Try FretGOAT free

Fretboard fluency, trained on your guitar.

Stop calculating. Know the fretboard.

Learn where notes live on the fretboard and connect written notes to your guitar. Practise with short exercises that listen to your real guitar as you play.

Try FretGOAT free

Permanent free tier. No card required. Practise with your real guitar.

Actual Guided Playing screenPublic beta
Guided Playing screen showing a target note and its marked fretboard position.

The marker trains the physical jump. Fretboard Recall removes it when you’re ready.

The lookup step gets in the way.

When finding each note takes several seconds, tabs, theory, new shapes and lessons become harder to act on.

The musical idea may make sense while the physical search still breaks the flow.

FretGOAT trains that missing connection until more of the neck feels available when you need it.

A simple loop, repeated with purpose

See the target. Play it on your guitar. Get immediate pitch feedback. Repeat where you hesitate. Your ongoing Mastery record grows from the practice itself.

  1. See the target.

  2. Play it on your guitar.

  3. Get immediate feedback.

  4. Repeat the weak spots.

Practise the bottleneck, not the whole map.

Train the part that is slowing you down.

Fretboard fluency is not one skill. FretGOAT separates three useful layers so you can work on the connection that is currently breaking your flow.

  1. Guided Playing

    Follow a visible fretboard target and train your hands to move to the right area without a long physical search.

  2. Fretboard Recall

    See a note and string, recall its position, and turn note knowledge into a playable response.

  3. Notation Reading

    Read a note on the staff, find it on the fretboard, and play it. Build a foundation for sight-reading, one note at a time.

    Explore guitar note reading →

Progress you build, not a test you pass.

Mastery is an ongoing record of accurate, increasingly fluent practice. It keeps the evidence close to the work instead of interrupting practice with a separate exam.

Begin with Open Position, then extend into Core and Full Neck Mastery as your practice broadens.

  1. Open Position

  2. Core fretboard

  3. Full neck

See the practice, then try it yourself.

These are current public-beta screens: focused practice on your guitar, controls for choosing what to train, and progress built from the work itself.

Guided Playing practice screen showing a target note and its marked fretboard positions.
Guided PlayingTrain the physical jumpFollow a marked target on the fretboard while you build the hand movement behind fluent playing.
Fretboard Recall practice screen showing a target note without a marked answer.
Fretboard RecallTurn note knowledge into recallSee the note and string, find its position yourself, and get immediate pitch feedback when you play.
Notation Reading practice screen showing a staff note without a note-name or fretboard-dot hint.
Notation ReadingConnect the staff to your guitarRead a written note, find it on the fretboard and play it. Practise a foundation for sight-reading, one note at a time.
Configure Session showing string, fret-range, note-pool, and mastery controls.
Configure SessionPractise the bottleneckChoose the strings, fret range, notes and scope that match what you need to make automatic next.
Progress screen showing recommended practice, mastery, accuracy, and reaction time.
ProgressLet practice become the recordSee where your recall is strong, where it still hesitates, and what FretGOAT recommends working on next.

Start free. Go further when it helps.

A real free tier, and one clear upgrade.

Try Guided Playing, Fretboard Recall and Notation Reading for free with natural notes on frets 0–5. The Founding Pass opens broader practice and progression.

Permanent free tier

US$0

Enough to learn, practise, and prove the method on your guitar.

  • All maintained Fretboard Fluency Lessons
  • All three practice modes with natural notes on frets 0–5
  • Open Position Mastery
Try FretGOAT free

Founding Pass · Public Beta

US$39 once

Take the same focused practice across more of the fretboard, with broader progression and guidance.

  • Practice across the full neck with all 12 notes
  • Core and Full Neck Mastery
  • Recommended Practice

No subscription. No timed trial.

See the Founding Pass — US$39 once

Includes a voluntary 14-day refund policy, without limiting mandatory consumer rights.

Public beta

FretGOAT is useful now and still improving. The beta label sets honest expectations while the core experience is refined.

Your raw audio stays private

Pitch detection runs in your browser. FretGOAT does not record or upload your raw guitar audio.

Supported setup

Use the latest desktop Chrome on Windows 11 or macOS. An audio interface gives the cleanest, most consistent input. A microphone also works, but room noise can make detection less accurate.

Internet required

An internet connection is required. Other browsers and operating systems may work, but are not part of the initial supported environment.

Pitch, not physical position

FretGOAT listens for the pitch you play. It does not determine which physical string or fret produced it.

FAQ

Questions before you plug in

What you can practise, what setup you need, and how to hear your guitar while you play.

Does FretGOAT help with sight-reading?

Notation Reading helps you connect a written note to a position on your guitar. See a single note on the staff, find it on the fretboard, and play it for pitch feedback.

This builds one foundation for sight-reading: recognising pitches and finding them on your instrument. The exercises do not cover rhythm or reading through continuous musical passages.

What setup does FretGOAT support?

Use the latest desktop Chrome on Windows 11 or macOS with an internet connection. Both platforms are fully supported and more than adequate for FretGOAT; macOS generally provides lower audio latency.

An audio interface gives the cleanest and most consistent signal. A microphone also works, but room noise, speakers and other instruments can make pitch detection less accurate.

What is Guitar Output?

Guitar Output lets you hear FretGOAT’s captured guitar signal through the system’s default output. Choose Dry for the direct signal or Amp to play through an installed amp model. It is optional and separate from pitch detection.

Use wired headphones where possible. Speakers can feed back into a microphone and cause loud feedback.

What is NAM?

Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) is open-source technology for creating digital captures of real guitar amplifiers, pedals and signal chains. FretGOAT can run a compatible capture in your browser so the guitar you hear responds like the captured rig.

Neural Amp Modeler

Where can I get an amp model?

TONE3000 is a community library of NAM captures. Choose Amp + Cab for a complete rig, then download an individual .nam model. FretGOAT does not currently combine an Amp Head capture with a separate cabinet IR.

Check the model page for its licence and usage terms before downloading it.

Browse NAM models on TONE3000

How do I enable Guitar Output in FretGOAT?

FretGOAT does not upload the model. It stays in this browser profile, so keep the original downloaded file.

  1. Connect your guitar and use wired headphones where possible.
  2. Open Settings → Guitar Output.
  3. Under Import an Amp model, choose your full-rig .nam file.
  4. Choose it from Installed model.
  5. Turn on Guitar output, confirm Enable at 3, then choose Amp.
  6. Use the Output tab during practice to change the model, mode or volume.

Ready when you are

Put the next few minutes into your fretboard.

Start with the permanent free tier. If broader practice becomes useful, the Founding Pass is one US$39 payment—not a subscription.

Try FretGOAT freeSee the Founding Pass — US$39 once