Playing above the 7th Fret

[wguitar]

Hi,

How often do you play beyond the 7th fret ? Why?

THANKS!

[Tannin]

I stay at the pointy end of the instrument as much as possible because electric guitars have good, sometimes even great tone on the upper frets. Acoustics don't.

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by wguitar

Hi,

How often do you play beyond the 7th fret ? Why ?

THANKS!

I voted based on a acoustic capo'd on the 7th... maybe a jumbo or dread sounds ok..but my OM doesn't

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by wguitar

Hi,

How often do you play beyond the 7th fret ? Why ?

THANKS!

All the time. Other than simple cowboy chords accompanying singing why wouldn't one?

[Llewlyn]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

All the time. Other than simple cowboy chords accompanying singing why wouldn't one?

this

Ll.

[birdsong]

I play a lot up there especially on the first 3-4 strings (not so much the lowest bass strings). I like the timbre of notes up there. I don't much like the sound of an 11, way up high. But I like to use a 12 or even a 13 on a set of mediums and the slightly heavier gauge makes a real difference to me up high.

And I like to write alternative leads to songs "up there", so that differ from say the standard tune or standard position down at the first 4-5 frets.

For examples, on many of the many fiddle tunes I've learned to flatpick, I've also come up with a second version up at frets 7-12, mostly 7-10.

Many jazz tunes work well by using chord inversions up there. Much of Autumn Leaves, Misty, etc. sound great in that part of the world.

I play versions of Amazing Grace, Over the Rainbow, In My Life..... that go from fret 1 to 14. Again, I like the way the various chord inversions sound.

John

[Gordon Currie]

Frequently. Why? To quote Michael Hedges: "Because it's there."

Why would anyone want to lose 60% of their possible notes?

You can't play jazz or classical staying below the 7th fret.

What's next, a 12 key piano?

[Brent Hahn]

I don't play classical or what I'd call "real" jazz, but I do like to work out arrangements that are up pretty high. If you stay up there long enough it can start to sound normal. Then jump back down to the real normal, and it can seem oddly large.

[jmkratt]

Frequently enough that I also have a 12-fret setup dedicated to raised b tuning so I don’t need a capo. Sounds great.

[Rudy4]

I record frequently and like to do two acoustic guitars at different timbres. I play one open or capoed at the second or fifth and then use another capoed at the seventh or sometimes the ninth. That obviously puts my playing above the 7th fret.

Even un-capoed I often play chord structure or higher lead parts above the 7th fret.

[SingingSparrow]

I don't understand why one would limit oneself to any part of the fretboard, but to each their own. Rock on as you see fit

Originally Posted by Tannin

I stay at the pointy end of the instrument as much as possible because electric guitars have good, sometimes even great tone on the upper frets. Acoustics don't.

Hmm. I wonder what Maton's Bill May would have had to say about that.

[Tannin]

He would have disagreed, SingingSparrow - he was a jazz player. I never heard him play, but a lot of jazz players of that era, probably most, liked that plinkety-plink sound that archtops are noted for all over and other guitars do when you play them up the neck. Not a sound I ever cared for. If I want to play up the neck I'll play an electric, 'coz electrics are good at it.

[donlyn]

Playing above the 7th Fret


Why?



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[pvfederico]

It took me six or seven of my ten years playing to learn that the secret (for me) to finger picking melodies is to go up the neck. I'm self taught, so I had no one to tell me this simple principle.

I start picking a pattern (in an open chord progression) that fits the rhythm, then introduce and embellish the melody over some playing time (less each year). When the melody notes aren't easily found using a chord in the open position (or are not rich enough), I try with the same chord up the neck, and eventually find a shape that makes that part of the melody work -- and works with the other chords.

At my humble level, to not go up the neck would pose a serious limitation to my ability to make pleasing sounds. I pick up a lot of melody notes on the 8th and 9th frets. I rarely have to go higher that, but my version of Cielito Lindo, uses them all -- without capo.

[Rukulele]

I go beyond the seventh fret pretty much every song song I play. Because that’s just how the songs go. I really don’t understand the purpose of this question. Some songs go high, some songs don’t. If you’re playing chords then it’s up to you what voicing you want to use.