Play the fourth fret on the G string for the note B, then play the B string open. An octave is in essence an interval whose higher note has a frequency of vibration twice that of its lower note. Octave playing is a big part of jazz guitar language, this technique has been popularized by guitarist Wes Montgomery one of the greatest improvisers and jazz genious of all times. If you want to make a lick more powerful without changing its note values, you can play the same riff twelve frets up to harmonize with the same exact notes. Count up to the 12th fret and place your finger just below it to fret the string, then pluck it. So your High E string and your Low E string are both E notes, but one is a higher E, and one is a lower E. This technique is used in some solos and in rhythm guitar. Keep your first finger low so it touches the "in between" string lightly to mute it so it doesn't sound as you strum. As you can see this is a quite basic Technique. As the frets on the guitar move closer to the sound hole (or for the purposes of this diagram, further to the right) the pitch gets higher by half a step for each fret that goes rightward. If you are playing a simple single note grouping riff, octaves can be used to turn single notes into powerhouses. That is, the fretboard offers unisons for nearly all tones as well as octaves. First, the octave above a note on the low E string will be two frets higher and two strings higher. Fret the sixth string at the 12th fret to play an E one octave higher. An octave above Low E can be played at the 12th fret of the 6th string. Another way to play octaves is the one up and seven over method. The Octave technique allows you to play two notes on a different octave. If we play it as the open note, then move two strings away (which will bring us to the D string) and two frets away (which will bring us to the second fret on the D string) we get the note E. This is our octave, and it is much closer. You should be on the G note on the 8th fret of the 2nd string. Take for instance an open low E. If you move twelve frets up from an open low E, you come to the twelfth fret (twelve frets from open). I hope you do. The answer is yes, but I don't know of anybody that does it because of the huge finger stretch required. Octave … The fancy name of this interval "octave" is derived from the Latin word for eight. First thing to do is to memorize the Octave Position. Play chord, scale or arpeggio shapes with roots on the B notes around the neck to find your preferred sound. If you are playing chords, you can expand the chord shape and make it sound larger by adding an octave. But having an octave twelve frets away isn’t always useful when making guitar chords. You've climbed up all seven notes of the major scale and land back on the eighth note with the same name as the starting note. There are several ways to play octaves on a guitar. Even if you have an improbably huge finger stretch you can't play two notes at once on a single string. Guitar scales lie at the core of every guitar riff you’ve ever heard. The two notes will always be the same. If we play an open G and move two strings away (which will bring us to the high E) and three frets away (which will bring us to the third fret of the high E) we get the note G, which is our octave. Again, guitar comes to mind, but any instrument that can play octaves can do this. Learning to play the guitar usually starts with learning its octaves, just as it with scales and the piano. GLOSSARY. All rights reserved. Scroll straight down to the second section right now if the word "theory" makes your eyes go all swimmy. You could make this dream come true, if only you could play the guitar! ultimate quickstart guide to learning the guitar, Songwriting Science Review – David Jasmine, Understanding Guitar Triads And How to Build Them, Blues Minor Pentatonic Scale – Flatted Fifth, Dorian Mode – Application in Modern Music, E Natural Minor Scale And Its Related Pentatonic Scale, What Are the Benefits of Playing Guitar for Children, A List of The Best Guitar Lesson DVDs In The Market, How to Play Windy And Warm by Chet Atkins. If we fret the fifth fret of our low E, we get A. GuitarPlayerWorld.com © Copyright 2017 | Robert Ewing Productions. It is the same note, just an octave higher or lower. Experiment a little to discover what feels best to you. Here is a diagram showing which strings to play for an A-string and G-string octave. Remember these three easy rules to find the octave interval of any note on the third, fourth, fifth or sixth strings: 1. You just have to play lines using two simultaneaous notes separated by twelve semitones. You can move this shape along the 6th or 5th string to play any octave. You can move this shape along the 6th or 5th string to play any octave. The first thing you should do before implementing octaves is learn your octave placements. We'll start with the shape you use when the bottom note is on either the 6th or the 5th string, shown in the diagram below. So, for example, the E note on the open sixth string has an octave at the 12 fret of the same string. An octave is 12 semitones higher than the root note - the equivalent of going all the way around the Note Circle and back to the same note. Keep this in mind; never force something that does not sound right. The distance from the starting note to the octave is twelve semi-tones. If you are playing a flashier riff that is closer to a lick, sliding upwards to octaves can add more texture. No matter what tuning you are in, the octave of the note you are playing will always be twelve frets away on the same string. Each string has an octave at the 12th fret and if the guitar has 24 frets it can actually span two octaves. Luckily for us guitar players though the octave interval of any note also occurs on different strings, and with a far shorter finger stretch to boot. You can create some cool riffs using octaves as a piece of the puzzle. The octave interval occurs two strings below the starting note and two frets higher up the neck. Take whatever axe you have and try to apply this scheme to it. That being said, if you want your riffs to sound powerful, an easy way to achieve that is through the use of octaves. Try implementing octaves in different ways. So an A for instance, on the second fret of the G-string, an octave down is the open string A. A 24 fret guitar can span as many as 4 octaves from the open low E, to the 24th fret of the high E string. They create a very full yet airy sound when done correctly. Thus, once the E string is learned, the names of the notes on the fourth string can be easily visualized. The fretboard's Pattern of Unisons and Octaves, therefore, cannot be taken for granted it must be illuminated and consciously studied. Move two frets up the neck for starting notes on the 6th or 5th strings, 3. Move three frets up the neck for starting notes on the 4th or 3rd strings. In this article, we will discuss how to implement octaves into your playing. Octaves sound powerful. Octaves are playing the same note on two strings usually one octave apart. Play the open A string and we have our octave. Remember the Do Re Mi song? Hi, my name is Robert Ewing. This section is a study of how to play octaves a la the Wes Montgomery style. Play the G note on the 5th fret of the 4th string. You can do this with octaves. A Must-Read: How Much Is A Bass Guitar? 5 Acoustic Guitar Love Songs For Your Valentine. All content copyright (c) 2007-2018, Gary Fletcher. You might be wondering if you can play octaves from a starting note on the 2nd string. Guitar Lesson Overview. Western music consists of 12 individual notes. Furthermore, unlike the keyboard, the fretboard offers two or three different places to play any given octave of any given tone. This lesson has shown the two shapes commonly used to play octave intervals on the guitar. If you're reading this then you're not practicing guitar. How To: Play octaves on the guitar How To: Turn a guitar into a ukulele (with a capo) How To: Tune to a drop D tuning on an electric guitar How To: Tune an eight string ukulele How To: Improvise on guitar How To: Play advanced bass guitar octave scales and modes Finger the low note with your first finger and the high note with your third (ring) finger. Going to any orange E from the red E is equal to moving 12 frets in a straight line (horizontal). Now go up three frets and over two strings. 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