Fretboard King
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Guitar fretboard notes chart
Standard tuning (E A D G B E), open strings to the 12th fret.
This chart shows every note on the guitar neck. Past the 12th fret the whole pattern repeats: the 13th fret is the same note as the 1st, one octave higher.
Download printable PDF (A4) US Letter
How to read the chart
The top line is the thin high E string and the bottom line is the thick low E string, the same way guitar tab is written. The column left of the nut is each open string. Numbers along the bottom are fret numbers, and the dots on the neck match the inlays at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 12th frets of most guitars.
Green notes are the natural notes (A, B, C, D, E, F, G). The pale ones are sharps and flats, which have two names: C♯ and D♭ are the same fret.
Only 12 notes, with two gaps to remember
Music uses seven letter names, A to G, and then starts again at A. Each fret raises a note by one half step. Between most neighbouring letters there is a sharp/flat, so they sit two frets apart. The two exceptions are B to C and E to F, which are only one fret apart. Remember those two gaps and you can work out any note on any string by counting up from the open string.
The natural notes only
Most players learn the natural notes first. Once you know where they are, every sharp is one fret higher and every flat one fret lower.
| String | Notes |
|---|---|
| High E (1st) | E 0, F 1, G 3, A 5, B 7, C 8, D 10, E 12 |
| B (2nd) | B 0, C 1, D 3, E 5, F 6, G 8, A 10, B 12 |
| G (3rd) | G 0, A 2, B 4, C 5, D 7, E 9, F 10, G 12 |
| D (4th) | D 0, E 2, F 3, G 5, A 7, B 9, C 10, D 12 |
| A (5th) | A 0, B 2, C 3, D 5, E 7, F 8, G 10, A 12 |
| Low E (6th) | E 0, F 1, G 3, A 5, B 7, C 8, D 10, E 12 |
Shortcuts that make the chart smaller
- Both E strings are the same. The high and low E strings have identical notes on every fret, two octaves apart. Learn one and you know two strings.
- The 12th fret is the open string again. Everything from the 12th fret up is a copy of the neck from the nut.
- The 5th fret is the next string’s open note. Fret 5 on the low E is A, fret 5 on the A string is D, and so on, except on the G string, where the 4th fret (B) matches the next string. That one exception is why the B string is tuned differently.
- Octave shapes. From a note on the low E or A string, the same note is two strings higher and two frets up. From the D or G string it’s two strings higher and three frets up, because of the B string.
How to memorize the fretboard
Don’t try to learn the whole chart at once. Start with the natural notes on the low E and A strings: they’re where the root notes of most barre chords and scale shapes sit. Use the inlay dots as landmarks (G on the 3rd fret, A on the 5th and B on the 7th of the low E string) and work out nearby notes from them. Then quiz yourself on one string at a time, saying each note name out loud as you play it, and only move on when you can find notes without counting.