For the most part, guitarists try to organize left-hand fingerings within a comfortable 4-fret span.   This is the basic approach taken in Learning the Fingerboard.   However, sometimes there are passages (such as in Invention in A minor No. 3, p. 210) where the left hand momentarily stretches or leaps a five-fret span outside its comfort zone.   A similar situation occurs when playing triads on two strings, where a four-fret span is sometimes required between fingers (1) and (3) (see the Harmony video)

To develop security with the 5-fret leap or stretch, practice the following exercise:

….. pre-read, and learn: