Guitar Fretboard

3 Minutes a Day
Learning the Guitar Fretboard
(B-E-A-D, Go Catch Fish)

by

Greg Shirer

Guitar Fretboard
3 Minutes a Day
Introduction
The logic of the guitars fretboard was to elude me for the last time. One
night after practicing with the Katana (Japanese Sword) in Karate class, I
visualized slicing up a guitar fretboard at different angles as it stood up on a
stand. One of the first strikes you learn comes straight down from overhead
always returning to its scabbard. This showed me how each string consists of only
two 3-note groups of natural notes in between the open string and the 12th fret.
The next strike I thought about came down at an angle from right to left and I saw
these same 3-note groups repeated on adjacent strings five frets away. The final
blow was the most direct. Continuing the motion out of the scabbard on a
horizontal plane revealed four notes on the 7th fret spelling the word B-E-A-D, as
in jewelry, and the acronym Go Catch Fish (G-C-F) on the 3rd fret. I realized that
these were all seven letters of the musical alphabet!
The following method of learning the guitar fretboard is simple to follow and
will lead to more fluent sight reading. Fretboard diagrams precede musical
notation as an introduction to help ease the transition away from dependence on
tablature by making sense of the location of all notes. Once you decipher the
written code that is music notation, you will immediately know how to produce the
sounds. It is intended that you concentrate and use this material to add just three
minutes a day to your practice session on a regular basis making sure that you
master each step comfortably before advancing. Always say the note names aloud
as you play. Speaking out loud improves your focus and will shorten the time it
takes to remember each group. Writing down your own exercises in music notation
will also speed things up. It is important to review the material often in order to
retain as much as possible. Very soon, learning new music will get easier and
playing guitar will be even more fun. Good luck!
Greg Shirer
San Diego, California
August 2013

-3-

Dedicated to my Dad
Irwin (Beanie) N. Shirer, Jr. who got me started with the guitar and
spent over eight months secretly learning to play just to surprise me.

Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Pepe Romero for encouraging me to write this book and for
allowing me to marry his daughter Tina who makes my life worth living. Thanks to
my son Bernardo for letting me bounce ideas around and for building such great
concert guitars. Thanks to my students
students,, especially Devon McCrea, for their
valuable feedback as I developed this concept. And very special thanks to my best
friend Mark Owens for his technical guidance and my sister Anne Shirer for making
this book a reality.

-4-

Table of Contents
Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................................3
Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................................4
How to Use This Book ........................................................................................................................................6
How to Read Neck Diagrams ...........................................................................................................................7
How to Read Music Notation and Guitar TAB ............................................................................................8
B-E-A-D ................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Chart 1: B-E-A-D .............................................................................................................................................. 16
G-C-F (Go Catch Fish)..................................................................................................................................... 17
Chart 2: G-C-F ................................................................................................................................................... 23
Chart 3: B-E-A-D and G-C-F combined .................................................................................................... 24
Chart 4: Unisons ............................................................................................................................................... 25
Chart 5: All Open String Notes .................................................................................................................... 26
B-E-A-D 3-Note Groups .................................................................................................................................. 27
G-C-F 3-Note Groups ...................................................................................................................................... 31
Chart 6: Two 3-Note Groups on Each String ......................................................................................... 35
Blank Manuscript Paper .................................................................................................................................. 36
Romanze by Robert Schumann ................................................................................................................... 37
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................... 40

-5-

How to Use This Book

Three minutes of concentrated study is all that is necessary. The next time you
practice, continue where you left off.
1. Review previously learned material until it is very easy and simple for you.
2. Study the Neck Diagram and name the location of each note on the guitar
(i.e. B is on string 2, fret 0).
3. Play the notes in order (i.e. B-E-A-D or G-C-F) as you say the note
names aloud. Strings 1 and 6 share the same letter names on the same
frets.
4. Study the Music Notation until you can name the location of each note on
the musical staff (i.e. B is on line 3).
5. Study the Guitar TAB to double-check the location of each note on the
guitar. Eventually, you should not need to consult the Guitar TAB.
6. Play through the musical example while saying the note names aloud. This
will speed up the learning process by helping you focus. Try saying the
words, White Elephant without picturing one in your head.

