How well do you know your fretboard?
Do you know all of the notes? [Intermediate Beginner Lesson]
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Thank-you, Dave.
This article takes a look at the fundamentals of learning the fretboard and how easy it actually is. All you need to know are a few ways to memorize positions, patterns and application.
Intermediate Beginner Lesson
Many of my students tell me that they want to learn the entire fretboard of their guitar, but they are a bit intimidated by the overwhelming amount of notes to memorize. They are fairly comfortable with the first few frets and the open string notes, but beyond the fourth or fifth fret, that's like "no man's land!" No, no, it really isn't all that bad. Like anything else you'd learn on the guitar, it just takes time and practice.
Open string chords and their root notes. (1st position)
When I start a beginner student, I tell them to memorize their strings by using this phrase: "Elephants Always Drink Good Beer Everyday". I also give the optional: "Every Acid Dealer Gets Busted Eventually", for my adult students who are happy to incorporate dry humor into their learning process. As you may have surmised, the first letter of each word is the name of the string. An easy way for kids to remember which string is the 6th string is to think of the thickest (biggest) string as the "elephant" string. With most of your open string (cowboy) chords, the lowest note in the chord is the name of the chord. For example, the note you play with your third finger (5th string, 3rd fret) in the "C" chord shape, is the lowest "C" on the fretboard. Another example is the (6th string, 3rd fret) of the "G" chord. That is the lowest "G" on the fretboard. The "E minor" chord has its lowest note as the open 6th (elephant) string. That is the lowest "E" on your guitar. The "A minor" chord has its lowest note as the open 5th (always) string. That is the lowest "A" on your guitar. The "D" chord has its lowest note as the open 4th (drink) string. That is the lowest "D" on your guitar.
Learning the open strings and the first three frets.
We need to establish a basic understanding of music in the linear form. Music uses the first seven letters of the alphabet: A-B-C-D-E-F and G. (Otherwise known as the "natural" notes). There is no "H". Once you've reached G, you start over at "A". There are two pairs of notes that do NOT have any notes between them. They are: "B and C", and "E and F".
Here is what all twelve of the notes look like in the linear form:
(# = Sharp, b = Flat)
[A] - [A#/Bb] - [B] - [C] - [C#/Db] - [D] - [D#/Eb] - [E] - [F] - [F#/Gb] - [G] - [G#/Ab].
You will notice that five of the notes have dual names. These are called "Enharmonic" notes. Think of these notes as the black notes on the piano. All of the other regular (natural) notes are the white notes on the piano.
For learning purposes on the guitar and to simplify things, we will use the following notes:
[A] - [Bb] - [B] - [C] - [Db] - [D] - [Eb] - [E] - [F] - [F#] - [G] - [Ab]
Let's start off by looking at the open strings of the guitar. E-A-D-G-B-E (order: 6-5-4-3-2-1).
Strings 1 and 6 (E)
Now, let's learn the notes on frets one, two and three on the 1st and 6th string (E). Now, remember, "E" is the open 1st and 6th string. That means the very next fret (fret 1) will be the note that comes after E. That note is "F". If you look at the chart above, you will see this in the order of notes listed. So, what will be the note on fret 2? If you said "F#", you are correct! Fret 3 will be the "G" note.
1st and 6th string - open = E
1st and 6th string - fret 1 = F
1st and 6th string - fret 2 = F#
1st and 6th string - fret 3 = G
String 5 (A)
Now, let's learn the notes on frets one, two and three on the 5th string (A). Now, remember, "A" is the open 5th string. That means the very next fret (fret 1) will be the note that comes after A. That note is "Bb". So, what will be the note on fret 2? If you said "B", you are correct! Fret 3 will be the "C" note.
5th string - open = A
5th string - fret 1 = Bb
5th string - fret 2 = B
5th string - fret 3 = C
String 4 (D)
Now, let's learn the notes on frets one, two and three on the 4th string (D). Now, remember, "D" is the open 4th string. That means the very next fret (fret 1) will be the note that comes after D. That note is "Eb". So, what will be the note on fret 2? If you said "E", you are correct! Fret 3 will be the "F" note.
4th string - open = D
4th string - fret 1 = Eb
4th string - fret 2 = E
4th string - fret 3 = F
String 3 (G)
Now, let's learn the notes on frets one, two and three on the 3rd string (G). Now, remember, "G" is the open 3rd string. That means the very next fret (fret 1) will be the note that comes after G. That note is "Ab". So, what will be the note on fret 2? If you said "A", you are correct! Fret 3 will be the "Bb" note.
3rd string - open = G
3rd string - fret 1 = Ab
3rd string - fret 2 = A
3rd string - fret 3 = Bb
String 2 (B)
Now, let's learn the notes on frets one, two and three on the 2nd string (B). Now, remember, "B" is the open 2nd string. That means the very next fret (fret 1) will be the note that comes after B. That note is "C". So, what will be the note on fret 2? If you said "Db", you are correct! Fret 3 will be the "D" note.
2nd string - open = B
2nd string - fret 1 = C
2nd string - fret 2 = Db
2nd string - fret 3 = D
Let's go back to your chords.
