Lesson 2: Fretboard Logic

Sections

1. Physics of the Guitar

2. The 12 Tone System of Western Music

3. The Grid Methodİ (Learning the notes of the fretboard. Every one!)

4. Tuning the Guitar

5. Single Note Identification Chart

The purpose of this lesson is  to familiarize you with the fretboard and train you to quickly and accurately recognize any note on any string. This lessons includes essential knowledge that forms the foundation of good guitar playing.

Physics of the Guitar

Parts of the Electric Guitar	Parts of the Acoustic Guitar
(Click on image to enlarge)	(Click on image to enlarge)

The guitar can be thought of as six separate instruments, with each string being viewed as an individual instrument. Each string is said to be monophonic, or capable of producing only one note at a time. Since the guitar contains six strings, it is called a polyphonic instrument, capable of producing multiple tones at the same time.
        A string produces a tone when it is vibrating. The pitch (frequency) of the tone is determined by the length of the vibrating portion of the string,, the thickness of the string and the tension applied to the string (by the tuning pegs). Varying any of these parameters will change the pitch of the string when it is played. Tuning the guitar changes the tension on the strings, and thus the base pitch that the open (unfretted) strings create. You will also notice that the lower sounding strings are thicker than the higher sounding strings. This is so that all the strings can have about the same tension on them, but still sound at different pitches, even though they are all the same length.
        When you press down on a string in the process of playing a note on the guitar, the string makes contact with the fret directly to the right of the finger pressing down on the string (for right handed players). This changes the length of the portion of the string that is vibrating, thus changing the tone the string produces. Fretting a string closer to the bridge shortens the "length" of the string and the pitch gets higher. Fretting a string closer to the nut increases the "length" of the string and the pitch gets lower.

Remember!

1. The Guitar can be thought of as six separate instruments – each string can be viewed as an individual instrument.
2. Each string is monophonic – capable of producing only one note at a time.
3. Since the guitar consists of six separate strings, it is a polyphonic instrument – capable of producing multiple notes at a time.
4. The tone produced by a vibrating string depends on the length of the vibrating portion of the string, the thickness of the string, and the tension placed on the string, and the .
5. Tuning the guitar is accomplished by adjusting the tension placed on each of the strings.
6. When you fret a string (press down on it), you shorten the vibrating portion of the string, producing a higher tone.

The 12 Tone System of Western Music

        There are seven natural notes in the western system of music. These notes are represented by the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. In addition to the seven natural notes, there five other notes, designated either by sharps or flats, which occur between the seven natural notes. The seven natural notes and the five intermediate tones make up the twelve tones of the western system of music.
        These concepts are illustrated in the following two tables. As you can see, sharps are designated with a "#" and represent a note that is a half step higher. For example, A# is a half step higher than A. Conversely, flats are represented by a "b" and represent a note that is a half step lower, so Bb is a half step lower than B. As the table shows, A# and Bb both correspond to the same note. These notes are said to be enharmonic equivalents.
 

Seven natural notes

  Chromatic Series (12 tones of Western Music)
 

Remember!

1. There are only seven “natural” notes in the Western system of music.
2. There are only twelve tones altogether [including the sharps (#’s) and flats (b’s)] in the Western system of music.
3. These twelve tones consist of seven natural notes and five sharps/flats.
4. The sharps/flats are said to be enharmonic equivalents. The enharmonics are indicated above by the arrows.

The Grid Methodİ

        The Grid Methodİ is a system I have developed which will help you memorize the name and the location of every note on the fretboard. Every note – Every string – Every fret. It can be done, and this method shows you how to do it! It is critical for any guitarist to be able to quickly locate or identify any note on the guitar fretboard in order to develop the following skills:

1. Reading music
2. Constructing and identifying chords, scales and arpeggios
3. Improvising
4. Transcribing music (writing down music as you hear it performed)
5. Composing music

 The task of memorizing the notes on the fretboard sounds daunting. Trust me. Hundreds of my students have successfully used this method to accomplish this. Just follow the directions as I have laid them out here. Soon you to will know the fretboard inside and out.
 

