Sight-Read E, F, F# and G on the First String
Some amazing musicians don’t read music, and plenty of people think it’s a waste of time. You don’t need to read music to become a great player, but it’s a skill with big rewards. This is Part 1 of my sight-reading series, and it sticks to notes on the 1st string in 1st position.
What I cover:
- The 1st string notes: E, F, F# and G
- The natural sign
- Note durations: whole, half, quarter and eighth notes
- The dotted quarter note
- A sight-reading exercise played at 120 bpm, then at 60 bpm
The notes are the open E, F on the 1st fret (on the top line of the staff), F# on the 2nd fret and G on the 3rd fret (just above the staff). When an F# needs to go back to plain F, the music uses a natural sign.
For timing, a whole note gets four counts, a half note two, a quarter note one, and an eighth note half a count. You count eighth notes as “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and”. A dot adds half the note’s length again, so a dotted quarter note gets one and a half counts.
After a quick play-through of the notes and rhythms, I play the whole exercise at 120 beats per minute, then slow it down to 60 so you can practice along. If you don’t get everything straight away, don’t worry. You’ll pick it up as you go.
Free Sight-Reading PDFs
Download the free 1st String Sight-Reading Practice sheet (PDF) to play along with the video. For a two-page beginner’s guide to the open strings, counting and note values, get the free How to Read Music for Guitar guide (PDF).
Next step: Learn Guitar Sheet Music has more reading exercises, including the 2nd string. Also see How to Read Music for Guitar pdf.