Categories: Basics
All theory articlesMajor vs Minor: What Is the Difference
A simple comparison of major and minor: how the third and other scale degrees change, how to hear the difference in chords and keys, and how to see it on the guitar fretboard.
Reader level: MusicianWhat Is Minor in Music
A simple explanation of minor in music: what minor chords, minor scales, and minor keys are, how to hear the minor third, and why minor does not always mean sad.
Reader level: MusicianWhat Is Major in Music
A simple explanation of major in music: what major chords, major scales, and major keys are, how to hear the major third, and why major does not always mean happy.
Reader level: MusicianWhat Is a Fretboard Position
A simple explanation of guitar fretboard positions: how they relate to hand placement, fingering, scales, and position shifts when playing phrases and riffs.
Reader level: PerformerWhat Is Fingering on Guitar
A simple explanation of guitar fingering: how finger choice connects to notes and chords, why the same phrase can be played in different ways, and how to choose a comfortable option.
Reader level: PerformerSimple Intervals in Music
A simple explanation of intervals within one octave: how to count unisons, seconds, thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths, sevenths, and octaves, how to hear them, and how to find them on guitar.
Reader level: PerformerTime Signature vs Tempo: What Is the Difference
A simple comparison of time signature and tempo: time signature groups beats into bars, while tempo shows the speed of the pulse. Examples in 4/4, 3/4, and 6/8.
Reader level: PerformerWhat Are Strong and Weak Beats
A simple explanation of strong and weak beats: how to feel the support of a bar, how metrical position differs from accent, and how to apply this in guitar strumming and riffs.
Reader level: PerformerWhat Is a Bar in Music
A simple explanation of bars in music: what a bar is, how it differs from a beat and a time signature, why bar lines matter, and how to count bars when playing guitar.
Reader level: PerformerWhat Is a Rest in Music
A simple explanation of rests in music: why silence matters, how to count rests, how rest durations work, and how to practice rests on guitar.
Reader level: BegginerWhat Is a Chord in Music
A simple explanation of chords: what a chord is, how it differs from a single note and a fingering, how chords are built from intervals, and why guitar players need them.
Reader level: MusicianWhat Is a Key in Music
A simple explanation of musical keys: what a tonal center is, how a key differs from a scale, why the tonic matters, and how keys connect melodies, chords, and the guitar fretboard.
Reader level: PerformerHow to Build a Major Scale
A simple explanation of the major scale: how the whole-step and half-step formula works, how to build a major scale from any note, and how to see it on the guitar fretboard.
Reader level: MusicianHow to Build a Natural Minor Scale
A simple explanation of the natural minor scale: its whole-step and half-step formula, the example of A minor, how it differs from major, and how to see it on the guitar fretboard.
Reader level: MusicianWhat Is a Scale Degree
A simple explanation of scale degrees: how to count notes inside a scale, why the tonic matters, how a scale degree differs from a note name, and how to see scale degrees on the guitar fretboard.
Reader level: MusicianWhat Is a Scale in Music
A simple explanation of musical scales: what a scale is, how notes are ordered, why scale degrees matter, and how to see a scale on the guitar fretboard.
Reader level: MusicianGuitar Fretboard Basics
A simple explanation of the guitar fretboard: how strings, frets, notes, semitones, and octaves are connected, why notes repeat, and where to start learning the fretboard.
Reader level: MusicianWhat Is an Octave
A simple explanation of the octave: why two notes can have the same name but sound higher or lower, how to hear an octave, and how to find it on the guitar fretboard.
Reader level: PerformerWhat Is an Interval in Music
A simple explanation of intervals: what the distance between two notes means, how to hear an interval, how to see it on guitar, and why it matters for chords, scales, and melodies.
Reader level: PerformerWhat Is a Time Signature: 4/4, 3/4, and 6/8 in Simple Terms
A simple explanation of time signatures for beginners: what 4/4, 3/4, and 6/8 mean, how to count beats in a bar, and how time signature differs from rhythm and tempo.
Reader level: PerformerWhat Is Note Duration
A simple explanation of note duration: how long a note lasts, how duration connects to pulse and tempo, and how to practice it in real playing.
Reader level: PerformerWhat Is Tempo in Music
A simple explanation of tempo: what BPM means, how tempo relates to pulse and rhythm, and how to train steady speed in practice.
Reader level: PerformerWhat Is Pulse in Music
A simple explanation of musical pulse: how to feel a steady time support, and how pulse differs from rhythm and tempo.
Reader level: PerformerWhat Is Rhythm in Music
A simple explanation of rhythm: how sounds and rests are placed in time, how rhythm differs from tempo, and how to practice it.
Reader level: PerformerTone and Semitone
A simple explanation of tones and semitones: how distances between notes work on guitar and why one fret equals one semitone.
Reader level: PerformerWhat Is Pitch
A simple explanation of pitch: why some sounds feel higher or lower, and how to see that movement on the guitar fretboard.
Reader level: BegginerNote Names: Do, Re, Mi and C, D, E
How solfege note names connect to the letter system C, D, E, why guitarists use letters, and what to learn first.
Reader level: BegginerWhat Is a Note in Music
A simple explanation of a note: how a note differs from sound, why note names matter, and how to see notes on the guitar fretboard.
Reader level: BegginerWhat Is Sound in Music
A simple explanation of sound in music: how music starts with sound, silence, and time before notes, rhythm, melody, and harmony appear.
Reader level: Begginer