Guitar String Notes

Once you know what the parts of a guitar are and how to hold a guitar, you are ready to learn the guitar string notes.  Now, the notes for an acoustic and an electric guitar are the same, but the notes for a bass guitar are a bit different.  But they are more similar than they are different.

Acoustic and Electric Guitar String Notes

The guitar string notes on acoustic and electric guitars are identical.  Both have six strings on them.  The open strings on a guitar are the E string at the top, the A string, the D string, the G string, the B string, and another E string at the bottom.  An open string is a string with no finger on it.

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On each string, a the frets are at half step intervals.  So the second fret represents a whole step interval.  In other words, a finger pressed on the second fret of the A string would be an B note, and a finger pressed on the first fret of an E string would be an F note.

An interesting thing about guitar string notes is that, except for the G string, the fifth fret is the exact same note and tone as the string immediately below it.  On the G string, the same effect is found on the fourth fret.  This is one way you can tune the guitar, once you have the E string tuned.  It can also be helpful when playing certain songs or when playing on the part of the neck closest to the body.

Bass Guitar String Notes

I mentioned before that the bass guitar string notes are a bit different than an acoustic guitar.  The truth is, the biggest difference between a bass guitar’s strings and an electric or acoustic guitar is that as a rule, they have four strings.  So if you take a guitar and drop the B and higher pitched E string, you have the same strings as a regular guitar.  But, these strings are usually tuned an octave lower.  This means that while they play the same note, they are lower in pitch.

The frets on a bass guitar are also marked at half step intervals, so the same method for tuning the electric or acoustic guitar will also work.

One quick note about guitar string notes, you can play the notes on the guitar by pressing the string onto the neck at the fret.  When you do this, you will hear a difference in the tone when the string is strummed or picked.

Also, I’ve mentioned here the most common notes that guitar strings are tuned to.  Strings can usually be tuned to different notes for different effects.  Just be aware that it will change where you would want to play the notes when playing with groups.

As a final note, you may come across a twelve string guitar.  When using this type of guitar, the strings are usually in pairs.  Each pair is tuned to the same note at different pitches and, when playing this type of guitar, both strings are held to make the note on both strings at the same time.

Now that you know the guitar string notes, you are ready to learn some chords and how to read music.