play the following progression, but only use fingers 2 and 3…don’t play fingers 1 or 4 at all and concentrate on keeping fingers 2 and 3 locked in their relative positions while you cycle through the “chords”.

D C G C (repeat)

Play these progressions (play full chord diagrams below):

1. G C G C (repeat)

2. G C D C G (repeat)

3. G C G D (repeat)

4. D C D C D C G (repeat)

Chord Diagrams for Lesson 2

BACKGROUND – The challenge of playing guitar

This section gives added background about KeyStrings and why it provides so many benefits. The guitar is a challenging instrument, but also one with endless possibilities. The more skills you acquire, the more fun and easier it will be to play. Important skills include getting your fingers in shape, learning the language of music, learning about notes, rhythm, and reading standard and tablature notation. The goal of KeyStrings is to make it easy to learn the notes on the fingerboard, so you can advance more quickly, enjoy music, and have success in your goals as a guitar player at any level of play.

KeyStrings is a simple idea, but powerful. It is a breakthrough change in the way the fingerboard is marked which solves one of the most difficult aspects of playing guitar: learning the notes on the fingerboard. Learning the notes is also one of the most important skills you can have. KeyStrings takes this very difficult task, which could otherwise take years, and makes it EASY to learn in minutes!

PRACTICE is still the number one secret to success. No question, it will always be a lot of work (and a lot of fun on the way) to get where you want to be on the guitar. The value of this book is that it will save you from untold hours of memorizing notes on the fingerboard. To see why, take a look at the fingerboard below with the old standard dot position markers. It may look familiar, but when you try to find the notes, you will realize that this old system is not your friend!

Basic Fingerboard with Position Markers.

Each fret-space above has six different strings, and six different choices for notes to play, making over 120 notes to choose from. Let’s face it, the old position markers are little help with that many note choices. With KeyStrings, we questioned the system and came up with a better way—much better!

We knew that any worthwhile improvement had to help the beginning guitar player get off to a good start. Even more importantly, it had to provide a continuing benefit…for the life of your guitar; and for the life of your guitar playing career as a beginner on up, even for a professional musician. KeyStrings does just that.

It doesn’t have to be so difficult to learn and show the notes on the guitar! The nice thing is, we already have an ideal note reference system that has been around for hundreds of years: the black and white key pattern from the piano. KeyStrings takes this established note code and adapts it to the guitar fingerboard. It’s that simple.

THE ANSWER IS ON THE PIANO

On the piano, a new student can be taught to recognize all of the notes throughout the entire piano in minutes. Like this: Tell me your “A-B-C’s” from A through G. This is the musical alphabet, just seven note names. When you get to “G”, you start over again at A and repeat the pattern. The pitch of each note goes up from A to G, and the next A sounds just like the first A only higher (a note interval called an octave). On the piano, the seven notes A through G are all white keys…and A, B, C, D, E, F, and G are all the white keys you get. All other white keys are just octaves different from these seven.

You will also notice there are black keys on the piano, in alternating groups of two and three. The black keys are the “sharps and flats” which complete the ½ step scale of (7 white + 5 black) 12 notes. This 12 note chromatic scale makes up all the standard notes in Western type music. It’s easier to see it than to say it, so take a look at the diagram.

The Good Old Piano and Musical A-B-C’s

The stroke of genius on the piano was to put the black keys in groups of two and three. This gives piano players a very effective code for referencing all the notes. Take a good look at the piano keyboard and you can see how the code works. For example, find a group of two black keys. You will notice that every note “D” on the entire keyboard can be found as the white key in between the group of two black keys. Likewise, all the notes can be identified in reference to the black keys by where they fit in between the group of two and group of three. The reason this all works is that the group of two and group of three are set apart by two pairs of white keys that are right next to each other. These are the only white keys (and the only letter names) that are ½ step apart: B and C, and E and F. This code is optimal for your eyes to quickly scan and recognize individual notes.

To fully appreciate this black and white key system, imagine a piano that had no black keys—just white keys all separated by ½ step. It would look like this.

Piano Player’s Worst Nightmare?

This white key only piano would be just about impossible to play. It would simply be too difficult to recognize where the notes are. And yet, it is very similar to the note marking system that you get with today’s guitars! Just imagine some strings stretched left to right across the keyboard, and it will look like a classical guitar fingerboard. No piano player would settle for such a poor system.

If piano players can have black and white keys to help see the notes, why shouldn’t guitar players? With its five unique shapes, KeyStrings will give you the power to see any note on the fingerboard at a glance! We hope you enjoyed learning about KeyStrings. Feel free to drop us a line about how KeyStrings has helped your guitar playing and enjoyment of guitar.

Contact: KeyStrings, LLC

PO Box 8068

Yakima WA USA 98908

On the web at: www.keystrings.com

Note for Electronic Version:

Picture of sticker label sheet shown below, not to scale.

Actual labels available at KeyStrings.com.

Maple color shown, also available in rosewood.

HELPFUL HINTS FOR PLACING STICKER LABELS

1. Turn the label sheet so “START HERE WITH LABEL 1” is in the lower left corner.

2. Start with Label 1 for fret-space 1. Fret-space 1 is next to the nut (near the tuners).

	3. (LEFT PHOTO) Hold the label so you can read the label number. Attach the opposite end of the label to a flat piece of plastic or paper (driver’s license or business card). Feed the card under the strings to pull the label into place. 4. (RIGHT) Continue pulling the label through so the label edge nearest you goes just past the edge of the fingerboard (no overhang). Hold it in place with your index finger. CHECK THE FAR SIDE OF THE LABEL TO SEE IF IT IS TOO WIDE FOR YOUR GUITAR.

	5. IF THE LABEL EXTENDS PAST THE EDGE OF THE FINGERBOARD (LEFT PHOTO), PULL THE LABEL ALL THE WAY THROUGH AND OUT, AND TRIM WITH SCISSORS. Reinstall so there is no overhang. (LOWER LEFT PHOTO). THEN TRIM THE REST OF THE LABELS WHILE STILL IN THE SHEET (RIGHT).

	6. (LEFT) Correctly placed label, nestled between frets with no overhanging edges.	(ABOVE) If the first label overhangs the edge of the neck, you should trim the rest of the labels.

7. (BELOW) Continue the process until you have placed all the labels you have room for on your guitar (you may not need all of the labels). Then smooth down the edges of the labels all along the fingerboard.

8. (BELOW) Completed fingerboard.

REMOVING THE LABELS

These labels have a very light adhesive and are not meant to be re-applied once removed. If you do want to remove the labels, you can slide a plastic card, like a driver’s license, under the label to dislodge it. Don’t use anything hard or sharp which could scratch your fingerboard.