Finding notes on the neck

You do not need to learn every note on every string at once. Start with the low E and A strings. They are where the roots of the power chords and barre chords live, so knowing them means you can put any of those shapes on any chord.

This map shows the natural notes on the two bass strings, from the open string up to the 12th fret. The gaps between the dots are the sharps.

Walk it yourself on the low E string: open is E, fret 1 is F (remember, E to F is a single fret), fret 3 is G, fret 5 is A, fret 7 is B, fret 8 is C, fret 10 is D, and fret 12 is E again.

Nobody counts from the nut every time. Players learn a few landmarks and find everything else from those. The fret-marker dots help.

Learn the fifth-fret row first: A on the low E, D on the A string. It is the same pair you used to tune by ear, so you already half-know it.

Now any power chord or barre chord is easy to place. Want a C power chord with the root on the low E? C is at the 8th fret, so put the shape there. Want D minor as a barre on the A string? D is at the 5th fret of the A string, so play the A minor barre shape with the barre at the 5th fret.

That is D minor as a barre, with the root on the A string at the fifth fret.

Here are the natural notes on all six strings. You do not need to memorise this. Come back to it when you want to know where a note is.

Notice that the 12th fret is the same pattern as the open strings: E A D G B E. The neck repeats itself from there, twelve frets higher and an octave up.