Why does bass, banjo, or ukulele ask for a tuning first?

Those families ship several common tunings. We match chord and scale shapes to the tuning you pick so diagrams stay accurate.

Are violin, viola, and cello layouts the same?

Violin is GDAE like mandolin; viola and cello use CGDA. Each hub uses the correct tuning and range for that instrument.

Where are exercises and licks?

Open your instrument, then choose Exercises or Licks from the section navigation where that instrument supports them.

Can I learn theory here too?

Yes. Use the Music theory hub for notes, intervals, the circle of fifths, modes, Nashville numbers, and more — all linked from the main navigation.

Instruments

Pick a string instrument to open chords, scales, progressions, licks, and exercises. Multi-variant families (guitar, bass, banjo, ukulele) start with a tuning chooser before the fretboard tools.

Do not know which one yet? Compare every one side by side — strings, tuning, and range in one table.

Choose an instrument hub to get chords, scales, progressions, licks, and exercises with fretboard diagrams — then use the Theory and Tools hubs for deeper context and practice widgets.

Popular instruments

Guitar

6-, 7-, and 8-string guitar — choose your configuration, then chords, scales, and more.

3 variants

Loog

The 3-string guitar for kids and beginners — GBE (guitar strings 3-2-1), with the same chords, scales, licks, and practice that transfer to six-string.

GBE

Bass

4-, 5-, and 6-string bass — choose your configuration, then chords, scales, and more.

3 variants

Ukulele

Soprano through bass (U-bass) — GCEA, DGBE, and EADG coverage where it applies.

5 sizes

Banjo

Tenor, plectrum, Chicago, and 5-string — each tuning has its own fretboard reference.

4 tunings

Mandolin

GDAE tuning — bluegrass, Celtic, blues, and jazz licks plus core reference material.

GDAE

Violin

Chords and scales on violin tuning — same reference patterns as the mandolin library.

GDAE

All instruments A–Z

12-String Guitar

6 doubled courses tuned EADGBE — standard guitar shapes with the chime and chorus of doubled strings.

EADGBE ×2

Baritone Guitar

6-string baritone in B, A, or C standard — pick a tuning, then chords, scales, and progressions for the deeper register.

3 tunings

Bass VI

Fender-style baritone-bass tuned EADGBE, one octave below standard guitar — guitar shapes, deeper voicing.

EADGBE

Banjolele

Banjo body, ukulele neck — reentrant GCEA tuning, so every ukulele chord shape applies with a banjo's bark.

GCEA

Cavaquinho

Brazilian 4-string in DGBD tuning — adapted 12-tone chord and scale position maps for samba, choro, and pagode study.

DGBD

Classical Guitar

Nylon-string 6-string in standard EADGBE or drop D (DADGBE) — chords, scales, progressions, and exercises for classical and flamenco repertoire.

2 tunings

Cello

CGDA tuning — chords and scales with position diagrams across the cello fretboard.

CGDA

Charango

Andean 10-string in 5 courses, tuned GCEAE — adapted 12-tone chord and scale position maps for folk repertoire study.

GCEAE

Cuban Tres

3-course G-C-E tuning — adapted 12-tone chord and scale position maps for Cuban son and salsa study.

G-C-E

Double Bass

Standard EADG tuning — chords, scales, progressions, licks, and exercises for upright bass.

EADG

Guitalele

Guitar × ukulele travel hybrid tuned ADGCEA — finger guitar shapes unchanged; everything sounds a fourth higher.

ADGCEA

Irish Bouzouki

4-course GDAD tuning — adapted 12-tone chord and scale position maps for Celtic accompaniment study.

GDAD

Greek Bouzouki

The four-course tetrachordo in C-F-A-D, the long-necked bowl-back of rebetiko and laiko. Chords and scales are computed for this tuning, each course charted at its fundamental.

CFAD

Mountain Dulcimer

The Appalachian lap dulcimer in D-A-D — three strings over DIATONIC frets, including the 6+. Only the chords, scales and keys those frets actually reach are charted.

