“Ok it’s a deal; I’ll find the C, but I’m not learning all those other notes”: Jack White responds hilariously to Cory Wong’s divisive statement about what it takes to be an advanced guitarist

Could you find every note on your fretboard? If someone asked you right now to play a C on every string, would you be able to do it? Cory Wong thinks you should be able to in order to call yourself an “advanced guitarist”, and it’s a hill he’s willing to die on.

Wong’s claim has caused a huge stir among the guitar community, and while some players argue such knowledge isn’t needed in order to shred or really get into the feel of your music, others think it should be a necessity. Players from all over have been weighing in on the debate – and it has even caught the attention of Jack White.

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In his original video, Wong says, “Gentle call out to the folks that consider themselves advanced guitarists, you should know where all the notes are on a guitar!” He continues by asking if players can locate a C note on every string: “If you can’t do this exercise, I wouldn’t consider you an advanced guitarist,” he adds. “That’s all there is to it – get to work!”

Wong, who has his new StingRay II model in hand in the video, has since responded to the division online, saying, “Didn’t know this would trigger so many folks. I’m here for it.”

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Interested to find out if other players agree, we also shared Wong’s statement to Instagram, to which White replies, “Ok it’s a deal; I’ll find the C, but I’m not learning all those other notes. -JW3”

Other users have questioned Wong’s belief, with one writing, “This could be music lore, but didn’t Eddie Van Halen, not know much about notes or theory? If this is true was he not an advanced guitarist?”

Another adds, “I’ve been playing guitar for 40 years and I couldn’t do that. But I can write a good song. That’s all I care about.”

Others, however, completely agree with Wong: “Only other guitarists would be so pressed over a professionally working guitarist saying you need to know the basics of your instrument. Sure, you technically don’t need to know squat for your original project but when you start working with true pros, you’ll be glad you worked out the basics of music theory,” one Instagram user replies.

“This is basic info. There shouldn’t be much of an issue with this,” another adds.

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Just like the debates of digital gear vs. classic analogue setups, or ‘does tonewood really matter?’ It seems a whole new can of worms has been opened, one that may never close again.

Find out where you can catch Cory Wong live. He also offers a guitar course, if you’re interested in becoming an advanced guitarist.