| A guitar is a fantastic instrument to play. It is | | | | You will find the note E on the first open string if |
| easy to play and very difficult depending on what | | | | your guitar is tuned with the most conventional |
| you play. Let's take a look at learning to play | | | | tuning. This note can also be found on the second |
| guitar sheet music! | | | | string and the fifth fret. |
| I have found in my teaching experiences that | | | | E on the third string is on the ninth fret. I would |
| many pupils find reading sheet music on guitar to | | | | suggest that you practice playing the note E in |
| be very difficult. | | | | these positions back and forth until you can find |
| Admittedly there are a lot of factors that make | | | | the note E without effort. |
| reading guitar sheet music notation more of a | | | | You will also find the note E in a lower octave on |
| challenge than on other instruments in certain | | | | the fourth string and the second fret. On the fifth |
| aspects. | | | | string you will find the same note on the seventh |
| However, the most important factor is in my | | | | fret. |
| opinion that many guitarists never decide to learn | | | | The sixth string is an E one octave lower. Let's |
| to find the notes on the guitar. Instead they | | | | invent an exercise to help you find the E notes on |
| cultivate the habit of listening, playing and | | | | the guitar fretboard: |
| calculating where the specific note probably is to | | | | The task is to play the strings on the guitar in this |
| be played on the guitar. | | | | order: |
| Such a strategy is too slow to make it possible to | | | | 6 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 |
| sight read sheet music on guitar. A wish and then | | | | As you play the strings the notes you play shall |
| a decision to really start learning the notes on the | | | | be the note E. This means that the sixth string |
| guitar is much better than to use the before | | | | and the first string are open strings and on the |
| mentioned method to find the notes. | | | | other strings you have to find the right fret. |
| You have to start from where you are if you | | | | Try to play slowly in an even tempo until you |
| want to progress and become a good sight | | | | don't have to think about where to place you |
| reader on guitar. | | | | fingers. When you find this easy to do you can |
| In my teaching experiences I have found that | | | | proceed by choosing another note, for example G |
| many people that play guitar wants to be | | | | and use the same method. |
| somewhere else than where they ought to be. | | | | Knowing the notes on the guitar fingerboard is |
| The problem with playing too difficult guitar pieces | | | | important in many ways. |
| is that it's difficult to develop note reading skills, | | | | To find your way around on your guitar will be a |
| learning to sight read and of course to learn the | | | | great help for you, not only when you play guitar |
| guitar pieces properly. | | | | sheet music but also when you are playing by ear |
| We will start this little tutorial on reading guitar | | | | or try to figure out the name of a chord or are |
| sheet music by finding a few notes on the guitar | | | | playing by ear! |
| fretboard. | | | | |