Frets, half steps, whole steps
Concept
Each fret moves the pitch by one half step (one semitone). Two frets = one whole step. The musical alphabet is A B C D E F G and then it repeats — but between most letters there's a sharp (#) in between.
The 12-note alphabet
Music in the West uses 12 pitches that repeat over and over. Going up one fret moves you one step through this sequence:
A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, …
There is NO sharp between B–C and between E–F. Those pairs are only a half step apart naturally. Everywhere else, the natural notes are a whole step (two frets) apart.
Half steps vs whole steps
- Half step (semitone) = 1 fret. Smallest move in standard Western music.
- Whole step (tone) = 2 frets.
This is why moving from E (open low E) up one fret gives F: E→F is naturally a half step. But moving from A up one fret gives A#, because A→B is a whole step.
Sharps and flats
The note one fret above A can be called A# (A-sharp) OR Bb (B-flat). Same pitch, two names. Which name you use depends on the key you're in — we'll get to that later. For now, sharps work fine.
Key takeaways
- •1 fret = 1 half step. 2 frets = 1 whole step.
- •No sharps between B–C or E–F.
- •Sharps (#) and flats (b) are two names for the same in-between pitches.
Glossary
- Semitone
- A half step. The distance of one fret.
- Tone
- A whole step. The distance of two frets.
- Enharmonic
- Two different names for the same pitch (A# = Bb).
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