Bill Swick's One-A-Week Guitar Position Studies: Fifth Position: 40 Songs and 35 One-A-Week Studies

Beginners learn the notes on the guitar in what is known as open or firstposition. The position gets its number based on which fret the first finger plays on thefirst string. First position means the first finger will cover all of the notes in the first fret.Second position means the first finger covers all of the notes in the second fret, and soon. Learning various positions extends the playing range of the guitar and helps students learn the full neck as opposed to just the first four frets which is where most students begin.In addition, each position is associated with certain keys. For example, one of the keysassociated with second position is the key of D major with two sharps. This key is challenging to play in first position, but much simpler to play in second position. The third position is easier to play in three flats or the key of Eb major. This system goes all the way up the neck until it begins to repeat at the twelfth fret.The open or first position is associated with the key of C major. The highestnote in the C scale in first position is G in the third fret of the first string. What about therest of the scale? To extend the playing range of the guitar, it is logical to learn the fifth position next as this position also works well in the key of C major and this is where one will find the remainder of the notes in the C scale that began in the first position.The fifth position also works well with other keys. The 36 One-A-Week Studies explore a variety of keys that are playable in the fifth position.Overall, the fifth position is almost halfway between first position and the eleventh fret.Positions begin to repeat at the twelfth fret. The highest pitch in fifth position is high C on the first string, eighth fret.The highest pitch in first position is the G# on the first string, fourth fret. The fifth positionthen picks up on the first string, fifth fret so the transition from first position to fifth position is almost seamless. Read more