Read scales on the fretboard diagrams and learn what order to play notes!
View the full lesson at Fretboard Diagrams For Scales | JustinGuitar
The root note in Red is F#, but the scale is A minor. Why?
1 Like
Hi @Kitredmond . It’s a movable scale, so you move the root to fret 5 and then you have the Am pentatonic scale. If the root is on fret 2 which is what the picture looks like then yes it would be F#m. You can move the scale anywhere on the fretboard and wherever the root is that’s the scale.
2 Likes
Hello @Kitredmond and welcome to the community.
Note that the diagram deliberately has no fret numbers against any of the frets. It looks like fret 2 but it could be any fret anywhere on the neck.
Cheers 
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide & Moderator
3 Likes
What does he mean by “the lowest note”?
1 Like
Advanced players should start and end on the lowest root note—more on how to do this later.
Hi Georgi and welcome to the community
Note that he says the lowest root note, so in this case it will be the Red Root indicated on the 6th E string. When you learn other patterns and shapes the lowest root can be on a different strings, example a 5th string root (or there may be a note below a 6th string root). So you start at the 5th string root, play the pattern all the way to the 1st e string, then back down to the thickest 6th E string BUT then go back up the scale to the Root note you started on.
On the Pattern 1 E shaped Minor pentatonic the lowest root note is the first note you play on the 6th string to start the pattern. So as long as you return there, you don’t have to worry about all that for now. It will be discussed later.
Hope that helps.
@others
Also, folk folks seeing this as starting on the 2nd fret Justin says the follow, which supports what @Richard_close2u was saying about the shape being moveable, 1st fret to the 20th for those with 24 frets !!
When you look at this diagram, you’ll see no dark or double lines to show the nut! Usually, there’s a number on the left of the top fret that indicates the starting fret. In this example, we have a red dot. The red dot contains the root note, and it means that it’s a moveable scale.
There is always good supplementary information in Justin’s lesson texts. Always worth reading as it will answer many questions.
4 Likes
You don’t have to be that advanced player to start and end at the lowest root note 
Quite early on in Beginner course 2 you do a C Major scale starting and ending on C @ 3rd fret A string C Major Scale | JustinGuitar.com
2 Likes
After reading through some discussions and watching some guitar videos, this also confuses me. Also when someone speaks of “the lowest string”. Is this referring to the string with the lowest sounding note (i.e. the low E string)? Or the string that is “mounted” at the lowest position on the guitar (i.e. the high E string)?
Naturally, for me it would be the low E string (because it has the lowest notes). But I think that most people actually mean the high E string when they talk about the “the lowest string”.
The same applies when numbering the strings. For me, string 1 would naturally be the low E string (because my head numbers the strings from lowest sounding to highest sounding). But I think for most people, string 1 is actually the high E string. Is that right?
1 Like
Hello and welcome to the community @popaqy
Watch and listen very closely from 00:50 in the video until 01:15.
Everything in those 25 seconds explains it.
Start and end on the lowest (lowest sounding) root note which will almost always be on the thick E string or the A string. There is one exception in the CAGED system where a D-shape major scale has its lowest root note on the D string.
1 Like
Yes.
Plain and simple.
Yes.
Always.
Lowest in sound.
Nothing to do with spatial positioning relative to the ground, the sky or the universe.
They are misunderstanding the conventional way of describing and talking about guitars.
The second part of this is correct.
6th string = thickest string = low E string.
Hope that helps.
1 Like
So the lowest string has the highest number? This makes the confusion perfect 
But coming from the piano, it also really confuses me that guitarists start counting their fingers at the index finger. Ask any “normal” person to count their fingers … they will surely start at the thumb 
1 Like
Think of it as the thickest string is the biggest number the thinnest is the smallest number.
1 Like
Hi there,
In Guitarland, the adjectives low/high don’t refer to physical directions but pitch relations. That’s why you hear things like playing something up at the 12th fret, i.e. not down at the 3rd fret or lower.
I guess thumb is not counted because it’s quite difficult to fret any notes with your thumb. It’s usually indicated as T when referring to fretting bass notes with your thumb curling over the 6th string, but that’s really a niche thing in my book.
However, for fingerstyle or legit classical playing, the thumb is regularly included among the picking fingers. In that case, the little finger may be overlooked sometimes.
2 Likes
I can think of it like that. But it feels counterintuitive to me. I guess it’s best to forget about that “lowest string” and “highest string” thing altogether.
