Whether you’re practicing scales, writing a song, or brushing up on some musical theory, every guitarist could benefit from having an easy-to-reference cheat sheet nearby. As for myself, I keep one pinned to the wall.
This page is designed to be the ultimate online guitar cheat sheet for quick reference. You can bookmark it in your browser and refer to it anytime. This page will include the Circle of Fifths, scale degrees, common chord progressions, chord diagrams, fretboard notes and scale diagrams.
More detailed cheat guides for guitar and music theory are available for free download as well. Enjoy!
(Click Here to download Guitar Goblin’s more extensive PDF Cheat Sheet for Guitar)
The Circle of Fifths
Scale Degree Chart
| Key | I (Major) | ii (Minor) | iii (Minor) | IV (Major) | V (Major) | vi (Minor) | vii° (Diminished) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | A | B | C# | D | E | F# | G# |
| A# | A# | C | D | D# | F | G | A |
| B | B | C# | D# | E | F# | G# | A# |
| C | C | D | E | F | G | A | B |
| C# | C# | D# | F | F# | G# | A# | C |
| D | D | E | F# | G | A | B | C# |
| D# | D# | F | G | G# | A# | C | D |
| E | E | F# | G# | A | B | C# | D# |
| F | F | G | A | Bb | C | D | E |
| F# | F# | G# | A# | B | C# | D# | F |
| G | G | A | B | C | D | E | F# |
| G# | G# | A# | C | C# | D# | F | G |
Popular Chord Progressions
| Chord Progression (Roman Numerals) | Nashville (Numbers) | Song Example | Song Part Featuring Progression |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-IV-V | 1-4-5 | “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry | Main Riff/Chorus |
| I-V-vi-IV | 1-5-6-4 | “Let It Be” by The Beatles | Verse |
| ii-V-I | 2-5-1 | “Black Magic Woman” by Santana | Chorus |
| I-IV-vi-V | 1-4-6-5 | “Don’t Stop Believin‘” by Journey | Chorus |
| I-vi-IV-V | 1-6-4-5 | “Every Breath You Take” by The Police | Verse |
| vi-IV-I-V | 6-4-1-5 | “Under the Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers | Chorus |
| I-V-IV | 1-5-4 | “La Bamba” by Ritchie Valens | Main Riff/Chorus |
| I-III-IV-V | 1-3-4-5 | “Summer of ’69” by Bryan Adams | Chorus |
| I-IV-ii-V | 1-4-2-5 | “Sweet Child o’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses | Bridge |
| vi-ii-V-I | 6-2-5-1 | “Wonderwall” by Oasis | Pre-Chorus |
| I-VI-II-V | 1-6-2-5 | “Hotel California” by The Eagles | Verse |
Also, check out this article on 1-4-5 Chord Progressions.
Guitar Fretboard
Basic Chords
A Major
A Minor
B Major
B Minor
C Major
C Minor
D Major
D Minor
E Major
E Minor
F Major
F Minor
G Major
G Minor
Major and Minor Barre Chords
E Shaped Major
E Shaped Minor
A Shaped Major
A Shaped Minor
Popular Scales
Major Scale (Ionian Mode)
Major Pentatonic Scale
Also, check out “Tackling The Major Pentatonic Scale – Everything You Need to Know“.
Natural Minor Scale (Aeolian Mode)
Minor Pentatonic Scale
Also, check out this article series on “Learning the Minor Pentatonic Scale“.
Conclusion
This Guitar Cheat Sheet should provide you with just about anything you need as a quick reference during practice or songwriting. For more detailed cheat sheets that include other chord types, scales and individual scale patterns you are welcome to one of our free downloadable resources.
Don’t forget to bookmark and check back for future updates!
The fretboard diagrams in this article were made using Guitar Scientist.
