Guitar String Notes: E A D G B E, and How to Find Any Note on the Neck

The Six Strings in Standard Tuning

In standard tuning the open strings, from the thickest to the thinnest, are E, A, D, G, B and E. The thickest string, the one closest to your face when you hold the guitar, is the low E. The thinnest, closest to the floor, is the high E, two octaves above the low one.

Strings are also numbered, and the numbering confuses beginners because it runs the other way. The high E is string 1 and the low E is string 6. Tabs and many lessons use this numbering, so it is worth knowing both. We explained how tabs use the strings in how to read guitar tabs.

• String 6: low E, the thickest
• String 5: A
• String 4: D
• String 3: G
• String 2: B
• String 1: high E, the thinnest

Memory Tricks for E A D G B E

English-speaking teachers have used sentences built from the first letters for decades. Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie is the famous one. Every Amateur Does Get Better Eventually is a gentler alternative. Pick whichever you will actually remember.

A more musical memory aid: the strings are mostly a fourth apart. From E up to A is five frets, A to D is five frets, D to G is five frets, and B to high E is five frets. The only exception is G to B, which is four frets. That single exception explains a lot of guitar shapes, and it is also why tuning by the fifth fret method works, as we covered in tuning by ear.

Finding Any Note From the Open String

Every fret raises the pitch by a half step. The musical alphabet runs A, A sharp, B, C, C sharp, D, D sharp, E, F, F sharp, G, G sharp, and back to A. Sharps can also be named as flats, so A sharp is the same note as B flat.

There are two places with no sharp between them: B to C and E to F. Those notes are only one fret apart. Everywhere else, the next natural note is two frets away.

So on the low E string: open is E, fret 1 is F, fret 3 is G, fret 5 is A, fret 7 is B, fret 8 is C, fret 10 is D, and fret 12 is E again, an octave up. On the A string: open A, fret 2 B, fret 3 C, fret 5 D, fret 7 E, fret 8 F, fret 10 G, fret 12 A.

Landmarks That Make It Fast

Nobody counts up from the open string forever. Experienced players rely on a few landmarks and work from those.

The twelfth fret is the most important one. It is exactly one octave above the open string, so the notes at fret 12 are E, A, D, G, B, E, the same names as the open strings. Everything above it repeats the pattern from the open strings.

Octave shapes are the second shortcut. A note on the low E string has its octave two strings higher and two frets higher, on the D string. A note on the A string has its octave on the G string, two frets higher. Because of the G to B exception, the shape shifts by one fret when it crosses onto the B string.

A Five-Minute Daily Drill

Memorising the whole fretboard at once does not work. Short daily drills do. Pick one note, say G, and find it on every string within the first twelve frets. Say it out loud each time. Tomorrow, pick another note.

Our fretboard map has a practice mode that quizzes you on note names, which is a faster way to build the reflex than a paper chart. Five minutes a day for a few weeks makes a noticeable difference.

• Day 1: find every C on the neck
• Day 2: find every G
• Day 3: find every D
• Keep going through the natural notes, then add sharps and flats

Why This Matters More Than It Seems

Knowing the notes turns chord shapes and scale boxes into something you can move on purpose. A barre chord is just a shape with its root on the low E or A string, and once you know where the notes are, you can play any chord from a few shapes. Our barre chord guide builds directly on this.

It also makes capos, transposing and reading chord charts far less mysterious. When a chart says capo 3, you will know what that does to each string without looking it up.