Is a downstrum then not called downstrum because it goes from top to bottom, but because it goes from 6th string to 1st string? This would then be logical, but for my head still counterintuitive 
Yes, that’s logical. Except that the numbering of the strings is the other way around. … The lower the string, the higher the string number. So a lower string number in fact means a higher pitch. I guess if you’re used to it you don’t even notice it, but for me it’s contradictory. 
Well, if the thumb is not used, it would be perfectly logical for me to just see fingers 2-5 mentioned in the guitar world. But again: it’s just what you’re used to.
I’ve learned already that the picking fingers in fingerstyle/classical playing are marked p, i, m, and a. So again, something completely different
1 Like
Yeah, the string numbering needed a bit of getting used to. Also, tunings are named low → high, e.g. EADGBE (standard), DADGAD, etc. so there’s another exception.
2 Likes
I must have missed the lesson on reading fret diagrams, because I’m quite confused. I understand the bit about the root being in red, but I was thinking that the numbers represented different fingers, which doesn’t seem to work, unless you have way more than 10 digits, lol.
1 Like
You seem to confusing the scale diagram and the tab. The numbers on the scale diagram are finger numbers. The numbers on the tab are the fret numbers for the string the number is written over. E.g. The number 8 on the B string means place your finger on the 8th fret of the B string. Which finger? You work that out from the scale diagram.
The last paragraph of the notes that accompany the video says:
“I usually try to present both options. But it’s unlikely examples from other sources will do this. Get used to reading both TAB and fretboard diagrams. Diagrams are a good way to see the ‘shape’ of a chord or scale. This can be a helpful memory aid, but TAB can be clearer. Using the two together is the smart option!”
3 Likes
Hello @masonspen and welcome to the community.
I am going to show several diagrams to compare and contrast.
Firstly, looking at pentatonic scales.
General minor pentatonic scale.
This has no fret markers, fret numbers or any other indication beyond the red and black dots. It depicts the scale pattern and the lack of any labels explicitly informs the reader that it is a generic and movable pattern that can be played anywhere on the guitar neck. If moved to a certain position, the fret at which the red dot sits gives the root note and the name of a specific minor pentatonic scale.
General minor pentatonic scale with fingerings given.
As above with the inclusion of fingerings to use for the scale pattern.
General minor pentatonic scale with note intervals shown.
As above, now with the inclusion of intervals.
Specific minor pentatonic scale.
The fret numbering now makes clear that this is the A minor pentatonic scale with root note at fret 5. There are also fret marker dots on the neck too.
Specific minor pentatonic scale with fingerings shown.
The A minor pentatonic scale with fingerings.
Specific minor pentatonic scale with note intervals shown.
Still the A minor pentatonic scale now with intervals shown.
Specific minor pentatonic scale with notes shown.
As this is a specific scale, not a generic movable pattern, we can also depict the exact notes it contains.
Second, looking at E-shape barre chords.
General E-shape barre chord.
As with the first scale diagram above, this has no fret markers, fret numbers or any other indication beyond the red and black dots. It depicts the chord shape only. The lack of any labels explicitly informs the reader that it is a generic and movable shape that can be played anywhere on the guitar neck. If moved to a certain position, the fret at which the red dot sits gives the root note and the name of a specific chord.
General E-shape barre chord with fingering.
As above with the inclusion of fingerings to help form the chord shape.
General E-shape barre chord with intervals.
As above with note intervals given.
Specific E-shape barre chord.
The fret numbering now makes clear that this is the A major chord with root note at fret 5. There are also fret marker dots on the neck too.
Specific E-shape barre chord with fingering.
As above with fingerings shown.
Specific E-shape barre chord with intervals.
As above with note intervals shown.
Specific E-shape barre chord with notes.
As this is a specific chord, not a generic movable shape, we can also depict the exact notes it contains.
I hope that helps.
Cheers 
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide, Approved Teacher & Moderator
2 Likes
Hi @Richard_close2u, as usual your graphic depictions are very useful, thanks.
I have a suggestion, though, for the E-shape barre chord graphic. In the versions where you show either the intervals or note names, especially, I would not show (or at least not label) the intervals/notes that are not actually in the chord, i.e. the notes under the barre on strings 3, 4 and 5. It just looks odd to see b3, b7 and p4 (or C, G and D) for an A major chord.
1 Like
Thanks @jjw I was working off one main template for all diagrams and did not stop and look long enough to pick up on that. I will edit and correct asap.
Cheers, Richard