Learn the notes on the neck

Fretboard trainer

Tap on the neck to hear a note and see its name. Choose Find the note (the app names a note, you tap all locations) or Name the note (a fret lights up, you choose the name), and start the race against time to test your knowledge.

Practice smarter

• Start with the natural notes

  C D E F G A B — no sharps. Once you know those across the whole neck, you'll always find sharps and flats one fret next to them.

• Learn the low E and A strings first

  That's where the root notes of most chords and barre shapes are. Learn those two strings, and you'll find every chord on the neck.

• Use the anchor points

  The dots on frets 3, 5, 7, 9, and 12 are your fixed reference points. On fret 12, everything repeats — the notes there are the same as the open strings.

The neck

How the neck is laid out

The natural notes are C D E F G A B — no sharps. Watch two spots: between E and F and between B and C there's no sharp, just one fret in between. On fret 12 everything repeats an octave higher; the notes there match the open strings. Below are the natural notes on the two thickest strings — that's where most root notes live.

Step by step

Memorise it in 3 steps

1. 1

   Learn the low E string. Once you know the natural notes on the thickest string, you've got the roots of many chords and barre shapes right away.

2. 2

   Then the A string. Add the fifth string. Together with the E string you can find almost any chord root and barre position.

3. 3

   Use octave shapes. The same note sits 2 frets up and 2 strings over: if your finger is on the low E, you'll find that same note two frets higher on the D string. That's how you jump to the same note elsewhere on the neck.

Oefen het met een les

Frequently asked questions

• What tuning is the neck in?

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  Standard tuning E A D G B E (low to high). The top line is the thin high e string, the bottom is the thick low E — just like in a tab.

• Why do I hear the note when I tap?

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  This way you connect the name to the sound and the location on the neck. That threefold connection sticks much better than learning a name by heart alone. The sound comes from a simple synth in your browser — not a real guitar, but the pitch is correct.

• Do I need to learn sharps too?

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  Start without them. Turn on Sharps once you've got the natural notes down — then C#, D#, F#, G#, and A# are added. A sharp is always one fret higher than the natural note below it.

• How long until I know the neck?

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  With a few minutes a day, you'll know the natural notes on the low E and A strings within a week or two. The whole neck takes longer, but doesn't have to happen at once — the low strings get you pretty far.