Octave shapes on guitar: find any note on every string
Each note three times in three octaves, climbing two strings at a time: from the low E or A string, two strings up and two frets higher, then two more strings up and three frets higher, because the B string is tuned a fret lower than the pattern. Through G, C, A, D, F, E and A, the octave shapes become a map: know a note on the low strings and you can find it everywhere else.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with drums playing along, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 90 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 90 bpm
- Starts at
- 54 bpm
- Length
- 4 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
- Time
- 4/4
- Level
- Intermediate
- Plays with
- Drums
How to play it
Two strings up and two frets higher, then two up and three higher past the B string; mute the strings in between.
An octave is the same note, higher. From any note on the low E or A string, the same note an octave up is two strings higher and two frets up: the G at the 3rd fret of the low E string is also at the 5th fret of the D string. From the D or G string, the next octave is two strings up and three frets up, as the B string is tuned a fret lower than the others: the G at the 5th fret of the D string is also at the 8th fret of the B string.
Each beat plays a note in three octaves, up the two shapes and back to the middle one: G, then C, then A, D, F and E, and the open A to finish. Mute the strings you skip with the side of the fretting finger and the picking hand's palm.
Once the shapes are automatic, they're how you find a note anywhere: know it on the low strings, and the shapes carry it across the rest.
Mistakes to watch for
- Forgetting the extra fret when the shape crosses the B string.
- Letting the string in between ring; it should stay silent.
- Moving the hand for each note instead of seeing the three notes as one shape across the neck.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 54
- 59
- 63
- 68
- 72
- 77
- 81
- 86
- 90
That's 16 loops and about 4 minutes before you're playing at 90 bpm. If it stops being clean on the way, stop the ramp there and loop that tempo until it is. With a microphone or an audio interface you can record while you play instead: Demiurg checks every loop and steps up only after two clean ones in a row, and back down after a poor one.
Questions
How fast should I play Octave shapes?
The goal is 90 bpm in eighth notes, which is 3 notes a second. Start wherever every note is clean: the player begins at 54 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
Are there other octave shapes?
Yes: the same note is also two frets lower and two strings higher in the other direction, and three strings apart across the B string in some shapes. These two are the ones most used, and they cover every string from the two low ones.
How are octaves used in music?
Jazz and rock players play melodies in octaves, two notes at once, for a fuller sound. Here they're a map: once you know a note on the low strings, the octaves show you where else it is.
More fundamentals exercises
All 22 fundamentals exercises · Fretboard notes trainer · Scales on the neck · All 107 exercises