DIATONIC SCALE LOCATION  ON SHORT NECKS



First, read these parts of our web site:

Music Theory  
          Intervals
         Chromatic Scales
         Diatonic Scales
        Keys
Fingering
          Relating keyboard notes, strings and frets

By this point, after reading the pages mentioned above, you should know two useful things:

(1) how to determine which seven of the twelve notes per octave your song will most likely use, (either by key signature or using the circle of fifths)

(2) the location of all twelve notes per octave fall on the neck of your instrument,.

You still  have two more things to do.

(1`) determine the fret and string positions for the seven notes per octave that you really need.  

(2) assign left hand fingers to those fret positions.

This web page deals with the first of those remaining items.

Example, short-necked instrument:

Instrument: Viola or Mandola
Key: D major

From previous web pages, you determine that the key of D major has two sharps, F# and C#, and begins on a D, like this:

           D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D

Let's take the easiest octave first as an example.

Start the scale on the open D string.  The fret locations you want are:

Fret position
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Note
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
Scale degree
I

II

III
IV

(V)
.
then continue on the A string as follows:

Fret position
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Note
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
G#
E
Scale degree
V

VI

VII
I



Here's the C string first.

Fret position
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Note
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
Scale degree


I

II

III
(IV)

And here is the G string fingering for the last half of the lower octave of the D major scale.

Fret position
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Note
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
Scale degree
IV

V

VI

VII
(I)

Thus far, we have not mentioned how to assign fingers to notes.  That comes next.

FINGERING DIATONIC SCALES ON SHORT NECK
 
Note Location and Fingering Patterns