[ prev] [ Table of Contents] [next]
Chapter Three - Guitar
Half steps on the Guitar fretboard
The guitar fretboard is divided into half-step increments. There are no white and black keys on the fretboard. Each fret is a half-step interval from its adjacent neighbor.
Whole steps on the Guitar fretboard
A whole step on the guitar fretboard is a two fret distance when the two notes are on the same string. If the notes are on adjacent strings then the fret span is -3 frets on most strings (-2 frets between string 2 and string 3).
The open strings are usually considered the landmark notes on the guitar.
The highest sounding string is "E" (string 1).
then "B" (string 2),
the next is "G" (string 3),
the next one is "D" (string 4),
the next higher is "A" (string 5),
the lowest sounding string is another "E" (string 6),
The low E (string 6) is two octaves lower than the high E (string 1).
The guitar fretboard is divided into half-step increments, each string having its own specific range. There are no white and black keys on a fretboard to distinguish the sharp and flat notes from the natural notes. The intervals between adjacent natural letter names of the musical alphabet have been stated as being a half-step between B-C and E-F, all other adjacent letter names are a whole-step apart. This means that the note "C" is one fret (one fret = half-step) higher than the note "B". Also the note "D" is two frets (two fret = whole-step) higher than the note "C".
The natural notes of the fretboard should be memorized. Remember that the natural notes are a whole-step interval apart except between B-C and E-F.
The natural notes on string 1 (E string)
The natural notes on string 2 (B string)
The natural notes on string 3 (G string)
The natural notes on string 4 (D string)
The natural notes on string 5 (A string)
The natural notes on string 6 (E string)
[ prev] [ Table of Contents] [next]