6 String Freedom

Part 1: Start with the sounds and the names · Lesson 002 / 117

Six strings, six addresses

Today’s one thing

Use string numbers and fret numbers to locate a sound.

We need a shared way to point to the guitar. In standard tuning, the strings from lowest pitch to highest are E, A, D, G, B, E. String 6 is the low E; string 1 is the high E. These numbers describe the strings, not your fingers.

A fret number tells you where to press along a string. Fret 0 means the open string: play it without pressing it against a fret. For fret 3, place a fingertip in the third space, just behind the third fret wire, using only enough pressure for a clear sound.

We will often write an address such as “string 2, fret 1.” That tells you where to play, even before you know the note name. Both the open low E and open high E have E in their names, but they sound at different heights.

Tablature uses six lines for the strings. The top line is high E, string 1; the bottom is low E, string 6. A number written on a line is a fret number. We will add timing separately so that tab does not become another unexplained pattern.

Hear it

Standard-tuning open strings, low to high

Audio file

Four-beat count-in · 60 BPM · Warm sampled electric guitar. Listen once before playing along.

A concrete example

String 2, fret 0 means the open B string. String 2, fret 1 means the same string, pressed at its first fret. An x in a chord diagram means do not sound that string.

Fretboard view

High E (string 1) is the top line, matching guitar tablature. Select a note to hear it.

Open-string notes
Six open-string notes
Six strings in standard tuning, high E first and low E last.
Guitar fretboard diagram: Six open-string notes. High E string on top, frets 0 to 3. Notes E, B, G, D, A, E.
All six dots are open strings (fret 0). No key or tonic is being assumed.
Play notes from a larger button list

One small map at a time. Hear the notes, then play the example without looking.

Try it, slowly

  1. Point to strings 1, 2 and 6 without playing.
  2. Play string 2 open, then fret 1, then open again.
  3. Read “string 3, fret 2” and find it slowly. There is no speed target.

Check one idea

In tab, does a 3 on the top line mean the third string?

Show the explanation

No. The top line represents string 1. A 3 on it asks for fret 3 on that string.

A good place to stop

You can distinguish the string number from the fret number and find three requested addresses.

Return to the example after a short break. A clear explanation matters more than speed.