Playing intervals on a
Intervals are the building blocks when playing a guitar. Scales, chords and arpeggios are all assembled with intervals.
The basics
In music we know these 12 notes:
Let’s look at a string on the guitar, for example the first string. Notice that the note on 12th fret is same note as the open string (E). The difference is what we call an octave.
Your guitar
The 6 strings on the guitar are:
- The 1st string is (closest to face)
- The 2nd string is
- The 3rd string is
- The 4th string is
- The 5th string is
- The 6th string is (closest to ground)
The notes on the
On the illustration below, you see the guitar fretboard with only the "C" highlighted, assuming you’re guitar is tuned E-A-D-G-B-E.
Select a note, to see the positions on the fretboard above. Notice what changes when you change the note a step up or down.
Now let’s talk about those intervals again. Pretend that "C" is the first number in the sequence of 1 to 12. We call this the key. In the following illustration you’ll see this key-note highlighted.