On stringed instruments, it is possible to play scales up and down the fretboard on individual strings. However, it is much more convenient to keep your hand in one position on the fretboard and play the scale across several strings.
This is known as position playing, and usually stringed instruments are tuned so that any scale can be played in several scale positions along the fretboard using a span of only five to seven frets.
ChordWizard allows you to explore and practice two types of scale positions.
Full Positions
Full scale positions are those which include the locations of all notes in a scale that can be physically reached with the hand at a particular fret on the instrument. These locations are highlighted on the fretboard with overlay labels.
The number of frets spanned by a full scale position is the minimum required to achieve a continuous series of the notes in the scale, and this depends on the instrument's tuning.
With full scale positions, the lowest and highest pitched note included may be any of the notes of the scale, depending on the fret and the instrument's tuning, and they may cover more than one octave.
Because all notes accessible from a fret position are included, there is only one full scale position (or sometimes none) at each fret position.
Partial Positions
Partial positions are those which include the locations of only the notes a scale within a single octave, arranged in sequence from the root note to the root note one octave up. These locations are highlighted on the fretboard with overlay labels.
The number of frets spanned by a partial scale position is the minimum required to achieve a continuous series of the notes in the scale, and this depends on the instrument's tuning.
With partial scales positions, the lowest and highest note included are always the root note of the scale, and cover exactly one octave.
Because only the notes of a single octave are included, there may be more than one partial scale position at each fret position.
See Also
