The Intermediate Guitarist's Toolkit
Like Duolingo, but for The Intermediate Guitarist's Toolkit. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
18 levels across 3 sections, about 36 minutes end to end, roughly 7 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Unlocking the Fretboard, Expression and Articulation, and Tone and Performance. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in The Intermediate Guitarist's Toolkit
- The E-shape barre chord finds its root note on the low E string
- The A-shape barre chord finds its root note on the A string
- Lifting the middle finger from an E-shape creates the minor version
- The index finger acts as a 'capo' that stays pressed to maintain pressure
- Keeping the index finger in contact with the strings prevents losing your place
- Sliding the barre shape as a single unit preserves the hand's internal tension
- Mapping the root note location to the barre chord shape used
- Applying the pivot finger technique for efficient chord changes
- The CAGED system follows a fixed alphabetical sequence up the fretboard
- The thumb frets the bass note on the 6th string to free up other fingers
- Each shape's root notes overlap with the previous shape in the sequence
- This grip enables Hendrix-style 'double stops' and hammer-ons within the chord
- The D shape is the highest position in the standard five-shape cycle
- Wrapping the thumb provides a more relaxed wrist angle for bluesy vibrato
- Sequencing the CAGED shapes as they appear moving up the neck
- Identifying the ergonomic and musical benefits of the thumb-over grip
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The Intermediate Guitarist's Toolkit the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
You've moved your hand to play an A-shape barre chord. Which string is now acting as the foundation for your root note?
Get it right to open this lesson and 17 more in the app.
Where The Intermediate Guitarist's Toolkit takes you
Move past basic open chords and simple scales to unlock the full fretboard. Learn to connect the neck, refine your tone, and play with professional expression.
- 1
Unlocking the Fretboard
- Moving Beyond Open Chords
- Connecting the Pentatonic Map
- 2
Expression and Articulation
- The Vocal Quality of Lead Playing
- Rhythm and the Pocket
- 3
Tone and Performance
- Crafting Your Electric Sound
- Functional Harmony for Guitar
3 sections · 6 units · 18 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
The Intermediate Guitarist's Toolkit is taught in the The Storyteller style: every lesson is a story. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start The Intermediate Guitarist's Toolkit today.
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