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Lesson 1 of 4

Find every A

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Every note on the guitar shows up in several places. Learning where one note lives, everywhere, is the fastest way to stop counting frets. Start with A, the root of A minor pentatonic and the key of countless blues tunes.

The A notes sit on the open A string, the 2nd fret of the G string, the 5th fret of the low E and the high e, the 7th fret of the D string, the 10th fret of the B string, the 12th fret of the A string, the 14th fret of the G string and the 17th fret of both E strings. The exercise plays them roughly from the nut up the neck, one per beat.

How to practice

  • Say "A" out loud on every note. Your ear and your eyes learn together.
  • Notice the pairs: the 5th fret on the low E and on the high e are two octaves apart, and every note repeats 12 frets higher (the open A string and its 12th fret).
  • Use whichever finger is closest. This isn't a fingering drill, it's a map.

The most common mistake is reading the frets off the tab without looking at the neck. Look at your fretting hand and picture each spot before you play it.

When the As feel automatic, pick another note, find it on all six strings, and play it the same way.

Exercises

Every A on the neck

50 → 80 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. A string, open
    2. G string, fret 2
    3. low E string, fret 5
    4. high E string, fret 5
  2. Bar 2
    1. D string, fret 7
    2. B string, fret 10
    3. A string, fret 12
    4. G string, fret 14
  3. Bar 3
    1. low E string, fret 17
    2. high E string, fret 17, hold, hold

Clean 3 times in a row? Raise the tempo by 5 bpm.

Every A, from the top down

50 → 80 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. high E string, fret 17
    2. low E string, fret 17
    3. G string, fret 14
    4. A string, fret 12
  2. Bar 2
    1. B string, fret 10
    2. D string, fret 7
    3. high E string, fret 5
    4. low E string, fret 5
  3. Bar 3
    1. G string, fret 2
    2. A string, open, hold, hold

Clean 3 times in a row? Raise the tempo by 5 bpm.

Same idea: every E

50 → 80 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. low E string, open
    2. high E string, open
    3. D string, fret 2
    4. B string, fret 5
  2. Bar 2
    1. A string, fret 7
    2. G string, fret 9
    3. low E string, fret 12
    4. high E string, fret 12
  3. Bar 3
    1. D string, fret 14
    2. B string, fret 17
    3. A string, fret 19
    4. G string, fret 21

Clean 3 times in a row? Raise the tempo by 5 bpm.

Checkpoint

Move on when you can do all of these.

  • Play every A from memory in under 20 seconds, saying "A" on each one
  • Do the same for C and E
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