Start Here
Music is a system you can understand. Start here to see how:
If you’ve ever wondered how these ideas music instructors talk about all the time, things like chords, scales, keys, triads, pentatonic scales, blues notes, and so on are connected, then you’re not alone!
For years my musical understanding was just a series of disconnected shapes and patterns, but to figure out songs on my own, improvise and truly communicate, I needed something more.
The need to see the big picture is what led me to create Fretboard Toolboxes. These aren’t more charts to memorize- they’re tools that let you see that music is a system that you can understand.
The “Toolbox Path” below shows the journey that finally connected the ideas for me.
The Toolbox Path
Step 1. Learn the Major scale and the notes that belong to that key.
• The seven notes that belong to the key are the foundation of everything.
• Once you truly understand the Major scale, the rest of music starts making sense.
Step 2. See how the chords are built from those notes.
• Each key has six main chords that come straight from the Major scale.
• They literally come from stacking every other note of the scale.
Step 3. Learn the notes that make each chord, and find them on your instrument
• Knowing the notes and their locations lets you see that chords aren't random shapes.
• The same notes make up the same chords —on every instrument!
Step 4. Hear how those chords work together in real music.
• The more you play progressions from the key, the more predictable songs become.
• You’ll soon hear yourself saying:
“I’ve heard that song somewhere!”
• This is where keys, scales, chords, and your instrument start connecting.
Step 5. Discover the world of natural minor keys.
• It uses the exact same notes as the Major scale…
• But changing the home note changes everything, and suddenly the music feels darker.
Step 6. Explore what happens when minor key sounds meet Major key progressions.
• Certain minor scale notes create really cool tension against Major chords.
• That tension is the heart of blues, bluegrass, and bluesy-rock.
• Learn to find those special notes, and that's where the world of music really opens up!
Check out the Toolbox Video Library
Practice With Jam Tracks
The Jam Tracks Lab lets you experiment with chord progressions, scales, and keys, so the sounds of music become familiar and predictable. So many connections are made here!