The early chapters were super simple, but they compounded in complexity as we approached the latter half. Despite that, the book still reconciled modern music theory with practical ways to use it when you play guitar. We thought that the use of chord diagrams and modern tabs made it an excellent resource for players (like us), who can’t sight-read. The pentatonic scale is inescapable, regardless of the genre. Tom Kolb takes the ground-up approach to teach you how to use the five patterns to create memorable solos. Swedish driving licence theory in English (car, category B). Traffic rules that may be hard to understand are explained with particular care, and the use of bullet points ensures the book is easy to read and understand. We thought that No Bull Music Theory would be a great choice for those who enjoy informal and conversational instruction thanks to its simple and unpretentious approach to music theory.

Overall, we thought that this book was similar to The Jazz Theory Book and 20th Century Harmony, but with a more practical approach, and a slimmed down format. If you’re looking for a great way to improve your music theory knowledge, you won’t want to miss this! Image

The easy-to-follow format and reference appendix ensured that we never get lost or bored. Each chapter also included a list of dos and don’ts before it encouraged us to put our stamp on the guitar theory we’d already absorbed. We thought it was very much aimed at budding musicians with little-to-no experience with sight reading and modern music theory. Alpha publishing have been creating such guides for nearly three decades, and we thought that this was plain to see in the clear-cut structure and easy-to-navigate sub-sections. Everyone who learns to play guitar starts with open chords and power chords. Some make it to barre chords, and only a handful go beyond it and actually study music theory. Our reliance on 5 th and 6 th string roots is a handicap in our guitar playing, depriving us of the flexibility to navigate a chord progression in interesting ways. The Guitar Chords in Context Series is an answer to that. Several books approach these topics with incessant and mind-numbing chord charts, however, we thought that Joseph Alexander’s practical approach was a real breath of fresh air. He outlined the theory of each chord type, which really helped us to understand chord families with roots on different strings. After spending some time reading it, we found that it helped us to make sense of triads, scales, intervals, and all the other rudimentary concepts of modern music theory. The book covered major and minor scales but didn’t venture into modes. For that reason, it’s recommended for novices, and may not have adequate music theory content for intermediate guitarists.

No matter how many resources are made available online, there’s still something special about having something tangible like a real book in your hands when you’re trying to learn a new concept and improve your guitar playing. Music doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s influenced by different styles, cultures, instruments, and historical periods. A well-rounded guitar theory book should take a holistic approach to covering various aspects of music beyond just the guitar. The best music theory books should aim to nurture you as a complete musician, not just a guitarist. Final Thoughts on the Best Guitar Music Theory Books This book wasn’t a music theory for guitarists book per se. The first section had a basic explanation of modern music theory and how it relates to the guitar fretboard, but the primary purpose of this book is to serve as a reference. The book also provided staff notes for the chords and a guitar tab/chord diagram with numbered fingerings. It’s available in two sizes – we covered the larger version, and we’d highly recommend opting for this one (the 9” x 12”) as it’s much easier to read at a glance. We’ve got you covered for all major theory tests. So you’ve got everything you need to pass, whether you’re studying for your:

Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art INVENTORY PRESS/VINCENT PRICE ART MUSEUM/WILLIAMS COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART/INDEPEND The chords were arranged alphabetically and included power chords, barre chords, broken-set chords, and partial chords. Each chord was accompanied by a clear photograph of the fretting hand playing the chord on a guitar. We’re living in the digital age, so of course every imaginable lesson is stashed somewhere online. Unfortunately, so is every possible distraction waiting to ensnare you. Some of you may know the author, Jens Larsen, from YouTube, he is one of the best-known instructors in the jazz guitar music theory segment. In terms of content, this book had it in spades. It featured advanced topics like quartal arpeggios, leaping intervals to create interesting solos, triads/arpeggios to ginger up phrasing, and much more. We particularly enjoyed the material on tritone substitution, and how to use altered and augmented scales. The Idiot’s Guide is a meat and potatoes version for beginner-to-intermediate guitarists and musicians. It presents the basic music theory concepts such as tones, intervals, scales, rhythm, and composing/arranging in easy to follow, bite size chunks.