TrueFire Foundry courses are independently produced courses presented by a hand-picked selection of top-notch artists and educators from around the world. Filmed in the educator’s own studio, Foundry courses bring fresh educational concepts and very effective teaching methodologies to TrueFire Students. Les Wise’ Foundry course, Fretboard Freedom Fighter will show you how to play any arpeggio, on any string, in any position.
Hello I'm Les Wise — welcome to my TrueFire Foundry course, Fretboard Freedom Fighter, which I produced in my own studio.
Fretboard Freedom Fighter will teach you how to play any arpeggio, on any string in any position. Un-"CAGED" yourself, and learn to break free from the chains of simple position playing.
Are you going crazy with the sheer volume of things you think you need to learn in order to become a better guitarist? The answer for all of us at one time or another has been an emphatic “Yes!”
Let's face it; there is a lot to learn when it comes to guitar playing (new songs, new licks, new patterns, new chords, etc.). And no matter how much we practice, it seems like it's just never enough. This feeling of having too many techniques to learn and too little time creates a sense of fear, and fear can be your worst enemy when it comes to truly learning.
To alleviate this fear, we tend to jump from one new course to another in an effort to cover all bases. And when practicing, we tend to move from technique to technique without truly mastering any single one of them.
Well, it's time to stop scratching the surface of too many techniques, stop trying to learn everything under the sun, and more importantly — it’s time to stop feeling afraid.
We are going to begin to put your fear aside by concentrating on just ONE thing only — mastering three arpeggios types, the major 7th, minor 7th, and the dominant 7th.
Why is mastering these three structures such a fundamental skill for guitarists? Well, because these arpeggios outline the chord tones of every progression you will ever play. In conjunction with scales, arpeggios make up the essential building blocks of any musician's vocabulary. The problem, however, is it can be difficult to use and/or access these arpeggios from anywhere on the fretboard when you really need them.
But ask yourself this: What if you could play every arpeggio, from every finger, on any string?
What this means is that no matter where you are, what key you're in, you could play and/or outline any chord sound you needed, instantaneously, with any finger.
Knowing how to do this virtually eliminates the constraints inherent in traditional "position" playing (e.g. the CAGED system and other position techniques). With the skills you'll learn in the Fretboard Freedom Fighter, everything you need to master this technique is quite literally right underneath your fingers"”and that is what this course is all about.
Imagine being able to float freely across the entire fretboard without being locked into any single "box" or particular "position"? Wouldn't that give you a sense of freedom, and hence the corresponding ability to let your creativity out of its cage and into listeners' hearts?
In this course you will discover personal freedom by applying my unique "Master Structure" system that teaches you how to access the three primary vertical structures (major 7th, minor 7th and dominant 7th), from EVERY finger, anywhere on the fretboard.
Because this unique system is based on every finger instead of restrictive positions, it is both easy to learn and fun to integrate. And, the skills you will master in Fretboard Freedom Fighter will stay with you for the rest of your playing days.
Finally, this system WILL work for YOU, regardless of the style of music you play. It's worked for thousands of students before you, and it WILL work for YOU too.
Fretboard Freedom Fighter is your musical emancipation proclamation.
Ready to get started? Grab your guitar and let’s get dig in!
NOTE! Les Wise organized the course into 8 weekly sections for those students that prefer to have a specified regimen of material across a specified time schedule. However, for those students who prefer to work at their own pace, or even skip around you are certainly encouraged to approach the course in that way as well.
Are you ready to set yourself free and finally master this key area of the fingerboard once and for all? As you work through this course, you are going to discover a surprisingly simple, amazingly powerful technique that will allow you to easily play all arpeggio structures, with any finger on any string!
At last, for the first time you'll be able to float freely across the entire fretboard, without being locked into any single box or position. Imagine every chord sound instantly available to you regardless of what finger or string you are on.
The first thing you'll notice in the videos is every finger and string position are clearly displayed on the screen with embedded diagrams. There are no tabs or PDF's you need to look at, just you and your guitar. The result, you will master the material much faster! Get ready to see the fingerboard In a whole new way!
The journey begins now!
2Week 1: Intro to Master Structure I
A "master structure" is much more than an arpeggio. It is a system for playing the arpeggio types from every finger and string. It is very important to really master this first one. Everything else in the course is based off this structure. Get this right, and everything else will be much easier.
Remember: Our goal for the course is just one thing, master the 3 structures!
3Week 1: Master Structure I
This is your first master structure. Starting on the 6th string, you will learn how to play the major 7th arpeggio from every finger: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Don't forget every finger and string position are clearly displayed on the screen, with embedded diagrams.
TIP: Take your time with all these structures. Let's get it right the first time!
4Week 1: 5th and 6th Strings
Here we move onto the 5th string, playing the major 7th type from every finger, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Next we combine the 5th and 6th strings, moving across the fingerboard.
5Week 1: 4th and 3rd Strings
Adding both our 4th and 3rd strings, playing the major 7th type from every finger, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, on each string.
6Week 1: All Strings Together
Here we'll apply our master structure using every finger on strings 6, 5, 4, and 3. Next, without moving our hand, we play chromatically up and down one string at a time, shifting from 1st finger, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and back. You will start to see the fingerboard in a completely new way.
Remember: Our goal for the course is just one thing, master the 3 structures!
7Week 1: 2 Octave Master Structure - Part 1
Now the real power of the master structures starts to shine. Playing 2 Octave maj7th arpeggio types from every finger is much easier than learning arpeggios the traditional way. Here we move across the fingerboard from 6th string skipping to 4th string, using fingers 1,2,3,4.
Having completed the entire course, and working patiently with the material while also applying it as I go to various progressions and jazz lead sheets, I have to say this is the most effective course I have worked through on Truefire (which really is saying something). If you are looking to become noticeably more fluid throughout the fretboard and fluent with your arpeggios and intervals, then I would recommend this as the essential course. It's not flashy, not even entertaining in the delivery - the dopamine hits when you realise you are stringing all these arpeggios and extensions together and can do it easily over any set of chord progressions.
To get the most of this course I would recommend that you are already able to confidently name the notes on the fretboard, and have some understanding of diatonic harmony, chord construction by intervals, and chord functions.
J
JuanLCZ
Verified buyer
05/15/23
Key to freedom!
Sometimes somebody comes with the key to unravel difficult problems in an easy way. For me that´s a mark of genius. That´s what this course will do if you want to master arpeggios and increase your fretboard knowledge in an effecient manner.
The genius behind this is Mr Les Wise. What an apropiate name.
Its such a joy to be free.
THANK YOU SIR!
J
jmsab99
Verified buyer
06/15/22
A systematic way to see the fretboard
This course last 8 weeks. I took one week at a time and after 8 weeks, I have seen the difference. Now I see more clearly the fretboard when I navigate all over the fretboard. It is not the most dynamic course but that works.
I
ibanezjs20
Verified buyer
06/14/22
This is a great course, it takes time but it worth it