D-A-D

Balalaika

The prima balalaika in E-E-A: three strings on a triangular body, the lower two tuned to the same note. Chords and scales are computed for that tuning.

E-E-A

Lap Steel

6-string lap steel in C6 tuning (CEGACE) — bar-position chord voicings for country, Hawaiian, and Western swing reference.

Mandola

The mandolin's alto sibling in CGDA — tenor-banjo chord shapes and fifths-tuned fingerboard logic, a fifth down.

CGDA

Octave Mandolin

GDAE an octave below the mandolin — the same chords and scales with a deep Celtic-session voice.

GDAE

Mandocello

CGDA an octave below the mandola — the mandolin family's bass voice, tenor-banjo shapes at cello register.

CGDA

Oud

Fretless 6-course Arabic oud in CFADGC tuning — 12-tone position maps for reference, not maqam microtone or idiomatic oud fingering.

CFADGC

Pedal Steel Guitar

The ten-string pedal steel in its two standard neck tunings, E9 chromatic and C6. Chords are the straight bars and short slants the open strings hold, with no pedal or knee lever down.

2 tunings

Puerto Rican Cuatro

10-string Puerto Rican cuatro in 5 doubled courses, tuned in fourths (B-E-A-D-G). Standard, plus an A-D-G-C-F antiguo tuning charted as an unverified reference.

2 tunings

Venezuelan Cuatro

Venezuela's four-string strummer in the re-entrant A-D-F#-B "Cambur pintón" tuning — the first string sits a fifth below its neighbor, so every chord folds closed.

A-D-F#-B

Vihuela

The mariachi armonía chair: five nylon strings tuned to the guitar's top-five pitch classes (A-D-G-B-E) but re-entrant — the lower three ring an octave up, so the strum sits high and dry.

A-D-G-B-E

Guitarrón

The mariachi bass: six heavy strings on a fretless neck, tuned A-D-G-C-E-A with a re-entrant first string, played in plucked octaves — charted here as 12-TET reference positions.

A-D-G-C-E-A

Resonator Guitar

6-string Dobro in Open G (GBDGBD) — adapted 12-tone position maps for slide reference; verify idiomatic dobro voicings separately.

Open G

Sitar

Indian classical sitar on its four playing strings, C-G-C-F — 12-tone reference only; traditional raga microtones aren't representable here.

C-G-C-F

Tenor Guitar

4-string guitar tuned CGDA — shared fifths-tuning library with tenor banjo for jazz, Celtic, and folk.

CGDA

Terz Guitar

Small-bodied steel-string tuned a minor third up, G-C-F-A#-D-G — finger guitar shapes unchanged; everything sounds a minor third higher.

GCFA#DG

Requinto Guitar

Nylon-string trio romántico guitar tuned a fourth up, A-D-G-C-E-A — finger guitar shapes unchanged; everything sounds a fourth higher.

ADGCEA

Jacob Collier 5-String

Jacob Collier's five-string Taylor, tuned D-A-E-A-D — a symmetric tuning that mirrors around the middle string, with chord shapes voiced for it.

DAEAD

Viola

CGDA tuning — same coverage as the cello and violin libraries on viola's range.

CGDA

Also explore

Music theory · Practice tools · Guided practice routines · Guitar chords · Home overview

Instrument hub FAQ

Why does bass, banjo, or ukulele ask for a tuning first?: Those families ship several common tunings. We match chord and scale shapes to the tuning you pick so diagrams stay accurate.
Are violin, viola, and cello layouts the same?: Violin is GDAE like mandolin; viola and cello use CGDA. Each hub uses the correct tuning and range for that instrument.
Where are exercises and licks?: Open your instrument, then choose Exercises or Licks from the section navigation where that instrument supports them.
Can I learn theory here too?: Yes. Use the Music theory hub for notes, intervals, the circle of fifths, modes, Nashville numbers, and more — all linked from the main navigation.