Up-the-Neck "Melodic" Fingering Forms That Feature 5th-String Fretting. Borrowing from the legendary bluegrass "Melodic" banjoist Bill Keith, Ken created series of up-the-neck "shapes" that yield powerful runs of notes when played with Clawhammer-style picking patterns. Many of these shapes incorporate the 5th string - sometimes open but usually fretted. We'll work on exercises to learn these shapes, and try out numerous examples that occur within the context of actual tunes. You'll leave the class convinced that using these shapes is by far the most efficient way to navigate the fingerboard above the fifth fret.