Name the marked note.
Choose a game
Playing now Name the note A fret is marked. Pick its note name. 20 prompts.Practice with your real guitar in Fretonomy
How this guitar notes quiz works
The diagram is drawn the way a guitarist reads tab: the thin high E string runs along the top and the thick low E along the bottom, with the open strings in the column left of the nut. One spot is ringed. Tap the note name underneath, or press its letter key, and the next spot appears. After twenty answers you get a percentage, your average answer time, and the three notes that gave you the most trouble, drawn on the neck so you can see where they live.
Treat it as a guitar note tester rather than a test you pass once. A score means little on its own; the useful number is the response time. When you can name a fret in under two seconds without counting up from the open string, that note is learned.
Finding any note without counting
Everything on the fretboard comes from two facts. The open strings in standard tuning are E, A, D, G, B and E. And each fret raises a note by one half step, with the natural notes spaced two frets apart except for the pairs E to F and B to C, which sit on neighbouring frets.
Three landmarks then cover most of the neck. The 12th fret, with its double dot, repeats the open strings an octave higher. The 5th fret on any string gives the open note of the string above it, except on the G string, where the 4th fret gives B. And an octave shape, two strings over and two frets up, lets you carry a note you know onto a string you know less well.
A short daily routine
Use the game settings to keep each round winnable. Start with natural notes only and frets 0 to 3, the region you already play chords in. Once you score above 90 percent there, move to 0 to 5, then 5 to 12, and only then switch on all notes so the sharps and flats join in.
Five minutes a day does more than an hour once a week, because the goal is recall, not understanding. Play a round before you practise, glance at your three weakest notes, and say their names aloud as you find them on your own guitar. It is the fastest way to learn guitar fretboard notes for good, and it makes this fretboard test feel easy within a few weeks.
Tips for a better score
Turn the Next button on while you are learning and off once you are quick. With it on, take a second after each answer to look at the neighbouring frets and name them silently. With it off, the steady rhythm stops you second-guessing and shows your real recall speed.
If you play left-handed, use the left-handed board. The quiz is about recognising shapes and distances on the neck, and practising on a mirror image of your own guitar makes that harder than it needs to be.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use sharps, flats or solfège note names?
Yes. Open the settings to choose sharp or flat for each black-key note, and letter names or solfège (Do, Re, Mi). Either spelling is correct: sharps are common in guitar keys such as E, A and D, and flats in keys such as F, B flat and E flat, so pick the one used in the music you play.
Can I answer with the keyboard?
Yes. Press C, D, E, F, G, A or B to answer with a natural note, even when the buttons show solfège. The note buttons also work with Tab and Enter.
How long does it take to learn the notes on the guitar fretboard?
With a few rounds a day, most players can name the natural notes up to the 12th fret within two to four weeks. Adding the sharps and flats usually takes about as long again.
Are my fretboard quiz settings saved?
Yes, in this browser on this device. They apply to every game on the site until you change them, and nothing is sent anywhere.