Fret Rolling

Two notes on the same fret but on adjacent strings played in sequence can cause some interesting problems. In most cases, when playing lines, riffs, scales and arpeggios, notes on the same fret but on adjacent strings are to be played with the same finger. This is in line with the one finger per fret rule. There are situations though, especially when playing arpeggios, that notes on adjacent strings on the same frets must be played one after the other. Take a look at the following.

The above is a popular major arpeggio shape. There are two circles on the diagram, these circles pinpoint the two areas in the shape where two notes are played one after the other on adjacent strings on the same fret.

For these areas, play the first note and then roll your finger so that it rolls off that string onto the adjacent one. Playing it in this manner will make a nice smooth sound. If you lifted your finger to apply it to the adjacent fret, it will sound choppy while if you laid a complete barre down across those two frets, it will sound together like a chord. But by using this rolling technique you should be able to obtain a nice smooth sound.

In the case when you first start on a higher pitched string and need to roll to a lower pitched string, fret the higher pitched string not with the tip of your finger (like what is usually done), but instead a little below the tip of the finger, this will give your finger room to roll. If you fretted the higher pitched string exactly with the tip of your finger, the finger cannot roll.