readin stanard note

[GOTLIFE]

i am having a slight problem tryin to read standard notation. i understand ( or at least i think i do ) what the note symbals mean for time, rests, and fretts ( maybe not the fretts) but what i don't understand is how do i know when looking at the standard notation which string i am supposed to play on the guitar??? maybe i accidently skipped it through a lesson, or i read it and didn't understand what it was sayin. but whatever it is i am confused about it...

[StoneDragon]

I cover this in lesson five (http://www.zentao.com/guitar/lesson5/theory-1.html), but I'll see if I can't help clear it up for you.

One thing you have to keep in mind about standard notation is that the notes on the staff dictate pitch.... not strings or frets. Most of the notes on the staff can be played at more than one location on the guitar.

If you look at the color coded neck diagram that is about 1/3 of the way down the theory part I page in lesson five (http://www.zentao.com/guitar/lesson5/theory-1.html), you will see what I am talking about.

In order to know where to play the notes, you have to be familiar with these pitch zones on the neck. For example, if we look at the E note at the 12th fret on the low E-string, that same pitch can be found at the 7th fret on the A-string and at the 2nd fret on the D-string. All three of these E notes are the exact same pitch.

This E is the bottom line of the staff, provided that the music you are reading was written for the guitar. If the music was written for piano, then you would need to play either the E at the 14th fret on the D-string, the E at the 9th fret on the G-string, the E at the 5th fret on the B-string or the open high E-string. All four of these E notes are the exact same pitch.

This is because guitar music is written one octave higher than it sounds. (check out lesson 5)

The trick to figuring out "where to play the notes" is knowing where at least one of those notes can be found on the guitar. Then you have to figure out the rest of the notes from that pitch. This seems kind of screwed up, but you'll get the hang of it pretty quick. there is no easier way to do it unfortunately.

Most instrumentalists use middle C as their reference point for figuring out where the pitches are on their instrument. On the treble clef staff, middle C is the first ledger line below the staff:

F---------------------
D---------------------
B---------------------
G---------------------
E---------------------
middle C --> -O-

If you're reading music written for the guitar, middle C is played at either the 8th fret on the low E-string or at the 3rd fret on the A-string. If you're reading music written for piano, then middle C can be played at the the 20th fret on the Low E-string, the 15th fret on the A-string, the 10th fret on the D-string, the 5th fret on the G-string or the 1st fret on the B-string.

As I said before, you have to figure out the rest of the pitches from that reference point.

Now, most of the "commercially available" music that you will find is written either for guitar or piano. You pretty much have to go out of your way to find music written for the cello or french horn etc...

One of the easiest ways to tell the difference between "guitar" music and "piano" music is that nowadays, guitar music almost always includes TAB whereas piano music most often will have three staves (melody, right hand and left hand) and those funky open-position chord diagrams written above the melody staff. Your average "best of songbook" will be written for piano where your average "play it just like the record" book will be written for the guitar.

Hope that helps clear things up... if not, just say so and I'll try again.