Index

Theory Blog

Blog Post 1 – Welcome
Blog Post 2 – Should I learn theory?
Blog Post 3 – Mental Mapping
Blog Post 4 – What the Pros say
Blog Post 5 – Other learning material out there
Blog Post 6 – Intermission
Blog Post 7 – The 12 Notes in Western Music
Blog Post 8 – Learn the notes on the fretboard
Blog Post 9 – The Piano – a visual instrument
Blog Post 10 – Learn the notes on the fretboard – a starting note
Blog Post 11 – Learn the notes on the fretboard – some examples

FriendlySanj Mobile Apps

Why I wrote these apps

Notes App

Notes – Theory
Notes – Instructions

Intervals App

Intervals – Theory
Intervals – Instructions

Guitar Theory and Mental Mapping : Post 11

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Learn the notes on the fretboard – some examples

Note:	Name 1:	Name 2:	Name 3:
1	A	–	–
2	A#	Bb	–
3	B	Cb	–
4	C	–	B#
5	C#	Db	–
6	D	–	–
7	D#	Eb	–
8	E	Fb	–
9	F	–	E#
10	F#	Gb	–
11	G	–	–
12	G#	Ab	–

As we saw previously in the above table, many notes have more than one name – let’s first look at some name 1 examples, then at some name 2 examples.

In the next post we’ll think about the third name and when to correctly use the various names.

Some Name 1 Examples

Below is a diagram of the first 6 frets of a standard tuned guitar fretboard with the notes using the name 1 name

E (1)	F F# G G# A A#
B (2)	C C# D D# E F
G (3)	G# A A# B C C#
D (4)	D# E F F# G G#
A (5)	A# B C C# D D#
E (6)	F F# G G# A A#
Open String	Fret 1 Fret 2 Fret 3 Fret 4 Fret 5 Fret 6

Here’s some examples of how you’d work out some notes:

Example 1:

• Q: What’s the note of the 2nd fret on the B string?
• A: Start at the open B and go up 2 frets. Remembering that there’s no sharp between B and C, you know that the note is a C#

Example 2:

• Q: What’s the note of the 5th fret on the bottom E string?
• A: Start at the open E and go up 5 frets. Remembering that there’s no sharp between E and F, you know that the note is an A

Example 3:

• Q: Thinking outside the diagram, what’s the note on the 10th fret on the G string?
• A: Since you know there are 12 notes and therefore the note names repeat from the 12th fret on the guitar fretboard, in this case, it’s going to be quicker to start at the 12th fret and work backwards rather than start at the open string and count up
  This yields the answer of F.

Some Name 2 Examples

Just for completeness, here’s a piano keyboard with the notes of 3 octaves labelled as their flat names.

Here’s the first 6 frets of the guitar fretboard with notes labelled by their flat name

E (1)	F Gb G Ab A Bb
B (2)	C Db D Eb E F
G (3)	Ab A Bb B C Db
D (4)	Eb E F Gb G Ab
A (5)	Bb B C Db D Eb
E (6)	F Gb G Ab A Bb
Open String	Fret 1 Fret 2 Fret 3 Fret 4 Fret 5 Fret 6

Example 1:

• Q: What’s the note of the 2nd fret on the B string?
• A: Start at the open B and go up 2 frets. Remembering that there’s no sharp between B and C, you know that the note is a Db

Example 2:

• Q: What’s the note of the 4th fret on the bottom E string?
• A: Start at the open E and go up 4 frets. Remembering that there’s no sharp between E and F, you know that the note is an Ab

Example 3:

• Q: Thinking outside the diagram, what’s the note of the 11th fret on the G string?
• A: It’s going to be quicker to start at the 12th fret and work backwards rather than start at the open string and count up. This yields the answer of Gb.

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Guitar Theory and Mental Mapping : Post 10

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Learn the notes on the fretboard – a starting note

If you currently don’t know any of the notes anywhere on the fretboard, let’s start by learning one note on each string.

