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Guitar Tuning and the Guitar Fretboard

So, what is the correlation between guitar tuning and the guitar fretboard?

This is actually one of the key points in order to understand how notes are arranged on the fretboard. That is because any change in tuning will produce a completely new array.

Although there are potentially limitless ways of tuning the guitar, the most useful tuning to know (at least at an initial stage) is the standard one: six strings tuned at the interval of a perfect fourth from each other, except for the second and third strings, which are tuned a major third apart.

guitar tuning

That is, we have E-F-G-A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D-E.

What a strange tuning system this seems to be! Most of the other string instruments are tuned using the same interval between each pair of adjacent strings:

Violin: perfect fifths Viola: perfect fifths Cello: perfect fifths Double bass: perfect fourths
But the fact is that there is a logic behind guitar tuning. Let's take a look at this: the strings' tuning, from lowest to highest is E A D G B E, spanning two octaves.
If we rearrange all those notes so that they span only one octave, we get the following: E G A B D E.

minor pentatonic scale

That is, we have E-(F)-G-A-B-(C)-D-E, or minor 3d, major 2nd, major 2nd, minor 3d, major 2nd.

Wait a minute! That seems just a wee bit familiar! Isn't that a simple minor pentatonic scale?
OK, so we've hit upon an important, or rather fundamental, guitar tuning fact. Actually, everything we look at on the guitar fretboard from now on will acquire new meaning.

But let's not be satisfied, and explore this a little further:

What relationship is there between string order and this minor pentatonic scale?

What we have is a minor pentatonic scale, alternating strings, spanning two octaves. Let's number the open strings - E A D G B E - as follows: 6 5 4 3 2 1 (from low to high, as shown above).
We can then rearrange the numbers to get the pentatonic scale in its normal order by skipping two strings upwards, then one downwards, then two upwards, then one downwards, then two upwards: 6 3 5 2 4 1 = E G A B D E
Perfectly logical, or what?!.

minor pentatonic scale

An 8 beneath string number means that the actual open string is an octave below. Note how strings 1, 2 & 3 don't change octaves, whereas strings 4, 5 & 6 do.

Conversely, if we had chosen to start our scale on the 6th string, low E, strings 1, 2 & 3 would change octaves (downwards, this time), and strings 4, 5 & 6 wouldn't.

Isn't that just cool?!

And wonder why the blues is so well suited to the guitar...

How does this simple, but far reaching guitar tuning reflect all over the fretboard?

As is obvious, this fact affects how notes are distributed on the whole fretboard. The pattern recurs at symmetrical intervals giving us the Complete Guitar Fretboard Chart.

This pattern is the underlying principle of fretboard organization. It is so simple that guitarists have overlooked it so far:

yet, fully understanding it will eliminate the need to memorize hundreds -if not thousands- of super-specific surface patterns and box diagrams.

That is because all those patterns come from this principle.

If what you were looking for was info on how to tune your guitar, try our free online guitar tuner and tuning methods.

Attention Guitarists!

Watch out for an original in-depth analysis of the fretboard that will be published here soon. Subscribe to our blog to stay up to date- just click on the RSS button...

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