-6-

How to Read Neck Diagrams

Neck Diagrams are pictures of the guitar neck as if you were playing and
looking down. The thinnest horizontal string, High-sounding E or String (1), is on
top and the thickest string, Low-sounding E or String (6), is on the bottom. Open
string notes are located to the left of the diagram in slightly smaller black dots and
the frets look like vertical columns. The hollow dots help you visualize frets 3, 5, 7
and 9. The double hollow dots are on fret 12.

B-E-A-D notes are usually placed on the fretboard in larger black dots and played
with the 1st finger of your left hand. Circled notes are played with fingers 2, 3 or 4
on their respective fret. Try to stay in position which means that each left hand
finger plays its own fret (i.e. dont use the same finger for two consecutive frets).

G-C-F notes are usually represented by black squares and are also played with the
1st finger of your left hand. There are no natural notes adjacent to the right of GC-F notes so the middle note will be played with either your 2nd or 3rd finger (I
prefer the 3rd) and the notes on the right will be played with your 4th finger.

-7-

How to Read Music Notation and Guitar TAB

This book is concerned with bridging the gap between reading TAB only and
reading music notation. Identifying and locating the natural letter named notes on
the fretboard is only the first step. Therefore, the subject of rhythm is beyond our
scope at present. Try to play slowly and evenly as much as you can. As you
become more fluent you will undoubtedly gain the confidence to learn rhythmic
notation in order to master reading and playing from the music notation and
becoming a literate musician.

[1] The Musical Staff is a set of 5 lines and 4 spaces numbered from low to high.
Notes are arranged in alphabetical order alternating between lines and spaces.
[2] The Treble Clef (or G Clef) establishes the 2nd line as G (see the cross hairs).
[3] The Time Signature represents the Number of Beats per measure on top and
the Value of the Notes being counted below (in this case 4 = quarter notes).
[4] Notes on the Lines are Every Good Boy Does Fine (E-1, G-2, B-3, D-4, F-5).
[5] Notes on the Spaces spell the word FACE (F-1, A-2, C-3, E-4).
[6] Ledger Lines extend notes above and below the Music Staff.
[7] Guitar TAB (Tablature) is similar to Neck Diagrams with the top line
representing the highest sounding string and the bottom the lowest sounding
string.
[8] The Numbers on the TAB lines indicate which frets to play on specific strings.
[9] The practical Range of Natural Notes available on the guitar. The more frets
your guitar has, the higher you can go.
[10] The Musical Alphabet has only 7 natural notes. An Octave (8va) occurs
when the same letter note is repeated above or below the original note. The
distance between notes B-C and E-F is only 1 fret. All other adjacent letters are 2
frets apart. 12 frets are required to repeat a letter note on the same string.
[11] The name and location of the Open Notes of the BASS Strings: E-A-D.
[12] The name and location of the Open Notes of the TREBLE Strings: G-B-E.

-8-

Reading Music Notation and Guitar TAB

(Say note names aloud.)

[1]

DCBAGFE

5
4 7
3

&4
4
4
4

[2][3] [4]

[5]

E G B D F

Music Notation

[7]

3
&4
C C

F
D E
B C
A
G

F A C E

[8]

Guitar TAB

[9]

[6]

T
A
B

D D

0 3

4
4

10

3 5 7 8 10 12 13
0

0 12

3
4

1 13

G G

3 2 0

15
&4

12

& 41

13

7 (8/1)

7 (8/1) 2

3
0

[11]

[12]

BASS Strings

TREBLE Strings

-9-

(8va)

15
4

[10]
(8va)

3 1 0

1
4

B-E-A-D (Open Strings)

4
1. & 4 w
B

&

0
0

&
0

0
0

0
0

17

0
0

11

.
.

