Learn how to count! Not 1, 2, 3 but understanding the musical notes of A, B, so on. No, we are not studying the standard music notation..... relax:-)

There are only 7 alphabets used in music C, D, E, F, G, A and B. After B comes C again and so on.

Note: I started with C because it is easier to explain the concepts that follows. It is just a sequence of seven notes identified with the first seven alphabets.

We can all sing the mother of all 'scales' Doe, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Doe in tune of course.

The 'distance' between the first two notes Do and Re is called a whole tone. And Re to Mi is also a whole tone. But Mi to Fa is a half tone or semitone and Ti to Doe is also a semitone. The rests are whole tone apart.

The smallest distance between 2 notes is a semitone.

If Doe, Re, Mi.... is starting at note C, D, E.... then it 'looks' something like this:-

C_D_EF_G_A_BC'

(the underscore 'space' to represent the whole tone; and EF and BC being semitone apart, has no underscore. The C' is to represent one octave higher than the first C)

In fact the underscores pattern resembles a Keyboard 2 black keys, 3 black keys, 2 black keys, 3 black keys.....

And the note on the left beside the first of the 2-black pair is always the C note, the white key... and counting the white keys 'upwards' is D, E, F (no black key in between EF), G, A, B and C' (no black key in between B and C).

So what is the name of the note (black key) between say C and D? It is C# (pronounced C sharp, C going up ascending) or also known as Db (pronounced D flat. i.e D coming lower descending).

Thus the full 12-notes scale aka Chromatic Scale is like this:-

C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C' (ascending, don't count the last C') OR

C' B Bb A Ab G Gb F E Eb D Db C (descending, don't count the first C')

That's it!

The guitar is a fretted instrument (the little metal bars on the guitar neck is called a fret) built on semitones, fret-by-fret. Pressing and sounding each note consectively 'up' the fingerboard/neck fret-by-fret (going higher towards the guitar body) will give us the chromatic scale like above.

Imagine guitar has only one string say the thinnest string at the bottom aka 1st string and we tune this string (open) to the E note. Then when we press/play note at the 1st fret, the note is F, followed by F# (2nd fret, higher sounding, ascending towards the guitar body), G (3rd fret), G# (4th fret).... and so on... E' (12th fret).

And no problem for us - we know how to 'count'! Check it out by 'counting ascending chromatic'

And same with Chords. If we know how to hold the C chord, it is the shape of the chord that's important. If we keep the same chord shape, then moving the fingerboard ascending, fret-by-fret, the name of the chord follows eg. C chord, C# chord, D chord, D# chord... keeping the same shape! So we actually know 12 chords based on one shape C. Let's say we add a 7th note, C becomes C7 chord... similarly we move up fingerboard fret-by-fret, we know another 12 chords, C#7 chord, D7 chord, D#7 chord.... and so on.

So learn to 'count' - only 12 notes and you are set to go!