Step 1: Draw a Blank Fretboard Diagram
 

Step 2: Label the Grid Frets

Step 3: Memorize the Grid Fretsİ

        The last step in the grid method is to actually memorize the Grid Fretsİ. This will not be as difficult as it seems. First of all, you only have to memorize 12 frets because the notes repeat themselves starting with the 12th fret, ie. the notes of the 12th fret are the same as the open strings, the 13th fret is the same as the 1st fret, the 14th fret is the same as the 2nd fret, etc, etc...
        "12 Frets!!!" You exclaim. Don't worry. It's even easier than that. The beauty of the Grid Methodİ is that you only need to memorize every other fret. The others can be inferred as being a half step above or below a fret you will memorize. For example, you won't memorize the 6th fret, but you will be able to quickly name a note on the 6th fret since you will know the notes on both the 5th and 7th frets. It's easy! You only need to memorize the open strings (EADGBE), and 6 more frets. You can use the following mnemonics to help you with the memorization. Note that two-syllable words represent sharped notes.:
 

Remember!

1. You only need to memorize the first twelve frets. The fretboard repeats itself after that.
2. You only have the open strings and 6 more frets to memorize: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10.
3. Raising each of the open string tones by one half step gives the tones of the first fret.
4. Use the mnemonics if you need to. Two-syllable words are for sharps.
5. Go up or down a half step to identify the notes in non-Grid Fretsİ.

Just to Put It In Perspective

        When the student cannot recognize notes on the fretboard instantly, the guitar simply appears to be a series of metal wires. Often, guitar students do not appreciate the full benefit of really knowing the entire fretboard. Surprisingly, many of my most advanced students, even graduates of music schools, still didn't have the fretboard memorized to the point where they could perform the above mentioned skills rapidly or adequately. You now have a skill that even some advanced musicians do not! Conratulations!

Suggested Practice Routine

Practice Memorizing the Grid Methodİ as follows:

1. With guitar in hand and your Grid Methodİ diagram in view, finger the notes on each string. Do this on one string at a time in sequence (from the 6th. to the 1st. string) for one given fret (i.e.: the first fret), and say them out loud as you play each one.
2. With the guitar only - do not look at the Grid Methodİ diagram, call out each note, on each string, in sequence for each fret.
3. Use the Grid Methodİ diagram only and say each note aloud as described above.
4. Do the Grid Methodİ in your head while visualizing the fretboard. Do not look at the guitar or the Grid Methodİ diagram while doing this step.

Total Practice time per day: 5-7 mins. daily. (approximately 2 mins per step.)  
 
 
 

Tuning the Guitar Using the Fifth Fret Relative Tuning Method

        Developing and having a good ear is very important to a musician. Practicing the act of tuning your instrument will aid the development of your ears. A tuned instrument is also essential for practicing and playing. Tune your guitar every time you play it. All you need to tune your guitar is a single, stable reference tone.
       A stable reference tone can come from one of many different sources. Some common sources for this tone are a tuning fork (preferable an A 440, meaning 440 Hz in frequency), a keyboard or piano, another guitar known to be in tune, or a pitch pipe. It is also possible to tune without a stable tone if you have an electronic tuner. It can tell you if a note you are playing is correct.
 

        Personally, I prefer to use a tuning fork for my stable reference tone because it forces me to use my ear with more sharpness (awareness). I don’t like to use electronic tuners unless I’m at a live “gig” and then I’m forced to tune electronically because I can’t hear the guitar. Follow the following instructions to tune your guitar: 

Important note - If you can’t hear the string sounding, then don’t turn the tuning key for the string because the only way you know when to stop turning, or which direction to tune,  is by hearing the string you are trying to tune.
 
 
 

Single Note Identification Chart