Chromatics or Accidentals
Sharps, flats and naturals are known as chromatic signs or accidentals.
A sharp #, placed before a note on the staff, raises the pitch of that note by one fret (also called a semitone). e.g.
A flat b, placed before a note on the staff, lowers the pitch of the note by one fret. e.g.
When an open string note is flattened, the new note is located on the next lower string. e.g.
A natural @, placed before a note, restores the note to its original pitch (sound) after having previously been raised or lowered, therefore cancelling t e sharp or flat. e.g.
All accidentals must be placed on the same line or space as the note and must come before it.
The following diagram illustrates all of the notes on the guitar up to the fourth fret. You will notice that it is possible for the same notes to have two different names. e.g. F# has the same position on the fretboard as G b. These are called enharmonic notes.
Here is the full range of notes up to the 4th fret (called the first position), including all sharps and flats. The enharmonic notes are indicated by brackets.
The following exercises utilize every note in the first position (the first four frets), plus the open strings. You will notice that each one has been split into two sections, firstly ascending and descending using sharps, and then ascending and descending using flats. Thus although the two sections appear different in terms of musical notation, the same notes are being played.
As you ascend through each exercise, leave the left hand fingers on the string, as this allows them to be removed easily when descending. It also helps to train the left hand to cover the span of four frets and as such is an excellent daily warm·up exercise.
Use im, ma,and ia rest stroke finger combinations for Ex. 44-46 and free stroke p for 47-49.
Photos 28, 29 and 30 show the left hand position on the first, third and sixth strings. When playing the notes on the sixth string, the left hand wrist is slightly arched to allow the fingers to remain in a similar curved position.
Photo 28
Photo 29
