Guitar Music

Notes in the Open Position

The open position of the guitar contains the notes of the open string and the first three frets. Outlined next are the position of these notes on the staff and on the fretboard. Also shown is an example of two separate octaves, an octave being two notes that have the same latter name and are 8 consecutive notes apart. The following example uses the E note.

Sharps and Flats

A sharp (#) raises the pitch of a note by one semi-tone (1 fret). A flat (b) lowers the pitch of a note by one semi-tone. In music notation the # and b signs are placed before the note. The following example also illustrates how the same note can have two different names (i.e., F# and Gb have the same position on the fretboard.)

The Chromatic Scale

With the inclusion of sharps and flats, there are 12 different notes within one octave as shown next. This is commonly known as the chromatic scale. Note that there are no sharps or flats between B and C, and E and F.

The following diagram displays all the notes in the first position including sharps and flats. The notes on each string are also represented in music.

A sharp or flat, when placed before a note, affects the same note if it re-occurs in that bar. It does not, however, affect notes in the next bar. Also used in the following example is a natural sign (@) which cancels the effect of a sharp or flat.