Customer Reviews

The Guitar Grimoire: A Compendium of Formulas for Guitar Scales and Modes

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Adam Kadmon, who is admittedly a completeness freak, has created one of the most complete scale books I've ever encountered. There are several qualms I have with this particular volume (not necessarily applicable to his other ones), which account for my low rating.

First, however, I must point out its positive qualities. The presentation format, while notably lacking standard notation, is excellent. It explains very well how to use the format in which the book is put together, and the author is very consistent in using that format, even when it seems excessive or redundant. Each scale section contains:
*mode generator chart with piano keyboard pattern;
*chord compatibility for each mode
*guitar neck patterns for each mode (both in position and "sweeping" or three-notes-per-string)
*Kadmon's patent numeric analysis of scale degrees, which he uses to explain theoretical aspects of things
*complete fretboard and individual positions for sweeping paterns for the scale/modes in each key

Besides the lack of standard notation, which I consider a necessity not for practical but for moral reasons, the author also neglects to point out the root of each scale in the diagrams. This is a minor drawback, but it can become an issue for people who aren't that familiar with theory. Although there is a basic explanation of where things come from in the introduction, it might be difficult to grasp for a reader that doesn't exact standard notation.

Another drawback is the inaccessible structure. The book is arranged into scales by the number of tones they contain, each of those sections further subdivided into types of scales that are not modes of each other. The modes are subsequently listed in each section of their respective parent scale, but not in the table of context. So this "professional reference tool" only works one way - you have to know the name of the scale you're looking for in order to use it. You're even worse off if you have to find a particular mode that is an unusual one. For example, how are you to know that Lydian #2 is actually the 6th mode of the Harmonic Minor scale. Granted you could figure it out from the name for this one, but suppose you need a mode/chord compatibility of some Hungarian-Gypsy-composite-enigmatic-dominant-II... you have nowhere to go. There is no semblance of an index that allows to find a scale and its related information based solely on the knowledge of the scale structure.

The last point I want to make, is that this book is actually not the most thorough scale reference of all possible ones. True, it stands above all others in the market, but it either lacks some highly exotic scales (Byzantine, Chinese Mongolian) or calls them by other names. It does include quite a number of other exotic scales (Hirojoshi, Neopolitan, Hungarian, etc).

This is a good book, but its usefulness is often limited to development by research, and the nomenclature of "reference book" may be misleading in application to this particular one. Perhaps this is remedied on the DVD or in the subsequent volumes.

This impressive tome explains scales, and their various modes, in the most comprehensable manner I've ever seen.

Not only are they explained, just about every scale you could want to play is plotted out for you on the fretboard diagrams. Every pattern. Every position. Except for ummm... Chinese Mongolian??? Well, I couldn't care less what's *not* covered because what *is* covered is more than adequate. If you even know that Chinese Mongolian scales exist, you don't need this book.

However, if you're a beginning guitarist who has mastered the basic fundamentals - such as how to press the string onto the frets - this book (and all of Kadmon's books) is a must investment. If you're an intermediate level guitarist, this is a must have. If you're an advanced guitarist, this is a must have.

Fourteen 7 tone scales are covered: Major, Melodic Minor, Harmonic Minor & Major, Hungarian Min & Maj, Neapolitan Min & Maj, Enigmatic Minor, Enigmatic, Composite II, Ionian b5, Locrian #7, and Persian.

Three 5 tone scales are covered: Minor Pentatonic (the blues scale), Kumoi and Hirojoshi.

Four 6 tone scales: Whole Tone, Augmented, Pelog, Dominant Sus.

Six 8 tone scales: Diminished, 8 Tone Spanish, Bebop Locrian #2, Bebop Dominant, Bebop Dorian and Bebop Major.

Every scale is mapped out in every key... on a full fretboard... and in individual patterns. The keyboard patterns are even diagramed so you can see how the scale looks on a keyboard. Perfect for MIDI musicians. Quick Mode Generator charts. Scale/Mode - Chord Charts. Numeric Scale/Mode charts.

You want to understand the scales and their modes and have the patterns mapped out for you so you can look at them while you practice?

Buy this book.

And there's nothing wrong with the books binding either... unless you regularly walk on it or abuse it in some manner such as spilling bear or puking on it. That might ruin the binding.

- Alleyrat

Do guitar players really think that it's worth [...] bucks to have this guy show them the same pattern or idea printed over and over again in every single key? Or is it just cool to have a thick book with nice fonts and cool looking little charts (even though they're totally redundant)? I don't get why these books are so popular. They're short on ideas and long on wasting paper. It's like the old chord dictionaries that show you a million voicings but don't teach you a damned thing about how to use them, or how voice leading works, or how the notes interact with each other in an actual progression.

