Getting Out of the Intermediate Player-Funk- Fretboard Mapping Help?

So I'm one of those solid intermediate players who knows my scales, chords, riffs, etc, but just can't move around the fretboard fluidly. I think the problem most of us at this level face is that we see a bunch of boxes (like the pentatonic) but have troube connecting them. Therefore, we're randomly jumping from one 'safe zone' to another rather than seeing the fretboard in an integrated way. I've learned the CAGED system (somewhat helpful I suppose), read Pat Martino's articles on triads (mostly confused the hell out of me), and practice scales in all positions across the fretboard until my hands cramp up, but I'm not sure I'm any closer to achieving fluency. Can some of you advanced guitarists talk about what you think helped you make the leap?

I am not advanced but this is what I try to do to move around the neck. I mostly play blues. Using a backing track

I play a chorus in the familiar box.

Then I play a chorus moving through the other four positions

Then I play using the major pentatonic on the one and minor the rest of the way again using all of the positions

Next I will play a lick in one place and then repeat it in another position.

Next I will start a lick one place and finish in the other boxes.

Next mix minor and major all positions

I will also try using other keys, so try to play a B minor or E minor pentatonic over an A blues. Again using all positions. Then mix A and B A and E etc.

Hope this helps

I'm not really sure what you're trying to accomplish but the smaller moves you make the hipper it is usually. Like a line with the flat 7 for the IV and then over the IV, one that ends on the major 3 a half a step down.

CAGED is great but I don't care for the way it's typically taught. I think of CAGED as octave shapes. Instead of seeing CAGED as these larger scale patterns I think if you break it down to it's most fundament component, the octave, then you can very quickly start to see the connections all over the fretboard. To me the octave is the master pattern for making connections.

That's how I have always viewed the fret board too.

Same here with the octive view.

Other than jazz, most genres of music are constructed (fortunately) so that you don't always have to have that many scales running through your head to try and connect.
Sure, you can interpret things in new ways, but it always comes back to taste and familiarity for the type of genre you're playing in. For example Blues - if you are playing in a certain key (which you always are) you only usually alternate through minor or major scales, with a few odd ball things you can add for your own spin, or because tthe song calls for it (like mixolydian type riffs over blues progressions, or parts of scales you don't normally see standard in blues, but they just work, like SRV's use of mixolydian in the tune "Empty Arms".

It's great to practice scales, but juat as important to know where or when they can be used. It usually comes naturally in the feel as you get wound up, especially in a rocking blues shuffle. But not always intuitive toward the very basics, which is why I cite "Empty Arms" as an enlightening tune for me.

But there is something to what Mjark state's above in that "smaller moves are usually hipper anyway, again "Empty Arms" is a shining example of that in that it's in the standard C box (8th fret) of the pentatonic scale, but makes use of the Mixolydian in a way that shows will answer a part of your question. For almost everything but Jazz, it applies pretty strongly. It's not so much what you play, but how you play it. Meaning that in the Tune "Empty Arms" SRV doesn't have go all up and down the neck playing scales, because he puts so much charchter and feeling into a compact position.

I'm not just a blues player at all, I play country, rock and a bit of swing too (learning), but blues is a prime example of why it's important to make each note meaningful.
That doesn't always take alot of linking of scales, especially if you know all the scales you talked of. Maybe concentrating on just one or two is usally enough for most Rock, blues, country and pop. I like to find ways to juice up country sometimes, if theirs a tasteful opportunity to thrown in bluesy stuff. Alterantively playing country music has spiced up my blues playing to because I'll trhow in more major stuff nowadays if the mood and feel of the song can take it.

I know I didn't answer your question completely, because there is no short answer without getting into a bunch of theory. That's why making use of what you do know now is often best done by mixing things up a little between genres. (Rock, Blues, Rockabilly, Country, pop, Soul, R&B etc)

But if you are purely a jazz or prog rock player, then that's a different deal and alot of theory is warranted to answer completely.

Working on my reading actually helped open up the fretboard for me. As practice, I'll try and play a particular passage in as many different places on the fretboard as possible.

I also think knowing where your octaves are is invaluable, but learn the other intervals too...

As far as connecting the CAGED shapes, I use the 2-3/3-2 pentatonics a lot. You probably know these, but if not, this ought to help.

