E — fretboard note map
Every position on a standard-tuned guitar up to the twenty-second fret, with the notes of E major shown in the darker cells and the tonic shaded. Note names are spelled as they appear in the key of E, so the accidental in the key reads F rather than its enharmonic partner.
- Tuning
- standard (E A D G B E)
- Key
- E major
- Notes of the key
- E F# G# A B C# D#
- Frets shown
- 0 to 22 (open strings to the twenty-second fret)
- Positions per string
- 23, including the open string
- Notes outside the key
- C, D, F, G, A#
- Enharmonic spelling
- E rather than E throughout this page
The neck, frets 0 to 22
Rows are strings, from the first string at the top to the sixth at the bottom, the way a chord diagram is read. Columns are frets. Darker cells belong to E major; the shaded cell is the tonic. Frets 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 17, 19 and 21 carry a marker.
| String | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E4 | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D |
| B3 | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A |
| G3 | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F |
| D3 | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C |
| A2 | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G |
| E2 | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D |
How many times each note appears
Counted across all six strings from the open position to fret 22.
| Degree | Note | Positions | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E | 12 | tonic and octave repeats |
| 2 | F# | 11 | |
| 3 | G# | 11 | |
| 4 | A | 12 | |
| 5 | B | 12 | the most common doubling in a chord |
| 6 | C# | 11 | |
| 7 | D# | 10 |
One string at a time
The first thirteen frets of each string, which is the range most playing occupies.
| String | Frets 0 to 12 |
|---|---|
| 6th (low E) | E F F# G G# A A# B C C# D D# E |
| 5th (low A) | A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G# A |
| 4th (low D) | D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C C# D |
| 3rd (low G) | G G# A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G |
| 2nd (low B) | B C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B |
| 1st (high E) | E F F# G G# A A# B C C# D D# E |
Reading the map
- The same note name appears on average 11.5 times across this range. The guitar repeats every pitch class at several positions, so a scale or a chord can be played in more than one place.
- The twelfth fret repeats the open strings an octave higher, and from there the pattern repeats. Anything learned in the first twelve frets can be shifted up twelve.
- Between the third and second strings the pattern shifts by one fret relative to the other adjacent pairs, because those strings are a major third apart rather than a fourth.
- The lowest note of the instrument is the open sixth string; the highest note shown is the first string at fret 22.
Related
- DegreesE — degree map
- KeyKey of E
- ScaleE major
- Neck mapNote names
- HubFretboard maps
- ScaleE major pentatonic
- ChordE11 — Dominant eleventh
- ChordE13 — Dominant thirteenth