Hey gang... Let's do a quick review of the notes on your guitar. Starting with the string names:
E B G D A E
1 2 3 4 5 6
The first picture below has the notes on the first string. The second picture has all of the notes on all strings up to the 12th string.
Note that some of the notes have 2 names. The "#" means sharp, and the "b" means flat.
A#/Bb means A sharp or B flat
C#/Db means C sharp or D flat
D#/Eb means D sharp or E flat
F#/Gb means F sharp or G flat
G#/Ab means G sharp or A flat
So, why the two note names, and what's with the "or" stuff?
Now remember. Music is supposed to be logical, right? So... there has to be a reason for all of this, right?
Right as rain.
Those notes on your guitar that seem to follow some mysterious pattern -- well, it ain't no mysterious pattern.
It'a a scale. The Chromatic Scale, in fact.
Picture a piano (or keyboard, if you insist) in your head. If you have a piano at home, run, go look at it!. If you know how to play the piano, you may already know this.
The piano IS a chromatic scale.
The piano has white keys and black keys. The black keys are the "sharp or flat" notes.
The strings on your guitar are all chromatic scales.
Your guitar neck itself is a chromatic scale.
Look at the 3rd picture below. That's the Chromatic Scale.
The thing is also known as a 12-tone scale -- meaning it has 12 different notes (tones). It then repeats itself. It is also known as a half-step scale because the distance, or numeric interval between each and every note is one-half (1/2) step.
On a piano, the interval, or distance between each and every note is a half-step. On the guitar, the frets are all half steps.
Let's talk about the sharps (#), and the flats (b).
Some notes have two names, right? Whether a note is called an A# or Bb (A#/Bb) depends on what you are doing and where you are coming from.
The definition of a sharp is to raise ANY note one-half step, and the definition of a flat is to lower ANY note one-half step. So, a note will be called an A# if we are raising "A" a half step. That SAME NOTE will be called a Bb if we are lowering "B" a half step.
So... how come there are no sharp/flat thingies between B and C and between E and F? Because these are "natural" half steps. Go run and look at that piano again. When you see two white keys together without any black keys sticking in between, you are looking at either B and C, or E and F.
The strings on your guitar are all chromatic scales, only they are starting from a different note -- the string name.
If you memorize the chromatic scale, and if you understand that you can start this thing from any note you choose (because it repeats itself), you can figure out every single note on your guitar without the help of some stupid chart (like picture 2 for example).
The Chromatic Scale is the most important scale that you will ever learn. If you understand that it is a half-step scale, and if you understand that you can start this thing from any point, it will help you to understand other stuff that will come your way later.
Memorize it forward and backward.
Do some math with the half-steps. Add them together.
For example, the distance (interval) between A and B is a whole step (1/2 + 1/2 = 1). The distance between A and C is a step and a half ( 1/2 + 1/2 + 1/2 = 1 1/2.) Play around with this. A lot.
If you can, in your head, be able to say, for example, that 1 1/2 steps down from F is D (1/2 + 1/2 + 1/2) this will help you later on.
So, if someone comes up to you, grabs you by the collar and screams in your face "WHAT'S ONE STEP UP FROM F#!!!", you'll look at him, blink, stifle a yawn and calmly reply "Why, it's G#, of course. What else could it be?"
Okidoke. Start memorizing.
Professor Bruno Noteworthy
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Contributor's Note
Professor Bruno Noteworthy is a toon music professor who loves to teach the guitar to kids.
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