Many guitar methods prescribe an agnostic approach to "unlocking" the fretboard or achieving “fretboard freedom” by giving you CAGED (triads and arpeggios), scales, and other pattern-based exercises.
These methods aren't necessarily bad. The issue is that there's a hope — that once you learn the fretboard and theory, you’ll "just know" how to create a melody or improvise a solo.
It’s the same logic used in college language classes: “If I teach you all the grammar and vocabulary, you’ll be able to speak fluently in any given social situation.”
And again — that isn’t necessarily bad. Grammar and conjugations are important. But many people want to learn a second language because they want to communicate with someone — like a girl or guy they’re interested in.
There’s a purpose behind learning a second language — connection. Grammar is not the end goal. Neither is fretboard knowledge. Melody is the goal.
Online guitar teachers are not dumb. They’re just academic.
These programs think like college professors. If they can give you all the rules and raw data, you’ll eventually figure out how to say something musical.
Maybe. Hopefully. Cross your fingers.
But here’s the problem: there's often no clear purpose behind their exercises. Many people last a week or two and then get bored.
Learning to draw a portrait is difficult and complex — like crafting a melody or improvising a solo.
My art professor in college taught me that to draw something complex, you need to first master the fundamentals. In drawing, those fundamentals are shapes — circles, triangles, rectangles. If you can draw shapes well, you can combine them to create a recognizable face.
So what are the fundamental components of a melody?
There are three: Phrasing, Melodic Shape (Contour), and Note Choice.
In my method, we learn about these three elements from day one. If you know the fretboard well, you can immediately begin crafting melodies all over the neck. If you’re just starting, we’ll keep it simple in first position.
You can memorize all 5 CAGED shapes and still feel stuck. You can know a lot of theory and still hate your solos.
Because music isn’t unlocked by patterns, scale knowledge, or theory. It’s unlocked when you understand how phrasing, contour, and note choice work together to create something musical.
When you understand what makes a melody work, the fretboard stops being a puzzle and starts being a playground.
“I know all the shapes… but I still don’t know what to play.”
“I sound like someone who knows scales, not someone who makes music.”
“I don’t want to shred — I want to move people.”
Instead of dumping theory on you and hoping something clicks, we reverse it.
I show you what to listen for when you hear a melody. We analyze real melodies and learn what makes a phrase logical. You’ll discover how to shape melodic contour and choose notes that fit the harmony and say something real.
It’s not less theory. It’s applied theory — and it finally makes sense.