If you want a better scale book, there are dozens of better ones on the market that will actually teach you not only patterns but how to apply them, how to use them to make music, etc. Check out Don Mock's Guitar Secrets Revealed books, Ted Greene's Single Note Soloing Books, or even Guthrie Govan's books are much, much better than this. Want free resources? Look up scalculator on google, or look up "modes of melodic minor", or "modes of harmonic minor", or "exotic scales", or "CAGED patterns". You'll have more than you can work on in a lifetime in 2-3 clicks.

Kadmon seems like he's trying to hide the real concepts and expects you to look on page 164 to learn the Ab version of the same pattern you learned in F, instead of telling you to just move your hands up a minor third -- which makes sense since he sells more books when an insecure guitar player thinks he needs to be shown everything over and over again. He gets richer, guitar students get frustrated and overwhelmed (and poor). Do yourself a favor and spend your [...] bucks on a better book than this.

At first when I opened this book, I felt lost. It was like reading German. But after a few sit downs without my guitar in my hands, it came very clear. The introductory sections on intervals, scales and modes were fantastic. I've read a bunch of guitar books, and this is the only one that precisely and adequately describes intervals so that you know exactly what they are. It's just a great great book.

I bought this book with the expectation that it would explain how to play all of the scales and modes. The book is actually more of a reference, just shoving all the scales at you and saying "Here, that's all of them".

First, the "How to use this book" section at the beginning just explains what's on the pages, not actually how to use the book. At the beginning of each new scale section (27ish in all), there is a title page that shows diagrams of the scale and modes of that scale. Most of the book's 209 pages are just fretboard diagrams, in sweeping style, and worth almost nothing unless you want to look up the sweeping pattern for a G dorian #4 scale at the 6th fret, or something similar. I believe it would be ridiculous to sit down and try to play through this book; there's just too much information in it. The first 15 pages are an excellent quick rundown of necessary music theory, which is explained quite well, but after that, there is not a hint of teaching or explanation.

The short version: If you want an excellent scales reference, or you need to know how to play a D bebop dorian scale at the 4th fret, this book is for you. If you're looking for some kind of method on scales, or how they are used over chords, look elsewhere.

No, this is not a book for a beginner...but EVERY GUITARIST should have this book (and the ENTIRE Guitar Grimiore series) on their bookshelves! I have been playing the guitar for 31 years, and, quite frankly, I got pretty bored with my playing after the first 25 years. I could play virtually every pop/rock song by ear, eccept for my favorites: Zappa and Vai. NOW, after having all fo the scales broken down for me--with a COMPLETE COVER PAGE diagraming EVERY PIECE OF MUSIC THEORY YOU NEED TO KNOW IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND EACH INDIVIDUAL SCALE/MODE, I understand EXACTLY what Vai is doing when he adds a flatted 2 or a sharped 4. I had played mostly Pentatonic scales, with the addition of the Ionian and Aeolian Diatonic scales. Now, after just three months of owning these books, I'm writing songs using the PHRYGIAN and DORIAN modes, and I know EXACTLY what I'm doing and WHY the notes I am playing work. The greatest thing I have learned from Adam Kadmon (by the way, if you didn't know, the name ADAM KADMON is obviously not the cat's real name who wrote the book--it IS, however, the name of the 'first man' in the mystical Judaic tradition of Kabbalah).
I will be the first to admit that the first time I picked up this book I got I big headache and put it back on the shelf at the bookstore. Then, I decided to buy the CHORDS AND VOICINGS book and it inspired the heck out of me==and cleared up specific concepts of music theory that had been baffling my mind for the past 30+years.
Before buying this book you should have a CLEAR UNDERSTANDING of the I-II-III-IV-V-VI-VII-(I) (i.e. Do--re--me...) concept. Then, buy this book and learn how to play all of the different guitar modes, exotic scales, etc.
Most importantly, I believe every guitarist should own this book because knowing the scales all over the fretboard clearly outlines WHERE CHORDS COME FROM; WHY THEY WORK IN CERTAIN PROGRESSIONS; HOW TO FIND THE SAME CHORDS IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS ALL OVER THE FRETBOARD; and besides, it's pretty darn cool being able to understand what VAI is playing while listening along to his INCREDIBLE musical compositions. I would personally like to thank the 'Wizard', Mr. Kadmon, for revealing the mystery of music theory to me.
Before closing, I would like to add that this book is not only for the
rock' guitarist, but it also gave me a better understanding of JAZZ and how/why certain JAZZ chord progressions and lead scales work together.
EVen if you know every single scale in the world (I doubt anyone was [...] enough to seek out all of the scales in this book!), the Guitar Grimoire lays out the scales in traditional fashion as well as the groundbreaking 'sweeping' fashion.
I'm actually writing music that I LOVE to listen to but never understood before. For someone who's been playing for 31 years, I think that's testament enough. Have fun with your playing--and if you're a beginner, don't let all of the dots give you a headache: find someone who can help you make heads and tales of the book. You'll thank them later, when you're an accomplished musician!

