Learning the musical alphabet can be a lot of fun. It is a great way to get started with learning to play an instrument. With a little practice, you will be able to read music and understand how it works. Are you ready to learn the notes?
7 Musical Alphabet
The musical alphabet has seven letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Each letter represents a different note. The notes are: A (la), B (si), C (do), D (re), E (mi), F (fa), and G (sol).
All notes and chords are based on these seven musical alphabet letters. In any instrument, these notes will always be in the same order. Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti (and then back to Do) or C, D, E, F, G, A, B (and then back to C). The only thing that changes is the number of octaves added, as the seven letters or notes repeat themselves.
Why Learning The Musical Alphabet Is So Important
Learning the musical alphabet is a simple and effective way to learn how to play an instrument. By understanding how the notes work, you will be able to read music and understand what you are playing.
Learning the musical alphabet can be a great way to improve your understanding of music. This is a wonderful start to grasp how chords work and a great tool for improvising and composing your own music.
The musical alphabet can also be a great tool for learning the fretboard. By understanding how the notes work, you will be able to find chords and scales all over the fretboard. This can be a great way to improve your guitar playing.
12 Notes in the Musical Alphabet
There are 12 notes in the musical alphabet: A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, and G#.
The 12 notes are always arranged in the same order. The same cycle of 12 note names just repeats again and again. It’s so fascinating to think about all musical instruments following this pattern, from violins through cellos or guitars-they’re always in perfect sync with each other.
Natural Notes
The notes A through G are the natural notes. These are the only notes that do not have a sharp or flat symbol next to them (# or b).
Accidental Notes
In addition to the seven musical letters, there are five notes that do not have their own letter. These notes are called sharps and flats. A sharp note is one half step higher than the natural note. For example, A sharp is one half step higher than A. A flat note is one half step lower than the natural note. For example, B flat is one half step lower than B. The notes A#, C#, D#, F#, and G# are called sharps. The notes Bb, Db, Eb, Gb, and Ab are called flats.
B, C and E, F
The only letters in the alphabet that do not have sharps or flats in between them are B, C and E, F. That means that from B to C and E to F, there are no other notes in between them. The interval between these two notes is a half step.
24 Musical Keys
How many musical keys do we have?
We have 24 musical keys, 12 major and 12 minor, which means there are 24 different ways to play the musical alphabet. In each key, there is a starting note, called the tonic. The tonic is the note that gives its name to the key. For example, in the key of C major, the tonic is C. In the key of A minor, the tonic is A.
Each key has its own set of notes and its own unique sound. You can experiment with different keys to find the one that you like the best.
12 Major Keys
The major keys are the most popular keys. They are the ones that you hear in pop, rock, and country music. The 12 major keys are: C, Db, D, Eb, E, F, F#, Gb, G, Ab, A ,and Bb.
Here are the 7 notes in all major keys:
- C major: C, D, E, F, G, A ,B
- C#/Db major: Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C
- D major: D, E, F#, G, A, B, Db
- D/#Eb major: Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D
- E major: E, F#, G#, A, B, Db, Eb
- F major: F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E
- F#/Gb major: F#, G#, Bb, B, C#, Eb, F
- G major: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#
- G#/Ab major: G#, Bb, C, C#, Eb, F, G
- A major: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#
- A#/Bb major: Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, A
- B major: B, C#, Eb, E, F#, G#, Bb
12 Minor Keys
The minor keys are not as popular as the major keys, but they are used a lot in classical and jazz music. The 12 minor keys are: Cm, Dbm, Dm, Ebm, Em, Fm, F#m, Gbm, Gm ,Abm, Am, and Bbm.
Here are the 7 notes in all minor keys:
- C minor: C, D, Eb, F, G, G#, Bb
- C#/Db minor: C#, Eb, E, F#, G#, A, B
- D minor: D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C
- D#/Eb minor: Eb, F, F#, G#, Bb, B, C#
- E minor: E, F#, G, A, B, C, D
- F minor: F, G, G#, Bb, C, C#, Eb
- F#/Gb minor: F#, G#, A, B, C#, D, E
- G minor: G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, F
- G#/Ab minor: G#, Bb, B, C#, Eb, E, F#
- A minor: A B C D E F G
- A#/Bb minor: Bb, C, C#, Eb, F, F#, G#
- B minor: B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A
Musical Letters on the Fretboard
The musical alphabet is a great tool for learning the notes on your instrument. By memorizing the order of the musical alphabet, you can quickly find any note on your instrument. Just remember: A, B, C, D, E, F, G… and you’re on your way!
Don’t be intimidated by the guitar’s fretboard. We only need to look for 12 notes in various octaves by using these 7 letters.
Open Strings
The first place to look is with the open strings. Let’s start with the open strings and work our way up the fretboard to find musical letters.
These are the open strings’ notes from low to high (thickest to thinnest): E – A – D – G – B – E
The sixth string, which is on top, is tuned to E (low E). The fifth string is tuned to A. The fourth string is tuned to D. The third string is tuned to G. The second string is tuned to B, and the first string, which is on the bottom and the thinnest, is again E (high E).
- 1st string: E (high E)
- 2nd string: B
- 3rd string: G
- 4th string: D
- 5th string: A
- 6th string: E (low E)
Notes on the Fretboards
We can now locate all 12 notes by fretting the strings using the Open Strings Names as a reference. These are the notes on the fretboard:
- 1st string, E: F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab, A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E
- 2nd string, B: C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab, A, A#/Bb, B
- 3rd string, G: G#/Ab, A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G
- 4th string, D: D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab, A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D
- 5th string, A: A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab, A
- 6th string, E: F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab, A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E
Memorizing is a difficult job, so don’t make it any harder for yourself. There are two things you must do diligently to begin your journey to conquer the fretboard: understand the notes on the fretboard and play them!
- E & A Strings
To play them, start with the two bass strings, your sixth (low E) and fifth (A) strings. This is a strategic move, since root notes are generally strummed on these strings when playing chords.
You’ll see that instead of simply learning two strings, it also covers the first string, high E, which is exactly the same as your 6th string.
- Locating the Octaves
To find an octave, simply count up 12 notes from the note you’re on. For example, if you’re on C, the next C would be twelve notes higher and would be located on the 12th fret (counting the open strings as 0). The same goes for all other notes. The notes on the 12th fret therefore represent an octave of the open strings.
Now we must find the notes’ octave on other strings from our linear octave. Don’t worry, this is not as hard as it may seem; you will be guided by your sofa syllables. You’ll also discover that these octaves appear in certain forms or patterns that are simple to recall.
- Use the fret markers to assist you.
Finally, use the fret markers on your guitar to help you find musical letters. On most guitars, there are markings at the third, fifth, seventh, ninth and 12th frets.
These can be a great help when trying to locate musical letters quickly. Simply remember that the musical alphabet repeats itself every octave! So once you know where one musical letter is, you also know where all of the musical letters are.
First Step to Playing Guitar
Learn how to read the musical alphabet and connect it with your guitar’s fretboard. This is one of the best ways to learn notes, scales, and chords on a fretboard. It will make playing in any key easier!
So why not give it a try? Take your first step and then see where it takes you! Thanks for reading! I hope this was helpful.
