Theory
Welcome to Week 2. Last week you got the chord tones (R·3·5·b7) you can step on for each chord into your hands. This week's one sentence is this — walking doesn't fill everything from the start. You raise the density one step at a time: roots only (whole) → root-5th (half) → chord tones in quarters. Like standing before you walk and sitting before you stand. Today is that first step — you follow the progression stepping just one root in whole notes.
Stepping only the roots may look plain, but this is the skeleton of walking. The feel of landing exactly on each chord's home (root) on the first beat of every measure — once you have it, you can add the rest of the notes later, as many as you like. Today's progression is F7 → Bb7 → F7 → C7, one root per measure. If you just keep landing on the root on beat 1 of every measure, today is a success.
Let's look at the three homes on the fretboard. On a 4-string, the root F is the 4th string, 1st fret, Bb is the 3rd string, 1st fret, C is the 3rd string, 3rd fret. See how the three spots gather close together? It means you can move between the three chords without big hand moves. A whole note rings for the full measure, so keep the note held with your left hand to the end and pluck it once, clearly, with two fingers in your right hand.
First, firmly grab today's starting point, the root F, one spot.
▶ 4-string. The root F is the 4th string, 1st fret. It's the starting point and home of today's progression.
▶ 5-string. The position is the same as on a 4-string. There's just one more low B string.
Even on a 5-string, the root positions are the same as on a 4-string. The string numbers stay 4th (E) to 1st (G), with just one more low B at the bottom. Today, cover the low B for a moment and focus on setting the three homes' positions into your eyes and hands.
See it
Now take in today's root line with your eyes. First check where the three chords' homes — the F·Bb·C roots — gather on the fretboard. The three homes sit within a hand's reach of each other. Then listen to the line that follows the progression in whole notes. Every example comes in both a 4-string and a 5-string version.
▶ 4-string. The three blue dots are each chord's home — F (4th string, 1st fret), Bb (3rd string, 1st fret), C (3rd string, 3rd fret).
▶ 5-string. The positions are the same as on a 4-string. You can drop to the low B to grab lower roots too.
Now connect the three homes in the order of the progression. F7 → Bb7 → F7 → C7, one root per measure, ringing full in whole notes. Just focus on whether beat 1 of every measure is the exact root.
▶ BPM 70, 4-string. F (4th string, 1st fret) - Bb (3rd string, 1st fret) - F - C (3rd string, 3rd fret), one per measure in whole notes. Ring them without a break into the next measure.
▶ BPM 70, 5-string. Same notes and positions as the 4-string. Rest your hand over the low B.
Today's practice
0–10 min · Warm-up Check the three roots F·Bb·C on the fretboard with your fingertips. Before pitch, an accurate landing comes first.
10–20 min · Brain training Call out the chord names of the progression F7 → Bb7 → F7 → C7 aloud while pressing each root ahead of time with your fingertips. With the prep example below, move slowly between just the two homes F and Bb.
▶ BPM 63, 4-string. Move between just the two roots F and Bb, very slowly. Learn the feel of holding a whole note to the end of the measure.
▶ BPM 63, 5-string. Same notes and positions as the 4-string. Rest your hand over the low B.
20–40 min · Real play (today's product) Repeat the root line above at BPM 70. One root per measure, ringing so that the whole note carries unbroken into the next measure. Learn it on a 4-string, then confirm the same feel on a 5-string.
40–50 min · Record/feedback Record 30 seconds and listen for whether beat 1 of every measure lands on the exact root. If a measure wavers, repeat just that one on its own.
Done when: you can walk the F7 → Bb7 → F7 → C7 progression as root whole notes at BPM 70, landing exactly on beat 1 of every measure, on both a 4-string and a 5-string.
- Beat 1 wavers. A whole note looks relaxed, but if the measure's first beat is late, the whole progression gets pushed back. Place the root exactly on beat 1 of the metronome.
▶ 4-string. C7's home (root C) is the 3rd string, 3rd fret. Unlike F, it starts on the 3rd string.
▶ 5-string. The position is the same as on a 4-string. You can drop to the low B to find a lower C too.
- You release the note early. A whole note must fill the whole measure. Hold with your left hand until just before you move to the next root.
- You confuse root positions. F and C are on different strings — F is the 4th string, C is the 3rd string. Check your starting string first.
- Neglecting the 5-string low B. If you brush B while focused on the root, the low end leaks. Always keep the unused B covered.