Building a Guitar Foundation
Building a Guitar Foundation – Beginner Lesson Notes on Each Guitar String.
Today I’ve got a beginner guitar lesson for you that is one of the most important primer & foundational lessons I think all beginners must learn. What is it? How to learn and understand the notes on each guitar string.
Unfortunately I find that too many beginners skip this part of learning guitar at the beginning in favor of learning to play chords instead. The issue is that chords are always more difficult to play the single notes. There’s the issue of having to train your hands to make new shapes and press on the strings. Then there’s the trouble of strumming at the same time you’re making and changing chord shapes.
I don’t mean for this post to turn into a rank on why you shouldn’t learn chords first, but I do want to point out that learning the notes on each strings should come before learning chords. After all, most people want to learn chords because they are the things songs are made of, but notes are the stuff chords are made from.
Let’s get to it!
The Notes
We have seven guitar notes, A through G. Of course there are sharps and flats in there but for now we’re only concerned with the major notes. There are musical spaces of course between each of those notes moving up or down.
EXAMPLE: There is a set amount of space between an A to a B note and then from a B to a C note and so on.
First we need to understand what makes up this space, and on the guitar neck it’s frets. Before I explain how many frets between each note let me explain a little to you about half and whole steps between notes.
Between all notes there is either a whole step or a half step. This concept comes from the piano. The jump from one white key to the next is known as a whole step. The few spots where there is a black key, that is where there is a half step.
All notes have a whole step between them except for B to C and E to F. This is where the black keys happen to show up on the piano.
To convert this to the guitar neck, each fret is equal to one half step. So to go up or down a whole step means moving two frets and a half step one fret.
The video below will better explain exactly how whole steps, half steps and the spacing between notes works. There is also an example of finding notes on the top three strings. After watching the video I suggest your grab your guitar and give this exercise a try on it’s own.
Memorizing the notes on each guitar string is something you should do as a beginner, but understanding why each note is where will help you much further at becoming a great guitar player.
Want to get more beginner guitar tips like this one? Why not try a guitar lessons dvd course? Self study programs for the guitar allow you to learn from home at your own pace and for less money then weekly private lessons.