Good book. Has about every scale and mode of the scale that every guitarist could want and more then most will ever use. However the book qualitys kind of [bad]. After a few weeks the first 20 pages of the book came out. Aside from that its a good scale book.

I've owned this book for years and have used it to write musically correct songs on the guitar which I otherwise never could have. This basically unlocks the jazz mode scales commonly used in bebop jazz to anyone. Once you get used to how the chord charts can be used to create progressions to solo over using the accompanying scale charts, you are only limited by your creativity. Hint: the chord charts show you how to play a chord progression while remaining in key, and you have your choice of scales to play over it.

I bought this book in conjunction with Kadmon's companion DVD. The DVD's production is good but the imagery is cheesy but hey, some folks like cheese. The info he provides in the DVD is good & solid.

Theory wise, the book is not meant for a beginner but in truth it can be used by a beginner if they are patient & willing to take time to figure some things out for themselves. Like a lot of the reviewers, the scale diagrams do not designate where the root notes are. So what? Why must everything be made simple for guitarists? It's not a simple instrument to play. If you want a simple instrument, try percussion or a keyboard.

If you look at a lot of the reviewers who dislike this book, they are guys who've had formal training in guitar. They seem to be well versed in theory & most likely can sight read. Okay that's great but theory is not for everyone.

Most of your favorite guitarists out there in Rock, Blues & Country are self taught & barely know any theory yet they're accomplished professionals. I don't recognize any big names in the ranks of the reviewers of this book so it seems to me as if most of them have a huge bone to pick with Kadmon. (His books ARE popular & their's isn't!)

The best thing in this book that I liked was the sweep patterns. I enjoy learning patterns & playing them. They help my understanding as well as my finger dexterity. Do not get me wrong, there are other excellent things in this book and if you take time, study & more importantly apply them, your playing WILL expand on its own.

I would recommend you work this book in conjunction with two other books: "Scales & Modes in the Beginning" by Ron Middlebrook and "Fretboard Logic Vols 1-3" by Bill Edwards. These two books comprise the CAGED System which would make an excellent foundation for you to learn from. Once you've mastered that concept, then use this book as a supplemental reference.

I would also recommend getting "The Guitar Handbook" by Ralph Denyer because that book will give you a tremendous overview of the instrument, how to play it & it also provides enough suggestions & hints that will make your playing more fluid. The chord dictionary in the back is priceless as it covers almost every chord you'd run across in Rock, Blues & Country.

I think too many look at Kadmon's books to be more involved than what he intended them to be. Truth is you can't please everyone. Kadmon DOES explain what he's doing in his grimoire of scales. The first section where he explains HOW to use this book is invaluable so you can follow along & learn as needed. Study his "The Building Blocks of Music" and get a heads up on what is to come later.

IF you're NOT interested in learning theory, then just look up the key you desire to play your scales in & then follow his examples. For many guitarists, this is simple enough & plenty for their needs. They don't need to know the W-W-H-W-W-W-H formula for the Major scale & so on for other scales as many theory books are wont to instruct you in.

Kadmon gives you exactly what he says on the cover: scales & modes. He doesn't go into a huge amount of theory & explanation since the audience he's selling to is not interested in learning theory.

I rate this book a solid 4 out of 5 stars. I would've given it 5 out of 5 IF he'd provided the designated root notes in the scales but I'm sure that'd put production behind & caused the book to cost more money.

This particular volume has been a solid reference since I purchased it 3 years ago, and I would advise anyone interested in developing a thourough grasp of improvisational theory to purchase this book and begin applying it to his or her playing.

Though this book does not include standard notation or sequential tablature for scales, it presents the scales in their most immediately applicable state by simply marking them in dots accross the fretboard. As an improvisor, learning the scales as positions and sweeping patterns has been far more useful than learning specific noted sequences that might confine creativity and application to those specific sequences. Since part of musical intelligence is learning many different terms for similar concepts, adding the concepts in this book should not be considered an obstacle to classical theory in any way.

The theoretical information is also excellent and specifically relates to guitar fretboard logic rather than outlining theory abstractly, then asking the reader to connect the dots through a number of exercises.

In the title, I specified this book for the advanced player. This book contains hundreds of positions of scales, most of which are not applicable to the popular music that beginning guitarists enjoy learning. Instead of a piece-of-cake instructional volume, it is a gigantic reference useful to guitarists truly interested in developing a vast knowledge of guitar scales and modes as they related to improvisational playing.