We might as well start with the open (unfretted) strings.

If you’re using standard tuning then your guitar is tuned as followed:

Note	Gravity	String No.	Pitch
E	Top	1	Highest
B	–	2	–
G	–	3	–
D	–	4	–
A	–	5	–
E	Bottom	6	Lowest

Examining the remaining columns in this table:

• Gravity – Looking down at a guitar when you’ve got it strapped on you, the bottom string is the one closest to you – bottom meaning it is lowest in pitch, not physically at the bottom of the guitar.
• String No: The bottom string is the 6th string and the top string is the 1st string.
• Pitch: The string which is lowest in pitch (the bottom E) is also called the lowest string and the string which is highest in pitch (the top E) is called the highest string.

The note names in the order from bottom to top

• E, A, D, G, B, E

Say this many times, think of an acronym, or just remember them.

Whichever way works best for you, get the names of the open strings firmly fixed in your head.

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Guitar Theory and Mental Mapping : Post 9

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The Piano – a visual instrument

Here’s that table again of the twelve notes in Western music.

Note:	Name 1:	Name 2:	Name 3:
1	A	–	–
2	A#	Bb	–
3	B	Cb	–
4	C	–	B#
5	C#	Db	–
6	D	–	–
7	D#	Eb	–
8	E	Fb	–
9	F	–	E#
10	F#	Gb	–
11	G	–	–
12	G#	Ab	–

Here’s a piano keyboard with the notes of 3 octaves labelled

If you’re not familiar with the piano, then take a moment and you’ll notice that there is a pattern to the layout – there are two black notes sat amidst three white notes, then three black notes sat amidst 4 white notes and the pattern then repeats.

Generally speaking, the black notes are the sharps and flats and the white notes are the non-sharps and non-flats.

Another thing to notice is that two white notes are next to each other between

• E and F
• B and C

You can correlate this back to the table of notes where you can see there is no sharp between E and F and the B and C.

The piano is a visual instrument – it’s simple to see where the notes are.

The Guitar – a non-visual instrument

The guitar fretboard is not a visual instrument – it offers no immediate clues as to the notes it harbours.

To find a note, you either have to work out your note each time by learning one note on each string and counting up or down from there or you’ve gotta learn all the notes on the fretboard and be able to recall them at will.

Starting at a note you know and working out the note you require unfortunately isn’t quick enough for a real life playing situation, but this is the way you to go about getting the notes into your head.

As you continue to practice naming notes, more and more notes will sink in, meaning you’ll have more options of notes to start on and pretty soon it’ll all become one joined up map and you’ll be able to name the notes instantly.

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Guitar Theory and Mental Mapping : Post 8

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Learn the notes on the fretboard

The first major learning step you’re going to need to undertake is to learn the names of all the notes on the guitar fretboard.

Here’s a few reasons why you actually need to do this:

• To communicate effectively with other musicians – especially non-guitarists who may not know what note the 7th fret on the G string is
• To build chords anywhere on the fretboard – as you go through this blog, you’re gonna learn the notes that make up a chord. In order to construct that chord on the fretboard, you’re gonna need to be able to find the notes that make up the chord
• To expand your knowledge – if for no other reason, learn the notes because it’s new knowledge and you’ll feel good when you’re learnt them; you never know when something you spent the time learning will become useful in life

This isn’t to say you can’t progress to learn other things without first knowing the note names, it just means that you need to start learning now so that you can get to the stage where you can answer the questions:

• What’s the note on the 9th fret on the B string?” (Ans: “G#”)
• What’s another name for that note?” (Ans: “Ab”)

Learning the notes on the fretboard is the basis for the first of my mobile apps.

It is a quiz based app which will speed you through the learning process. It will also get you thinking about and visualising the guitar fretboard when you’re away from your guitar – a great step forward in mental mapping.

Find out more about the app here.

