Music flashcards that connect the staff to your fingers.
String 3: open (0)
The treble clef curls around the G line, second from the bottom. The middle line is B. The top space is E: your open first string. Learn these landmarks, then read nearby notes by moving through A–G.
Lines, bottom to top: E G B D F. Spaces: F A C E. Use a memory phrase if it helps, then aim to recognise each position directly.
Sharps enter a signature in this order: F C G D A E B. Flats reverse it: B E A D G C F. A signature changes every octave of those letters, even when the note has no sign beside it.
A sharp raises a natural note by one fret; a flat lowers it by one. A natural sign restores the unaltered letter. E♯ sounds like F, and C♭ sounds like B: read the written letter first, then its alteration.
In first position, let fingers 1–4 cover frets 1–4. To play C on the second string, use finger 1 at fret 1. D uses finger 3 at fret 3. Keep each fingertip just behind the fret wire and use only enough pressure for a clear note.
In fourth position, finger 1 covers fret 4 and finger 4 covers fret 7. The diagram always shows the first seven frets; its highlighted choices follow your selected hand position.
Ledger lines extend the same alternating line-and-space pattern. The first line below the treble staff is written middle C (C4); on guitar it sounds C3, at fret 3 on the fifth string.
With ledger lines off, cards stay on the staff or in the spaces immediately beside it. Switch them on to include the lower strings and higher notes available in your selected position.
| String | Written note | Where to look | Sounding pitch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · high E | E5 | Top space | E4 |
| 2 · B | B4 | Middle line | B3 |
| 3 · G | G4 | Second line from bottom | G3 |
| 4 · D | D4 | Space just below staff | D3 |
| 5 · A | A3 | Second ledger line below | A2 |
| 6 · low E | E3 | Space below third ledger line | E2 |
Flashcards build pitch recognition. Complete sight reading also needs rhythm, phrasing and reading ahead—combine this trainer with the Rhythm Trainer.
Connect a written pitch with its name, its sound and a comfortable place on the neck.
Read from the bottom upwards. The five lines are E, G, B, D, F. The four spaces spell F, A, C, E. Each move from a line to the next space, or a space to the next line, moves to the next letter of the musical alphabet. After G comes A.
Guitar is usually written in treble clef one octave above its sounding pitch. The small 8 below this trainer’s clef makes that convention explicit; many guitar scores leave it out. The open first string sounds E4 but is written E5, in the top space. The open sixth string sounds E2 but is written E3, below three ledger lines. You play the usual guitar notes; you do not move them up the neck.
The signature applies its sharps or flats to every octave of the named letters. G major and E minor share F sharp; F major and D minor share B flat. Extra accidentals add notes outside that signature, including natural signs that cancel a signature note. Each flashcard starts afresh. In a piece, an accidental normally lasts to the bar line for that pitch in that octave.
1 is your index finger, 2 your middle finger, 3 your ring finger and 4 your little finger. 0 means an open string. Position I places finger 1 at fret 1 and finger 4 at fret 4. Position IV moves the same hand shape to frets 4–7. These are one-finger-per-fret starting points; real phrases can need a shift, stretch or different fingering.
They sound at the same pitch on a normally tuned guitar, but occupy different staff positions. For a note-name test, choose the spelling you see: C sharp is not written D flat. For a fretboard test, any location of the exact sounding pitch in your selected hand position is correct. A note with the same name in another octave is a different pitch.
Score is the number of correct first answers. Accuracy is correct answers divided by all answers, as a percentage. Each click counts once; the next card follows automatically after feedback. Notes left unanswered when time expires do not count. Compare rounds with the same time, key, range and answer mode.