Learn the Names of the Guitar Notes

In order to learn how to play guitar, you need to learn how to play chords, riffs, and songs, and first and foremost, you will have to first know the names of the notes of the guitar.  Learning the notes of the guitar is an annoyance to most beginners, and so many people never learn this, but it is something that every guitar player must eventually do in order to become very proficient with their instrument.




A sharp/B flat
B
C
C sharp / D flat
D
D sharp / E flat
E
F
F sharp / G flat
G
G sharp / A flat
And repeat.


And repeat.




A – 5th
D – 4th
G – 3rd
B – 2nd
E – 1st

The fingerboard of the guitar and the names of the notes of the guitar are not so mysterious, once you learn to recognize the patterns.  Essentially, the notes move upward, in alphabetical order, from the head of the guitar toward the body, until you arrive at G, then they start over again with the letter A. Easy enough, right?  Not so fast.  There are a couple of wrinkles in this otherwise straight forward pattern.

For example, some of the letter notes or 'naturals' as they are sometimes called, have other notes in between them called 'sharps' or 'flats.'  For example, the notes named 'A' and 'B' have a note in between them called 'A sharp or B flat.'  'Sharp' just means 'one half step higher', and 'flat' just means 'one half step lower.'   So A sharp and B flat are actually two names for the same note.  A half step is just one fret on the guitar.  Thus the note 'A sharp' is one fret higher than the 'A' note, and/or one note lower than the note ‘B flat’.

Because only some of the note shave sharps and flats in between them, you’ll have to memorize which ones do and which ones don’t.  All the notes in ascending 'chromatic' order (From lowest to highest) starting from A, look like this:

A

Notice that the notes are in alphabetical order, but some (not all) notes have sharps and flats between them.

Once you know this information, all you need to know in order to figure out every note of the fretboard is the names of the open string notes of your guitar.  Then you can use this information to count upward to figure out all of the rest.

The string that is closest to your mouth when you play is called the low E string.  It is called the low E string because it is the lowest string and because the note that you play when you play it is an 'E.'   Below are the names of each of the open strings:

E – the low E string, also known as the 6th string

To have all of this information really sink in, study the guitar notes chart located on this page.  One image is that of a guitar, which has the names of the notes printed on stickers placed on the frets. The other is simply a helpful diagram. Read over the information, above, and compare it with what you see in the picture until it all starts to make sense. If you like, you can purchase stickers that have all of the names of the notes printed right on them.  This is a very useful tool for beginners and intermediate or advanced students who never bothered to learn the names of the notes. Fret daddy manufactures removable fret stickers for guitar and bass and have the guitar notes as one of their sticker sets.  I’ve included a link below.

How to Hold the Guitar Pick

If you want to learn to play guitar, you need to learn how to hold a guitar pick, or 'plectrum' as it is sometimes called. Holding a guitar pick and holding ONTO a pick while you play, is often a challenge for beginners. But if you form good habits early on, it will become second nature for you, and you will excel a lot more quickly. This article provides the information you need to properly hold the guitar pick.

There are a lot of different teaching methodologies regarding how to hold a guitar pick, but most of them share a common deficiency: they don't take into account the fact that every human hand is different. The method detailed below will provide you with the best, most natural way to hold a pick:

The first thing to note is that there are two ways to hold a guitar pick, depending on what you are trying to accomplish. The first way is typically reserved for playing 'lead guitar', 'soloing,' or playing many individual guitar notes in quick succession.  The second way is reserved for strumming guitar chords and is particularly useful for light strumming. Both techniques will take advantage of your unique physiology to form nature's perfect pick grip.

The first thing to do is to form a loose hook shape with your right (strumming) index finger. Notice that by bending the finger slightly, your finger automatically forms three crevices or 'nooks', where the joints are located. The first nook (closest to the top or end of your index finger) is where the pick should rest when you are strumming chords. The second nook is where the pick should rest when you are playing lead solos or individual notes or playing loud heavy chords.

In both cases, the proper way to hold the pick requires three additional steps:

First, gently place the widest part of the pick (the top of the pick) in the appropriate nook (the second nook for soloing, or the first nook for light strumming).

