Lesson 33 / 41 8 min
Finding written notes on the neck
Open-position notes, one note in many places, positions and the full range of the guitar on the staff.
Reading notation on the guitar takes one extra step that pianists don't have: after naming a note, you have to decide where to play it, because most notes exist in several places on the neck. This lesson connects the staff to the fretboard.
The open position
The open position covers the open strings and the first three or four frets. Most beginner material lives here, so learn these notes first. Each string has two or three natural notes:
| String | Notes (fret) |
|---|---|
| 6th (low E) | E (0), F (1), G (3) |
| 5th (A) | A (0), B (2), C (3) |
| 4th (D) | D (0), E (2), F (3) |
| 3rd (G) | G (0), A (2) |
| 2nd (B) | B (0), C (1), D (3) |
| 1st (high e) | E (0), F (1), G (3) |
Play through all of them, low to high, and watch the notes climb the staff as the cursor moves through the tab:
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A sharp is one fret higher and a flat one fret lower, so F♯ on the low E string is fret 2, and B♭ on the A string is fret 1. You'll learn all about them in Sharps, flats and key signatures.
Name the notes across the whole open position — ledger lines included:
Which note is this?
Your first melody
Here is a famous tune (Beethoven's Ode to Joy) on the top two strings. Read the notation first, check the tab only when you need to, then play along.
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One note, many places
Every note above the open strings can be played in more than one spot. The same written E can be the open high e, the 5th fret of the B string, the 9th fret of the G string or the 14th fret of the D string. The notation doesn't change — only the tab does:
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The circled numbers under the notes are string numbers: ② means "play this on the 2nd string". When a score doesn't say, you choose — usually the place closest to where your hand already is.
Positions
A position is named after the fret your index finger covers. In 5th position, the index finger plays fret 5, the middle finger fret 6, the ring finger 7 and the pinky 8 — one finger per fret, without moving your hand. Classical scores mark positions with Roman numerals (V = 5th position); some write "pos. V".
Here is the C major scale in the open position, then in 5th position. Same notes on the staff, different frets:
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Playing in position lets you read without looking at your hand. Good readers learn the notes in a few positions — open, II, V, VII and IX cover the whole neck up to the 12th fret.
The range of the guitar
On the staff, the guitar runs from the low E three ledger lines below the staff up to the high E three ledger lines above it at the 12th fret — and higher still past the 12th fret, where scores often switch to 8va to save ledger lines. Remember: the 12th fret is the same note as the open string, one octave higher.
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Practice the notes above the staff:
Which note is this?
And finally the whole range at once:
Which note is this?
Practice
- Pick a position and play every natural note in it, saying the names aloud.
- Read a simple melody in the open position, then find it again in 5th position.
- Spend five minutes a day with the quizzes on this page until the answers come instantly.