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Lesson 08

Lesson 8: Sharps and Flats

The in-between notes complete the fretboard picture.

Sharps and flats are the notes between most natural-note pairs. On guitar, a sharp and its flat equivalent are the same fret and the same pitch.

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

Focus notes

C#/DbD#/EbF#/GbG#/AbA#/Bb

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

Main ideas

  • Sharp means one fret higher.
  • Flat means one fret lower.
  • C# and Db are the same pitch on guitar.
  • F#/Gb and G#/Ab work the same way.
  • Adding enharmonic note names helps you read more charts and diagrams.

Visual fretboard

open string note
regular fretted note
focus/octave note

Examples

Example: A-string fret 4 can be called C# or Db.
Another example: Low E fret 2 can be called F# or Gb.

Quick self-test

Q1. If you move up one fret from G, what note do you get?
G# or Ab.
Q2. Are C# and Db different frets?
No, same fret and same pitch.