Guide

Guitar string notes

Every guitar string is a row of notes that go up one step per fret. The open strings are E, A, D, G, B and E. From there the notes climb through the musical alphabet. Here is the whole map for the first twelve frets, and the shortcut that makes it easy.

The open strings

EADGBeopenEADGBE
Play a string without pressing it: that is the open note. Thin e is on top.

These six notes are the starting points. Everything else on the neck is counted up from them.

The notes up the neck

EADGBeopen123456789101112EFGABCDEABCDEFGADEFGABCDGABCDEFGBCDEFGABEFGABCDE
Every natural note on the first twelve frets. The gaps are sharps and flats.

Each fret is one half step. The musical alphabet is A B C D E F G, and there is a sharp between every pair except B to C and E to F. That is why some frets are blank on the map.

Tip

Fret 12 is the open string again

Twelve half steps make an octave. Whatever a string is open, it is the same note, higher, at fret 12. That is why fret 12 has two dots.

Three shortcuts

  1. 1

    Fret 5 is the next string

    The A string at fret 5 is D, the same as the open D string. It works on every pair except G to B, where it is fret 4.

  2. 2

    Learn the thick E and A strings first

    Chords are named after their lowest note, so those two strings tell you the name of almost every chord shape.

  3. 3

    Use the dots

    Frets 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12 have dots. On the thick E they are G, A, B, C sharp and E.

FretThick E stringA string
0EA
1FA#
2F#B
3GC
4G#C#
5AD
7BE
8CF
10DG
12EA
The thick E and A strings, the ones that name chords

Hear it in a song

Ode to Joy in Melody mode plays five notes on the two thin strings. Watch the fretboard light up and say each note name as it sounds.

Try it now

Ode to Joy, melody mode

Melody mode, 60 percent speed. The right-hand card names every note.

Open the song

Questions people ask

What are the notes on the guitar strings?
Open, from thick to thin: E, A, D, G, B, E. Each fret up adds one half step.
How many notes are on a guitar?
Twelve different notes, repeated in different octaves. A guitar with 20 frets has about four octaves of range.
Do I need to memorise the whole fretboard?
Not to play songs. Learn the open strings and the thick E and A strings up to fret 5. The rest comes from playing.

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