Notes and the musical alphabet

Seven letters, twelve notes

Western music names notes with seven letters: A, B, C, D, E, F and G. After G the letters start again at A, one octave higher. Between most neighbouring letters there is one extra note. It is named from either side: a sharp (♯) raises the lower letter, a flat (♭) lowers the upper one, so A♯ and B♭ are the same note. Counting those in-between notes, there are twelve notes before the pattern repeats.^[1][2]

Two pairs with no gap

Look at a piano: black keys sit between most white keys, but not between B and C, or between E and F. Those two pairs are neighbours with nothing in between. Every other pair of neighbouring letters has one note between them. On the guitar you cannot see this, which is why it helps to learn it by name. This one irregularity explains most of the patterns you will meet in later Lessons.^[1][3]

Practice: Walk up the low E string

1. Play your low E string open and say “E”.
2. Move up one fret at a time, naming each note: F, F♯, G, G♯, A…
3. Stop at the 12th fret: you are back on E, one octave higher.
4. Say out loud which two steps had no sharp between them.

1. 1.How many different notes are there before the pattern repeats?
   SevenEightTwelve✓ (correct answer)Three

   ✓ Correct. Seven letters plus five in-between notes make twelve before the letters repeat.

2. 2.Which pair of neighbouring letters has no note between them?
   C and DE and F✓ (correct answer)G and AF and G

   ✓ Correct. B–C and E–F are the only neighbouring letters with nothing in between.

3. 3.What does a sharp do to a note?
   Lowers it to the nextRaises it by an octaveLowers it by an octaveRaises it to the next✓ (correct answer)

   ✓ Correct. A sharp raises a note to the very next note up, so F♯ sits just above F.