& ..
.
.

..

(Say note names aloud.)

T
A
B

0
0

-10-

0
0

..
.
.

B-E-A-D (Frets 2 and 3)

Move up 1 Fret on String (2)
--->

2. & 44

& ..
.
.

11

&

17

&

-11-

.
.

..

T
A
B
5

w
2

..
.
.

B-E-A-D (Frets 4 and 5)

Move up 1 Fret on String (2)
--->

4 w
&
4
3.

T
A
B

10

&

5
15

5
4
5

.
.

..

&

.
&
.
.

5
4
5

-12-

..
.
.

B-E-A-D (Fret 7)

4
4. & 4

& ..
.
.

&

15

7
7

7
7

7
7

&

.
.

10

..

T
A
B
5

7
7

-13-

7
7

..
.
.

B-E-A-D (Frets 9 and 10)

Move up 1 Fret on String (2)
--->

44 w
&
5.

..

(Say note names aloud.)

T
A
B
5

& ..
.
.

&

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10
9

-14-

10

10

10

9
10

10

10
9

10

&

15

10

10

10

.
.

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

..
.
.

B-E-A-D (Fret 12)

4
6. & 4
T
A
B
5

& ..
.
.

12

12

&

12

12

12

&

12

12

12

12

12

15

.
.

12

12

12
12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12
12

12

12

12

12
12

-15-

12

12
12

12

12

12
12

12

12

12

12
12

12

12

12

12
12

..

12

10

12

12

12

12

12

..
.
.

--->

--->

--->

-16-

G-C-F (Open and Fret 1)

--->

.
.

&

1
17

&

..

11

& ..
.
.

1. & 4 w
T
A
B

0
1

-17-

0
1

..
.
.

G-C-F (Fret 3)

w
4
2. & 4
G

& ..
.
.

3
3

17

&

3
3

&

.
.

11

..

T
A
B
5

3
3

3
3
3

-18-

3
3

..
.
.

G-C-F (Frets 5 and 6)

--->

4
3. & 4 w

wF

..

(Say note names aloud.)

T
A
B
4

.
.

&

&

17

11

& ..

.
.

-19-

..

.
.

G-C-F (Fret 8)

w
4
4. & 4
G

T
A
B
5

& ..
.
.

8
15

&

.
.

8
8

-20-

8
8

..

10

&

8
8

..
.
.

G-C-F (Fret 10)

4
5. & 4 w
G

T
A
B
4

10

10

&

10

10

&

14

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

.
.

10

10

10

-21-

10

10

10

10

10

10
10

..

10

10

& ..

10

10

.
. 10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10
10

10

10

10

..
.
.

G-C-F (Frets 12 and 13)

--->

T
A
B

13

& ..

12

&

. 12
.
10

12

13

12

13

&

13

13

13

12

12

13

13

13

.
.

13

13

13

13

13

12

13
12

12

12
13

..

13

13

13
13

12

15

wF

w
4
6. & 4

13

12

13

13

13

13

12

13

12

12
13

-22-

13

13

12

13

12

..
.
.

--->

--->

--->

-23-

--->

/
Move up 1 String and 1 Fret for "B" in the next group.

/
/

/
F

/
F

-24-

--->

-25-

-26-

B-E-A-D (3-Note Groups)

2
1. & 4

(Say note names aloud.)

T
A
B
6

& ..
B

.
.
& ..

12

.
.

.
.

& ..

18

.. ..

. .
. .

.. ..
. .
. .

.
.

..

.
.

..

.
.

.
.

-27-

.
.

.
.

B-E-A-D (3-Note Groups)

2
2. & 4

T
A
B
5

& ..
.
.

& ..
.
.
& ..

17

.
.

.. ..

. .
. .

.. ..

. .
. .

11

-28-

.
.
..

..
.
.

6
2

..

.
.

..
.
.

