Guitar theory, even with no guitar at hand

Master scales and modes on the guitar.

Short lessons, exercises generated fresh every time on the fretboard, in theory and by ear, and spaced reviews that bring each one back just before you'd forget it. From the notes on the neck to Dorian, Lydian and the altered scale.

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  • Works offline
  • On your phone or computer
  • Same progress on every device

D Dorian, one shape

tap a note to hear it

The minor scale with a bright 6: every dot is labelled by its degree, so you learn the sound of each note, not just a pattern.

Learn it, play it, keep it

  1. 1

    Learn

    Each module starts with a short lesson: the idea, the shapes on the neck, how it sounds.

  2. 2

    Practise

    Exercises are generated fresh every time: find notes on the fretboard, build scales, name intervals, hear modes over a drone.

  3. 3

    Keep it

    What you've passed comes back for review just before you'd forget it. A few minutes a day is enough.

  • Every device

    Sign in on your phone and your computer: the same progress, history and set-ups.

  • Offline

    Practise on the train. Results are saved on the device and sent when you're back online.

  • An app on your phone

    Add Fretudes to your Home Screen and it opens like an app, full screen.

  • Made for you

    Left-handed fretboard, sharps or flats, dark mode, and a daily reminder if you want one.

See it in action

The same app on your computer and your phone, light or dark.

The fretboard explorer on a computer: D Dorian across the whole neck, each note labelled by its scale degree, the roots in amber and one CAGED shape picked out.
The fretboard explorer: any scale or mode, in any shape, labelled the way you think.
A fretboard exercise on a phone: complete the E shape of G major by tapping the three missing notes.
Exercises are new every time.
The circle of fifths on a phone, turned to G major, with its chords lit and numbered.
Every key's chords and modes at a glance.
The chord library on a phone: A minor 7th chord boxes, each dot labelled R, ♭3, 5 or ♭7, the roots in red.
Chord shapes that show what each finger plays.

From the first note to the last mode

Modules open in order, so every step stands on the one before.

  1. Beginner

    5 modules Free
    • The musical alphabet
    • Fretboard map
    • Octave shapes
    • Intervals: names and distances
    • Intervals on the fretboard

  2. Intermediate

    8 modules Pro
    • The major scale
    • Major scale on the fretboard
    • Harmonizing the major scale
    • The natural minor scale
    • Pentatonic scales
    • Three notes per string
    • Hearing chords
    • Arpeggios

  3. Pro

    8 modules Pro
    • What a mode is
    • Modes compared on the same root
    • Major-type modes: Ionian, Lydian, Mixolydian
    • Minor-type modes: Aeolian, Dorian, Phrygian
    • Locrian
    • Modes on the fretboard
    • Modes in context
    • Harmonic and melodic minor

  4. Advanced

    4 modules Pro
    • The blues
    • Arpeggios over the changes
    • Borrowed chords
    • Symmetric scales

Tools for when the guitar is in your hands

Look things up, hear them, keep time. Every view has its own link, and you can save your favourite set-ups.

Fretboard explorer

Any scale or mode across the neck, in CAGED, 3-per-string and box shapes, as notes, intervals or degrees. Also in Drop D, DADGAD and open tunings.

A minor pentatonic: box 1 lit, the rest of the scale faint across the neck.

Chord library

17 chord types in every key, several voicings each, with fingers and barres, and the scales that fit over them.

Chord boxes for any chord in any key. Tap one to hear it.

Circle of fifths

Turn the wheel to any key: its chords, progressions to play, and where its modes sit.

Tap a key to turn the wheel to it.

Triads

Every triad on every string set, in all three inversions, played up the neck.

Drone

Hold a note and play a mode over it: the fastest way to hear what makes Dorian Dorian.

Metronome and backing tracks

Practise in time, then improvise over chord loops in any key.

Tuner, chord namer and capo

Tune up through the microphone, name any shape you finger, and find the capo fret with the most open chords.

Stage view

A big neck and nothing else, for a phone on a music stand. The screen stays on.

Plans

Free

  • The whole Beginner level
  • Practice and reviews
  • All the tools
  • History, streaks and sync
Start free

Fretudes Pro

Pro
  • Everything in Free
  • Intermediate: major and minor scales, CAGED, pentatonics, 3 notes per string
  • Pro: every mode, on the neck and by ear
  • Advanced: the blues, playing over changes, borrowed chords, symmetric scales
  • Monthly, yearly or once for good
Monthly
…
per month
Yearly
…
per year
Lifetime
…
once

Prices include tax. 14-day refunds.

Start free, upgrade any time

Questions

Do I need a guitar?

No. Everything happens on the screen: the fretboard, the theory, the ear training. The tools are there for when you do pick the guitar up.

Can I play along on my guitar?

Yes. Tune up with the tuner, and answer exercises by playing the note into your phone's microphone. Tapping always works too, and the sound is never recorded.

I already play. Do I have to start from the beginning?

Modules open in order so nothing is skipped, but the early ones go quickly if you know them: pass the exercises and move on.

Is there an app?

Fretudes runs in the browser on any phone or computer. On your phone, add it to the Home Screen and it opens like an app, and works offline.

How much does it cost?

The whole Beginner level and every tool are free. Fretudes Pro opens the Intermediate, Pro and Advanced levels, monthly, yearly or once for good, with a full refund within 14 days of any payment.

What happens to my data?

Only what's needed for your account and practice is kept, never sold, and you can delete your account at any time in Settings. See the privacy policy.

Ten minutes a day, and the neck starts to make sense.

Start with the notes on the fretboard. Finish hearing the difference between Dorian and Aeolian.

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