Lesson 1: Open Strings

Start with the six notes your guitar gives you for free.

The open strings are the notes you hear when you play without pressing any fret. In this app, the strings are shown top-to-bottom as high E, B, G, D, A, low E.

String order: E B G D A E

Open strings shown in gold

Focus notes

EBGDA

Open-string notes are highlighted differently from fretted notes, and this lesson highlights its key notes in green.

Main ideas

Top to bottom on the page: E, B, G, D, A, E.
The top E is the high/thin string.
The bottom E is the low/thick string.
Open strings are your main fretboard reference points.
Open notes are colored gold to distinguish them from fretted notes.

Visual fretboard

open string note

regular fretted note

focus/octave note

Examples

String order: High E, B, G, D, A, low E.

Drill: Play all six open strings and say the names out loud.

Quick self-test

Q1. What are the strings top to bottom in this app?

E, B, G, D, A, E.

Q2. Are both outside strings named E?

Yes, but one is high E and one is low E.