Guitar fretboard

Free guitar fretboard chart

See every note from the open strings through the 12th fret. Click a note to highlight it across the whole neck.

Click a note to highlight every place it appears, from the open string through fret 12.

The thick low E string is the top row. The nut is the heavy line on the left. Notes use sharps: C#, D#, F#, G#, and A#. Fret 12 is the same note as the open string, one octave higher.

How to read the fretboard

  1. Start with the open strings: E, A, D, G, B, E, from thick to thin.
  2. Move one fret toward the body and the note goes up one half step. Low E, fret 1, is F.
  3. The dots mark frets 3, 5, 7, 9, and 12. Fret 12 has two dots because the notes start over.
  4. Click C, or any other note, to see every place that note sits. Learn one note across all six strings before you learn the whole neck.
  5. Say the note out loud as you play it. The free online guitar tuner checks that the open string really is that note.

The same note shows up one string higher and five frets lower, except between the G and B strings. Those two are a major third apart, so the same note is four frets lower on the B string. Low E, fret 5, is A, which is also the open A string. G, fret 4, is B, which is the open B string.

Notes at the marked frets

These are the landmarks worth memorizing first. The 12th fret matches the open string.

String Open 3 5 7 12
Low E E G A B E
A A C D E A
D D F G A D
G G A# C D G
B B D E F# B
High E E G A B E

Once the low E and A strings feel familiar, chords get easier to see. A G chord uses the G at low E, fret 3. Find the shapes on the free guitar chord chart. A capo moves every one of these notes up by one fret per position, which is what the capo chart is counting. Practice naming notes in time with the free online metronome.

Questions about fretboard notes

What notes are the open guitar strings?

From thick to thin, standard tuning is E, A, D, G, B, E. The thick low E and the thin high E are the same note, two octaves apart.

How do I memorize the fretboard?

Learn the natural notes on the low E string first: fret 3 is G, 5 is A, 7 is B, 8 is C, 10 is D, and 12 is E again. Then learn the same landmarks on the A string. The other strings follow from those two.

Why is the B string different?

Most neighboring strings are a perfect fourth apart, which is five frets. The G and B strings are a major third apart, which is four frets. That is why a note on the G string shows up four frets lower on the B string, not five.

Do the notes repeat after the 12th fret?

Yes. Fret 12 is the octave of the open string. Fret 13 matches fret 1, fret 14 matches fret 2, and the pattern continues up the neck.

Are acoustic and electric fretboards the same notes?

Yes, in standard tuning. The note at each fret is the same on both. Scale length can change the space between frets, not the note name.