Blog

Understand more, memorize less. This is where I work on Fret Science in public: what's new on the site, what I'm building and measuring, and the ideas behind the method. Updated when I have something worth sharing.

Follow by RSS or email

August 15, 2025 · YouTube
Three robust shortcuts that can save you years
The conventional wisdom is that there are no shortcuts to becoming a good musician. On guitar, that is patently false. In this video, I share three…
July 6, 2025 · YouTube
Every scale, everywhere, all at once
I've been working on the idea for this video for a few months. It started as a reaction to one of Rick Beato's livestreamed "the ultimate guitar fretboard…
July 6, 2025 · YouTube
How to improvise over chord changes by finding only one note by name
Improvising solos over chord changes can be intimidating—but it doesn't have to be! If you can find one note by name, anywhere on the fretboard, you can…
March 20, 2025 · YouTube
Pentatonic gear shifts
This technique was an epiphany. Once I figured out that you could shift pentatonic scale shapes up or down in response to chord changes, my melodic soloing…
June 9, 2024 · YouTube
Cowboy chord superpowers
Cowboy chords, often criticized by experienced guitarists, can unlock hundreds of chord variations across the fretboard by mastering just five of them. These chords are essential for AC/DC’s rhythm guitar sound, effective capo usage, and quick learning of triads across the fretboard. Check out the video for more details.
June 9, 2024 · YouTube
The Big Picture
The Fret Science method connects music theory concepts like CAGED, 3NPS, pentatonic scales, triads, and major scale modes to master the fretboard. This approach provides a big picture view, enabling improvisation by visualizing the notes as a palette of sounds. Watch the video for a concise explanation.
December 29, 2023 · YouTube
How to memorize the fretboard
Why do so many guitar players resist learning the notes on the fretboard? This is my most complex set of animations so far, built in service of the simplest…
October 9, 2023 · YouTube
Instant harmony: just add thirds
Instantly create harmonized solo guitar lines with parallel 3rds and 6ths
July 16, 2023 · YouTube
Intervals: guitar's "secret decoder ring"
New video! Intervals give you the keys to unlocking the fretboard. Learn a simple method for identifying the interval between any two notes on the fretboard, and see how to use that knowledge to better understand (and modify) any chord voicing.
March 27, 2023 · YouTube
3nps: an essential tool for all guitarists
The three-notes-per-string system is by far one of the best ways to navigate the fretboard both vertically and horizontally. It's easy to learn, and with this method, there's 85% less memorization.
March 9, 2023 · YouTube
The modes explained clearly
What are the major scale modes? How do they relate to the pentatonic scale? What on earth is "brightness ordering"? All this and more are explained herein!
March 3, 2023 · YouTube
The modes are hidden in plain sight -- expanded
If you already know the pentatonic scale anywhere on the fretboard, you can instantly access the major scale modes by understanding how the modes relate to the pentatonic scale and to each other. This is a significantly expanded and improved version of an approach described in a previous video.
February 8, 2023 · YouTube
The CAGED System (and Triads) Simplified
This ~16 minute video deconstructs the CAGED system using easy-to-understand animated building blocks (over 150 animations!), starting with triads, adding on pentatonic scales, and finishing with the major scale modes. This is everything you need to unlock the fretboard and get started improvising.
January 16, 2023 · YouTube
The rectangle and the stack: the video
The thumbnail is a teeny bit hyperbolic, but it's not clickbait! The rectangle and the stack are the easiest way to make the most of the pentatonic scale.
January 2, 2023 · YouTube
Master the modes tonight
Learn the simple five-string pattern that completely unlocks the modes across the entire fretboard.
December 16, 2022 · YouTube
Learn the best way to visualize chords and scales and move them across the fretboard
How does the quirky tuning of the G and B strings affect scales and chords? Learn to traverse "the warp" and use the circle of fifths to navigate the fretboard with 80% less memorization. See how it applies to triads, the pentatonic scale, and soloing in the blues.
November 28, 2022 · YouTube
Learn the modes in minutes!
Our first YouTube video! If you already know the pentatonic scale anywhere on the fretboard, you can instantly access the modes by understanding how the modes relate to the pentatonic scale and to each other.

Follow the blog