The Note Circle

In Western music, there are 12 pitches within an octave.

On a piano, there are 7 white notes and 5 black notes. We don't see the difference as clearly on the guitar, which is another reason we'll learn some theory concepts on piano—it's easier visually!

The Musical Alphabet

The musical alphabet runs from A to G. There is no H I J K L M N O P! If you're in Germany, they use an H, but it makes no sense, and the consensus seems to be that it was a mistaken lowercase "b" long ago. These alphabet notes are the white notes on the piano.

 

🗣️ A fun exercise! Trying to say the musical alphabet forward and backward. Forwards should be pretty easy: ABCDEFG, ABCDEFG, A… etc. Backward is something most people find more challenging, but it is useful when learning music theory. Try GFEDCBA, GFEDCBA, GFE etc.

 

Black Notes

You will find a black note between some white notes, but not all. These notes have a name from the musical alphabet, plus sharps or flats. We'll explore these more in the next lesson. But first…

 

The Note Circle

There are 12 notes used in Western music before they repeat themselves in the next octave, so it's easiest to learn them in a circle, with 12 stops, much like a clock face! Here's what it looks like:

You can see all of our musical alphabets there, with sharps and flats between all the notes except for between B and C and E and F. We'll learn why there are no sharps between some of them later in the course, for now, you'll just have to accept it! :)

Each step around the note circle equals one fret on the guitar! Moving clockwise (and alphabetically) around the note circle goes up in pitch, and anti-clockwise goes down in pitch.

 

Summary Points

• Western music uses 12 notes, which can be easily remembered by thinking of a clock face. 
   
• The musical alphabet runs from A to G.
   
• One full lap of the circle gives you an octave up or down, depending on which way you go.
   
• Each step around the note circle equals one fret on the guitar!
   
• Moving clockwise around, the note circle goes up in pitch, and anti-clockwise goes down in pitch.