In guitar lesson four, we
learned the names of the notes on the sixth and fifth string (you'll want
to review them first if you're unsure of them). While that lesson was
designed to teach you the basic note names, it did not tell you all you
need to know as a guitarist. The following lesson will fill in the gaps
lesson four intentionally avoided.
If you've absorbed the material in lesson four, you'll know the names
of all the notes in red on the diagram to the left. What you won't recognize
is the names of the notes in between these red dots.
Let's begin by examining two new terms... "sharp" - which is written like
this: # , and "flat" - which is written like this: b . Essentially,
the term sharp means a note is raised a note by one fret (a "semitone"),
while flat means a note is lowered by one fret (a "semitone").
Upon studying the diagram to the left, you'll notice each "in-between"
note has two alternate names: one being a letter name followed by a sharp
sign, and the other being a letter name followed by a flat sign. To explain
this, we'll name the note on the second fret of the sixth string. The
note is one fret above the note F on the first fret, so we will refer
to the note as an F sharp(F#). Alternately, the same note is also one
fret below the note G on the third fret, so it can also be referred to
as G flat(Gb). You'll see this note referred to as either F# or Gb (for
theoretical reasons that don't concern us now), so you must be aware that
they are the exact same note. This same principle holds true for all other
notes on the fretboard.
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THINGS TO REMEMBER: |
- "Sharp" is
notated as #
- "Flat" is
notated as b
- If a letter
name is followed by a sharp(#), the note is one fret higher than
the fret you'd normally play that letter name on. Example: you'd
play G on the third fret, sixth string. You'd play G# on the fourth
fret sixth string.
- If a letter
name is followed by a flat(b), the note is one fret lower than
the fret you'd normally play that letter name on. Example: you'd
play D on the tenth fret, sixth string. You'd play Db on the ninth
fret sixth string.
- F# = Gb,
G# = Ab, A# = Bb, C# = Db, D# = Eb
- The note
name on the 12th fret of any string is always the same as the
open string.
- Memorize
the open string name, and several more note names and locations
on both the sixth and fifth string. This will make finding all
other notes much quicker.
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