Reading Notes: Those G-D notes

Here is the staff symmetry for G and D;

The reciprocal relationships of these two notes is clear. They are in opposite positions, equidistant from the center line of the staff.

The solid colored  D  and  G  are the notes of the open 4th and 3rd strings, respectively. But these same two note pitches are also found elsewhere on the fretboard. The diagram below shows all the D and G positions from the open strings to the 12th fret;

The pattern is highlighted to bring out certain symmetries. The notation represents those same symmetries so you can connect the note positions on the fretboard with the notes on the staff.

Because of the interval relationships of G and D, they align on the same fret positions in most instances. The are a perfect 5th ( G -A-B-C- D ) or a perfect 4th ( D -E-F- G ), depending on which note you count from. Since this is the interval tuning of most of the guitar's strings, these two notes are aligned except between the 2nd and 3rd strings, where the tuning is a major 3rd - thus the D and G are skewed one fret apart.


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