How to learn the notes on a guitar

There are a variety of ways in which guitar players can learn how to play notes and cords - a lot of these require basic knowledge of the instrument, though. Learning how to play notation is quite a challenge and requires the student to study and to practise daily. It is more of a challenge, but the rewards are worth the work.

Online

A site such as 8notes has a selection of traditional tracks that can provide a good starting point for guitarists who are looking to move from tab to notation. The site is easy to navigate, even though a couple of the tracks which were searched were unavailable in August 2011. The notation is displayed as a .GIF, but it can be printed. Other options include hearing the song in a midi or an Mp3 file. It is worth investing in some kind of online tuner device, if you haven’t already got one. This will allow you to make sure that the guitar is in tune, and you can concentrate on learning how to read the notes.

Tutors

If you learned to play tab with a tutor, it might be an idea to go back to him in order to learn notation. Tutors will be able to teach you in the same way that they taught tab, and they will pick up on mistakes that you make. This is a clear advantage over the online method, as any mistakes will be picked up immediately. So, you can learn the correct manner and not learn with errors, which later will be hard to unlearn. Tutors can be expensive, so it’s worth shopping around to try and find one. They might also specialise in one style or another. Therefore, you can have a look and find the correct one which is suitable for your style.

Books

There are many books that will teach you how to play or tune the guitar. They are aimed at people who have a basic knowledge of music and tab. The books are usually published as song books which consider on a band, or a musician. Sometimes, they are published as an album which comes out. So, if you have the chance to get the album as well, you can learn as you listen. Learning notation from books only really works if you have someone who can read a basic about of music. This is so because you may find it difficult to start from scratch and to try to master the different symbols for different notes, whether they are sharps or flats etc.