Theory

We walk you through everything a guitarist needs to know about the major scale, including enclosures and the CAGED system.

If you’re staring in confusion at a chord key chart wondering which way is up – we have the guide for you!

One of the best things you can do for yourself as a guitarist is to learn every note on the fretboard – but for many guitarists it’s too big a task to take on. We break it into bitesized chunks, giving you exercises and practice routines to get the thing into your head.

We walk you through the chords in the key of G major, how to figure out what chords fit into a key, and some common G major progressions.

We walk you through the chords in E major, how to figure out what chords fit into a key, and some common E major progressions.

We walk you through the chords in D major, how to figure out what chords fit into a key, and some common D major progressions.

We walk you through the chords in C major, how to figure out what chords fit into a key, and some common C major progressions.

We walk you through the chords in A major, how to figure out what chords fit into a key, and some common A major progressions.

Eb Tuning is one of the most popular non-standard tunings, as you get a little deeper while keeping your string tension and intonation.

DADGAD tuning is super popular for acoustic players, and can be heard from artists as diverse as Led Zeppelin and Slipknot!

Drop B tuning is an excellent tool to have in your arsenal if you’re looking to get heavy. We take a deep dive into Drop B tuning.

Open C Tuning for guitar is a more popular tuning than most people expect – we walk you through everything you need!

Open tunings can open doors to new sounds, techniques, and songwriting approaches. They’re also great for busting out of a rut. Let’s take a look.

Open D tuning is super popular with slide and blues players. If you know Street Fightin Man, you know open D tuning. Let’s take a look.

For blues and rock fans, open G tuning is a great opportunity to open up new sounds on the fretboard, and if you’re playing slide, it’s a real playground. We walk you through everything you need to know.

Guitar chord families along with the concept of harmonic function are great chord fundamentals to have under your fingers when writing music.

In our overview of the Aeolian mode for guitarists, we cover everything there is to know from formulas to song examples.

In our complete guide to the ionian mode for guitarists, we use scales, tab, formulas and songs to give you a complete picture.

In our complete guide to the Locrian mode for guitarists, we leave no stone unturned, with tabs, songs, formulas and more!

If you’re interested in learning the Phrygian mode from a guitar perspective, we have everything you need to learn this crucial mode.

If you’re interested in learning the Lydian mode from a guitar perspective, we have everything you need to learn this crucial mode.

If you’re interested in learning the Mixolydian mode from a guitar perspective, we have everything you need to learn this crucial mode.

If you’re interested in learning the Dorian mode from a guitar perspective, we have everything you need to learn this crucial mode.

If you’re ready to dive into scales, we have the guide for you. We cover all the terminology you need, plus suggest where to start!

We walk you through everything you need to know about the D Major scale for guitar, including notes, finger patterns, chords and more!

We walk you through everything you need to know about the B Major scale for guitar, including notes, finger patterns, chords and more!

Drop D tuning isn’t just an easy way to play barre chords – it can open up a ton of sonic possibilities on the fretboard. We take a look.

In this guide to the C Minor Scale for guitarists, we go over the formula for the scale, as well as how to apply it with the CAGED system.

Once you have the major scale under your fingers, you’re ready for the minor! We show you everything you need for the E minor scale on guitar!

We walk you through the CAGED system for unlocking the fretboard, and give you all of the tips and tricks you need to get shredding!

We show you how to use the CAGED system to learn and use the A minor pentatonic scale all over the neck.

We show you how to use the CAGED system to quickly and easily connect the minor pentatonic scale all across your fretboard!

In our complete guide to the major pentatonic scale for guitarists, we cover everything you need to get moving on the fretboard!

We walk you through everything you need to know about the F Major scale, including enclosures, all chords in the scale and more!

We take a look at the E major scale, including it’s relative minor scale, a full fretboard diagram, and more!

If you’re getting into acoustic playing, you’re going to need to get those fingers moving! Here’s our guide to the essential fingerpicking patterns.

G Major is a great scale to learn after C Major as they only have one different note. Let’s take a look!

The C Major Scale is the first thing you learn when it comes to theory – everything comes from the C Major Scale. Let’s dig in!

The circle of fifths is one of the first big lightbulb moments for many guitarists when they dig into theory. We take a look at what it is.

Fans of Derek Trucks, the Allman Bros and of course Keith Richards will tell you all about open E tuning – probably one of the easiest open tunings there is. We dive in.

Drop C is a great tuning for when you absolutely have to blow the doors off everyone in the crowd. We walk you through everything you need to know.