Notes and the fretboard

Practice it: Fretboard Notes, Find the Note

Every fret is one semitone, the smallest step in Western music. Learn the twelve notes and how they repeat, and you can find any note on the neck by counting from one you already know.

The twelve notes

There are seven natural notes: A B C D E F G. Between most neighbors sits one more note, named after either side. The note between C and D is C♯ (C sharp, one fret above C) or D♭ (D flat, one fret below D). Same sound, two names. Which name to use depends on the key, which the Numbers game covers later.

Two pairs have nothing between them: B to C, and E to F. Each is a single fret apart.

Going up one fret at a time from A: A, A♯/B♭, B, C, C♯/D♭, D, D♯/E♭, E, F, F♯/G♭, G, G♯/A♭, then A again. Twelve notes, then the cycle repeats.

Frets are semitones

One fret up raises a note by a semitone. Two frets is a whole tone. Twelve frets is an octave: the same note name, one octave higher. That's why fret 12 has the double dot. It's the open string again, an octave up, and the layout of the neck starts over from there.

Finding a note by counting

Start from the open string and count up. On the A string: fret 1 is A♯, fret 2 is B, fret 3 is C (nothing between B and C), fret 4 is C♯, fret 5 is D. For frets above 6 it's quicker to count down from fret 12, because fret 12 is the open note again. Fret 10 on the A string is two below A: G.

The fret 5 rule

In standard tuning, fret 5 on a string is the same note as the next string's open note. Fret 5 on the low E is A, fret 5 on the A is D, fret 5 on the D is G. The exception is the G string, where the match is fret 4 (B), because G and B are the one pair tuned 4 semitones apart. It's the same rule you use to tune by ear.

Octave shapes

Every note shows up in several places. 2 shapes find the same note an octave higher:

• From the low E or A string: two strings up, two frets up. A string fret 3 (C) and G string fret 5 (C) are an octave apart.
• From the D or G string: two strings up, three frets up. The extra fret comes from the G-B gap. D string fret 2 (E) and B string fret 5 (E) are an octave apart.

Natural notes, frets 0 to 12

How to practice

Start Fretboard Notes on the low E and A strings, frets 0 to 12, naturals only, as its learning path does. Add strings once you're above 90% at under two seconds per answer, then add sharps and flats.