This is the first post of Guitar Lessons and Music Theory. This series is pretty self explanatory, and I will be trying to post at least one lesson every day. Some lessons will focus exclusively on guitar, some only on music theory, and others will focus on both. I wish to share my knowledge of music with any and all interested in learning not only how to play the guitar, but music theory and how to use both with each other. I am a student myself, going to school as a music major, and I'd like to pass the information my teachers have given to me onto others.

This first lesson will focus on teaching the note names across the fretboard of the guitar. The first thing we should discuss is the names of the strings of the guitar. If you are not familiar with the names of the strings of the guitar, take a look at the picture below  ![IMG_3544.JPG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmV6uZXY8QJLaYCfYkJ4vVk1Gpnie57XSpiSqmxggkeewr/IMG_3544.JPG)
The names of the strings in order from top to bottom are as follows: E,A,D,G,B, and e. The strings also have numbers to them. Low E (otherwise known as E) is string 6. A is string 5, D is 4, G is 3, B is 2, and the high e string(otherwise known as e) is 1. The names of the strings are derived from the names of the notes that are produced when the strings are played open. Playing the strings open simply means that the strings are being played without pressing on any of the frets. Think of if you just strummed without making a chord. You are just hitting all of the strings open.  

Now that we know what the strings are called, there is one last thing before diving into the notes of the fretboard
![IMG_3539.JPG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNd5QmTbseqLq6ess7giF6wzNGKZy9ya6K1jdhgbS7bbo/IMG_3539.JPG)
The sharp and flat symbols are very important. They will pop up not only multiple times throughout the lesson, but in music theory in general. Make sure that you 100 % know what these symbols stand for.

Now for the fretboard of the guitar. Below is a fretboard that I drew out, and then wrote all of the note names in![IMG_3541.JPG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSTeXzGSoAytZNGsgQFERnjgN5B1Di47ndvag9opNytA7/IMG_3541.JPG)
The numbers at the top of the picture are the fret numbers. Don't let the way the fretboard is set up throw you off guard. Notice that the high e string is now on top, while the low E string is on the bottom. It is written this way because this is how tab is written. The full list of all notes is as follows: A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab. These are all of the notes within music theory. A lot of them go by more than one name, hence why I showed multiple notes as a sharp and a flat. There are more options of what to call multiple notes, but that is another lesson for another time. You may have also noticed that the fretboard diagram only goes to the 12th fret. This is because at the 12th fret, the notes on the fretboard start over for all strings.

 It is essential that you memorize these notes on the fretboard, as it will help tremendously in just about everything that has to do with playing the guitar. I hope this was helpful for those of you wanting to learn how to play the guitar and how to use music theory.