Guitar Fretboard Workbook (Paperback)

by Barrett Tagliarino (Composer) "Standard guitar diagrams have horizontal lines for frets and vertical lines for strings..." (more)
Key Phrases: five root shapes, arpeggio shapes, triad arpeggios, Minor Pattern, Ionian Pattern, Major Pattern (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
A progressive teaching method that offers a clear roadmap through the tangles of the fretboard maze. —Gary Joyner, Acoustic Guitar -- Acoustic Guitar Magazine, July 2004

Product Description
Navigate the guitar neck better than ever before with this easy-to-use book! Designed from Musicians Institute core curriculum programs, it covers essential concepts for players of every level, acoustic or electric. A hands-on guide to theory, it will help you learn to build any scale or chord on your own and unleash creativity. No music reading is required.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Musicians Institute Press; Workbook edition (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0634049011
• ISBN-13: 978-0634049019
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,565 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #1 in	Books > Entertainment > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Instruction & Study
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

145 of 150 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a gold mine!, January 18, 2004

By	Steven Stathatos (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews

I have read countless testimonials about guitar books that guarantee results I never was able to achieve. This book actually delivered for me, and it has done so in a big way. My ambition, which previously eluded me entirely, has been to become fluent on the fretboard--to be able to improvise, follow changes, structure complex chords on the fly and the like. I tried so long in vain I decided I must just lack the necessary ability.

This book changed all that for me. I am doing things now I only dreamed of before. I don't know how the author figured it out, but he has come up with a way to communicate an understanding of music and the fretboard to both your head and, probably more important, your hands. Simple things like combining diagram exercises and playing, reinforced by having you speak the information out loud, really work to imprint the material on your fingers. The book walks you one step at a time, fairly painlessly, from simple to very complex. This thing is a gold mine. No kidding.

78 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fretboard Magik, January 13, 2004

By	Scott E Tanaka (Hollywood, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This is one of the best books I've ever read for guitar. I have always had trouble finding my way around the fretbaord, but after working with this book I have no trouble at all. There are so many helpful tips and exercises that you can't help but become ultra fluent on guitar. And unlike most books, the material in this book is presented in a manner that is easy to understand. It's all connected perfectly, instead of YOU having to piece things together. I would recomend this book to anyone.

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A complete, highly comprehensive approach to the fretboard., December 8, 2003

By	"wm_burke" (Pasadena, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I have been using this book with my students since Barrett started putting together the opening chapters. I first used it with my advanced students, those who already had some experience with the 5 patterns of major scales. Immediately they returned saying that it helped them understand the scales and visualize the fretboard more easily.

Having my students walk in with diagrams of scales and intervals for me to check has been an incredible reversal of roles. Normally I would draw diagrams for them to study and play. Going over a chapter and sending them home to complete and play the exercises gets the student involved in a way that the normal draw, demonstrate, "see ya' next week" cycle never really reaches. It gives the student an opportunity to take home and digest the information that was normally only available during the lesson.

Teaching people to operate a guitar and teaching music on a guitar are almost completely different tasks. I found the first six chapters to be very helpful when initiating beginner and intermediate students into the world beyond the 3rd fret and power chords. There is something in this book for nearly anyone interested in knowing how to play the guitar.

If you are an instructor you will find the comprehensive, organized approach very thorough and focused. If you are self-studying the instrument or a student seeking more than just another tabbed-out solo this is a book you can keep coming back to throughout your journey. I highly recommend it.

Billy Burke