So at this point you should know the names of the open strings, the parts of the guitar and how to read fretboard diagrams. If you are just joining us and have not gone through part 1 you can find it here.

The Musical Alphabet

Some of you will be completely new to music, if so it is good to know that when you hear an instrument play a note or pitch, that pitch has a name. We use letters from the alphabet to name each note. There are only 7 letters used to name all of the notes that we can play, all the notes that there are. We use A through G. So as far as music is concerned it is good to think of it as a cycle. A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D-E-F-G etc… The tricky part is getting used to an A being higher than a G. So it is good to practice saying the alphabet forward and backwards within this cycle to get used to thinking of it in this way.

The C Major Scale

The white notes on a piano represent a C Major scale. C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. We are going to start here as a good way to understand whole steps and half steps. Another name for whole steps and half steps is whole tone and semitone. As shown below there is a whole step between C and D, D and E, F and G, G and A, A and B. While there is a semi tone between E and F as well as B and C. So what is a whole tone and a semitone you might ask.

A semitone is when you move 1 fret on your guitar on the same string. While a whole tone is 2 frets. Notice on the diagram of a piano below how there is no notes between the E’s and F’s as well as the B’s and C’s. All the other notes there is a note in between. So that illustrates that E and F are right beside each other and B and C are right next to each other. Every other note has a note in between.

Learning the Notes on a String

The first step in learning notes on the guitar is to get familiar with each string. It is important to find only natural notes. Not sharps or flats. If you don’t know what sharps and flats are I will go over that shortly.

It is important to figure this out without a diagram so here are the steps fo the E string.

1. The fret with the double dots is the twelfth fret. It is the same note as the open string an octave higher. (More on octaves later)
2. Play the open 6th string and say it’s name. “E”
3. Think of whether the next note, F, is whole step (2 frets) or a 1/2 step (1 fret) away. It is important to find the note in you mind and note move your hand until you see the F. Don’t try to find each note with your finger.
4. Once you find the F you continue up the 6th string until you reach the twelfth fret, which is an E.
5. Once you are on the twelfth fret do the same process backwards until you reach the open string.
6. Remember to say each note out loud as you play them.
7. It doesn’t matter which finger you play the notes with.

Remember that the only time you are moving a 1/2 step (1 fret) is when you move from E to F or when you move B to C. All of the other notes are a whole step (2 frets) apart.

So work through all the strings and once you gone through a string a few times check the diagram below to see if you are finding the notes in the correct place. Be sure to use the fret markers as a guide to remember where each note is played.

Goal:Get really familiar with each string, saying the notes out loud. Make sure you work on the strings ascending and descending.

Stay tuned for Part 3 as we get going with chords.