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3 Minute Introduction

Five Degree Calculation Line

String Numbering Order

Cipher Demonstrations

Pattern of Unisons and Octaves

Fretboard Note Spellers

Musical number formula translation tables

Free PDFs -- Grids, Spellers, Cipher Formula

Using the Cipher — Ukulele Demonstrations

 

 

 

 

Working with the Cipher System is a matter of transferring the Cipher number-formula to the fretboard using the Five Degree Calculation Line and resulting counting-grids. Ultimately, this is done with reference to the larger set of landmarks provided by the fretboard’s built-in (but invisible) Pattern of Unisons and Octaves. These initial small-area demonstration examples are meant to get our feet wet and will be shown again later in relation to that larger (and proper) context.

Demonstration examples — preliminaries

To demonstrate how the Five Degree Calculation Line and the Cipher System as a whole are used we’ll begin with small examples and gradually build until the big picture is seen and understood. That is, the big picture of how the Cipher System works, and consequently the big picture of how the fretboard works.

Fretboard area used in the first demonstration

Only strings one, two, and three, are used in the first demonstration. Other than that, the area is nonspecific and movable. The patterns could be aligned/rooted anywhere on the neck, i.e. on  any fret-line, any tonic/root (providing there’s enough room above and below the calculation line for what you want to see or do).

Things to note:

  • Only the first three strings will be used for our first examples
  • Consequently, only three places (points) of the Five Degree Calculation Line are needed
  • Examples are limited to the bounds of one octave (12 half-steps or semitones of pitch)
  • For reference purposes, an eleven fret area of the fretboard has been gridded with counting numbers — above and below the calculation line. However, individual examples (upcoming) do not exceed four or five frets per example.

 

 

 

The musical materials (formula) included in this first demonstration are as shown in Figure 1. Note the Cipher formula at the far right.

 

 

 

Figure 1

 

 

 

Demonstration examples:

Common musical materials: interval, scale, chord, progression root movement

This plate shows the first examples of Cipher formula plotted on the ukulele fretboard

 

 

Click to view

 

 

Different string-sets — Major scale and triad

Additional areas of the fretboard are explored in the second plate. These examples are organized by string-sets of three strings each. The string-sets travel across the fretboard, eventually exercising every string and all points of the greater Five Degree Calculation Line. All patterns on any string-set are always movable up and down the neck.
 

Click to view

These examples provide immediate exposure to real life on the fretboard. That is, the adaptations and fingering changes ukulele players must make whenever and where-ever they encounter the Third String Pattern Shift. Patterns and fingerings vary depending on the starting-point string. Both strings-sets here are effected by the Third  String Pattern Shift: string-set (1, 2, 3) and (2, 3, 4). Compare the differences in Major triad shapes that occur on those two string-sets.

Remember, all of these patterns and shapes are natural to the fretboard. The Cipher System isn’t creating them, just illuminating them.

 

All intervals — two octaves of intervals on the fretboard

The third and final plate of examples is an example of plotting all intervals, large and small, on the ukulele, from a single root tone on String-One. Two octaves of harmonic interval fingerings are shown. The two tones of any harmonic interval are meant to be played simultaneously, like a small chord, so their fingerings may be different from their counterpart melodic intervals. i.e. interval tones played in succession — one after the other or scale-wise.
 

Click to view

 

 

Click to view

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blank fretboard grids — to print out

There’s an 8 page  PDF of assorted sizes of blank 4 string fretboard grids on the Free page. Use them to practice plotting Five Degree Calculation Lines and counting grids from any point on the fretboard.

 

 

 

What’s next?

These demonstration examples were limited to small (3 string) areas of the fretboard. As we enlarger the area to include all four strings at once, the complete Five Degree Calculation Line, full fretboard patterns, and all available octaves of tones, many points of interest, each wanting attention, will arise simultaneously. Establishing priority among them and finding the best sequence to present them is not an easy task. There are hundreds of possibilities. One thing, however, will emerge in reappear in every future illustration or example, a common thread, regardless of the topic or sequence of presentation, that must be addressed before we go any further. That is; portions of the fretboard's large but invisible pattern of octave tones and unisons. We can't go much further in explaining how the fretboard works without bumping into the Pattern of the Unisons and Octaves. So that’s our next stop (Note; the ukulele version is not done yet. If you want, take a look at the guitar version, it’s very similar. In the interim, you could print out some of the large blank 4 string fretboard grids and draw your own maps).


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© Copyright 2002   Roger Edward Blumberg

 


All  text, images, system components, devices, key terminology* and logos, on this web site are copyrighted [physically at the U.S. Library of Congress]. Reproduction in any form without written permission from the author and creator is prohibited.

[*including but not limited to: The Cipher System, The Cipher, Music Theory Cipher, The Guitarist’s Music Theory Cipher, Blumberg’s Music Theory Cipher for Guitar, Cipher Formula, The Five Degree Calculation Line, Perfect-fourth Calculation Line, The Seven Degree Calculation Line, Perfect-fifth Calculation Line, Fretboard Navigator, Counting Grids, The Pattern of Unisons and Octaves, Rooting-Center, The Fifth String Pattern Shift, The Third String Pattern Shift, Commonsense String Numbering Order.]

Thank you.

© Copyright 2002   Roger E. Blumberg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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