(1) Positions refer to the left hand (on a right-handed guitarist). The left hand is the hand that fingers notes and chords on the fretboard.
(2) The following is from Wikipedia: In the left hand, each finger is responsible for exactly one fret. For each hand-position of four frets, the left hand is stationary while its fingers move… The ‘nth position’ means that the hand is positioned with the first finger [the Index] over the nth fret.
(3) Reminder: Conventional numbering for guitar strings is:
E = 1, B = 2, G =3, D = 4, A = 5, E = 6
(4) My homespun code for the places you put your fingertips to produce notes is SFN, “string-fret-note.” Example: ‘11F’ says, “Finger string 1 at fret 1 to produce an F.” Note: A “zero” fret means an open string — one not fretted.
(5) Here’s how the code would depict playing of a C scale in Position 1:
53C-40D-42E-43F-30G-32A-20B-21C
Notice the following:
a. String 6 (low E) is mute. (Its first C is on fret 8, which is beyond Position 1.)
b. Scale-note C launches on string 5 (the A string) at fret 3.
c. Notes D-E-F are all played on string 4 (the D string) first open, then at frets 2 and 3.
d. Notes G-A are played on string 3 (the G string) first open, then at fret 2.
e. Notes B-C (completing the octave) are played on string 2 (the B string) first open, then at fret 1.
(c) 2019 JMN.
Fretwork: Guitar String Numbering
(1) Conventional numbering for guitar strings is from high to low. In standard tuning the strings are numbered:
E = 1
B = 2
G = 3
D = 4
A = 5
E = 6
(2) Guitar tuning, on the other hand, is described inversely to string numbering, as follows:
6 = E
5 = A
4 = D
3 = G
2 = B
1 = E
(3) If you have the leisure and inclination, reflect for a moment on how perversely clashing these two conventions appear to be. Not to mention that, when you strum a guitar, your thumb or pick typically travels the strings from low to high, and when you look down at your instrument the low string is closest to your nose and the high string closest to your crotch, which consensus tends to recognize as a top-down orientation.
[Roger Edward Blumberg, at http://www.thecypher.com, makes a case for reversing traditional string numbering to match the tuning sequence.]
(4) With misgivings, I’ve elected to stick for the moment with the traditional goofy system for fear that it permeates extant guitar literature that I may have occasion to consult. I’m not credentialed in any way for this type of decision, but it’s necessary for what follows to state the stance.
(c) 2019 JMN.