In Cmaj/Am:

2-3 diagonal pentatonic
---------------------------8-10-12--
----------------------8-10----------
----------------5-7-9---------------
------------5-7---------------------
------3-5-7-------------------------
--3-5-------------------------------

3-2 diagonal pentatonic
---------------------------------------------15-17--
-----------------------------------13-15-17---------
----------------------------12-14-------------------
------------------10-12-14--------------------------
-----------10-12------------------------------------
--8-10-12-------------------------------------------

Yah, those "Diagonal" forms really help to open things up!

Also, maybe try limiting your self andfinding new pathways around the Fretboard?

Try this. Take any Phrase/Lick/Riff, and learn how to play it exactly, but only using 1 String. This will force you to move Up and Down the Fretboard, as opposed to staying in a comfortable "Box".

Also, try Singing or Humming something when the guitar is no where around. Keep repeating it over and over, until it's easy for you to recall. THEN....go get the Guitar and try to play exactly what you Sang/Hummed. And don't quit until you can do it. Repeat this process forever. Really helps to keep you learning new things!

All good. I like the octave recognition too. Definitely works for 'sign posts' so to speak.

Me personally - and this may not necessarily apply to you right now - when I need to really learn a tune, even if I'll only ever play it one key - I work it out in at least 3 keys and maybe even play with a capo somewhere.
If it's just a lick or a cool turn-a-round ... all 12 keys and usually two different sets of strings.
A transcribed solo - usually one other key (a forth or fifth away generally).

I was forced to do this in my early musical education. I hated dealing with it then but now of course understand the benefits of such work.

Wow, it's amazing how differently people can approach the same thing. I don't know any scales, and I couldn't tell you what key I'm playing in half the time.

I listen to the other instruments, put my fingers on the strings, and play. If the note I start on sounds wrong, it's just a matter of playing something that puts in a context that works.

Yeah, but I think for the purposes of 'this' thread we're all tryin' to start on a good note.

Yeah, but I think for the purposes of 'this' thread we're all tryin' to start on a good note.:lol:

I have two sets of responses.

First, trying playing a scale up and down the length of the first string, then second,..., then sixth. As you do this, name the notes aloud. Now, play the scale in second position, third, then fourth, naming the notes aloud. Next, play the scale on the sixth string up and down, then fifth string,..., then first string, naming the notes aloud. Now play the scale in 5th, 6th, and 7th positions, etc., etc., etc. Don't worry about timing or hesitating, as this is for brain technique, not hands.

Second, create some licks that incorporate linear movement that links one position to another. Practice each one until it is fluid and natural.

My rule of thumb is if something that you want to be able to play feels awkward, to work on it until it feels natural. When something does not feel natural, then I don't think I would play something like it on the bandstand. The awkwardness is a sign that says road closed ahead. This means that not only will I avoid playing something like that, I will not even be able to "hear" it in my mind will improvising. It's a mind/body dualism issue for me.

Finally, I have found that if there is some weakness that I have, it helps to find an example of something that is awkward or difficult, and just zero in on that, right then and there. If you cannot connect shapes very well, then make up a lick that does just that and work on it until it become reflexive.

Wow, it's amazing how differently people can approach the same thing. I don't know any scales, and I couldn't tell you what key I'm playing in half the time.

I listen to the other instruments, put my fingers on the strings, and play. If the note I start on sounds wrong, it's just a matter of playing something that puts in a context that works.

I'm all for anything that works. However, this method seems a little hunt and peck to me. When I have been in that situation, I avoid really strong, decisive, impactful phrases. Not knowing the fingerboard can make people sound tentative and unsure. This can lead to great music, but it can also close the door to other great music. I know how you feel, though, and it's great that you adapt and make it work. That can lead to interesting, exploratory stuff.

I have two sets of responses.

First, trying playing a scale up and down the length of the first string, then second,..., then sixth. As you do this, name the notes aloud. Now, play the scale in second position, third, then fourth, naming the notes aloud. Next, play the scale on the sixth string up and down, then fifth string,..., then first string, naming the notes aloud. Now play the scale in 5th, 6th, and 7th positions, etc., etc., etc. Don't worry about timing or hesitating, as this is for brain technique, not hands.

Second, create some licks that incorporate linear movement that links one position to another. Practice each one until it is fluid and natural.

My rule of thumb is if something that you want to be able to play feels awkward, to work on it until it feels natural. When something does not feel natural, then I don't think I would play something like it on the bandstand. The awkwardness is a sign that says road closed ahead. This means that not only will I avoid playing something like that, I will not even be able to "hear" it in my mind will improvising. It's a mind/body dualism issue for me.

Finally, I have found that if there is some weakness that I have, it helps to find an example of something that is awkward or difficult, and just zero in on that, right then and there. If you cannot connect shapes very well, then make up a lick that does just that and work on it until it become reflexive.

