Part 1: Start with the sounds and the names · Lesson 009 / 117
The octave repeats a name
Distinguish a repeated note name from the exact same pitch.
Move twelve frets up one string and you reach the same note name one octave higher. Open high E and its twelfth fret are both E, but the twelfth-fret E is higher in pitch. Their relationship is an octave.
The guitar also offers different addresses for the exact same pitch. Open high E and B-string fret 5 are both the same sounding E in standard tuning. Their tone colour may differ because the strings differ, but they occupy the same pitch height.
This gives you two different observations: a repeated letter may be an octave away, or it may be the same pitch somewhere else. Do not assume two Cs must be identical in height, and do not assume changing strings always changes the pitch.
Later, diagrams may use C4 and C5 to distinguish octaves. These numbers refer to sounding pitch, not guitar fret numbers. You do not need to memorise that numbering system now.
Hear it
Octave
Audio fileFour-beat count-in · 60 BPM · Warm sampled electric guitar. Listen once before playing along.
A concrete example
High E frets 0 and 12: same name, different octaves. High E fret 0 and B-string fret 5: two addresses for the same sounding pitch.
Try it, slowly
- Compare an open string with its twelfth fret.
- Compare open high E with B-string fret 5.
- Describe each comparison as “same pitch” or “same name, higher octave.”
Check one idea
Are open high E and its twelfth fret the exact same pitch?
Show the explanation
No. Both are E, but the twelfth-fret sound is one octave higher. In contrast, open high E and B-string fret 5 are the same pitch in standard tuning.
A good place to stop
You can demonstrate both kinds of repetition and keep string, fret and octave numbers separate.
Return to the example after a short break. A clear explanation matters more than speed.