Improvisation III - "Stella by Starlight" Part 3
Once again, this month’s improvisation exercise is the same as last month’s except that the range within which one arpeggiates has been shifted to between the 1st and 5th frets inclusive. This range of the guitar can be tricky as it requires a bit more stretching. Nonetheless, it is a familiar range for most guitarists. Because of this, I find my habits are more well-worn here than elsewhere on the fretboard. This exercise helps me break those habits.
For new readers, the rules of this exercise are:
Arpeggiate the chords of a song in 8th notes within a five-fret range of the guitar.
Starting on the lowest available chord tone in that range (in this case, G, the third of an E half-diminished chord) and arpeggiate upward. Change directions only when the next chord tone falls outside of the five-fret range.
While the purpose of this exercise is to improvise according to the above rule, some may find it helpful to read through a reference exercise. You can find one chorus written out here and watch me perform it here.