+1 Not surprisingly these are all really great suggestions.

CAGED is great but I don't care for the way it's typically taught. I think of CAGED as octave shapes. Instead of seeing CAGED as these larger scale patterns I think if you break it down to it's most fundament component, the octave, then you can very quickly start to see the connections all over the fretboard. To me the octave is the master pattern for making connections.

Indeed - its the position of octaves in the position that determines the physical shape of the chords and the surrounding scales and if its not being taught that way - its missing the point - or rather the point is always there anyway, but just not acknowledged.

One thing I will say about the 'boxes' or 'cages' we play in is that many guitarists are weak at intervallic work - restricted to stepwise movement or the inherent intervals of the pentatonic - and have a limited way of playing whats under their fingers much of the time. I've referred this clip before and I wont apologise for it - its still a great habit breaker for many of my students - as it was for me. From about 2;10 on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKSg2kw7KfA

That set of Scofield lessons is possibly the best set of actual 'jazz' improv instructional videos for guitarists.
I've owned it since the late 80's and I learn something new from it every time I see it.
Pointless to say but the guy 'knows his notes and intervals'.

Indeed - its the position of octaves in the position that determines the physical shape of the chords and the surrounding scales and if its not being taught that way - its missing the point - or rather the point is always there anyway, but just not acknowledged.



Yeah, I've ranted on about this a few times here. :lol: I think making the CAGED patterns explicit to guitarists is a really great thing but it makes me nuts that people come away thinking that CAGED is about scale patterns or chord shapes when it's really about 5 octave shapes as you've pointed out.

I blame the popularity of the Fretboard Logic books because scale and chord shapes is how CAGED is presented in that series of books and subsequently most other CAGED books and videos present exactly the same idea. That's how I was introduced to it initially. Fortunately it quickly became apparant to me that the octave shapes were the engine of the thing and the very thing that makes it such a powerfully useful roadmap of the fretboard. A meta-pattern - a pattern that organizes all other patterns.

The next step for people to realize is that the octave shapes of CAGED don't just apply to the tonic of whatever particular scale you're playing but every scale degree has an octave shape or CAGED shape. It sounds like a very basic realization but most people miss that as well. That's when the fretboard really opens I think in regards to using octaves as 'sign post' as Ken as said.

And that's all I've got to say about that (for now.):mrgreen:

So I'm one of those solid intermediate players who knows my scales, chords, riffs, etc, but just can't move around the fretboard fluidly. I think the problem most of us at this level face is that we see a bunch of boxes (like the pentatonic) but have troube connecting them. Therefore, we're randomly jumping from one 'safe zone' to another rather than seeing the fretboard in an integrated way.

To me it almost sounds like you gon't actually know the notes on the fretboard yet.

I suggest you get out of your comfort zone(s), and play something completely different than what you are used to. This will force you to see, hear, and think about things differently.

That set of Scofield lessons is possibly the best set of actual 'jazz' improv instructional videos for guitarists.

+1

Yeah, but I think for the purposes of 'this' thread we're all tryin' to start on a good note.

That works too, and is easy enough. Most of the time you can select any note that comes on a fret with a dot and be okay.

I'm just fascinated by how differently we approach the same thing. I get in the car and drive, confident that one road will lead to another, and that I'll end up somewhere interesting if I keep selecting the better looking tine each time I come to a fork. It seems you guys like to map everything out.

The OP sounded like he was feeling stuck and wanted advice. My advice is to just put your fingers on your guitar and play. It might take a while before you can do that and have it work, but when you can, you'll have another way of making music that might feel liberating.

I'm all for anything that works. However, this method seems a little hunt and peck to me. When I have been in that situation, I avoid really strong, decisive, impactful phrases. Not knowing the fingerboard can make people sound tentative and unsure. This can lead to great music, but it can also close the door to other great music. I know how you feel, though, and it's great that you adapt and make it work. That can lead to interesting, exploratory stuff.

When you say "knowing the fingerboard," what do you mean? Do you mean knowing the name of each note?

I'm like an illiterate person who knows his way all around the city, but couldn't tell you the names of the streets. It's not that I don't know the fretboard, it's that I know it in a different way. I got to know it by wandering around it, getting lost, and finding my way out.

I've since learned the names of some of the major streets, and I agree that that's useful. But I'm glad I have an intuitive sense of where I am and how to get home.

