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Guitar Dojo
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beginner course

Notes and the Fretboard

Learn the names of the notes and where they live on the neck, from the open strings to finding any note from memory.

By the end you'll be able to:

  • Name every open string and every note between the letters
  • Find any note on any string, first with help, then from memory
  • Move notes between strings with unisons and octave shapes
Your progress8 lessons
Start: Your Six Strings

Notes and the Fretboard

Strings, steps, sharps and flats, octaves, and a system for learning the neck by heart.

  1. Your Six StringsName and number the strings, and learn the notes they're tuned to.6 min · 5 exercises
  2. The Musical Alphabet: Whole and Half StepsSeven letters, two kinds of step, and the two places where the pattern tightens.8 min · 5 exercises
  3. Sharps, Flats and the Chromatic ScaleThe five notes between the letters, and why each has two names.8 min · 6 exercises
  4. Notes Along a StringMap the natural notes on the two bass strings: the foundation for everything else.10 min · 5 exercises
  5. One Note, Many PlacesThe same pitch lives on several strings. Learn the fifth-fret rule and its one exception.9 min · 5 exercises
  6. Octave ShapesTwo compact shapes that let you copy any note across the whole neck.9 min · 5 exercises
  7. Learning the Neck by HeartA practice system for finding notes from memory instead of counting.12 min · 3 exercises
  8. Checkpoint: Notes and the FretboardCheckpointShow that you can name, find and move notes across the neck.10 min · 8 exercises