B-E-A-D (3-Note Groups)

2
3. & 4

T
A
B
6

& ..
B

.
.
& ..

12

.
.

. .
. .

.. ..

.. ..

.
.

.
.
..

.
.

.
.

.
.
..

-29-

. .
. .

.
.

& ..

18

.
.

B-E-A-D (3-Note Groups)

4. & 4
T
A
B
6

& ..
.
.

.
.
& ..

18

.
.

10

.. ..
. .
. .

10

10

& ..

F
.
.

10

12

10

. .
. .

10

10

10

10

.
.

10

..

.
.

10

.
.

10

10

-30-

10

10

.
.
..

.. ..

10

10

10

.
.

B-E-A-D (3-Note Groups)

2
5. & 4
T
A
B
6

& ..
B

.
.
& ..

12

.
.

10

12

10

12

13

10

12

12

10

10

& ..
.
.

10

18

10

12

12

13

.. ..
E

. .
. .

12

10

12

10

12

10

12

10

12

E F

.. ..

12

. .
. .

13

10

10

12

13

.
.

10

.
.

13

10

12

12

..

.
.
..

13

13

.
.

13

10

10

12

12

13

13

10

-31-

12

13

..
.
.

G-C-F (3-Note Groups)

1. & 4

T
A
B
5

& ..
.
.

.
.
&
F

11

.
.

& ..
.
.

-32-

..

.
.

..
.
.

..
.
.

. .
. .

.. ..

. .
. .

.. ..

17

..
.
.

G-C-F (3-Note Groups)

T
A
B
5

& ..
.
.
& ..

11

.
.
& ..

17

.
.

.. ..

.. ..
. .
. .

-33-

.
.
..

..
.
.

..

.
.

. .
. .

2
2. & 4

..
.
.

G-C-F (3-Note Groups)

2
3. & 4
T
A
B
4

& ..
.
.

.
.

.
.
&

10

.
.

10
5

& ..

16

.. ..
. .
. .

10

F
.. ..

. .
. .

-34-

10

10

.
.

..

10

..

10

.
.

..

.
.
..
.
.

G-C-F (3-Note Groups)

2
4. & 4

T
A
B

10

12

& ..
.
.
& ..

11

.
.
& ..

17

.
.

10

12

10

10

12

10

12

10

.. ..

. .
. .

10

10

10

12

12

10

10

10

12

-35-

..

..

..

(Say note names aloud.)

12

.
.

.
.

12

12

..

.
.

12

10

. .
. .

12

.. ..

12

10

12

10

12

10

12

.
.

-36-

-37-

Romanze
Comparing Melodies on Different Strings
Robert Schumann
Arranged by Greg Shirer
When reading only from the TAB, you are at the mercy of the arranger. Listen to what
happens when the melody is played on the 2nd and 3rd strings. When you really know
the notes on the fretboard you can make your own creative decisions.

4
&4
0

T
A
B
4

1
0

5
0

1
0

&

3
8

0
0

1
0

3
0

5
0

0
0

1
0

3
3

10

&

0
2

0
3

0
3

#
5

3
5

2
5

&

12

5
3

4
3

5
5

6
5

8
7

10
8

3
2

6
5

-38-

0
5

1
0

3
2

5
3

5
2

0
3

0
3

&

3
3

16

0
0

&

19

9
8

10
10

10

7
10

9
10

10
10

&

0
0

0
3

10

10

23

0
3

10

10

10 8

12

9
10

10
10

3
3

0
0

6
0

0
3

3
0

5
0

0
3

-39-

7
7

10

10

1
0

&

30

10

10

10

10

10

12

&

10

10

27

0
3

3
3

9
10

10

Conclusion

Congratulations! I hope this book was helpful and that you can see just how
powerful 3 minutes a day can be. I welcome your comments. Please let me know
your likes and dislikes and let's see if we can improve this concept.

Click "CONTACT" on my website: http://PepeRomeroMethod.com or email me at

gregshirer@gmail.com

Greg Shirer

-40-