Prima VistaClassical guitar
Practice guides

First-position guitar notes: chart and practice

Work on a small part of the fretboard before expanding your range. Prima Vista’s first-position preset includes natural notes on all six strings, from the open string through fret four. Sharps and flats are outside this exercise.

Find the natural notes

Read each row as one string, with the thinnest string at the top. Columns move from the open string toward the guitar’s body. The labels show sounding pitches; a dash marks a sharp or flat that this preset skips.

Natural notes in standard tuning · sounding pitches
StringOpenFret 1Fret 2Fret 3Fret 4
1E4F4—G4—
2B3C4—D4—
3G3—A3—B3
4D3—E3F3—
5A2—B2C3—
6E2F2—G2—

Each fret raises pitch by one semitone. E–F and B–C are adjacent natural notes, so they use neighboring frets; other adjacent natural note names have a fret between them. In a first-position fingering, fingers 1–4 generally cover frets 1–4. Keep the hand comfortable and release unnecessary pressure.

For this app, “first position” names the open–4 fret range. It does not imply that every first-position exercise elsewhere uses exactly this note set.

Read a short example on string 4

Original pitch-reading example: written D4 → E4 → F4 → E4 → D4.𝄞D4E4F4E4D4
Original pitch-reading example: written D4 → E4 → F4 → E4 → D4.

Stay on string 4 and play open → fret 2 → fret 3 → fret 2 → open. You hear D3 → E3 → F3 → E3 → D3. The written octave is one higher; see the guitar sheet-music guide if those labels are new to you.

First say each written note and locate its fret, then play it. Cover the chart and try again. These noteheads are an untimed reading example; the trainer chooses its own sequence.

Practice this range with microphone feedback

  1. Open the first-position exercise below. Before starting, check that the selected range is “First position (open–4)”. If a previous session is active, finish or discard it before starting this range.
  2. Set up the microphone, stay quiet during calibration and play a clear single note. Mute other ringing strings if detection is unstable.
  3. Read the staff and follow the specified string and fret. Another location with the same pitch can pass detection, so check your own fingering.
  4. End the session to keep completed attempts. Review first-try accuracy and hesitant locations, then return to a few of those notes later.

A correction is useful practice but is different from an immediate correct response. A small sample gives you a starting point, not proof of mastery. After the drill, try a short melody to bring rhythm and musical context back in.

Practice first-position notes

Need help with the input or your results? Read the practice setup guide.