You know the notes on the E and A strings — now the question is how to use that knowledge to navigate the rest of the neck. Three octave shapes are all you need to transfer what you already know onto the D, G, and B strings without having to learn those strings from scratch.
What you’ll get out of this lesson: Three specific octave patterns that let you use your E and A string knowledge to immediately work out notes on the D, G, and B strings.
The three octave patterns
Each pattern links a note on a higher string to the same note — one octave lower — on either the E or A string.
- D string: go back 2 frets and down 2 strings to find the same note on the E string, one octave lower. Example: F on the D string corresponds to F on the E string, 2 frets back.
- G string: go back 2 frets and down 2 strings to find the same note on the A string, one octave lower. Example: D on the G string corresponds to D on the A string, 2 frets back.
- B string: go up 2 frets and down 3 strings to find the same note on the A string, one octave lower. Example: A on the B string corresponds to A on the A string, 2 frets up.
How to use them in practice
When you need a note on the D, G, or B string, identify roughly where you are on the neck, apply the appropriate octave pattern to find the reference note on the E or A string, and then use what you already know about that string to confirm the note name. Over time, this becomes fast enough to be useful in real-time playing and improvisation.
Taking it further
Practise the patterns in both directions: given a note on the E or A string, find its octave on the D or G string. Then reverse: given a fret on the D, G, or B string, work back to the E or A string to confirm. Combining these patterns with the landmark knowledge from the previous lesson gives you multiple cross-referenced ways to reach any note on the neck.
Your homework
Pick five notes on the D string and use the octave pattern to find each one on the low E string. Say both note names out loud. Then do the same for five notes on the G string (referencing the A string) and five on the B string (also referencing the A string). Use the diagram to check your answers until the patterns feel reliable.