If you don’t have an Android smart phone or tablet to run this app, then the next best way to do this would be to quiz yourself by running through questions in your head both when you’re at the guitar and when you’re away from your instrument.

Note, that when you’re away from your instrument, you may find visualisation difficult at first, but stick with it and you will reap the rewards.

Let’s move onto the next post which explains how to start going about learning the notes on the fretboard.

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Guitar Theory and Mental Mapping : Post 7

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The 12 Notes in Western Music

In western music, there are 12 named notes which are named using the first 7 letters of the alphabet.

• A, B, C, D, E, F, G

But 7 letters doesn’t make 12 notes!

The additional notes are named using sharps and flats.

Sharps (#) & Flats (b)

The ‘#’ sign is pronounced sharp and the ‘b’ sign is pronounced flat.

Sharp can be thought of as going upwards and flat can be thought of as going downwards.

The table below shows the names of the twelve notes.

Note:	Name 1:	Name 2:	Name 3:
1	A	–	–
2	A#	Bb	–
3	B	Cb	–
4	C	–	B#
5	C#	Db	–
6	D	–	–
7	D#	Eb	–
8	E	Fb	–
9	F	–	E#
10	F#	Gb	–
11	G	–	–
12	G#	Ab	–

You’ll notice that most notes have more than one name.

eg. The note above A can be referred to as A# or as Bb, the note below F can be referred to as E or Fb

Later in this blog, we’ll understand the circumstances under which it is appropriate to use to each name.

Tones and Semi-tones

Each of the notes is one semi-tone apart.

eg. D# is one semi-tone above D which is one semi-tone above C#.

A Tone means 2 notes apart:

• 2 Semi-Tones = 1 Tone

Eg: The note B is one tone above A. The note F# is one tone above E

On the guitar fretboard, 1 fret corresponds to 1 semi-tone and hence 2 frets correspond to 1 tone.

Octaves

When you get to G#, the next note up is again an A. However, this A is an octave above your initial A, meaning that it is higher in pitch than your first A.

If you’re going down then when you get to A, the next note down is a G# one octave below your previous G#, meaning that it is lower in pitch than your first G#.

Since there are 12 notes in western music, the note repetition occurs after the 12th note:

• 12 semi-tones = 1 Octave

On a guitar fretboard, this means there is repetition after 12 frets. This’ll be why (for most of you) there are double dots on your fretboard at the 12th fret and the 24th fret (if your fretboard goes that high).

Check out an example of an octave on your guitar by first playing the open 5th string of your guitar (the open A) and then playing the 12th fret on the same string. Both notes are an A, but the second one is an octave above the first.

If you’re interested in some physics behind this, if a note is an octave above another note then its value in the frequency range is double that of the first note.

For example, let’s take Concert A. Concert A is the reference note that the World tunes to.

Through the years, the actual frequency of Concert A has varied but these days we’re more or less standardised on 440 Hz.

Concert A is the note we just played – the open A string on a standard tuned guitar – 440Hz. The second note we just played – the 12th fret on the A string is the A note 12 semi-tones, 1 octave, above and has a frequency of 880Hz.

If you have an electric guitar tuner which has a frequency scale on it as well as some pretty lights, and you feel the inclination, you can figure out the frequency range of your instrument.

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Guitar Theory and Mental Mapping : Post 6

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Intermission

Ok, I’ve done a lot of talking about the background. Now it’s time to get down to some learning.

I’m hoping you’re inspired to start learning and I’ll try to keep you inspired by giving you examples of how you can use the things you learn today.

Hopefully, you’ll start building a mental fretboard map right away which you’ll keep adding to throughout your guitar playing life.

The clearer your map becomes, the more accurate your destination.

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Guitar Theory and Mental Mapping : Post 5

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Other learning material out there

Why am I writing this stuff when there’s already a wealth of material out there for you to learn from and why should you work through my stuff instead of someone else’s?

Force Feeding

There is a difference between learning to play guitar by rote and learning to play by truly understanding your instrument.

