Identifying Notes on the Fretboard
In total, there are 12 notes in music, and they are made up of two groups naturals and accidentals (sharps and flats). To be able to identify notes on the fretboard first we have to know the music notes.
Mapping Notes Across a Single String
Section titled “Mapping Notes Across a Single String”Start by using the open string as a starting point then gradually move across the frets in ascending or descending order. Below are all the notes labelled on the E6 string.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
E
F
F♯
G♭
G
G♯
A♭
A
A♯
B♭
B
C
C♯
D♭
D
D♯
E♭
E
Natural Notes as Reference Points
Section titled “Natural Notes as Reference Points”By memorising note placements we can create more reference points. A good place to start is by labelling all the natural notes along each string.
E
F
G
A
B
C
D
E
B
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
G
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
D
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
A
E
F
G
A
B
C
D
E
Frets
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
The frets greater than the 12th fret repeat the same sequence of notes only the range becomes an octave higher (+8ve).
E
F
G
A
B
C
D
E
B
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
G
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
D
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
A
E
F
G
A
B
C
D
E
Frets
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24