Beginner’s Guide to Notes on the Guitar

The Natural Notes

Music uses just 7 letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, G. After G, the sequence starts again at A. It’s a loop, not a line!

Sharps and Flats: The Notes In Between

Between most letters, there's a sharp (#) or flat (b). These are the "in-between" notes. There's no sharp/flat between B–C and E–F.

Important: The first step in learning sharps and flats is to know that there are no sharps or flats between B and C, and between E and F. These pairs of notes are only one fret apart on the guitar.

Sharps and flats are different ways of naming the same note - they're based on whether you're thinking of the note above or below. For example, the same note can be called C# (C sharp) or Db (D flat) depending on context. Click the buttons below to see both spellings.

There are 5 sharps/flats, so with the 7 natural notes, there are 12 notes in total in the chromatic scale. That's the name given to the 12 notes. The distance between each of these notes is called a "semitone" or sometimes called a half step. For example, A to A# is a semitone, B to C is a semitone, C to C# is a semitone, etc.

Octaves: The Pattern Repeats

After 12 notes, the pattern repeats—this is called an octave. For example, from A to the next A is 12 notes apart.

The Guitar Fretboard: Notes on Each String

Each fret is one note higher. The 12th fret is the same note as the open string, one octave up. Below, see each string from open to 12th fret. Open and 12th fret notes are highlighted.

Note: We've ordered the strings from lowest to highest (Low E at top). Most fretboard diagrams show strings from highest to lowest (High E at top), but this ordering makes it easier to see how the guitar's range progresses from lowest to highest.

Open and 12th fret notes are highlighted. The 12th fret is the same note as the open string, one octave higher.

Octaves on the Guitar

In music theory, octaves are written with numbers. For example, E2 and E4 are both the note E, but E4 (with the higher number) is a higher-pitched note. E3 is higher than E2, but lower than E4.

The guitar's range covers about four octaves, from the lowest open E string (E2) up to the highest fret on the high E string. Not all guitars have 24 frets—some have 18, 21, or 22—so the highest note is usually somewhere between C6 and E6, depending on the instrument. The open high E string is E4, the 12th fret on that string is E5, and the highest frets (18th–24th) reach up to C6–E6.

Notice that the difference between the lowest and highest E strings is two octaves (E2 to E4), and the 12th fret on any string is always one octave above the open string. Since an octave is 12 notes, two octaves is 24 notes—matching the 24 frets on some guitars. The tuning intervals between strings (E–A–D–G–B–E) add up to 24 semitones, or two octaves, from the lowest to the highest open string.

Why Do Octave Numbers Change at C?

If you're wondering why the octave numbers change at certain points, it's because octaves in music theory technically start from the note C and go up to B—not from A to G as you might expect. This can be confusing at first, since the musical alphabet starts with A, but octave numbering follows a different system.

All you need to know for guitar is that the lowest note is an E2, or even just that it's an E. Also, don't be confused into thinking all octaves start and finish with C and B—this is just the octave numbering system. For example, an octave of E (E2 to E3) has E2, F2, F#2, G2, G#2, A2, A#2, B2, C3, C#3, D3, D#3, E3. Notice we have numbers 2 and 3 in the same octave, unless the starting note is C.

Do I Need to Know the Octave Numbers?

No. Knowing the specific octave numbers doesn't help your playing. You don't need to memorize that the low E string is E2 or that the 12th fret on the high E string is E5, etc.

However, understanding how octaves work can help you:

• Recognize when notes are the same but in different octaves
• Understand why the 12th fret sounds like the open string
• See patterns across the fretboard more clearly

Focus on learning the note names and their relationships on the fretboard. The octave numbers are just a way to organize the vast range of frequencies in music.

How Strings Relate to Each Other

Each string is tuned a certain number of notes (semitones) apart:
E → A = 5 notes, A → D = 5, D → G = 5, G → B = 4, B → E = 5.

The open strings span two octaves (E2 to E4). The 12th fret on high E is E5, and the highest fret is usually between C6 and E6 depending on the guitar. The guitar covers about 4 octaves of E.

For more diagrams and information on string tuning, see Why is the guitar tuned the way it is?

Instrument Range

Bass guitar is an octave lower (E1). Piano goes from A0 to C8.