Step-by-step exercises that open Chord8 with the right settings pre-loaded. Each lesson builds on the last — start at Level 1 and work your way up.
The lessons here are designed around a simple observation: when a beginner and a working musician look at the same chord, they see two completely different things. The beginner sees a shape — three or four fingers on specific frets. The working musician sees a structure — a root, a third that determines the chord's emotional colour, a fifth that holds the chord together, and any extensions or alterations on top. Closing the gap between those two views is what these lessons exist to do. Every exercise opens the Chord8 visualizer with specific intervals highlighted by colour, so the structural view becomes immediately visible alongside the physical shape your fingers are making.
Lessons are organised into five levels. Level 1 lessons cover the absolute foundations — naming intervals, recognising the major scale by ear and by colour, finding the same chord in multiple positions on your instrument. Level 2 introduces the four basic triad qualities (major, minor, diminished, augmented) and the relationship between triads built on different scale degrees. Level 3 brings in seventh chords and the way they create motion in a progression. Level 4 focuses on extended harmony and voicings — how a 9th chord differs from a 7th chord, why some voicings sound rich while others sound muddy. Level 5 covers analysis and composition — taking a piece you already know and seeing how its harmony works, then using those same patterns in your own writing.
You do not need to complete every lesson at one level before moving up. If a Level 3 lesson catches your eye and you have the basic vocabulary, jump in — the lessons cross-link to the prerequisite ideas in our music theory reference, so you can fill gaps as they appear rather than working through them in strict order. The goal is not to grind through a curriculum; it is to build the kind of theoretical intuition that makes practising more focused and listening more rewarding.