G Major Scale Open Position

Learning the G Major Notes in Open Position

Why Learn the G Major Scale Notes?

It is often best to learn to play the guitar by starting with the notes and chords that can be played in the open position. In open position, you can use a combination of open notes and fretted notes for melodies, and also play chords that take advantage of open strings. Since open strings require much less effort to play, you can get up and running more quickly by starting with this position.

The most common keys that you are likely to encounter when you begin playing the guitar are C major and G major. And you can explore each of these keys thoroughly by memorizing the scale in open position that can be used to play the notes of the key.

How to Practice

If you haven’t already, study and memorize the open position notes. Try to see how the notes of G major (below) differ from the notes of C major.

The only difference between G major and C major is that in the key of G major, all “F” notes become “F♯”.

Key Tasks

• Practice the scale ascending and descending.
• Compare the notes of the open G major scale to the notes of the C major scale.