Sources and method

Guitarshelf copies no existing tablature or score. Every sheet is built from music-theory rules, and every technical claim is cross-checked before it's published. This page explains how.

How the sheets are built

Chord grids are sequences of degrees (I-IV-V, I-V-vi-IV…) taken from standard harmonic forms of the style, then transposed into all 12 keys by a simple shift: the function of the chords doesn't change, only the pitch does.

Chord and scale diagrams, and the tablature, are computed from where the notes sit on a neck in standard tuning (or Drop D), never copied from a third-party source.

The written text is produced with the help of AI tools, under review, never on automatic publication. About the site and how it was built →

How information is checked

Every piece of data or technical claim cited — an interval, a chord name, the function of a degree, a fretting-hand move — is cross-checked against at least two independent references before publication. Information found but not confirmed by a second source is dropped rather than published with a doubt.

The glossary and the blog aim for a concrete angle, tied to a sheet in the catalog, rather than a summary of what general documentation already says on the topic. Browse the glossary →

References used

The sheets and the glossary rest on established, publicly documented theory concepts and teaching systems, in particular:

• basic tonal theory: major and minor scales, degrees, cadences, relative keys;
• the CAGED system and the five scale positions that follow from it;
• standard harmonic forms: 12-bar blues, four-chord pop turnarounds, cadences;
• tuning conventions (standard E, Drop D) and notation conventions (tablature, Roman-numeral degrees);
• the common technical vocabulary of the guitar — hammer-on / pull-off, bend, slide, palm mute, fingerstyle… — defined term by term in the glossary.

Report an error

If a sheet looks wrong to you — a misplaced chord, an incorrect degree, a tablature that doesn't sound right — report it: fixing it comes before any new publication. Write to us →