CAGED is great but I don't care for the way it's typically taught. I think of CAGED as octave shapes. Instead of seeing CAGED as these larger scale patterns I think if you break it down to it's most fundament component, the octave, then you can very quickly start to see the connections all over the fretboard. To me the octave is the master pattern for making connections.

CAGED is actually based off of the octave shapes that you theoretically would see from open chords. Alot of people may disgree with learning the CAGED system, but it actually works. I also think that many people don't know that the CAGED system actually helps you learn not only scales. You can also map out chords, scales and arpeggios.

From there, you can also map out the CAGED system to fit with static chord playing and improv. For instance you can map out all dom7th chord shapes with its partnering mixolydian pattern and dom7th arpeggios. It practically goes on for all mode related relationships.


At first the CAGED system seems like 5 octave shapes that you memorize. Within each of these 5 shapes, you learn chords, scales and arpeggios. In fact this does seem like a "boxed" in way of learning. However, I get my students to connect patterns 1 and 2, then 3 and 4, and so on. Before you know it the whole CAGED system is just one big pattern.


Yes there are other ways of learning the neck. It all comes down to whatever works for you. The problem is, the CAGED system isn't always taught to its full potention in my opinion. I've got 9 year old students who got this stuff nailed down. Any "packaged' system has a sense of roboticism. That's why it's important to recognize this as a fast way to learn chord shapes, scales, and arpeggios. Once that is done, it is important to concentrate on application.

Most of the time you can select any note that comes on a fret with a dot and be okay.



ok then

ok then

Ahhh yup.

Man I sure hope the guy who made my guitar got the dots on the right frets. :lol:

Seriously, I have a Goya steel string (mid 60's?) with a fret dot at the 10th not the 9th fret.

Nylon string guitars generally have no fret markers at all - very Zen, the sound of no note playing.

Try playing a fretless guitar!

My fretless has dots.

*we all get where you're coming from Tarnisher but this is the Theory and Technique section of the forum. In here we tend to shy away from the "just play and you'll figure it out" or "the beauty of it is in the getting lost" type of discussions. Those are a 'given' and great for learning about a city or when you're sittin around pickin by yourself. Everybody does that and everybody is aware that you can do that.

I think, at this point in his musical development, the OP wants to get past that.

To use your own driving/directions analogy ...
He wants to be a cab driver or a cop or an EMT (or maybe just be able to explain to someone how to get from a train stop to his house) - so he wants/needs to be able to know exactly where the corner of Schenectady and Cortelyou is and what's there.

Didn't mean to start a theory vs. intuition debate, and for what it's worth, I appreciate Tarnisher's insights, even though I know I'll never get as good as I want to be without some sort of system. It fascinates me that guys like Jeff Beck and Albert Lee can play like they do without knowing what they're doing in a traditional sense.
So if I'm understanding you theory guys right, CAGED isn't just a means of learning all the positions one can play a major chord in, but a way of identifying octave patterns, which makes sense of the different positions that scales are played in, by showing the shapes that need to be connected in different ways. Am I in the ballpark?
Last question for now: are excercises like the Scofield vid as useful to someone playing country/rock stuff as jazz? I'd love to be able to play jazz, but for what I'm serious about, I'm probably not going to be connecting 13th and #9 arpeggios at breakneck speed.

I found memorizing many chord shapes all over the neck to be very useful. When I first began this I was just arpeggiating basic triads all over the place (pretty vanilla sounding). But as I got more comfortable and learned more shapes, I was able to concentrate more on adding colorful extensions and resolving to chord tones while throwing some of my favorite licks and cliches in there too. CAGED is a great first step for this, but there are a lot more than 5 ways to play each chord.

Last question for now: are excercises like the Scofield vid as useful to someone playing country/rock stuff as jazz? I'd love to be able to play jazz, but for what I'm serious about, I'm probably not going to be connecting 13th and #9 arpeggios at breakneck speed.

That's a matter of personal perception and then absorption, application and implementation.

If you learn one cool move over a minor or dom7 chord that you can apply into even just a blues tune then yeah, it's worth it. For me I've always felt that if I get even just one lick, line, chord voicing or concept out of a book, lesson, DVD, etc. it's more than paid for itself. Case in point: I've had the John McLaughlin "this is the way I do it" set of DVD's now for about a year. I'm still working on the 1st section of the 1st lesson of the 1st DVD. And I'm finding ways to use the miniscule amount I'm working with/on in every friggin' type of music I play. Cats like McLaughlin and Scofield are DEEP! An hour or two of 'repeatable' instruction from them can fill several lifetimes of study.

