How to Learn All the Notes on the Guitar
Learn the open strings, or the notes for each string if you aren't holding down a fret., Know that notes count alphabetically from A to G. In western music, notes are written as the letters A - G. After G, the notes cycle back to A, but a...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Learn the open strings
The guitar is made up of six strings, with the thickest, heaviest string on top and the thinnest on the bottom.
Guitar strings count from the bottom up
-- so the thin string is the 1st and the thick string is the 6th.
From the bottom up, the notes are E B G D A E.
There are a variety of ways to remember the strings, but one of the simplest is:
Every Boy Gets Dessert At Easter -
Step 2: or the notes for each string if you aren't holding down a fret.
As you move down the fret board (towards the body of the guitar), you cycle down the notes.
An E, therefore is higher up the fret board than a F, and a G, and then the next A.
The note before is considered lower.
So a B is lower than the next C.
A note that occurs later on is a higher note.
An E is a higher note than the earlier D. , In between the notes are sharps (represented by a #) and flats (represented by a ♭).
Sharps are the notes right after a letter, like an A→ A#, and flats are right before a note, like a D♭→ E.
Sharps and flats are interchangeable, depending on the song.
For example, the note between a C and D is written as either a C# or a D♭.
The full set of notes is:
A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G# Notice that there is no such thing as E# or B#.
E and B do not ever have sharps, and the notes simply skip from E→F.
As such, there is no C♭ or F♭ either.
If you remember this small exception to the rule, memorizing the guitar will be easy. , The frets of a guitar are numbered, with 0 being an open string, 1 being the fret closest to the head, and so on.
A half-step is simply moving from one note to the next (A→ A#), including the sharps and flats, whereas a full-step jumps two notes (A→ B, B→ C#).
Each fret represents a half step up from the one before it.
So:
On the top string, the first note (an open string) is E.
The first fret on the top string is an F (remember, there is no such thing as E#).
The second fret on the top string is an F#.
The third fret on the top string is a G.
This continues all the way down.
Try naming each note on one string.
If you got it all right, you'll be back to E by the 12th fret. , Natural notes are those without sharps or flats (A,B,C,D,E,F,G).
The best place to begin learning is on the top (or 6th) string, the E.
On this string, the first few major notes are marked by dots on the fretboard.E is on the open string.
F is on the 1st fret.
G is on the 3d fret.
A is on the 5th fret.
B is on the 7th fret.
C is on the 8th fret.
D is on the 10th fret.
E is on the 12th fret, and the pattern repeats. , Frets are the small metal bars on the neck.
When you press a string down on a fret, it gives you a different note, moving down the scale.
But at the 12th fret (usually noted by 2 dots on the guitar), the whole guitar resets.
The 12th fret of any string is the identical note as the open string, and then everything repeats.
This means you only need to learn the notes from 0-12 frets, then know that they are identical after the 12th fret.On the twelfth fret, for example, your notes would be E B G D A E, from the bottom up.
This is because there are only 12 notes total in Western music
-- A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#.
After the 12th note you are back where you started. -
Step 3: Know that notes count alphabetically from A to G. In western music
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Step 4: notes are written as the letters A - G. After G
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Step 5: the notes cycle back to A
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Step 6: but a higher-pitched version of A.
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Step 7: Identify the sharp and flat notes in between the letters.
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Step 8: Move down one fret to raise the note up a half-step.
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Step 9: Find all of the natural notes on the first string.
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Step 10: Think of the guitar as having only 12 frets.
Detailed Guide
The guitar is made up of six strings, with the thickest, heaviest string on top and the thinnest on the bottom.
Guitar strings count from the bottom up
-- so the thin string is the 1st and the thick string is the 6th.
From the bottom up, the notes are E B G D A E.
There are a variety of ways to remember the strings, but one of the simplest is:
Every Boy Gets Dessert At Easter
As you move down the fret board (towards the body of the guitar), you cycle down the notes.
An E, therefore is higher up the fret board than a F, and a G, and then the next A.
The note before is considered lower.
So a B is lower than the next C.
A note that occurs later on is a higher note.
An E is a higher note than the earlier D. , In between the notes are sharps (represented by a #) and flats (represented by a ♭).
Sharps are the notes right after a letter, like an A→ A#, and flats are right before a note, like a D♭→ E.
Sharps and flats are interchangeable, depending on the song.
For example, the note between a C and D is written as either a C# or a D♭.
The full set of notes is:
A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G# Notice that there is no such thing as E# or B#.
E and B do not ever have sharps, and the notes simply skip from E→F.
As such, there is no C♭ or F♭ either.
If you remember this small exception to the rule, memorizing the guitar will be easy. , The frets of a guitar are numbered, with 0 being an open string, 1 being the fret closest to the head, and so on.
A half-step is simply moving from one note to the next (A→ A#), including the sharps and flats, whereas a full-step jumps two notes (A→ B, B→ C#).
Each fret represents a half step up from the one before it.
So:
On the top string, the first note (an open string) is E.
The first fret on the top string is an F (remember, there is no such thing as E#).
The second fret on the top string is an F#.
The third fret on the top string is a G.
This continues all the way down.
Try naming each note on one string.
If you got it all right, you'll be back to E by the 12th fret. , Natural notes are those without sharps or flats (A,B,C,D,E,F,G).
The best place to begin learning is on the top (or 6th) string, the E.
On this string, the first few major notes are marked by dots on the fretboard.E is on the open string.
F is on the 1st fret.
G is on the 3d fret.
A is on the 5th fret.
B is on the 7th fret.
C is on the 8th fret.
D is on the 10th fret.
E is on the 12th fret, and the pattern repeats. , Frets are the small metal bars on the neck.
When you press a string down on a fret, it gives you a different note, moving down the scale.
But at the 12th fret (usually noted by 2 dots on the guitar), the whole guitar resets.
The 12th fret of any string is the identical note as the open string, and then everything repeats.
This means you only need to learn the notes from 0-12 frets, then know that they are identical after the 12th fret.On the twelfth fret, for example, your notes would be E B G D A E, from the bottom up.
This is because there are only 12 notes total in Western music
-- A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#.
After the 12th note you are back where you started.
About the Author
Megan Stevens
Enthusiastic about teaching creative arts techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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