Electric Guitar: How to Play Simple Octaves

Octaves can be thought of as another way to "thicken up" single note solos. They are similar to 'double stops' in this way (double stops are two-note intervals usually played by barring a finger across adjacent strings), although the harmony involved is completely different.

But first, what is an octave? Technically, it's a note 8 tones up or down the scale (an interval of an 8th), which is the same note you started with F -> F, E -> E, etc. Or, start on a lower fret and count up 12 half steps on the same string and you will hit the same note an octave higher. Or, yet another way to describe octaves is that when you double the frequency vibration of a certain note, you get its octave. Here is the most common way they are played on guitar:

|-10---8---------|
|-x-----x----7----|
|-7----5----x----|
|------------4----|
|------------------|
|------------------|

Usually your index and ring fingers, or your index and pinky finger, will fret the notes. Also notice that the "in-between" note is muted (indicated with an 'x') by laying the index finger across the string so that it lightly touches it for a dampening effect. You should strum across the string even though it shouldn't sound. Notice how the root note doubled an octave higher thickens up the overall sound considerably.

There are other ways to play octaves, although with the following method the muting of the "in-between" strings is a little more difficult:

|-7------------3-----|
|---------------------|
|--------2-----------|
|---------------5----|
|---------------------|
|-7-----5------------|

Those are B, A, and G octaves, respectively.

Try to keep in mind that when performing octaves they will give a certain sound that has been associated with other guitarists who have used them frequently. Namely, Jimi Hendrix and Wes Montgomery both employed octaves extensively in their musical improvisations and if you use them frequently in your solos many people may say you're trying to imitate their styles (which isn't such a bad thing really, but not too beneficial for developing your own style). This is the reason I don't play octaves during solos very often. Nevertheless, it's good to know how to play them well and if you use them sparingly for melodies and brief solo excursions, people probably will not criticize you for playing them.

Another good thing about octaves is that they are relatively simple to play (the first version is anyway), and most guitarists slide them around the fretboard like power chords, which is fairly easy to do. Switching strings however can be hard with octaves. Hence, we have our first (and last) exercise of this article:

|-10--------------|--8--------------|
|-x---10----------|--x--8-----------|
|-7---x---9--9---|--5--x--7--7----|
|-----7---x---x---|-----5--x--x-----|
|----------7--7---|--------5--5-----|
|------------------|-------------------|

Go back and forth with this one, continuing with different octaves for many repetitions. Concentrate on making your fingers jump to the correct strings with accuracy and finesse, all the while muting the "in-between" note. Then gradually build up speed using your favorite metronome.