A quick search online and you’ll find endless articles and videos showing tricks and hacks to learn the fretboard in a week, a day or even 5 minutes!

I wish I could say that to you. Sorry!

This step by step guide is a result of my experience learning the notes on the fretboard. It took a pretty long time – and I’m still learning!

I won’t lie to you – it’s not easy but it’s not impossible either.

Now I don’t make promises but If you follow the steps just 5 minutes a day I bet you’ll memorize notes on your guitar fretboard in no time.

Let’s learn guitar fretboard like a pro.

Memorize Names of Open Strings

As an absolute beginner, this is your first step.

A standard guitar has 6 strings and each string is assigned a note name. You need to memorize the letter assigned to each string in ascending as well as descending order.

The best method to memorize the string order is to use a mnemonic. You can consider using the ones I’ve given below or create your own.

Mnemonic for String 1 to 6	Easter Bunny Gets Dizzy After Easter
Mnemonic for String 6 to 1	Eddy Ate Dynamite Good Bye Eddie

Learn The Music Notes

This is the next step before you actually start memorizing the fretboard. As self-taught beginners you may not have fully explored the notes in music and how they are laid out.

Let’s quickly learn this if you aren’t familiar already.

As you can see there are 12 notes in music. This collection of 12 notes is called an octave. The notes in the same order again.

Notes A, B, C, D, E, F, G are called natural notes. And the ‘sharp’ and ‘flat’ notes are called accidental notes.

The distance between two notes is called an ‘interval’. The interval could be of half-step (also called a semi-tone) or a whole-step (also called a tone).

On a guitar fretboard the half-step and the whole-step can be mapped as below.

As you can see, a half-step on a guitar fretboard is 1 fret and a whole step is a distance of 2 frets.

Your job for the next week or two is to memorize all the 12 notes in a sequence, ascending as well as descending.

Here’s your daily 2 minute exercise routine – say it out loud:

1. Ascending: A, A sharp, B, C, C sharp, D, D sharp, E, F, F sharp, G, G sharp, A
2. Descending: A, A flat, G, G flat, F, E, E flat, D, D flat, C, B, B flat, A

Do this exercise without the guitar.

When you get it right 3 times in a row, you can move to the next step.

Memorize Notes on Thickest Two Strings

Now that you know the 12 notes really well, we move to the next step which is to memorize the notes on the thickest two strings, the 6th and the 5th string.

Now why only the two strings, you may ask?

The simple reason being, it’ll open up the fretboard for you whether you want to play chords or scales.

At some point in your guitar journey, you’ll realize there are many chords you can’t grip in open position. For example, F Major or B minor.

To be able to play these chords and many more, you’ll need to learn barre chords. And knowing the notes on the lowest two strings, makes moving chords effortless.

Knowing the notes on these two strings will also make it easy two play 4 scale shapes of the 5 as you can’t find the root easily.

Here’s the notes on the 6th and 5th string you must memorize. Work on only one string at a time.

Here’s your daily 2-minute exercise routine (to be done on the guitar):

1. Fret each note, play it and say it aloud. Ascending and Descending. Do it slowly. Begin with only the 6th string. Repeat with 5th string only after you get each note on the 6th string correct 3 times in a row.

Pro Tip: Begin by memorizing only natural notes. The accidentals (sharps/flats) fall between two natural notes. This approach should make memorizing fretboard quicker.

Learn Octave Shapes

You’ve now learned and memorized the notes on 3 strings. 3 since the 6th and the 1st string are the same – E.

Now to make it easier to learn remaining three strings, you can use the trick of using octave shapes.

What is an octave?

An octave is a distance of 12 notes between two notes of the same name but different pitch. The diagram below should help you understand.

The note F on the 12th fret of the 6th string is an octave higher that the note on the 1st fret. Similarly the the note on the 1st fret is an octave lower than the note on the 3rd fret of the 4th string.

This is probably the reason memorizing notes on the guitar fretboard is a tad bit difficult than other instruments such as a Piano – where notes are laid sequentially.

But using octave shapes you can name notes on all strings quickly. Here’s how…

Octave Shape Using 6th String

Using your knowledge of the note name on the 6th (thickest) string, you can find notes on the 4th, 3rd and 1st string.

