Hey, how's it going?

I know what you might be thinking: "Jonathan, I've been playing for years. I know where the notes are on the fretboard."

And maybe you do! But here's what I've learned after teaching thousands of guitarists: most players have surprising gaps in their fretboard knowledge. You might know the notes you need for the songs you play, but there's probably a whole lot in between that's still fuzzy.

Here's a quick test: Without looking at your guitar, can you name all the E notes on the fretboard? How about all the C's? If you hesitated even a little, you've got some gold to mine here.

The thing is, understanding how the fretboard is organized—really understanding it—changes everything. Once you see the logic behind it (and yes, there IS logic, even though it doesn't always feel like it), you'll stop feeling lost outside of a few comfortable positions.

But when you truly get how those semitones lay out across all six strings, and how standard tuning creates those patterns... everything clicks. You can find any note anywhere. The fretboard opens up.

In Guitar Theory Unlocked, I walk you through this systematically. Not just "here's where the notes are," but why they're there and how to use that knowledge when you're actually playing. Because knowing where an F♯ lives is great—but knowing how to find it instantly, in any position, while you're in the middle of a solo? That's freedom.

Checkout the other lessons in this series: