Guitar guides

Short guides on the theory and the habits that help most when you learn guitar. Each one links to the scale and chord charts it uses.

• How to learn guitar scales on the fretboard: Read a scale chart, learn one shape well, then link the shapes across the neck. A practice plan that works for any scale.
• The 5 minor pentatonic shapes: The five box shapes of the minor pentatonic scale in A, with charts, and how to join them into one map of the neck.
• The modes of the major scale, explained: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian: what makes each one sound different and when to use it.
• How to find the chords in a key: Build the seven chords of any major or minor key from its scale, then use them in the progressions behind most songs.
• How to tune a guitar: Tune to standard tuning with a tuner or by ear, and try drop D, DADGAD and open tunings.
• Strumming patterns for beginners: Count the beat, keep the hand moving and learn the strumming patterns behind most pop, rock and folk songs.
• Record a guitar idea and save it as MIDI: Play a riff on the virtual fretboard, record it, fix the timing in the piano roll and download a MIDI or Guitar Pro file.
• Open Guitar Pro and MIDI files in the browser: Play Guitar Pro and MIDI files on a virtual fretboard without installing anything, and find songs on Songsterr and MIDI sites.