*And this is maybe here nor there for anyone but me(?) but I find that when I work on harder things, whether it be Jazz improv, classical guitar pieces, a chord melody or a Doc Watson solo ... the meat and potatos rock, blues and soul pretty much takes care of itself. YMMV.

It fascinates me that guys like Jeff Beck and Albert Lee can play like they do without knowing what they're doing in a traditional sense.

I guess the real question is whether or not you believe those guys would have ignored the knowledge that is so readily available now , had it been so accessible when they were up and coming players. I dont believe that. I do know (from experience) that it seems to get harder to adopt and apply new knowledge as you get older - but Scofield is a great example for me of someone who has even in his later years , built an instantly recogniseable voice on the instrument from a really comprehensive harmonic knowledge - the guy also has a killer feel and squeezes great sounds out of the instrument.

+1 to the above post.

I know from personal experience that in fact yes, Jeff Beck and Albert Lee actually can tell you what note they're playing - if asked to stop look and tell you. They can't necessarily articulate 'academic harmony and theory' in traditional terms but they know EXACTLY what they're doing. They have amazingly honed ears and a deep sense of musicality.
And, as has been reiterated ad nauseum, guys of that caliber don't 'hunt and peck'. They've learned, by practicing and listening incessantly for years, how to pick good notes ALL THE TIME.

*You don't have to call it anything - or, you can call it 'Jane' if you want - but if you don't put in the work and the time, you won't really play anything worthy of any term.

So I'm one of those solid intermediate players who knows my scales, chords, riffs, etc, but just can't move around the fretboard fluidly. I think the problem most of us at this level face is that we see a bunch of boxes (like the pentatonic) but have troube connecting them. Therefore, we're randomly jumping from one 'safe zone' to another rather than seeing the fretboard in an integrated way. I've learned the CAGED system (somewhat helpful I suppose), read Pat Martino's articles on triads (mostly confused the hell out of me), and practice scales in all positions across the fretboard until my hands cramp up, but I'm not sure I'm any closer to achieving fluency. Can some of you advanced guitarists talk about what you think helped you make the leap?

I would suggest that you find a good teacher. I think it's almost impossible to learn theory from the internet. Nothing takes the place of sitting with a human being who knows this stuff and is able to guide you through it.

Next I will play a lick in one place and then repeat it in another position.

Next I will start a lick one place and finish in the other boxes.


This is helpful.

The suggestions so far are great, I have one to add-
Try playing your vocabulary or licks in different positions. Take one short lick and try playing it starting on each finger. Then move it to a different string and do the same thing. You'll get your ears really in tune with the axe and understand how to make MUSIC with it rather than just running a bunch of scales (scales are fine though! :) ). It really works!

I guess the real question is whether or not you believe those guys would have ignored the knowledge that is so readily available now , had it been so accessible when they were up and coming players. I dont believe that. I do know (from experience) that it seems to get harder to adopt and apply new knowledge as you get older - but Scofield is a great example for me of someone who has even in his later years , built an instantly recogniseable voice on the instrument from a really comprehensive harmonic knowledge - the guy also has a killer feel and squeezes great sounds out of the instrument.


I Think when you hear guys who 'don't know what they're doing' they usually have such a deep connection with the notes and sounds that they bypass the naming process-so not exactly helpful to communicate what they're doing, but they still know what they're playing. Two other guys who tend to fall into this mythical category are Van Halen and Wes Montgomery. But there's absolutely no way they don't understand what's going on-they might just have a different way of describing it with words.

I Think when you hear guys who 'don't know what they're doing' they usually have such a deep connection with the notes and sounds that they bypass the naming process-so not exactly helpful to communicate what they're doing, but they still know what they're playing. Two other guys who tend to fall into this mythical category are Van Halen and Wes Montgomery. But there's absolutely no way they don't understand what's going on-they might just have a different way of describing it with words.

Exactly. To reference the Mick Goodrick pages you scanned ... you can call it Fred and Mary if you want. It doesn't matter the term when you can use it/apply it in a musical situation.
Too often novice players make the mistake of thinking that just because Django didn't call it a Dm11b5 that he was as ignorant about music as they are.
I always say that when you've got the ears of Chet Baker or when you write a tune as good as 'wind cries mary' then you can eschew the theory. Until then I don't know, maybe a little education wouldn't hurt - ?

