Fretwise

Curriculum

All chapters

The complete Fretwise curriculum, in order. Each chapter is several short lessons — the whole thing is designed to be read linearly, but jump in anywhere.

  1. 1 Getting Started What music theory actually is, why guitarists need it, and the absolute essentials — notes, the alphabet, half- and whole-steps — that everything else builds on.
  2. 2 Fretboard Mastery Learn every note on every string without rote memorisation — using octaves, anchor notes, and the shapes you already know.
  3. 3 Intervals — The Building Blocks Distances between notes are the atoms of music. Learn how to name, hear, and play every interval — and why this single skill unlocks scales, chords, and melody.
  4. 4 Rhythm, Time, and Feel Pitch is half of music; rhythm is the other half. Learn time signatures, subdivisions, syncopation, swing, and how rhythm gives your playing its character.
  5. 5 Major and Minor Scales The two scales that shape almost all Western music. Learn the formula, the shapes across the neck, scale degrees, and how the same notes can sound bright or sad.
  6. 6 Modes Demystified Modes are not "scales over chords you don't understand". They're flavors of the major scale — and once you hear them, you can never un-hear them.
  7. 7 Pentatonic & Blues — Beyond the Box Most guitarists know "Box 1" and nothing else. Learn all five positions, target notes, bends, and how to phrase like the players you love.
  8. 8 Chord Construction Every chord — from a power chord to a Cmaj13#11 — is built by stacking intervals. Learn the recipe and you'll never need a chord chart again.
  9. 9 Chord Progressions & Keys How chords move, why some progressions feel finished and others feel like they want to keep going, and how to write progressions in any key.
  10. 10 Harmony & Voice Leading Why some chord progressions sound smooth and others sound clunky. Learn how to move between chords with minimum motion — the secret of every great songwriter.
  11. 11 Writing Melodies A melody isn't a scale played top to bottom. Learn the principles — contour, motif, tension, resolution — that make a tune memorable.
  12. 12 Improvisation & Solo Building How to take everything you've learned and play a solo that actually says something. Target notes, motifs, phrasing, and how to escape the scale.
  13. 13 Songwriting & Composition Put it all together — verses, choruses, bridges, intros, outros, and the larger forms used in pop, rock, jazz, and classical-style guitar pieces.
  14. 14 Practice Roadmap A weekly practice plan that ties everything together — technique, ear training, theory, repertoire, and writing.
  15. 15 Reference Library Cheat sheets you'll come back to forever — scales, chords, intervals, the circle of fifths, common progressions, and music notation basics.