A lot of material out there tries to force feed you – it doesn’t really get you to understand the guitar.

It asks you to learn chords in specific positions and practice scale shapes, but doesn’t offer you an explanation as to why those notes make that chord and why the chord is called what it is and when and where it might fit in a chord sequence.

It might teach you a new scale but it doesn’t tell you when it’s appropriate to use that scale.

It hints that playing the notes of a scale against a certain chord progression will sound good but when you actually try it, you find that actually not all the notes really sound so good.

A Foundation

What I’d like to give you is a foundation from which you can really understand your instrument.

If you follow these lessons through, you will:

• Understand music theory and how to map that theory to the fretboard.
• Be able to derive chords and scales in any position on the fretboard.
• Understand which notes to target when playing through chord changes.
• Build a mental map of the fretboard in your mind which links all the different keys.
• Build a solid foundation from which you can continue to learn and explore for many years to come.

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Guitar Theory and Mental Mapping : Post 4

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What the pros say

To add some support to the idea of building a mental map of the fretboard in your mind, here are a couple of excerpts from interviews I came across recently:

Joe Satriani – As interviewed by Pete Langman for Guitar magazine

Decades ago before I knew how to play A flat harmonic minor harmonised in fourths, a lot of my practicing had to do with getting familiar with music and guitars.

But then at some point you learn it and you go “Well now what do I do?”

I know all the scales, I know the harmonies, when I look at the guitar it’s like a map that I’m so familiar with I could close my eyes,
so then you realise well wow, now the REAL work begins – just how do you play good, how do you throw out all the didactic and methodical stuff and just make it sound like music.

Greg Howe – As interviewed by Martin Goulding for Guitar Techniques magazine

… the fretboard lights up per key, the trick when I first learnt to do that was to get comfortable with the fact that every key exists anywhere on the fretboard,
and knowing how to play through chord changes without having to disrupt your ideas.

It’s just a matter of knowing all the different shapes.

One thing that has helped me a lot is that I probably see arpeggios first more than anything, so that’s what I’m looking for as I play through the changes.

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Guitar Theory and Mental Mapping : Post 3

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Practicing in your head

When I started playing guitar, one of the first things I learnt was the solo to Seventh Son of a Seventh Son by Iron Maiden.

Being young and new to my instrument, thoughts of the guitar consumed me.

Even when I didn’t have a guitar in my hand, I’d run through this solo in my head, picturing the fretboard, imagining each finger hitting each fret, hearing each note.

Pretty soon, I noticed that this form of mental practice was actually really useful:

• I learnt the notes quickly
• It made me think about my fingering and whether there were better options than what I was using
• It made me sing the solo in my head and really highlight if I knew what I was trying to play

Just thinking about doing something enforces your ability to do it (I’m sure there’s a useful life lesson in there somewhere).

A mental map

I believe that a mental image is one of the keys to becoming a fantastic musician.

Two examples:

1. If you wish to play fast but your guitar playing relies on you seeing your fingers then eventually a barrier will occur when your fingers move faster than your eye can see.
2. I am predominantly an acoustic player and love trying to play multiple lines (bass, melody, middle line) together – I could never achieve this by looking at my fingers but must see and hear the fingering and musical lines in my mind.

Being able to play without looking at the fretboard is also the coolest way to play guitar (sorry Brian May)

Learning Shapes and building a mental map

When it comes to learning scale and arpeggio shapes and target notes, mental practice is invaluable.

Without the distraction of the guitar in your hands, you can really focus on the shapes and avoid getting caught in the trap of endlessly training your fingers to go up and down scales.

When you’ve learnt the shapes in your mind, by the time you get to practice with your instrument, you can really work on the challenge of getting music out of those shapes.

As you learn more shapes, they begin to interconnect and intertwine and you build a mental map of the fretboard in your mind.

With this in mind, I was inspired to put together a series of apps which enable you to learn theory whilst away from your instrument.

Find out more about these apps here

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