If you take everything we just learned above and apply it to the chords we already know, we can now easily figure out all of the notes in each of our chords.
For example the notes in the C chord (from string 5 to string 1) are in this order:
5th string - fret 3 = C
4th string - fret 2 = E
3rd string - fret 0 = G
2nd string - fret 1 = C
1st string - fret 0 = E
See how that works? Pretty cool, huh?
Now, let's try the G chord:
6th string - fret 3 = G
5th string - fret 2 = B
4th string - fret 0 = D
3rd string - fret 0 = G
2nd string - fret 3 = D
1st string - fret 3 = G
Have you noticed that these (triad) chords only require three different notes? Okay, let's try another one.
How about the E minor chord?
6th string - fret 0 = E
5th string - fret 2 = B
4th string - fret 2 = E
3rd string - fret 0 = G
2nd string - fret 0 = B
1st string - fret 0 = E
So far, all of our chords have been using the natural notes, no sharps or flats. Well, let's change that.
Let's try the D chord.
4th string - fret 0 = D
3rd string - fret 2 = A
2nd string - fret 3 = D
1st string - fret 2 = F#
Oh look! We have an enharmonic note in the D chord.
Now, let's try an exercise.
Find each of the following notes for each of the chord shapes, then say the name of the chord:
4th string - fret 0 = D
3rd string - fret 2 = A
2nd string - fret 3 = D
1st string - fret 2 = F
Hmm, it looks like some sort of D chord, right? Is it D7? Maybe it's Db. No, that's not right. Did you say D minor? You got it!
Next one:
5th string - fret 0 = A
4th string - fret 2 = E
3rd string - fret 2 = A
2nd string - fret 1 = C
1st string - fret 0 = E
This one looks like some sort of A chord. You can tell by the lowest (root) note "A". Did you say A or A minor? If you said A minor, you are correct.
Next one. This one might be a little tricky:
5th string - fret 3 = C
4th string - fret 3 = F (root)
3rd string - fret 2 = A
2nd string - fret 1 = C
1st string - fret 1 = F
Yes, it's one of those "barre" chords. Most beginners hate this chord because of its difficulty. If you said the F chord, you are correct.
Okay, so now, we have established the 24 notes that exist between the open strings and the third fret of your guitar:
1st and 6th strings = E, F, F# and G
5th string = A, Bb, B and C
4th string = D, Eb, E and F
3rd string = G, Ab, A and Bb
2nd string = B, C, Db, and D
How in the world do we go beyond this?
It's actually very easy to figure out the next (2nd) position on the fretboard.
Let's talk about frets 4, 5, 6 and 7.
What is the 6th string, 3rd fret note? We know that it's the "G" note, correct? So, what would be the note on the 4th fret? What note is one-half step higher than G? If you said "Ab", you are correct. So, the 6th string, 4th fret is "Ab". That would mean that the notes on the string, frets 4, 5, 6 and 7 would look like this:
1st/6th string - fret 4 = Ab
1st/6th string - fret 5 = A
1st/6th string - fret 6 = Bb
1st/6th string - fret 7 = B
Using that same context, we can now figure out the notes on the other strings:
5th string - fret 4 = Db
5th string - fret 5 = D
5th string - fret 6 = Eb
5th string - fret 7 = E
4th string - fret 4 = F#
4th string - fret 5 = G
4th string - fret 6 = Ab
4th string - fret 7 = A
3rd string - fret 4 = B
3rd string - fret 5 = C
3rd string - fret 6 = Db
3rd string - fret 7 = D
2nd string - fret 4 = Eb
2nd string - fret 5 = E
2nd string - fret 6 = F
2nd string - fret 7 = F#
How are you supposed to remember all of these?
Ooo! A neato trick you can use!
Well, here’s a little trick I use. Let's try the 6th string, 3rd fret "G". Now, from that note, go up two frets to fret 5, then go over two strings to the 4th string, 5th fret. That note is the next "G" note, one octave higher. Use the "two up/two over" ruel to go from string 6 to string 4. You can also use it going from string 5 to string 3. For example, start at the 5th string, 5th fret "D" note. Now, use the rule and find the note on the 3rd string, 7th fret. Guess what...that's the next "D" note, one octave higher.
Okay, so what trick can we use to figure out the notes on the 2nd and 1st strings?
Let's go to the 4th string 4th fret "F#". Now, let's use a new rule. This time instead of two frets up, we will go up three frets, then over two strings. So, now you should be on the 2nd string, 7th fret. That note is the next F#, one octave higher. This same rule is also applied from the 3rd string to the 1st string. For example: Let's go to the 3rd string, 5th fret "C". Now, use the "up three/over two" rule to find the note on the 1st string, 8th fret. You have found the next "C" note, one octave higher.
Using these techniques often enough, you will eventually begin to see the entire fretboard as more of a road map than a conglomeration of mysterious or illusive notes. Try memorizing the notes in all of the chords that you have in your vocabulary. Then learn the notes in your scales in every key. Also, learn how chord structure works and how adding more notes to a triad gives you nicer, more colorful chords. There are an estimated 23,000 chords on the guitar. You need to know about 80-100 of these chords in order to play just about every possible type of music on your guitar.
Hope this helps.