Learn
Everything you need to understand and apply music theory on the guitar. Pick a topic to get started.
Parent scales and the modes they generate. The foundation of tonal harmony.
Browse extended scale families beyond the core three. Pentatonics, symmetrical, and more.
Explore Indian classical ragas. Phrases, drone practice, and melodic frameworks.
Interactive harmony explorer. Key relationships, voice leading, ii-V-I, and fretboard practice.
Map chords to compatible scales and modes. See what fits over any chord.
Train with common chord progressions. Learn to navigate changes fluently.
Interval recognition, chord identification, and melodic dictation exercises.
Timed drills, fretboard exercises, and structured practice sessions.
Guided play-along sessions with backing tracks in different styles.
Arpeggio shapes and patterns across the fretboard for every chord type.
Structured journeys from beginner to advanced. Follow a guided curriculum.
Ask questions, get explanations, and receive personalized guidance grounded in theory.
Interactive musical experiments. Bounce balls through scales, explore physics of sound.
Mode Lessons
Long-form tutorial articles, one per mode. Each lesson explains the mode's character, chord fit, practical use, and common mistakes, with review questions to test your understanding. Pair each lesson with the interactive mode page when you're ready to hear and play it.
major family
The major scale itself. Your baseline for understanding every other mode.
The most important minor mode in jazz. Warm, soulful, and endlessly useful over m7 chords.
The Spanish/exotic minor mode. The b2 is the defining color: dark, dramatic, and instantly recognizable.
The bright major mode. The #4 makes it float where Ionian resolves. No avoid notes over maj7, making it a jazz guitarist's best friend.
The dominant scale. Blues, rock, and the V chord live here. The b7 is the whole story.
The natural minor scale. The default sad sound in Western music. The b6 is what makes it heavier than Dorian.
The darkest diatonic mode. Theoretically important, practically limited. Know it for m7b5 chords, but prefer Locrian Natural 2 in most playing situations.
melodic minor family
The jazz minor scale. A Dorian with a leading tone, and the parent of Altered, Lydian Dominant, and Locrian ♮2.
Phrygian meets Dorian. the b2 for darkness, the natural 6th for warmth. A niche but distinctive color in the melodic minor family.
Lydian pushed further. the #5 adds augmented instability to Lydian's floating brightness. A niche but beautiful modern jazz sound.
The sophisticated dominant scale. Mixolydian's function with Lydian's color. Essential for tritone subs and non-resolving dominant chords.
Mixolydian with a dark twist. The b6 adds melancholy to the dominant sound. Used for V7 chords heading to minor resolution.
The jazz standard scale for half-diminished chords. Locrian made smooth and musical by raising the 2nd.
Maximum tension over dominant chords. The #1 jazz tension scale. Think melodic minor a half step up from the root.
harmonic minor family
The classical minor scale with the exotic augmented 2nd. Parent of Phrygian Dominant. Essential for neoclassical and Middle Eastern guitar.
Locrian with a natural 6th from the harmonic minor family. More angular than Locrian ♮2, less commonly used in jazz practice.
Ionian with an augmented 5th. The harmonic minor family's major mode. bright but unstable. Less common than Lydian Augmented in practice.
Dorian with a raised 4th. the harmonic minor family's exotic minor mode. Klezmer, gypsy, and Eastern European flavors.
The Spanish dominant sound. V7 to minor resolution. The b2-major 3rd augmented 2nd is the defining interval. Essential for jazz and flamenco.
The most exotic Lydian variant. The #2 adds an angular, almost atonal quality. Primarily theoretical. know it exists, practice it last.
The most extreme mode. nearly everything flatted, including a double-flat 7th. Theoretical importance only. Use diminished scales over dim7 chords in practice.