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Lesson 02

Lesson 2: The Musical Alphabet

The guitar neck gets easier once you see the repeating note cycle.

Music uses the letters A through G, then repeats. Each fret moves one half-step forward through that repeating note cycle.

String order: E B G D A E
Open strings shown in gold

Focus notes

ABCDE

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

Main ideas

  • The letters are A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.
  • After G, the sequence returns to A.
  • Moving one fret means moving one half-step.
  • The same alphabet works on every string.
  • Short repeating note loops are easier to memorize than the whole neck at once.

Visual fretboard

open string note
regular fretted note
focus/octave note

Examples

Alphabet: A → B → C → D → E → F → G → A.
On A string: Open A, then fret 1, then fret 2 gives A, A#/Bb, B.

Quick self-test

Q1. What comes after G?
A.
Q2. How many letter names are in the musical alphabet?
Seven.