Memorizing the fretboard can be a challenge for most guitarists. Many guitarists who have been playing for years have difficulty seeing the notes on the guitar. They also have difficulty seeing how the notes spread over the guitar directly relate to chords, keys, scales, and such. The concepts introduced in this article are powerful and unbounded. There are many patterns to notice on the guitar, especially the line of fifths.
The Line of Fifths and the Circle of Fifths
One way to remember the notes on the guitar fretboard is to learn the line of fifths. The line of fifths is the following sequence of notes: F, C, G, D, A, E, B…. It is identical to the well known circle of fifths, but can be more useful in practice. The possibilities are unbounded! A guitarist who knows the line of fifths will be well on their way to learning the notes on the fretboard. One can memorize the line of fifths using the following phrase:
F, C, G, D, A, E, B (Line of fifths -- Compare this to the circle of fifths)
Memory Phrase (acronym): “Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle.”
B , E, A, D, G, C, F (Line of fifths backwards -- is even more useful)
Memory Phrase (acronym): “Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles Father.”
The Bead Method
The pitches (notes) on the guitar follow this line of fifths pattern. When one looks at the fretboard, one will notice the sequence of notes B,E,A,D,G,B,E covers the guitar. The first three letter spell out the word bead.
The notes on the first four frets of the guitar in standard tuning are shown below. The notes of the open strings are E, A, D, G, B, E. Open strings mnemonic: "Elephants And Donkeys Grow Big Ears."
One can imagine a seventh string tuned to B, this would give (B), E, A, D, G, B, E. In fact, some guitars have a seventh B string. The phase “Battle Ends And Down Goes..." works up to the second string. At the second string one needs to move over one fret (first fret in this case) to continue the sequence, because of the way the guitar is tuned. So a guitarist will have the notes (B)EADG…(shift over one fret and continue)...CF. Also, one should notice how the B’s and F’s are shifted.
Open: ...EADGBE Standard Tuning
1st Fret: F - - - CF
2nd Fret: - BEA- -
3rd Fret: GCF - DG
4th Fret: - - - B - -
etc....
How to Read Key Signatures:
Sharp Keys
A guitarist can also use the line of fifths to figure out a musical key:
Sharp (#) Keys:
C, D, E, F, G, A, B ..........................Memory Aid for number of Sharps & Key:
G, A, B, C, D, E, F# ……………..... “Father” (Key of G, one letter up from F..one sharp.)
D, E, F#, G, A, B, C# ……………... “Charles” (Key of D, one letter up from C...two sharpes)
A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G# ……………. “Goes” (Key of A)
E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D# …………….“Down” (Key of E)
B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A# ………….. “And” (Key of B)
F#, G#, A#, B, C#, D#, E# ………….. “Ends” (Key of F#)
C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B# ……….. “Battle” (Key of C#)
This memory aid helps a guitarist to determine the key by knowing the number of sharps. For instance: If there are 3 sharps in a key signature, then one can say: “Father, Charles, Goes” -- or “F#, C#, G#” -- which tells a guitarist that the key is one up from the first letter of the last word in the line of fifths sequence, that is, “Goes.” Therefore, it must be the key of A. The phrase “Father, Charles, Goes” implies the key of A (G to A...What note follows G? A! -- Three sharps in key signature (F#, C#, G#), then key of A).
A guitarist should learn how the sharps follow the phrase: “Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle.” One more example: “Father, Charles, Goes, Down” implies key of E (D to E...What note follows D? E!…4 Sharps).
Flat Keys
In addition: The flat keys work as follows:
Flat (b) Keys ...................................Memory Aid for numbers of Flats & Key
F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E ……………….. “Battle” (Key of F, 1st letter of “Father“)
Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, A ……………… “Ends” (Key of Bb, 1st letter of “Battle“)
Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D …………….. “And” (Key of Eb, 1st letter of “Ends“)
Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, G …………… “Down” (Key of Ab, 1st letter of “And”
Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C ………….. “Goes”
Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, F ………… “Charles”
Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb ……….. “Father”
The memory aid phrase itself helps to determine key. It is a useful mnemonic. If there are 3 flats in a key signature, then one can think: “Battle, Ends, And...” The key will be the first letter of the word preceding the last one said/thought, that is Eb (E flat). The word “Ends” precedes “And” in the memory aid phrase. So, “Battle, End, And” implies key of Eb (Flat before Ab… 3 flats, Bb, Eb, Ab). Another example: “Battle, Ends, And, Down” implies Key of Ab (Flat before Db… 4 Flats).
In point of fact, the line of fifths (or Circle of Fifths) can be applied in many ways -- From thinking in terms of chords, keys, scales, and the way the notes are spread over the guitar in standard tuning. All a guitarist has to do is memorize the mnemonics above. Once memorized, learning the fretboard will become much easier. A guitarist will soon realize how the line of fifths is connected to all other aspects of music and theory.
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