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Table C shows the notes, in the key of C, on each of the six strings. The strings are labelled vertically, on the left-hand side of the diagram, going from E (the top string), to B, G, D, A, and E. The lowest string on the diagram, the (low) E string or sixth string, is the lowest-pitched (and thickest) string on the guitar. The frets are marked horizontally, from open (denoted by zero), to the first fret (denoted by a one), the second fret (denoted by a two), and so on through fret 15, on the top of the diagram. The notes on the guitar cover parts of four octaves. They range from a low of E2 to a high of G5. You might be able to go farther up the neck and get a little higher. This file explains the tuning of the guitar and the E2, G5 notation; this file shows the frequencies of the notes. I have color-coded the four octaves. The notes in black (the lowest octave) start with E (which is open) on the (low) E string, go to F and G (1st and 3rd fret on that string), go on to A, B, and C (open, 2nd, and 3rd fret on the fifth or A string), and stop at D, which is open on the D string (the fourth string). It is also possible to get A, B, C, and D on the sixth string (by moving toward the guitar body) and D on the fifth string. Using Scientific Pitch Notation, this first octave goes from E2 to D3. The notes in blue start with E on the fourth string, and stop at D (on the B string, or second string). They are an octave higher than the notes in black, and go from E3 to D4. Note that on each string, the note on the twelfth fret is one octave higher than that with the string open. So each string effectively 'starts over' on the twelfth fret. This happens because there are twelve half-steps in an octave (a half-step being the difference between a note and its flat or sharp). |
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The notes in the next octave are in red. They can be formed using the first (high E) string, from open through the tenth fret. The notes in the fourth octave (there are only three such notes if one goes to the fifteenth fret) are in purple. What I have labelled as position A on the diagram (the one most people first learn), usually called the first position, goes from open through fret four. In this position, you place fingers one through four on frets one through four. The exception is the 'B' on the fourth fret of the third, or G string — most people don't learn that immediately, but just use the open second string. Position B on the diagram is from fret five through fret eight. In this position, you place fingers one through four on frets five through eight. Position C is from fret nine through fret twelve. Position D is from fret thirteen through fret sixteen — although on an acoustic guitar, it's hard to go past fret thirteen (and I only show through fret fifteen anyway). This diagram shows standard musical notation. |
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