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Chapter Three: Whole Steps and Half Steps

Objectives: Learn the musical alphabet. Natural and accidental notes. Recognize whole steps and half-steps. Memorize natural half-steps between B and C, E and F.

There are twelve notes in music. However, they are named by using only seven letters of the alphabet–A, B, C, D, E, F, G. Confused yet?

Only seven letters are used because most music is based on seven-note scales. The seven notes are referred to as diatonic notes. Diatonic simply means “from the scale.” So, a diatonic note is part of the scale that a piece of music is based on. Written music is made easier to read by assigning the lines and spaces to diatonic notes only. This way a scale can be written by putting a note on every line and space. Each line and each space gets its own letter in the musical alphabet.

The other five non-diatonic notes are called accidentals. Accidental symbols —sharp - #, flat - b , and natural natural are written before the notes to show that a non-diatonic note is to be played.

About the same time written music was reaching its current state, keyboard instruments were being perfected. The guitar is an older instrument but it follows the rules that are most easily understood by looking at a keyboard. The keyboard is laid out so that the white keys form a C major scale. Among the white keys are five black keys. The entire twelve-note pattern repeats so we can play music in higher or lower registers.

keyboard
The white keys are called natural notes, with the full names “C Natural”, “D Natural”, etc. The black keys are named by referring to the note above or below (physically to the left or right of) them. For instance, the black key between C and D may be called either “C Sharp” (C#) or “D Flat” (Db).

To see how the system applies to the guitar, let’s take a look at the natural notes in the most piano-like fashion we can: up and down on one string. Let’s use the fifth string.

guitar fretboard
Notice that some notes are two frets apart, while others are right next to each other. The distance of two frets is called a step, or a whole step.  A one-fret distance is called a half-step.

We need to remember that there is a half-step between B and C, and a half-step between E and F. These are the places where there are no black keys separating the white keys on the piano. On the guitar, these natural notes are just one fret apart. The other natural notes are all a whole step apart.

To get you to learn this I need you to open the window and holler to the world outside: “There is a half-step between B and C, and a half-step between E and F!” Then say it like this: “Bernie Cohen and Ernie Frank are two close friends of mine!”

The strings on the guitar are like six little pianos, each starting on a different note. Now we’ll draw the natural notes on them, just to reinforce the idea that there is a half-step from B to C, and a half-step from E to F. That’s all you need to think about while you do this. Don’t try to memorize every note on the neck yet.

Exercise 5. Draw the natural notes on each string. Write the names below. The sixth string is done for you.

ex5a
ex5b
ex5c
ex5d
ex5e
ex5f
Exercise 6. When you have completed the drawings of natural notes, go back and write the names of the five accidentals around the natural notes. Write both the sharp (#) names and the flat ( b ) names. Thus each accidental will have two names. Here’s how the first one will look:
ex6
Like what you see in Chapter 3?
The rest of the book covers everything you need for a solid foundation of fretboard knowledge, including modes and slash chords. You'll understand and play (anywhere on the neck!) any scale or chord you encounter:
		Contents
   Introduction
   1.  Diagrams, Frets, and Strings 
   2.  The Five Patterns of Root Shapes 
   3.  Whole Steps and Half Steps 
   4.  Note Names 
   5.  Finding Notes 
   6.  The Major Scale 
   7.  The Five Major Scale Patterns 
   8.  The Natural Minor Scale 
   9.  Pentatonic Scales 
  10.  Major and Perfect Intervals 
  11.  Minor, Diminished, and Augmented Intervals 
  12.  Compound Intervals 
  13.  Triad Arpeggios 
  14.  Triads 
  15.  Seventh Arpeggios 
  16.  Seventh Chords 
  17.  Extensions 
  18.  Alterations 
  19.  Modes 
  20.  Other Common Scales
  21.  Other Common Chords
  22.  Conclusion
Solutions to All Exercises
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