Octave Shape Using 5th String

Similar to the 6th string, you can use 5th string as a guide to find note names on the 3rd and the 2nd string as shown in the image below.

Octave Shape Using 4th String

Finally, find notes on the 2nd string using 4th string as a guide.

Octave Shape Exercise

Practice daily for note more than 5 minutes beginning with the 6th string. Move to the 5th string only after you feel confident with the 6th string. Remember to name say the note aloud as you work through the exercise.

Make Chord Box Diagrams

This is another tip to help you learn the guitar fretboard.

In your early days of learning the guitar, you must’ve been introduced to the chord box diagrams and how to read them.

The intent back then was to help you memorize the shape of the chord you were expected to learn such as C, Am, G, Dm etc.

Now that you remember the shapes, use that knowledge to actually draw the chord shape on a chord box and name the notes.

Download Blank Chord Box Sheets [Free – No Email Required]

Download the blank chord box sheets and print a few copies. Doing this exercise will not only help you memorize the chord shape but also improve your fretboard knowledge.

Exercise for Chord Box Diagrams

You’ll do this exercise without your guitar, with pencil and blank chord box sheets. . Every time you learn a new chord, practice it by drawing the shape and labeling the notes a few times.

You can use these blank chord sheets to create your personal collection of chord diagrams!

Sing The Scales

As a beginner you must have learned at least one scale shape. It could be a Major scale or the Minor Pentatonic Scale.

And it’s likely you’ve been practicing these diligently. You can use your knowledge of the scale shape to also learn the notes on the fretboard.

Here’s an example showing C Major Scale on the fretboard.

Exercise for singing the scales

Sing each note as you pick them on your guitar. Starting with the note C on the 6th string, practice with only 1 octave, ascending and descending, slowly. Add the second octave once you can sing the correct notes thrice in a row.

Find the Note Using a Metronome

By now you must be reasonably comfortable with naming notes on your guitar fretboard. However, as you progress in your journey, it is important that you know your guitar fretboard really well.

In other words, you should be able to find the note anywhere on the fretboard in a second.

And the best tool for this is your friend – metronome. In an earlier article, I’ve discussed 8 ways metronome can help improve your guitar skills. Fretboard knowledge is one of them.

The benefit of using a metronome is that it’ll force your mind to speed up finding the notes. I promise – it’ll be frustrating in the beginning but you’ll start noticing the improvement in your fretboard knowledge.

Find the Note exercise with a metronome

Pick a note, for example A. Set the metronome to 30 bpm. Your goal is ‘find the note A with each click on each string.’ Start with string 6 to 1 and back. Increase the metronome bpm by 5 once you can find the note correctly thrice in a row. Do this exercise for each of the 12 notes.

You can increase the difficulty by using two notes, say C and G. Find note C for ascending (string 6 to 1) and find note G for descending (string 1 to 6). You may use circle of fifth or fourth to pick the notes.

Fretboard In Your Memory

I learnt this method from Justin Sandercoe of justinguitar.com.

Until now most of the exercises you’ve done were on the fretboard. However, it is really important that you develop a mental image of a guitar’s fretboard in way that you can name the note correctly even without holding the guitar in your hand.

For example, what’s the note on B string, 7th fret?

If it took you a few seconds to get it right, that’s ok. Our goal is to get it right in a split second and this exercise will help you get there.

Make a table similar to the one below on a blank sheet of paper or just copy/paste the one below in a new word document.

Write down the fret number in a random order under the Fret No. column. For example, this could be 3, 7, 12, 8, 1, 4, 2, 9, 6, 11, 5, 10.

Do it form both the columns.

Exercise for Fretboard In Memory

Start a stopwatch and write the names of the notes on each string for the given fret no. as quickly as possible. Finish all the frets for String 1 to 6 before taking up String 6 to 1.

Don’t rush. Take your time and do it slowly at first.

Doing this exercise twice a week over a few weeks will make a noticeable difference in the speed with which you get the notes correct on the fretboard.

Final Words…

Hope you now feel confident on how to learn guitar fretboard.

If you’re serious about your guitar skills, wish to go beyond playing open chords or play in a band – fretboard knowledge is essential.

It’s not hard, it just takes time and regular practice.

If you follow the steps laid out in the article above, you will learn the fretboard in no time.

Start today. Good luck!