Second, place your thumb over the middle of the pick, allowing just a small amount of the tip of the pick to peek out below your thumb.

Finally, bend the index finger in which the pick is placed upward toward the middle of your hand until it is just above the tip of the pick. This will ensure a clean contact with the string.

Now, if you are trying to play lead, as mentioned before, make sure you place the pick in the second nook.  If, on the other hand, you are trying to play chords or strum, make sure you place the pick in the first nook.  You should have done this step already, but this is just to make sure.  

Congratulations! You've done it! You've found nature's perfect grip.

For the first month or so of practicing, you should go through all three steps slowly and methodically, in order to form the proper habits.  Once you get used to forming the pick grip in this way it will soon become second nature, and you will not even have to think about it ever again.

Want to learn guitar? Try Fret Daddy's Guitar Stickers.

COMMON MYTHS FOR BEGINNER GUITARISTS TO BE AWARE OF

Myth Number 1 - Spending a lot for a guitar will solve all your problems

One of the common myths that people just starting to play guitar fall into is the myth that paying a lot for a guitar will solve all your problems.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  While it’s of course necessary to have a guitar that sounds decent to YOU (sounding good to other people helps too), it is isn’t completely necessary to spend thousands of dollars to achieve this goal.  People just starting to play guitar can expect to spend somewhere between 2-$400 dollars in order to be able to find a guitar that will work well for typical beginner goals. 

This being said and meant, there are a few things to watch out for in this department.  Do NOT spend less than $75 for a guitar.  The chances are you will NOT be happy with your choice, and your it will not sounds good at all, and you will never pick it up and, therefore, will never learn how to play it.  There are a lot of cheapo guitars out there trying to get beginners to fall into the trap of buying something because it is cheap.  Quality sound requires quality production and materials.  Spend some extra cash to get something that will last.

Myth Number 2 - You need a big amp to be a rock star

These days, buying a humungous amp is not necessary to learn guitar or even to be a professional.  It helps if you are planning on playing shows in big venues, but chances are, if you are beginner you will be playing open mics at least for a little while before you make it into the bigger venues.   The ‘big sound’ you are used to hearing from your favorite bands can be accomplished these days in garage band and other similar software for your computer.  These days even the professionals are using digital amp replicating software when recording and even playing out rather than dealing with the hassle of lugging around huge amplifiers.  Save yourself some money.  You don’t need it.  Be content with a small amplifier, or else just plug into your PC and turn up the reverb!

Myth Number 3 - You need a million bucks to sound like a million bucks

The digital revolution has completely completely changed how recording is done.  Some of the major studios still use analog equipment, but it is increasingly rare.  Digital sounds have a number of benefits that cannot be overlooked over their analog counterparts.  Perhaps the biggest perk is the low cost.  You can sound like a rock star for hundreds of dollars rather than tens of thousands of dollars these days.  And you can even outfit a modern studio with professional amenities for less than $10,000. 

While it used to be the case that you actually needed a million bucks to sound like a million bucks, these days this just is no longer the case.  Many platinum records have been recorded with a budget under 10K.  Take advantage of the times.  Do yourself a favor and avoid the trap of spending more than you have to sound great.  Focus more on developing your skill sets.  That is the rare and valuable commodity these days, not gear.

Myth Number 4 - Learning to good at guitar takes many years

While it is true that mastering any instrument takes thousands of hours of practice and some natural talent helps, no one needs twenty years to become a legendary rock God.  I recently had the pleasure of gigging with someone who had only been playing for four years.  He was ten times better than me at guitar, despite the fact that I had been playing much much longer.  The key is practice and dedication.  Most people’s guitars collect dust for 99.9% of the time their owners claim to have been ‘playing guitar.’  Don’t buy into the hype.  Instead, Devote yourself to learning the guitar based on your personal goals and work hard to find time to practice in order to meet those goals.  Dedication will win over experience any day.

If you are a beginner guitarist, you can learn the notes of the guitar at fret daddy's website.

You also can learn more about guitar myths here.