Yep theres not much in a name.. In fact names can be misleading. But I figured out a long time ago that if I was going to understand some new sounds, that I was going to have to ask some questions... That means learning the collective language of music theory if you want yourself to be understood. Perhaps if I had the kind of innate understanding of music that Wes or Jimi had, I'd have answered those questions myself in my own way .. But I aint...although I realise there things I understand now that I constantly seek words for in order to teach! But yes , Its fascinating and also strangely comforting to think that there are a handful of players who codify the music in such an individual way. Having said that there is some great video footage of Wes teaching a Dutch rhythm section some tunes for a TV show.. He knows the chord names, keys and for the rest the guitar does the talking.. The point being that the band are experienced enough to hear exactly what he means..

there is some great video footage of Wes teaching a Dutch rhythm section some tunes for a TV show.. He knows the chord names, keys and for the rest the guitar does the talking.. The point being that the band are experienced enough to hear exactly what he means..

Yes! 'Live in 65' - awesome Euro TV footage of Wes.
It's kinda hard to hear him but he's says something like "yeah, iii vi ii V at the end of ?" and something to the effect of "you can do ya know Coltrane changes here too".
Anyone who tries to argue that Wes Montgomery didn't know music is completely deluding themselves. No, he didn't 'read' music or at least not sight read it but he ABSOLUTELY knew everything he was doing.

Exactly. To reference the Mick Goodrick pages you scanned ... you can call it Fred and Mary if you want. It doesn't matter the term when you can use it/apply it in a musical situation.
Too often novice players make the mistake of thinking that just because Django didn't call it a Dm11b5 that he was as ignorant about music as they are.
I always say that when you've got the ears of Chet Baker or when you write a tune as good as 'wind cries mary' then you can eschew the theory. Until then I don't know, maybe a little education wouldn't hurt - ?

Awesome that you read those articles! Totally agree. It's a bit of there reverse snobbery that sometimes goes with the arts. It's such a weird paradigm to go with 'I don't know this so I'm better'. Pretty lame actually. It's also a cool insight to the act of creating and how it has no boundaries.

Keep in touch man!

I remember those articles when they came out in GP.
Many of them I saved.
Thanks for scanning most of them. I printed them all out from your site.
Some are a little difficult to decipher all the notated chords but super cool nonetheless. I wish GP would have lessons of that caliber now!

I can't read a note after 57 years of playing, but know a lot of "homespun blues theory" that could help some players in my position. Of course I know all the I,IV,V triads, where all of the chords are, and the blues/minor/major pentatonic scales.

When playing blues, I mix both the minor and major pentatonic scales in the key I'm in, i.e. in G at the 3rd fret. I also use the box made up by adding the notes on the E and B strings in the 7th fret, the "Albert King Box".

To get up and down the neck smoothly, I use the "BB Boxes", all major pentatonic. In the IV chord they always start in the IV chord position, i.e. when in key of G at the C position the four notes on the E and B strings on the 8th and 10th frets, and the note on the G string in the 9th fret may be used also. Then in the V chord, the notes on the B string in the 11th and 13th fret, and on the G string on the 12th fret.

This is very simplified, but basic. Once mastered, major pentatonic notes from the scale 3 frets down may be added and blended.

Of course one adds his own bends, hammer ons, and pull offs, etc.

Since this thread seemed to only discuss theory, I thought I might add some practical info which doesn't require any theory. Many internet youtube videos will show these so called BB boxes as well.

Thank you, Mr. Teobeck, for resurrecting this thread and allowing me to read the following piece of music wisdom:
That works too, and is easy enough. Most of the time you can select any note that comes on a fret with a dot and be okay.

I always knew the dots were there for a reason!

Dang so much to comment on. First off I can assure you Jeff Beck and Albert Lee know exactly what they are doing in a traditional sense i.e. music/jazz theory. But back to your initial question Alex ... Do you know the note of the fretboard? If not then, you should. It isn't hard. There's only 12 notes from which all Western music is composed ...

Second I agree with everybody who mentioned octaves. I'm not sure if this is what y'all are talking about, but what certainly helped me is knowing the octaves of notes on the guitar and seeing/hearing/building riffs and licks on the string pairs. For example 3rd fret 6th string is a G. A G an octave up is located on the 4th string 5th fret. One another octave up is located on the 8th fret 2nd string. Now play a simple lick on the 6th and 5th strings starting on the G at the 3rd fret. You'll be playing the EXACT same lick and octave up starting on the 4th string at the 5th fret. I hope I'm not confusing you but this was a defintite AHA moment for me.

Last I would recommend learning the diatonic scales in the three-note-per-string fashion. This opened up the fretboard tremendously for me. Keep practicing and good luck.