Learning the Guitar Fretboard is So Hard?

The guitar fretboard can seem mysterious.

People talk about the CAGED system. Chord shapes. Scale patterns. Modes.

It’s so confusing! AAUGH!

Try this.

Just focus on locating the letter names.

The letters A B C D E F G repeat along the guitar fretboard.

Finding these letter names requires only 3 steps:

1. Open String Letter Names

The letter names of the open strings (top to bottom) are EADGBE.

This is a bit of a weird pattern, but you can remember it with a sentence like “Eric and Duane Got Blues Early.”

2. Distance Between Letter Names

The notes E and F are only 1 fret apart.

The notes B and C are only 1 fret apart.

You can remember these with a sentence like “Every Funky Band (is) Crazy.”

The other pairs of letter names are 2 frets apart:

A to B

C to D

D to E

F to G

G to A

3. Notes up Each String

Pick a string like the A string and name the notes up the string.

Do this on each string of the guitar.

Is this everything you need to know about the fretboard?

No, but it will take you a long way toward understanding the fretboard better.

Keep making music!