Guitar Notes For Beginner Rock Guitar Players

Let's get started with the guitar notes for each of the six strings. These notes are all considered major notes in the traditional musical scale. Once I've covered all the strings and the major notes within the first three frets, I'll move on to a breakdown of each string and where the major guitar notes are located on the fingerboard.

As you look at the diagrams below, the first chart in each section shows where the major guitar notes are located on the strings. The second chard shows which finger you press on the fingerboard to play the note.

It's important to pay attention to the fingers you use to play each note. That's why I have an additional chart showing which finger should be used for each note. You can review my ground rules for how I note everything on the getting started page.

E String (Sixth String)

The top string of your guitar is the E string. This is the thickest string, and also called the sixth string.

When you pluck the open string (open is when you're not pressing a finger on the fingerboard), this note is E major.

Following the charts, the next major guitar notes on this string are F major and G major. Use your first and third fingers to play these.

A String (Fifth String)

The fifth string is tuned to the A major note. On the A string, the next guitar notes for the major scale are B and C major, shown in the charts. Play these notes with your middle and ring fingers

D String (Fourth String)

The D string is next in line and the fourth string. The open major note is D, followed by E and F major, played with your second and third fingers, respectively.

You'll notice that with the sixth string, we started with E major. On the fourth string, the D major completes the guitar notes for the scale.

So you've completed an octave (starting the scale over again at a higher pitch on the next note) - pat yourself on the back!

G String (Third Sting)

The G string only has two notes, the G major note played from the open position and the A major note with your middle finger at the second fret. This is the third string in the sequence.

B String (Second String)

The second string in open position is the B major note.

e String (First String)

The high e string is known as the first string on guitar and completes the guitar notes for both electric and acoustic guitar.

This is the thinnest string on your guitar. Just like the sixth string, the notes are E major, F major and G major.

Now that you have all the basic major notes for guitar, you probably notices that you didn't use all the notes on the guitar fingerboard at each fret. I purposely didn't get into a discussion of those other notes - the ones that fall in between the major notes. These are known as 'sharp' and 'flat' notes. If you're ready for these, skip on over to the discussion of sharp and flat guitar notes for scales.

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