Guitarists · Beginner → Intermediate
Foundations of Reading Music
Learn to read guitar music on both the stave and TAB, from zero. As a guitarist you should be able to read notes off a stave and on TAB, so every lesson shows both side by side and explains the differences. You'll cover the stave and clefs, how TAB lines and fret numbers match the notes on the stave, letter names on the stave, keyboard and fretboard, Middle C on the guitar, note values, rests and ties, the bass clef, accidentals, five-note finger practice, major scales in different positions and keys, triads and arpeggios, chord symbols and chord names, Drop D tuning and playing the same chord in different positions on the neck — and all the theory works for bass guitarists too — up to an intermediate standard.
Foundations of Reading Music
Learn to read guitar music on both the stave and TAB, from zero. As a guitarist you should be able to read notes off a stave and on TAB, so every lesson shows both side by side and explains the differences. You'll cover the stave and clefs, how TAB lines and fret numbers match the notes on the stave, letter names on the stave, keyboard and fretboard, Middle C on the guitar, note values, rests and ties, the bass clef, accidentals, five-note finger practice, major scales in different positions and keys, triads and arpeggios, chord symbols and chord names, Drop D tuning and playing the same chord in different positions on the neck — and all the theory works for bass guitarists too — up to an intermediate standard.
One device at a time. Your course can only be active on one device at a time — you can't be on a laptop or tablet and a phone at the same time. To switch, log out and log in on the other device: all your progress is saved to your account, not the device, so you carry on exactly where you left off.
Stave and TAB: as a guitarist, you should be able to read notes off a stave and on TAB. This course shows you both, side by side, so you learn the differences between them.
Suggested practice schedule
One lesson a week finishes the course in 10 weeks. Little and often works best: 15–30 minutes a day, six days a week.
Sun · New lesson
Work through the next lesson and its play-along (20 – 30 mins).
Mon · Practice
Warm up, then the lesson's practice steps: finger warm-up, scales in different positions and reading TAB with notation (20 mins).
Tue · Theory
Check-yourself quizzes and Music Terms flashcards (15 mins).
Wed · Play along
Loop the tricky bars at a slower tempo, then speed up (20 mins).
Thu · Review
Re-read the lesson's music without stopping and retake the knowledge check (15 mins).
Fri · Record
Record a take of the play-along and send it to Jason (15 mins).
Sat · Rest
Rest day — or a relaxed 10 minutes playing something you enjoy.
Busy week? Do Sunday's lesson and two practice days, and move on when you pass the knowledge check.
Jason in action
Jason on keys — live, in church and on stage
See all 12 videosIncludes play-along & sing-along backing tracks in every course, with tempo & key control, a live score and record-yourself feedback from Jason.
Tip: press the light/dark mode button (sun/moon) at the top if it's easier to read in the room you're in — or open Accessibility (bottom left) for bigger text, captions and read-aloud.
Not sure where to start?
This course covers Beginner → Intermediate. If you're already confident reading at beginner level, you may prefer Advanced Sight-Reading & Theory (Intermediate → Advanced). Both syllabuses are free to preview before you buy.
Recommended for you: if reading music is new to you — or you'd like to rebuild your fundamentals from scratch — this is the perfect place to start. No prior theory needed.
Melody first. The melody is the most important part of any song — it's what people remember and sing along to. Every lesson in this course shows you how to read, hear and support the melody, whether you're singing it, playing it or accompanying it.
Unlock all 10 lessons — £500, or £450 with a referral code from someone who's already booked, or bundle any two courses (even across different instruments) for £850 (£425 each).
Lesson-by-lesson breakdown
Exactly what each of the 10 lessons covers — free to read before you enrol.
The Stave, Ledger Lines & Note Names
The stave, ledger lines, letter names A–G, clefs, Middle C & treble clef notes
This is your starting point. Get your manuscript paper ready: meet the stave and its ledger lines, learn to draw notes on lines, in spaces and above and below the stave, then give the notes their letter names A–G, meet the clefs and Middle C, and read the treble clef from Middle C up to A.
Letter Names on the Stave & Your Instrument
White notes, bass clef lines & spaces, notes beyond the stave
Every note on a line and space on the stave is a white note on a keyboard. Meet the bass clef diagram by diagram — its lines, spaces, sayings, G up to Middle C and ledger lines — then find the letter names on your own instrument.
Crotchets, Minims & Time Signatures
Crotchets, minims, bars, barlines & 4/4 3/4 2/4
Meet the crotchet and the minim, the stem rule, bars and barlines, time signatures and the double barline.
Semibreves, Dotted Minims, Quavers, Rests & Ties
4-beat, 3-beat and ½-beat notes, rests & ties
Meet the semibreve (4 beats), the dotted minim (3 beats) and the quaver (½ beat), the rests that match them, and ties that join notes of the same pitch into one longer note.
The Bass Clef, Octaves, Semitones & Accidentals
F clef, two clefs, octaves, tones, ♯ ♭ ♮
Notes too low for the treble clef live in the bass clef — the F clef. See how both clefs meet at Middle C, discover octaves, then the smallest steps in music: tones, semitones and the accidentals that raise and lower notes.
Five-Note Practice
Every finger / every pitch, C to G
Put letters, values and steps into your hands and voice: five-note practice from C to G, using every finger, ending with your first tune.
The Major Scale Formula
T T S T T T S & C major
Every major scale follows Tone Tone Semitone Tone Tone Tone Semitone. C major is the easiest key that fits the formula — no black notes at all.
Major Scales in Different Keys
G, F, D and key signatures
Apply T T S T T T S from any note and the sharps and flats appear by themselves. Practice G, F and D major with the metronome and the play-along.
Naming Scales: Numbers, Letters & Sol-fa
1–8, A–G, Do–Do & new scales
Name any scale three ways — numbers, letter names and sol-fa — then build new scales: the natural minor and the pentatonic.
Triads, Block & Broken Chords, Arpeggios
Triads, block & broken chords, arpeggios & harmony
Stack every other note of the scale to build triads — all seven in a key and their qualities — then play them as blocks, break them into arpeggios and use them to harmonise, finishing with a missing-notes test.