A — fretboard degree map

The same neck read as degrees instead of note names. A degree tells you what a note does in the key, which is what transfers from one key to another: the shape of the major scale is the same everywhere, the letters are not.

Tuning

standard (E A D G B E)

Key

A major

Degrees shown

1 to 7 with the accidentals of the key

Frets shown

0 to 22

Notes outside the key

C, D#, F, G, A# (marked with a dot)

Comparison

the same map as note names is on A note map

A major, as degrees

A dot marks a note that is not in the scale. The shaded cell is the tonic.

A natural minor, as degrees

The same fretboard read against the natural minor scale of the same tonic. The shape is the major scale of the key a minor third above, which is why it is the same set of positions moved three frets.

Using the degree map

• The major scale is the same sequence of intervals on every string. Reading it as degrees rather than letters is what makes the shapes transposable.
• The fifth degree is the most common note to double in a chord, and the third decides whether the chord is major or minor. Both are visible in the map above.
• The notes outside the key are the ones available for chromatic movement: a b3 over a major chord, a b7 over a major triad, a #4 to move up to the fifth.
• The relative minor of A is F#; the natural minor map above is the major map of C read from a different tonic.

Related

• Neck mapA — note mapA major · frets 0–22 · A B C# D E F# G#
• ScaleA major7 notes · 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
• ScaleA natural minor7 notes · 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
• KeyKey of AA B C# D E F# G# · A major / F# minor
• Neck mapNote namesall twelve pitch classes, frets 0–22
• ChordA — Major1 3 5 · A C# E
• ChordA11 — Dominant eleventh1 9 3 11 5 b7 · A B C# D E G
• ChordA13 — Dominant thirteenth1 9 3 5 13 b7 · A B C# E F# G

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Everything in this key: A · Fretboard · Theory Atlas