The unison on guitar

P1 · the same pitch · inverts to the octave

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 6 · The interval.

The unison

  1. C1
  2. C1

A unison is the same pitch, from C to C. Inverted, with the lower note moved up an octave, it becomes the octave.

Its short name is P1, and it is also called perfect prime. Counted in letters, it spans one letter name.

The unison on guitar

E to A — five frets back
EADGBE12345611
A to D — five frets back
EADGBE12345611
D to G — five frets back
EADGBE12345611
G to B — four frets back
EADGBE12345611
B to E — five frets back
EADGBE12345611
E to D, skipping one — ten frets back
EADGBE123456789101111
A to G, skipping one — ten frets back
EADGBE123456789101111
D to B, skipping one — nine frets back
EADGBE1234567891011
G to E, skipping one — nine frets back
EADGBE1234567891011

On guitar, the unison is five frets back and four frets back when you cross to the next string, and the same fret along one string.

One pair of strings is the odd one out, because the gap between those two strings is different from the rest. Most players learn that exception as a rule of its own.

On the staff

CC

On a treble staff, the two notes are written C and C.

The staff shows the two notes one after the other, then together. C to C spans one letter name, which is what the interval's name counts. What you hear is the same pitch twice.

On the keyboard

1CDEFGAB1CDEFGAB1CDEFGAB1CDEFGAB1CC♯D♯F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯F♯G♯A♯C♯D♯F♯G♯A♯C2C3C4C5C6

A unison uses one key, because it is a distance of nothing. It only becomes interesting on an instrument that can play the same pitch in more than one place, and a keyboard cannot do that.

Every C on the whole neck

EADGBE123456789101112131415C1C1C1C1C1C1C1C1

Twelve notes are marked across six strings.

This diagram marks every C on guitar. A unison is any two of these played together, which is why a unison has a shape on the neck at all.