Position playing
Playing within a fixed area of the fretboard defined by which fret the index finger covers, rather than moving along the neck.
Position playing is how guitarists organise scales and melodies: the CAGED and pentatonic shapes each occupy positions, and naming a position tells another player where on the neck to work. It encourages economy of motion and makes reading easier, because a passage can be planned so the hand does not jump. Its limitation is that it can make phrases sound boxed-in, so players deliberately cross positions to get smoother lines and wider intervallic movement.
Example: Playing a scale from the fifth fret without moving the hand out of that area is playing in fifth position.
See also
Related
- PageCAGED system
- PageScale degree
- PageFretboard
- PageAugmented chord
- PageBlue note
- PageBlues scale
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley