Learn Guitar Theory
A guided path from your first interval to advanced harmony — the right lessons, tools, and practice in the right order. Tick steps off as you go; your progress is saved on this device.
22 steps · 5 stages · about 4.8 hours of focused learning
Tip: tap the circle on the left of a step to mark it done — that's what advances your progress. Tapping the step's title opens the lesson.
Stage 1: First Steps
BeginnerStart here. Get the lay of the land — how the 12 keys relate, and the intervals every chord and scale is built from.
- 📖The Circle of FifthsReadOne diagram that maps how every key relates. The mental model everything else hangs on.10 min
- 🛠️Play with the CircleExploreClick around the interactive Circle on the home page — hear keys, see their chords and signatures.10 min
- 📖Understanding IntervalsReadThe 13 building blocks. Once you know intervals, chords and scales stop being memorisation.12 min
- 🎧Hear Your First IntervalsPracticeOpen the Ear Training trainer and run the Beginner interval preset. Theory you can hear sticks.10 min
Stage 2: Building Chords
BeginnerStack intervals into chords, flip them into inversions, and find the shapes on the fretboard.
- 📖How Chords Are BuiltReadTriads and 7th chords decoded — which intervals stack to make each quality, and why it sounds that way.12 min
- 📖Triads & InversionsReadThe three-note core of all harmony and how flipping the bass note opens up the neck.12 min
- 🛠️Explore the Chord VisualizerExploreSee voicings, notes, and notation for any chord — and identify a chord from notes you pick.12 min
- 🎮Test Yourself — GT GamePlayPlay the early levels of the GT Game to lock in note, interval, and chord basics.15 min
Stage 3: Progressions & Harmony
IntermediateHow chords combine into the progressions behind real songs — and the functional logic that makes them work.
- 📖Chord ProgressionsReadRoman numerals, harmonic function, and the progressions powering thousands of songs.12 min
- 🛠️Build a ProgressionExploreUse the Progression Builder to assemble, play, and save a progression of your own.15 min
- 📖Functional HarmonyReadWhy V resolves to I, what makes a ii–V–I compelling, and how borrowed chords add colour.14 min
- 📖The Nashville Number SystemReadChart songs by number so a whole progression transposes to any key instantly.10 min
- 📖Blues TheoryReadDominant 7ths, the 12-bar form, and the blue note — the foundation of modern guitar.12 min
Stage 4: Scales, Modes & Lead
IntermediateMove from rhythm to lead — the scales, modes, and fretboard systems that let you solo anywhere.
- 📖The 7 Modes ExplainedReadIonian to Locrian — what each mode sounds like and when to reach for it.14 min
- 📖Pentatonic ScalesReadThe backbone of rock, blues, and country — all five boxes and the major/minor link.12 min
- 🛠️Explore the Scale VisualizerExploreSee any of 41 scales in CAGED, 3NPS, or box patterns — across tunings, with notation.15 min
- 📖ArpeggiosReadChords one note at a time — the bridge from rhythm to melodic lead playing.12 min
- 📖The CAGED SystemReadFive shapes that repeat up the neck so you can play any chord or scale in any position.14 min
Stage 5: Putting It Together
AdvancedTie it all together — advanced harmony, a trained ear, and a real song you analyse and build yourself.
- 📖Modulation & Key ChangesReadPivot chords, moving to the dominant, and the dramatic key lift — with live before/after audio.14 min
- 🎧Train Chord-Quality EarsPracticeRun the Chord-Quality ear trainer through 7th chords. Hearing quality is a real-world superpower.12 min
- 🛠️Analyse a Song in Song LabExploreDrop a progression into Song Lab, see its key and scale options, and build a tab of your own.20 min
- 🎮Reach GT Game Master TierPlayPush through the ear-training and applied-skill levels to earn the Master badge.20 min
Prefer to browse freely? Every lesson lives in the Knowledge Hub.