Finally—an intuitive, single-source standardization for naming guitar chords in the 21st century! A honing of guitar theory as a subcategory of music theory. Commonsense approach to all things guitar chord, including how to label alternate chord voicings. New concepts, including natural harmonics chords, unison chords, and octaval chords. A massive Instructional Glossary with clear and precise definitions, benefiting both guitarists and music theorists alike. Appendices containing 747 graphical guitar chord boxes and definitions for several guitar tunings: • Standard • Open Major A/E • Open Major G/D • Drop D • Double Drop D • Bruce Palmer Modal “Band of Witches” sample song sheet. Procedures for registering a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. Introduction to U.S. copyright law’s fair use doctrine, including a comparison of mechanical and sync licenses. Presented in an easy-to-read, connect-the-dots manner. An absolute must-read for the guitarist wanting to transcribe new sound-creations into guitar chords. The only textbook needed for a Progressive Guitar Theory 105 course. Though geared toward the needs of a seasoned guitarist, this book contains a wealth of information that will benefit anyone, from the casual campfire-strumming enthusiast to avid music theorists looking for a greater understanding of the challenges facing non-sight-reading guitar players. Book Review: "A soup-to-nuts guide for guitarists looking for a comprehensive way to name and notate chords. Music theory and practicality are sometimes at odds. For example, theory dictates that a chord must have three or more notes, but as debut author Davis explains in his introduction, guitarists play two-note formations frequently, which they must then label as chords when transcribing. As one gets deeper into theory, the conflicts can get more complicated in terms of where a “root” note might lay in a chord sequence, or how a chord might fit in a particular scale. Davis seeks to solve that quandary with a practical standard for working guitarists. It’s a complicated task, and this book provides a lot of context for readers to consider, explaining pitch, tuning, scales, and intervals, and even providing information on copyrighting musical works. Along the way, he takes a lot of advanced ideas into account, such as unaltered nonextended chords, unaltered extended chords, suspended nonextended chords, and the like. Chances are that any guitarist who’s attracted by the title of this book already knows enough to follow these theoretical aspects. The author offers a process to make these concepts clearer, [to Gatekeeper: my rewrite attends to the rest of the sentence & the next one] but it’s not a basic, numbered list of steps. Readers with no education in theory may have to read passages several times to put the level of detail into proper perspective [to Gatekeeper: this ends the portion of the Review I "fixed."]. A weekend warrior who’s happy banging out basic G-C-D or E-A-D progressions, for instance, won’t find much use for the theory, but those looking to move forward will find value in the first, basic chapters and the massive appendices, which feature definitions of everything from Travis picking to truss rods. For guitarists who write, the most useful aspect of this book may be the chord guide, which includes voicings for both standard and alternate tunings. A complex manual for guitar players who want to keep learning new things." -- Kirkus Indie Reviews

Finally—an intuitive, single-source standardization for naming guitar chords in the 21st century! A honing of guitar theory as a subcategory of music theory. Commonsense approach to all things guitar chord, including how to label alternate chord voicings. New concepts, including natural harmonics chords, unison chords, and octaval chords. A massive Instructional Glossary with clear and precise definitions, benefiting both guitarists and music theorists alike. Appendices containing 747 graphical guitar chord boxes and definitions for several guitar tunings: • Standard • Open Major A/E • Open Major G/D • Drop D • Double Drop D • Bruce Palmer Modal “Band of Witches” sample song sheet. Procedures for registering a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. Introduction to U.S. copyright law’s fair use doctrine, including a comparison of mechanical and sync licenses. Presented in an easy-to-read, connect-the-dots manner. An absolute must-read for the guitarist wanting to transcribe new sound-creations into guitar chords. The only textbook needed for a Progressive Guitar Theory 105 course. Though geared toward the needs of a seasoned guitarist, this book contains a wealth of information that will benefit anyone, from the casual campfire-strumming enthusiast to avid music theorists looking for a greater understanding of the challenges facing non-sight-reading guitar players. Book Review: "A soup-to-nuts guide for guitarists looking for a comprehensive way to name and notate chords. Music theory and practicality are sometimes at odds. For example, theory dictates that a chord must have three or more notes, but as debut author Davis explains in his introduction, guitarists play two-note formations frequently, which they must then label as chords when transcribing. As one gets deeper into theory, the conflicts can get more complicated in terms of where a “root” note might lay in a chord sequence, or how a chord might fit in a particular scale. Davis seeks to solve that quandary with a practical standard for working guitarists. It’s a complicated task, and this book provides a lot of context for readers to consider, explaining pitch, tuning, scales, and intervals, and even providing information on copyrighting musical works. Along the way, he takes a lot of advanced ideas into account, such as unaltered nonextended chords, unaltered extended chords, suspended nonextended chords, and the like. Chances are that any guitarist who’s attracted by the title of this book already knows enough to follow these theoretical aspects. The author offers a process to make these concepts clearer, [to Gatekeeper: my rewrite attends to the rest of the sentence & the next one] but it’s not a basic, numbered list of steps. Readers with no education in theory may have to read passages several times to put the level of detail into proper perspective [to Gatekeeper: this ends the portion of the Review I "fixed."]. A weekend warrior who’s happy banging out basic G-C-D or E-A-D progressions, for instance, won’t find much use for the theory, but those looking to move forward will find value in the first, basic chapters and the massive appendices, which feature definitions of everything from Travis picking to truss rods. For guitarists who write, the most useful aspect of this book may be the chord guide, which includes voicings for both standard and alternate tunings. A complex manual for guitar players who want to keep learning new things." -- Kirkus Indie Reviews

