At which fret does the open 3rd string semitone to the 4th string occur?

• A. 1st fret
• B. 2nd fret
• C. 3rd fret
• D. 4th fret

Answer: (B)

The open 3rd string on the guitar is the G string, and the open 4th string is the D string. To determine where the semitone occurs, you need to look at the distance in terms of frets.

When you play the G string open, it sounds a G note. Moving to the first fret raises the pitch to G#. The second fret raises it again to A. The relationship between A (2nd fret on the G string) and D (open 4th string) is a perfect fourth. However, when you compare the pitch of the G string open (G) to the note at the second fret (A), you can identify that moving from G (open) to A (2nd fret) is indeed a whole tone, not a semitone.

The semitone occurs between the notes at the 2nd and 3rd frets of the G string. At the 3rd fret, the note becomes A# (or Bb), which highlights the G string's relationship to the open D string. Thus, the 2nd fret on the G string is where we identify that closeness in pitch between G and A. The semitone interval is between the notes at the