Posted December 10, 2011 at 1:03 pm | 2 comments
Scale books for guitarists seem to be hitting shelves in record numbers these days. With the evolution of the ebook, there has been a boom of self-published books being released, providing more options for guitar consumers than ever before. Because of these myriad options, it seems like a great time to be a guitarist, because of the wide variety of teaching materials available. But, at the same time it’s harder than ever to decide which product is worth buying, especially when money is tight.
Posted in: Book Reviews, Reviews
Posted December 4, 2011 at 8:27 am | One comment
Guitar players usually fall within two camps when it comes to how they pick their instrument. On the one side you have the players that use a pick to play and strum all of their notes and chords, and on the other side of the aisle you have cats that fingerpick to pluck each note and chord. While both approaches offer merit, depending on the style of music played and the tastes of the guitarist using them, many players often ignore a third option when it comes to their choice of picking technique.
Posted in: Book Reviews, Reviews
Posted December 1, 2011 at 1:22 pm | No comments
With the explosion of guitar books over the past two decades, first in hard-copy form and now through the ebook phenomenon, it is harder than ever for guitarists to sift through all of the material available to them and choose a good book to dig into in the practice room. While some books are aimed at specific genres such as metal licks or blues chords, playing in the style of your favorite player or learning a certain technique such as tapping or fingerpicking, one of the most popular formats has been and is still the “umbrella” approach to teaching in book form.
Posted in: Book Reviews, Reviews
Posted November 26, 2011 at 5:46 pm | 2 comments
The “For Dummies” series has been around for as long as I can remember, and while I know a few people who got a lot out of their books in the information technology field, I never had any personal experience with them before I picked up guitar playing. Like a lot of people, I was slightly put off by the title, and even more so by the idea of toting the book around with the only-too-recognizable “For Dummies” on the cover, but out of curiosity and my liking for simplicity, I invested in Rock Guitar for Dummies.
Posted in: Book Reviews, Guitar News, Reviews
Posted May 3, 2011 at 1:46 pm | No comments
When people hear the words “jazz chords,” pictures of giant, five or six-note chords often come to mind, often with big stretches and funny names like augmented b9 and 7b9,#5 and such. But, it is more often than not that professional jazz guitarists, such as Lenny Breau, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Ed Bickert for example, prefer to use smaller, more manageable chords, which are often only three or four notes and based on material that many of us already know such as triads and fourth voicings. In his new book, Three-Note Voicings and Beyond, author, guitarist and master pedagogue Randy Vincent sheds light on this ultra-important, but often
Posted in: Book Reviews, Reviews
Posted May 3, 2011 at 1:17 pm | No comments
Most of us guitar players understand that learning at least a little bit of music theory will help us grow as players and especially songwriters, yet we all think that theory is a four-letter-word. There is a good reason for this. Many teachers, books and DVDs have tried over the years to explain the inner workings of chords, scales, musical notation and progressions, but have done so in such a dry and unpractical way that many of us never understand the relationship that these concepts have to our everyday performances.
Posted in: Book Reviews, Reviews
Posted December 10, 2010 at 10:00 am | No comments
The University of Southern California’s guitar program has long been recognized as one of the top destinations for up and coming guitarists who are looking for a formal, university education.
Posted in: Book Reviews, Guitar Lessons, Reviews
Posted November 15, 2010 at 1:00 pm | No comments
I own precisely 29 books. Not much of a library for someone writing a book review. The number, to a book, is 29 because I counted them this morning. Though an avid reader, three years ago I sold, gave away, or abandoned every book I owned that didn’t mean something significant to me. I wanted to travel light when I moved from California to Portugal.
Posted in: Book Reviews, Guitars and Gear, Reviews
Posted November 3, 2010 at 1:00 pm | One comment
Since 1833 the Martin Guitar Company has pursued excellence in craftsmanship and mindfulness to tone. Few of their guitars, however, have captured the imagination of guitarists like Martin’s artist models, limited editions, and custom guitars.
Posted in: Book Reviews, Guitars and Gear, Reviews
Posted October 27, 2010 at 12:00 pm | 2 comments
With his self-published instructional book Hybrid Picking for Guitar, jazz guitarist and hybrid picking guru Gustavo Assis-Brasil lays out a full curriculum for developing this technique that is applicable to both beginning and advanced hybrid pickers. A fine player with numerous recording credits, Assis-Brasil is the director of the Jazz and Contemporary Music department of the Cambridge School of Weston, and is a Berklee College of Music grad.
Posted in: Book Reviews, Reviews
