By Mark Slater |
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Ear Fusion Guitar Lessons - How To Play By Ear The twelve tones In music, there are only a few basic tones. In fact there are only 12 notes all together. It is important to keep in mind that when we refer to a “half step”, we mean ONE fret in either direction…and if we say one “whole step”, we mean to move TWO frets in either direction...UP or DOWN in pitch. Keep in mind that each string raises in pitch as you play the frets closer to the body of the guitar…and likewise, the pitch goes down when you get to the head of the neck or fret board. It’s also good to note that when we raise a note higher in pitch, all we’re doing is shortening the length of the string by playing it at higher fret. It’s very important that you understand that when a note is SHARP (#), it is raised in pitch. When a note is FLAT (b), it is lowered in pitch. A note that is not sharp or flat is called a NATURAL note. In other words, when we refer to the note G#, we mean a regular G note or G natural raised a half step or 1 fret, making it G # (G sharp). If we say Eb, we mean E flat or an E natural lowered one fret (one half step). Keep in mind that the twelve tone pattern can be said differently in terms of what key you’re in. Different keys have different numbers of sharps and flats. Now I know that, for a lot of you, students and young players who are reading this, may have hit a block in the last paragraph. Keep reading through all the lessons and realize that you will only understand all of this information by trying to put it to use. Without this drive to mature in our capabilities, not even the best players would ever reach their potential or even be discovered. Remember that, not matter how many other players and musicians you think there are in the world that are making it big…just remember that by putting your time, heart and commitment towards your goals, you are automatically one of the very few…the elite...who are mostly successful in their efforts. I guarantee that a high majority of the people who have failed in their lifetime efforts, failed simply because they gave up at the last minute. So DON’T do it! Now, there is a standard way of reciting the twelve basic notes…although it can be written differently. In the standard way…you have the 7 natural notes C-D-E-F-G-A-B and then it repeats starting at C again. This pattern repeats itself over and over in what we call “octaves”. Notice that the first C note is note 1 and the next C is note 8 but could also be referred to as the first note of the next octave. So just like an “octagon” shape has 8 sides, an “octave” musical pattern or “scale” has 8 notes. This particular octave scale has no sharps or flats, because, like we said, it has all natural notes. We call this scale C or C major more specifically. This is the simplest key because all the notes are natural meaning they have no sharps or flats. In the whole twelve note pattern, the notes C, F and G have sharps and the notes B and E have flats…hence the twelve notes starting at C…remember that # = sharp and b = flat… C - C# - D – Eb – E – F – F# - G - G# - A – Bb - B …and then of course this pattern starts over again at C one octave higher. You’ll notice that a note with a flat doesn’t have a sharp and a note with a sharp doesn’t have a flat. It is important to note that this is just the standard way. A C# could also be referred to as a flattened D, so it may written as Db-it is the same note…just like an A# would be the same as a Bb. As long as you realize that they mean the same note and you remember the order of the notes listed above, you’ll be alright. Now that you know the names of the strings and you know the pattern of the twelve notes and you understand the twelve note cycle just repeats, then you can figure out all the rest of the notes on the fret board. Note the following diagram in figure 3 shows you the names of every note in the fret board. Notice how the notes follow the 12 tone pattern. Also, pay attention to where notes on one string are compared to the same notes played on another string. FIGURE 3
You can see how the fret board stays true to the twelve note pattern throughout. You can also see that only F, C and G have sharps and only B and E have flats and finally A and D don’t have sharps or flats. We refer to notes that aren’t sharp or flat as natural notes. These notes are naturally, A, B, C, D, E, F and G. Also, now that you can see what the name of every note on the guitar is, you should be able to see how you can match each individual string to a note on just the bottom E string (When we say “bottom” E string, we mean the low pitch or bass E string played “open”, which means without playing any frets.) The 5th fret of the same low E string is an A note which we already learned when we tuned our guitar. The 10th fret of the same low E string is a D note which is the third string. The 3rd fret of the E string is G, which is the 4th string and so on. Of course the last string is also an E note, so it will match with the bottom E string, as long as the guitar is properly tuned. Actually, this is important to the tuning of your guitar, because when you tune each string to only the string before it, like we learned earlier, then as you tune each string you could veer off tuning just a little as you get closer to tuning the last string. By the time you tune the last string which is E, it might not be exactly like the other E string. By the time you tune the last string which is E, it might not be the same E as the other E string, which should be tuned to “concert” or standard E. It’s kind of like when you were in school and you say something to another kid in class…and by the time it gets to the other end of the room it’s totally distorted. On the other hand, if you had of went to each of the other kids and told them each word for word the same thing, then it’s more likely that all the kids in the class would know exactly what you said, the way you said it. Anyways, I hope that made sense. So while you may start out by tuning your strings in the basic manner one after another, you may want to “double check” your tuning by matching each string to its corresponding note on the bottom E string like we just discussed This will ensure an even, well balanced tuning throughout, and it’s good ear training.
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