Learn how to name every note all over the guitar fretboard by using Octave Shapes!
View the full lesson at Octave Shapes | JustinGuitar
The Note Trainer App is very helpful with this lesson.
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Does the note circle theoretically go forever in each direction? Or is there an “lowest” and “highest” octave in music theory? How are they rated to know the difference between the same notes on different octaves?
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Jesse, my answer would be that it would be bounded by the range of human hearing range (typically 20-20000Hz). A piano’s range is 27.5-4186 Hz. A guitar around 80-1200 Hz
I don’t know enough about the physics of sound to talk about how the harmonics in the high range are created when you play notes on a guitar.
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Theoretically, it is only bounded by the bounds of numeric calculation.
Practically, a decent visual of the limits would be a piano keyboard of 88 keys:
This equates to seven + octaves.
Cheers 
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The last octave shape (6th string to 1st string same fret) is not one but two octaves apart. Do our ears need to know that or is it enough to recognise the common note?
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@dave.pritchard101
Just started out on music theory, but you have answered a query I had, that the 1st and 6th strings are two octaves apart. I expect this would come up at some point in the course
Thanks
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Maybe in the ear training it might. I have since learned that theory wise they are there as a tool to help us locate the notes on the strings.
There are some shapes that crop up in lead and rhythm playing, so they are useful.
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Thanks Dave @dave.pritchard101
I am only two months in with the guitar, started pmt and just had my first singing lesson. Will get around to ear training but I think I have enough on at present.
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I could be wrong, but the D octave sounds like the opening to Petty’s American Girl. Also, I recently encountered the E, F# and G# octaves in Radiohead’s High and Dry. With that one, it sounds even better when you don’t mute the 1st two strings. Fun stuff!
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I don’t understand how the 2 notes can be an octave apart but they are between strings and 4. Wouldn’t the same note on string 5, wherever it falls be an octave apart and the same notes on string 6 and 4 be 2 octaves aparts? Thanks in advance
Hi @Leigh24
Strings are not tuned an octave apart, so don’t think of the frequency difference that way.
Maybe thinking about the number of frets apart the strings are tuned will help. For standard tuning, strings are tuned 5 frets apart EXCEPT for strings 2 and 3 which are 4 frets apart. Since there are 12 frets between octaves, you can expect that a 2-string separation on the same fret will be 10 frets, move 2 more frets toward the body on the thinner string and you’ll have the octave (with the string 2 exception) and the locations on strings 6 and 4 you are questioning should fall into place.
Hopefully, this helps you have not only a mental feel for the octaves, but also a solid fact you can fall back on to check your “feel”.
Leigh - I presume you mean 6 and 4.
Earlier in the theory course you studied the major scale and pattern 1.
Look at these two versions of the G major scale pattern 1, the right hand diagram shows note names. Look for the octave repeats of the notes across all strings.
Do something something with chord diagrams of the major chords of C, A, G, E and D with notes on them.