Finally--an intuitive, single-source standardization for naming guitar chords in the 21st century! A honing of guitar theory as a subcategory of music theory. Commonsense approach to all things guitar chord, including how to label alternate chord voicings. New concepts, including natural harmonics chords, unison chords, and octaval chords. A massive Instructional Glossary with clear and precise definitions, benefiting both guitarists and music theorists alike. Appendices containing 747 graphical guitar chord boxes and definitions for several guitar tunings: - Standard - Open Major A/E - Open Major G/D - Drop D - Double Drop D - Bruce Palmer Modal "Band of Witches" sample song sheet. Procedures for registering a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. Introduction to U.S. copyright law's fair use doctrine, including a comparison of mechanical and sync licenses. Presented in an easy-to-read, connect-the-dots manner. An absolute must-read for the guitarist wanting to transcribe new sound-creations into guitar chords. The only textbook needed for a Progressive Guitar Theory 105 course. Though geared toward the needs of a seasoned guitarist, this book contains a wealth of information that will benefit anyone, from the casual campfire-strumming enthusiast to avid music theorists looking for a greater understanding of the challenges facing non-sight-reading guitar players.

Finally-an intuitive, single-source standardization for naming guitar chords in the 21st century! A honing of guitar theory as a subcategory of music theory. Commonsense approach to all things guitar chord, including how to label alternate chord voicings. New concepts, including natural harmonics chords, unison chords, and octaval chords. A massive Instructional Glossary with clear and precise definitions, benefiting both guitarists and music theorists alike. Appendices containing 747 graphical guitar chord boxes and definitions for several guitar tunings: - Standard - Open Major A/E - Open Major G/D - Drop D - Double Drop D - Bruce Palmer Modal "Band of Witches" sample song sheet. Procedures for registering a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. Introduction to U.S. copyright law's fair use doctrine, including a comparison of mechanical and sync licenses. Presented in an easy-to-read, connect-the-dots manner. An absolute must-read for the guitarist wanting to transcribe new sound-creations into guitar chords. The only textbook needed for a Progressive Guitar Theory 105 course. Though geared toward the needs of a seasoned guitarist, this book contains a wealth of information that will benefit anyone, from the casual campfire-strumming enthusiast to avid music theorists looking for a greater understanding of the challenges facing non-sight-reading guitar players.

