The G string, note by note · From Zero to Mozart

The lowest string, and the one that reads below the staff — so ledger-line reading arrives here too (the next lesson, "Ledger lines", is timed with this one). Five natural notes climbing away from the open string.

The five notes

Note	Finger	Where it is
G	0 — open	hangs below its own short ledger line
A	1	a whole step above G
B	2, high	right up against the 3rd finger — not halfway between 1 and 3
C	3	a half step above B — this is middle C
D	4	the same pitch as your open D string

The ladder

58 bpm

G A B C D up the G string, then back down. All of it sits below the treble staff, on and between ledger lines.

4th-finger D should be your open D string exactly — play them back to back; if they don't lock, the hand has drifted along the neck.

The B is high

On this string the natural B is a high 2 — up against the 3rd finger, the two nearly touching. The gap is between the 1st and 2nd fingers, not 2 and 3.

52 bpm

B flat, low 2, against the 1st finger — then B natural, high 2, against the 3rd. On the G string the tune almost always wants the high one.

Skips

56 bpm

G B D and back — fingers 0, 2, 4. A G-major chord, all natural notes (B is already the high 2).

Read it

56 bpm

G string only, below the staff. Work out each note, then check.

The usual mistake

The 2nd finger in the middle — playing B♭ instead of B. If a G-string tune sounds sour, this is almost always why. Slide the 2nd finger forward until it touches the 3rd.

Try

The ladder up and down, names aloud, 4th-finger D checked against the open D. Then jump G–B–D–B–G a few times, keeping the fingers down. Stop the moment the hand starts to squeeze the neck — shake it out, start again.