All You Need To Know About The Notes On The Guitar Fretboard
To play the guitar and make up your own songs, solos and riffs you don't need to memorize the names of the notes on the guitar fretboard. But it's a good idea to be able to name them.
What are the names of the notes on the guitar?
There are 12 repeating notes in music and on the guitar. I call it the 12 note cycle. The are named using the first 7 notes of the alphabet.
Some notes have two names. They are called sharps (#) or flats (). For example, A# (A sharp) is the same note as B (B flat).
No sharps or flats here
There are NO sharps or flats between B and C, or E and F.
What are whole steps and half steps?
A distance of one note is called a half step and a distance of two notes is called a whole step.
What's an octave?
A distance of 12 notes is called an octave.
What's the difference between each string?
Each string is tuned to a certain note.
The thickest string is tuned to the note E, the lowest note on the guitar.
The next string is tuned to the note A, then D, G, B and the thinnest string is tune to the note E again, but two octaves higher than the low E string.
The strings are numbered from 6, the thickest string, to 1, the thinnest string. When you pluck a string without pushing it down with a finger, you are playing the string "open". For example, when you pluck the D string without pushing it down, you are playing the D string open.
How do you name the notes on the low E string?
To figure out the names of the notes on the low E string use the 12-note cycle.
Start on the note E, at the nut of the low E string, and call out the rest of the notes as you go up the guitar neck: "E, F, F#/G, G, G#/A, etc." Look at the figure above to see the notes on the low E string.
The small black dots on the middle of the guitar neck are fret markers for reference. Notice that there are two dots on the 12th fret where the 12-note cycle repeats over again.
How do you name the notes on all the strings?
You do the same thing that you just did for the low E string above. You start the 12-note cycle on the first note of each string and call out the rest of the notes.
The notes on each string overlap. So you can play most of the notes in more than one place. Some you can play two places, some in three places, some in four places and some even in five different places.
The A note played by placing a finger on the 5th fret of the low E string, is the same A note played by plucking the A string. See the figure on the right.
The notes on the A string
To figure out the notes on the A string use the 12-note cycle.
The notes following note A are the same on both strings.
The notes on the rest of the strings overlap in the same manner
D to D
The D note, played by placing a finger on the 5th fret of the A string, is the same D note played by plucking the D string.
G to G
The G note, played by placing a finger on the 5th fret of the D string, is the same G note played by plucking the G string.
B to B
The B note, played by placing a finger on the 4th fret of the G string, is the same B note played by plucking the B string.
E to E
The E note, played by placing a finger on the 5th fret of the E string, is the same E note played by plucking the E string.
Summary: Overlapping Notes
With almost every pair of strings, the note played on the 5th fret of the thicker string is the same as the thinner string played open.
The only exception is the 3rd string where the note B is on the 4th fret.
Can you name all the notes on the guitar?
By using the 12-note cycle you can figure out the name of any note on the guitar.
But you don't need to memorize them all. You only need to know the notes on the low E (6th) and A (5th) strings, so you can play chords up and down the guitar neck. You can learn how to do that in Guitar On the Spot - Understanding the Code. Click here if you want to learn more.
The reason you don't need to memorize the notes on the other strings is because the guitar looks like one big movable repeating code. This code "floats" on top of these letters and moves depending on what key you're song is in.
The trick is to know which notes in the code go together. Then you can make up your own songs, solos and riffs off the top of your head. Click here to learn more about this code.
Not enough information?
If you want to know more stuff you can download a free guitar e-book and subscribe to my free song making guitar lessons by clicking here.
If the guitar is a little fuzzy to you this will give you a clearer picture:
Do you have the ambition to play the guitar, but you can't quite piece it all together?
In Using the Code you’ll discover the simple code that you can use to play the guitar.
You'll use it to make up your own songs, solos and riffs up and down the guitar neck, jam with other people and figure out how to play simple songs, solos and riffs by ear.
You don’t need to read notes.
You don’t need to read tab.
You don’t need any experience.
I’ve spent the last four years trying to find ways to learn scales with chords, riffs, etc. This hasn’t happened until I researched your work and purchased your book.
You have taken difficult learning methods and composed your own more understandable learning techniques.
It's the best learning tool I have discovered in bookstores or the internet.
You have done wonders in helping people like me to better understand the guitar.
-Dave Stigen, Sparta, WI
"When I saw the book I thought oh it’s just another book. You know I've looked at a lot of books and they basically remind me that I need to practice various chord patterns and shapes and notes, it’s all about practice, but with Jesse’s book, it allowed me to practice in a more effective way that really benefited my guitar playing."
"It brought all those things that I thought were vastly beyond my abilities down to my level of understanding so that I could apply them and improve my skills."
"I think it’s a great way to start if you’ve never played because you can just use this whole formula that he’s developed to enhance you’re playing and to learn."
-Jon B., MI
I give you an 8 week complete money back guarantee, so if you decide it's not what you're looking for I'll give you your money back.
If you've been reading a bunch of books trying to “figure it out” (that’s what I did, it took me years) and you're still confused, just check out the code and see if it clears anything up for you. You have nothing to lose.
). For example, A# (A sharp) is the same note as B
(B flat).
, G, G#/A
, etc." Look at the figure above to see the notes on the low E string.
