Easily Learn the Guitar Fretboard Notes
Learning the guitar fretboard notes can feel like a daunting task, but it’s vitally important. Without knowing the notes, you face a very difficult challenge when it comes to navigating the fretboard and opening yourself up as a guitar player. It’s not the most fun task, but in this lesson I’ll give you a few different avenues that will help make the process quick and easy.
Music Notes
In music, we have 12 notes that go between A and G:
A – A#/B♭ – B – C – C#/D♭ – D – D#/E♭ – E – F – F#/G♭ – G – G#/A♭
Note that the #/♭ are enharmonic, which means they’re the same pitch, just named differently. These 12 notes make up all of the notes on the guitar fretboards. Now let’s see how they’re laid out on the guitar, starting with the open strings.
Open String Notes
The open string notes are the notes of the strings when played open, or not fretted. Working from top down we have the following notes:
6th String = E (thickest)
5th String = A
4th String = D
3rd String = G
2nd String = B
1st String = e (thinnest)
The guitar is set up in two octaves. The second octave starts on the 12th fret, which means we’ll have the exact same notes as the open strings on the 12th fret of the guitar.
All of the notes that occur between frets 1 and 12 also occur after the 12th fret in the same order.
Fretboard Notes By String
Now let’s map these notes to each string, starting with string 6, then we’ll run through some exercises that will help you learn the notes across all strings.
Guitar Notes on String 6
The 6th string starts with E. You’ll notice that when you move up each fret, the pitch increases by 1 semitone, from open E to F to F#. Note that anywhere you see a sharp (F# for instance), that note can also be written as the flat of the natural note just above it (G♭). Likewise, where you see a flat (B♭), that note can be written as the sharp of the natural note below it (A#).
You’ll also notice that when you reach G#, the next pitch starts over at A.
Once you reach the 12th fret you have the octave note, which is the same note as the open string at a higher pitch.
The natural notes on the 6th string occur on frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, and 12.
Guitar Notes on String 5
The notes on the 5th string start with A in the open position. The natural notes occur on frets 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10 and 12.
Guitar Notes on String 4
D is the open note on the 4th string and the naturals occur on frets 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, and 12.
Guitar Notes on String 3
The 3rd string starts with G in the open position. The natural notes are found on frets 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 12.
Guitar Notes on String 2
The 2nd string starts with B in the open position and the natural notes occur on frets 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 12.
Guitar Notes on String 1
The notes of the first string are exactly the same as the notes on the 6th string, only 2 octaves higher.
Exercises to Learn the Notes on the Guitar Fretboard
Now that you’ve seen how the notes are laid out on each string, let’s get to some exercises that will help you learn the notes on the guitar fretboard thoroughly in a short amount of time. I recommend starting with learning the notes by string, beginning with the natural notes. The naturals are easier to remember and allow you to fill in the gaps for the other notes.
1: Learn the naturals
Naturals are notes like G, A C, D…notes that don’t contain sharps/flats. I’ve found multiple exposures to the notes work better than a single longer duration session, so I recommend the following:
- 3 x 3 minute sessions followed by a 1 minute “rest” interval for each string. Do this 2x per day. Start by learning one string on day 1, the second string on day 2, etc. It doesn’t matter which string you start with, but keep in mind the 1st/6th strings are the same notes. With that said, I’ve read on many occasions that since these strings are the same notes you only have to learn one or the other. Technically this is true, but it comes back to context. If you only learn one or the other you’ll tend to use the one you learned as a frame of reference for figuring out the notes of the other. I recommend learning both. Besides, a little more exposure will never hurt anything.
2: Add the sharps/flats
Once you get the hang of the natural notes, use the same routine for the sharps/flats. Once you have those down, go through all the notes string by string using the same routine.
3: Note Groupings
We find it easier to remember chunks of information as opposed to individual pieces, so another effective method for learning the fretboard notes is taking groups of notes and learning them across the fretboard.
4: Octave shapes
Some people find it helpful to use octave shapes to learn the notes. Octave shapes are common shapes between a note and its octave.
It makes more sense when you see it, so take a look at the diagram below for the common octave shapes used to help learn the notes on the guitar.
To find the octave on the 5th and 6th strings, you count over two strings and up two frets. Because the tuning of the B string is a 3rd and not a 4th like the rest, the octave shape changes on the 3rd and 4th strings. To find the octave notes on those strings, you count over two strings and up three frets.
This approach is fine to start, but you eventually need to move on to instant note recall, which can be developed with the final two exercises.
5: Find single notes across all strings
Start with any note, A for instance, and find that note across all strings. Since we’re only working with the first 12 frets, there will be one instance of each note for each string (not including the open notes). This is a great exercise to use with the Circle of 5ths as it allows you to learn both the notes on the fretboard and the Circle of 5ths as well.
6: Random Note Identification
This is probably the most effective exercise for truly learning the notes all over the fretboard as it more closely mimics how this skill would be used and it requires a good bit of recall which will strengthen the learning process. For this exercise, you’re going to randomly finger a note on the fretboard and call out its name. To make it more beneficial, avoid fingering two notes on the same string consecutively or using any of the methods we used above. This exercise should be completely random.
You can make this process a little more fun with the use of a metronome. Start off by setting the metronome to a slow tempo, say 70bpm. For each click of the metronome, finger a note on the fretboard and call out its name. Once you’re able to perform the exercise at given tempo, increase the metronome by 5bpm.
Wrap-up
Becoming fluent with the notes on the fretboard takes a little work, but it can be done quickly and will pay dividends when it comes to navigating the guitar. Be consistent with your practice and keep dedicating a little time each practice session for note review and you’ll master the notes on the fretboard.
To keep from getting rusty, I recommend keeping a few minutes in your routine for note review. Knowing the notes on the guitar fretboard can be a little like math. If you’re not using them regularly, it’s easy to forget.
Cheat Sheet: Learning the Notes on the Guitar Fretboard
Download the cheat sheet for this lesson:
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