Guitar Fret Board
Every note on the fretboard, plus your first open-string exercise — "Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie".
About the Fretboard
The guitar fretboard contains every note in the music alphabet, and many of them appear in more than one place. Each box on the chart below represents a fret position, and the letter inside is the note that plays when you press that string at that fret.
The six strings run vertically in the chart. Read them as: 6 = thick low E, 5 = A, 4 = D, 3 = G, 2 = B, and 1 = thin high E. Fret 0 is the open string (no fret pressed).
Fretboard Chart — All Notes
This chart shows the notes on all 6 strings from open (fret 0) to the 15th fret. Press the string at the indicated fret to play the note shown.
| Fret | 6 (E) | 5 (A) | 4 (D) | 3 (G) | 2 (B) | 1 (E) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 (open) | E | A | D | G | B | E |
| 1 | F | A# | D# | G# | C | F |
| 2 | F# | B | E | A | C# | F# |
| 3 | G | C | F | A# | D | G |
| 4 | G# | C# | F# | B | D# | G# |
| 5 | A | D | G | C | E | A |
| 6 | A# | D# | G# | C# | F | A# |
| 7 | B | E | A | D | F# | B |
| 8 | C | F | A# | D# | G | C |
| 9 | C# | F# | B | E | G# | C# |
| 10 | D | G | C | F | A | D |
| 11 | D# | G# | C# | F# | A# | D# |
| 12 | E | A | D | G | B | E |
| 13 | F | A# | D# | G# | C | F |
| 14 | F# | B | E | A | C# | F# |
| 15 | G | C | F | A# | D | G |
Notice: At fret 12, the notes are exactly the same as the open strings (E, A, D, G, B, E) — just one octave higher. The fretboard "repeats" after the 12th fret.
First Exercise — "Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie"
This is your first lecture exercise. The phrase "Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie" helps you remember the open string names from low to high: E – A – D – G – B – E.
Play each open string up and down using the picking pattern below. Repeat each row at least 8 times.
| String # | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | E | A | D | G | B | E |
| Reps | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Reps | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Reps | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Start with 8 picks per string at a slow steady tempo. Once you feel comfortable, drop to 4 picks per string, then to 1 pick per string. The goal is to move smoothly between strings without stopping the rhythm.
Practice Tips
- Say the note names out loud as you play — E, A, D, G, B, E. This locks them into memory.
- Use alternate picking: down-up-down-up. Don't only use downstrokes.
- Practice with a metronome at 60 BPM first, then increase by 10 BPM each session.
- Memorize the notes at the 5th, 7th, and 12th frets first — these are your anchor points.