CifraLab

The Guitar: Fretboard, Frets & Anatomy

Click any fret or string to play authentic acoustic guitar audio

Format:
Highlight note:
Swipe to see the full fretboard
1E
2B
3G
4D
5A
6E
Open
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

1. How are strings numbered?

Always from bottom to top: the 1st string is the thinnest at the bottom (high E), and the 6th string is the thickest at the top (low E).

2. The Note Trick (Easy)

All natural notes have an empty fret (#/b) in between, except two pairs that sit side-by-side with no fret in between: E & F, and B & C.

3. The Fretboard Inlay Dots

Visual markers on frets 3, 5, 7, and 9 so you never get lost. Fret 12 features a double dot because notes repeat one octave higher than open strings.

How to use it

Finding your way around the fretboard

In standard tuning, each fret goes up a semitone. The reference is A4 = 440 Hz.

These are the open strings, from the sixth to the first.

Listen: the six open strings

  1. 6th E
  2. 5th A
  3. 4th D
  4. 3rd G
  5. 2nd B
  6. 1st E
From the sixth (the lowest) to the first: E, A, D, G, B, E. Every note on the neck grows from these.

  1. The Open Strings

    • 6th string, E, 82.4 Hz.
    • 5th string, A, 110 Hz.
    • 4th string, D, 146.8 Hz.
    • 3rd string, G, 196 Hz.
    • 2nd string, B, 246.9 Hz.
    • 1st string, E, 329.6 Hz.

  2. Three Time-Saving Rules

    • At the 12th fret, the open string note repeats, one octave higher. That's why the neck starts over from there.
    • The dots on frets 3, 5, 7, 9, and 12 serve as guides. This way, you don't always count from the nut.
    • The 5th fret of one string gives the same note as the next open string. The exception is from G to B, where the 4th fret is used. This is how you tune by ear.

  3. Five-Minute Exercise

    Choose a note, for example C, and find it on all six strings, saying it out loud. The next day, change the note.

    In a week, you'll know the natural notes on the sixth and fifth strings. These are the notes that name barre chords.

Check yourself

On which fret does the open-string note repeat, one octave higher?