The Fretboard Display

The fretboard display represents a guitar fretboard as you would see it as you look down on your guitar held in the standard playing position. The diagram above shows a left handed guitar with the nut at the left-hand side and with the lowest (thickest) string at the bottom.

Tuning

Displays the notes the on-screen guitar is currently tuned to. To change the tuning select tuning from the options menu. Click here for more information on tuning.

Fingering

Displays where to place your fingers to play the current chord or scale etc. The appearance of this changes slightly depending on which type of musical structure is being displayed at the time.

Chords & Triads: Red circles indicate a root note, blue circles indicate other chord notes. The number contained in the circle indicates which finger should be used to play that note. When a chord has more that one fingering the most common is shown.

Scales: Red squares indicate a root note, green squares represent another scale note. The letter name of each note is written in each square.

Arpeggios: Red squares indicate a root note, blue squares represent another arpeggio note. The letter name of each note is written in each square.

Notes: Red squares indicate the currently selected root note.

Chord Scale: This is the most complex of the fretboard displays

• Red squares indicate a root note (which is contained in both chord and scale)
• Dark red squares indicate another note that is contained in both chord and scale.
• Green squares indicate a note that occurs in the scale only
• Blue squares indicate a note that occurs in the chord only

The letter name of each note is written in each square.

Chord Finder: Click on the fretboard to place blue circles. The letter name of each note is written in each circle.

Note: The colours described here are the defaults. It is possible to change any of the display colours by selecting 'Fingering Colours' from the 'Options' menu.

Additional Fingering Information

This only applies to chord and triad display.

x = this string is not to be played.

0 = this string is to be played as an open string ie. no finger is to be placed on it.

Root Note Selector

A root note is the note that a chord or scale derives its name from. Examples:

• C is the root note of Cmaj7
• F# is the root note of F# dorian
• Bb is the root note of Bbm9

The root note is often (but not always) the lowest note in a chord.

Fretboard

A picture on which the notes representing chords or scales etc. are drawn. It is possible to change the appearance of the fretboard, click here for more details.

Notes

This only applies to chord and triad display. Shows which note will sound if that string is played.