Octaves:
What is an octave? The answer to that is really quite simple. If you recall from our Kids Music Theory article, there are (7) notes in the scale.
Those being: A B C D E F G A. This is called one Octave. Really one Octave spans from any note to any note of the same name. For instance an octave for the Key of C would start with C.
So that Octave would be: C D E F G A B C. Notice that when we reached G, we started over on the A?
Do, Re, Mi:
Remember the song Do a Deer? That is based on an Octive. Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do?
You would replace these words with the notes of the C Scale Do-C, Re-D, Mi-E, Fa-F, So-G, La-A, Ti-B, Do-C.
So this would be an Octave for the Key of C:
Just as we noted above it runs from a low C on the 5th string to a high C on the second string.
The G Scale:
Lets to the same thing now only with the G scale. One octave for the G scale would start with G and end with G, like this: G A B C D E F G. Get how this works? Now I will throw a curve at you. Only the C scale will use these true letters just like the alphabet.
Accidentals:
To form other octaves with other keys, we have to make adjustments to the scale. Those adjustments are called Accidentals. These are called Sharps and Flats. We will have a short lesson on Accidentals so be sure to brush up on that too.
If you play one Octave, like the one in the diagram, does that mean you are done with the C scale? No not at all. There are C scale notes both above and below this octave. The notes continue until you run out of room to play them on the guitar. For instance there are 5 additional notes in the C scale beneath the C on the 5th String. They are E F G A B and they start on the 6th String Open.
27 Total Notes on the Guitar C Scale:
There are also notes above the C Scale Octave in the diagram above and they go all the way up to the 20 or 22 fret, depending on you guitar. Those note would be D E F G A B C D E F G A B C, ending on the 22nd fret.
So the entire C Scale on the guitar would be: E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C. That is 27 Total notes on the guitar in the C Scale. This makes a total of (3) Complete C Scale Octaves, plus a few more on the lowest strings – remember the E F G A B?
As the photo in the above example shows, the notes indicated in Color are one complete Octave. These are the same notes that are shown in the notation at the top of the article. The notes shown in white are the additional notes that we talked about above and below this Octave. For clarity though we only have shown you the higher notes up to the 3rd Fret on the First String.
Tags: free guitar lessons, Kids Guitar Lessons, music theory, What is an Octave