Finally—an intuitive, single-source standardization for naming guitar chords in the 21st century! A honing of guitar theory as a subcategory of music theory. Commonsense approach to all things guitar chord, including how to label alternate chord voicings. New concepts, including natural harmonics chords, unison chords, and octaval chords. A massive Instructional Glossary with clear and precise definitions, benefiting both guitarists and music theorists alike. Appendices containing 747 graphical guitar chord boxes and definitions for several guitar tunings: • Standard • Open Major A/E • Open Major G/D • Drop D • Double Drop D • Bruce Palmer Modal “Band of Witches” sample song sheet. Procedures for registering a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. Introduction to U.S. copyright law’s fair use doctrine, including a comparison of mechanical and sync licenses. Presented in an easy-to-read, connect-the-dots manner. An absolute must-read for the guitarist wanting to transcribe new sound-creations into guitar chords. The only textbook needed for a Progressive Guitar Theory 105 course. Though geared toward the needs of a seasoned guitarist, this book contains a wealth of information that will benefit anyone, from the casual campfire-strumming enthusiast to avid music theorists looking for a greater understanding of the challenges facing non-sight-reading guitar players. Book Review: "A soup-to-nuts guide for guitarists looking for a comprehensive way to name and notate chords. Music theory and practicality are sometimes at odds. For example, theory dictates that a chord must have three or more notes, but as debut author Davis explains in his introduction, guitarists play two-note formations frequently, which they must then label as chords when transcribing. As one gets deeper into theory, the conflicts can get more complicated in terms of where a “root” note might lay in a chord sequence, or how a chord might fit in a particular scale. Davis seeks to solve that quandary with a practical standard for working guitarists. It’s a complicated task, and this book provides a lot of context for readers to consider, explaining pitch, tuning, scales, and intervals, and even providing information on copyrighting musical works. Along the way, he takes a lot of advanced ideas into account, such as unaltered nonextended chords, unaltered extended chords, suspended nonextended chords, and the like. Chances are that any guitarist who’s attracted by the title of this book already knows enough to follow these theoretical aspects. The author offers a process to make these concepts clearer, [to Gatekeeper: my rewrite attends to the rest of the sentence & the next one] but it’s not a basic, numbered list of steps. Readers with no education in theory may have to read passages several times to put the level of detail into proper perspective [to Gatekeeper: this ends the portion of the Review I "fixed."]. A weekend warrior who’s happy banging out basic G-C-D or E-A-D progressions, for instance, won’t find much use for the theory, but those looking to move forward will find value in the first, basic chapters and the massive appendices, which feature definitions of everything from Travis picking to truss rods. For guitarists who write, the most useful aspect of this book may be the chord guide, which includes voicings for both standard and alternate tunings. A complex manual for guitar players who want to keep learning new things." -- Kirkus Reviews

(Guitar Method). This practical, comprehensive method is used as the basic text for the guitar program at the Berklee College of Music. Volume One builds a solid foundation for beginning guitarists and features a comprehensive range of guitar and music fundamentals, including: scales, melodic studies, chord and arpeggio studies, how to read music, special exercises for developing technique in both hands, voice leading using moveable chord forms, and more.

This book is designed to be useful for guitarists at any skill level. Beginners can use it as an introduction to the foundational concepts of the instrument, intermediate players can use it for training and theoretical work, and advanced players can explore the sections on advanced theory, extended technique and the exhaustive tables of melodic and rhythmic possibilities. It is divided into two parts: pitch and rhythm. Part 1 (pitch) begins with the properties of string, harmonics, and tuning systems. It then moves methodically through pitch information, beginning with locating all versions of a single pitch, building pentatonic, heptatonic, and all possible symmetrical scales. This is followed by a study of intervals, with all possible locations of every two pitches, and a long study that moves through every possible fingering of three pitches, with a series of exercises to master triadic syntax. Part 1 closes with a study of four-pitch structures and complete tables that show all possible pitch sets in circular visual notation. Part 2 (rhythm) begins with a complete course in "Symmetrical Picking," a method based on drum rudiments that builds control in the picking hand through an exhaustive variety of movements. The focus of this section is building a strong rhythmic foundation, with a focus on efficiency, accuracy, speed, dynamics, and groove. It is followed by a study of legato playing, working with ornaments and slides. The study of playing with fingers on multiple strings takes up the remainder of the book. This begins with the study of pulse against pulse, playing two simultaneous tempos. The book concludes with a study of polyrhythm, playing one rhythm against another. Plain English is used as much as possible to describe theoretical concepts, and hundreds of illustrations were made for the book as an aid to those who either don't speak English or prefer to think visually. This approach is designed to be inclusive and to promote creative practice. The main idea of the book is described in this passage (page 154): "Even in this small area there is a lot of material, potentially a lifetime of study. The amount of information can feel overwhelming to students at any level. For this reason, the book is designed for self-directed practice, with an emphasis on what the player "could" do, rather than what the player "should" do. The principle is to develop your own learning process, rather than following someone else's. The ability to make choices is essential in finding a personal approach to the instrument. Pick and choose the studies that seem interesting - there should be enough variety to accommodate a wide range of personalities. If any particular concept or exercise has been useful as the starting point for a new creative direction, then the book has done its job. Its purpose is not to push any dogma, method, or style, but to open the door to options for guitarists of any background that are looking for new perspectives.