Intermediate Guitar Path
The next ten steps after the basics: put a name on every note, unlock the whole neck with fretboard knowledge and CAGED, add seventh-chord color, upgrade your rhythm and fingerpicking, and improvise a real solo over the 12-bar blues. Each step links straight to the lesson and lets you mark it complete to track your progress.
Best taken in order — every step builds on the last — but you can jump anywhere; your completed steps, streak, and badges are saved in your browser.
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1. Know the Fretboard
Name any note on the neck so every shape you learn has an address.
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2. The Major Scale
Play the major scale up the neck and learn its W-W-H-W-W-W-H formula.
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3. Seventh Chords
Add maj7, m7, and dominant-7 color to the shapes you already play.
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4. The CAGED System
Play any major chord in five places up the neck — and adapt the shapes for minors and 7ths.
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5. Rhythm Upgrades: 16ths, Syncopation & Muting
Move past D-DU-UDU into sixteenth notes, syncopation, and muting.
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6. Fingerpicking & Travis Patterns
Trade the pick for PIMA fingerpicking and a steady Travis pattern.
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7. The 12-Bar Blues
Play the most important form in popular music, with a shuffle feel.
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8. Pentatonics Across the Neck
Grow one pentatonic box into five connected positions plus the blue note.
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9. Bends, Slides & Vibrato
Make single notes sing with bends, slides, and a confident vibrato.
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10. Improvise a Real Solo
Put it all together — build and play your own solo over a progression.
Lesson
New to guitar?
If open chords or a steady strum still feel shaky, start with the Beginner Guitar Path — ten steps from tuning up to your first scale and solo. This path picks up exactly where it ends.
Where the path leads
Each step connects to the site's reference content: the CAGED system, seventh chords, the blues scale, fingerpicking technique, the fretboard trainer, and the guided practice routines.
Intermediate path FAQ
- Do I need to finish the beginner path first?
- No — if you can change between open chords, strum in time, and play a simple song, you are ready. If any of those feel shaky, run through the Beginner Guitar Path first; every intermediate step builds on it.
- How long does the intermediate path take?
- Expect a few months of steady playing. Every step is self-paced, and the fretboard, CAGED, and fingerpicking steps reward short daily practice far more than occasional marathon sessions.
- Is the intermediate path free?
- Yes — every step, lesson, tool, and practice routine it links to is free, with no sign-up. Your completed steps, streak, and badges are stored in your browser.