Category: (Book)
31 new, starting at $12.06
9 used, starting at $13.70
Guitarists of all levels will find a wealth of practical music knowledge in this special book and CD package. Veteran guitarist and author Tom Kolb dispels the mysteries of music theory using plain and simple terms and diagrams. The accompanying CD provides 94 tracks of music examples, scales, modes, chords, ear training, and much more!
So good I bought twoReviewed by kitjank, 2010-02-20
I'm returning to the guitar after a 20 year lay off, (the whole life getting in the way of art thing) and have found this book really useful, so much in fact my boyfriend, who has been playing for several years, saw it and wanted a copy. I found a lot of really good, well explained lessons in this book. However, I think, if you're new to music it would be a good idea if you had a teacher to work through this book with. Another good book to work out of along side this one is "Guitar Reading Workbook" by Barrett Tagliarino. Both of these books together really give you a good foundation. I use both of these books when I'm away from my guitar. That way I can "practice" without having my guitar with me. Getting an understanding of theory will make you a much better guitar player than simply learning your fave riffs. This is a good book to help get you there.
Fills a lot of gapsReviewed by T. Hoggard, 2010-01-24
I've been playing guitar for quite some time, by ear mostly. This book is true to it's title - music theory. But it is applied directly to the guitar. The book filled many gaps in my knowledge such as key signatures, chord construction, and intervals. Well worth the money, I would recomend this book to anyone learning to play or to those with experience but would like to learn the foundation upon which guitar method is built.
good for beginnersReviewed by S. True, 2010-01-17
I am a novice guitar player with no music background. This book is a great starting point for getting into music theory.
Good information, bad contextReviewed by Aaric, 2010-01-07
The problem with this book is that while it does a good job of
defining things, it doesn't provide the necessary context to
explain why they matter. For example, there's a thorough treatment
of different keys. But what exactly does it mean to say that a
given song is in the Key of C versus the Key of A? The book doesn't
provide the basic information about how different musical elements
fit together. There's a Wheel of 5ths to show the order of flats
and sharps. Great. How do I use that to inform my actual
playing?
As someone with zero knowledge of music theory, there's still more
that I need to know prior to being able to take advantage of this
book. The title led me to believe that it included "Everything,"
i.e. those foundational pieces, but it really doesn't. Unless you
already understand music theory, get a different book. This one may
do a good job of taking your theory knowledge and applying it to
guitar, but it comes up in short in teaching those basics in
context.
Very good introduction to theoryReviewed by Don Richardson, 2009-09-08
This book takes a very straight-forward approach to explaining music theory as it relates to the guitar. If you already have a basic understanding of music, the first couple of chapters will mostly be review, but still worthwhile. If you do not read music at all, you'll still find the book useful, as the author does not assume that you have any prior musical knowledge, and starts off with very basic concepts. As someone who knows a little bit about music starting out, but is still struggling with guitar, this has been one of the more helpful books I have added to my guitar library lately. I highly recommend it.
