Customer Reviews

Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One

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

 

 

I was a little shocked when I opened this book. There are a couple of 100 pages of exercises. I can see why this book is a textbook used at hot shot schools like Princeton and NYU. If you make it through this book you really will know your guitar from a different perspective. There is no "hot licks" found here...There is just page after page of exercises to ingrain where the notes for every chord on the guitar are and what notes make up each chord. The author has some very useful websites too. for tons of free exercise materials and muse-eek if I have any questions. I did have a question and found Mr. Arnold very forthcoming in answering. I don't think this book would be for everyone though. I'd say if your serious about really learning the guitar. ya know like knowing the notes and how to build chords etc. this is an essential book to work through. By the way I also just purchased the Music Theory Workbook Volume Two (call me crazy) Anyway, I'd have to say the second volume is way cool. You get the same crazy amount of exercises but thank god you get free midifiles from the muse-eek site to play along with. I highly recommend both these books for the serious minded guitarist

I think one would be fooling themselves if they thought this book is fun. Some things, like Music Theory on your instrument isn't easy. It's a challenge that many of us take on because we know that if we can understand our instrument through music theory we will be better able to express ourselves.

Don't buy this book if you are looking for a quick fix, it's a course of study where you have to fill in 100 pages of exercises to make sure you have memorized how every frick'n chord is built on the guitar. It's one thing to understand music theory, it's another to have a working knowledge of it and be able to use it like you use the language that you speak. I bought this book many years ago. I kept the filled in book just so I can show people one of the steps I took to get to where I am today. If you are serious about learning then I would seriously check out Mr. Arnold's books - their not the typical U.S.A. guitar edu-tainment books, they're in a class by themselves. If your looking for something entertaining or a book that just gives you a general understanding of music theory then you won't like this book. I have many music books and guitar books on my shelves. Mr. Arnold's books are definitely written for someone who wants to study on their own but get the same sort of education you would receive at Berklee College of Music, NYU, Princeton, etc ...

I like others have had multiple correspondences with Mr. Arnold. I was very impressed by his teaching skills and dedication to seeing me improve. If you don't understand something about this book or any of his books he's an email away, how much easier could it get? There is a huge database of questions people have asked. All you have to do is read it and you will have many doubts and questions answered. My recommendation is to check out the muse-eek website first. See for yourself what is involved. Their books are directly linked to amazon so you can go back and buy them if you want. I've noticed recently that they've added 100's of videos for many of their books. These are free mates, you just have to buy one book and your into a resource that is amazing.

Sorry for the edu-commercial, I've just seen some of the reviews and thought I'd give you my two cents on this stuff.

I own this book and 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist and I find them both to be well written and aimed toward the serious beginning guitarist. I would say if you just want to learn a few chords, know what a scale is and have vague knowledge of chord construction then this is definately not the book to get.

This book gives you a 100 pages or so of exercises where you have to fill in the answers to questions about how various chords are build. You have to fill in this information both on a staff and on a fretboard diagram. I've been working through this for a couple of weeks now and I'm on page 20 so you can see this isn't a quick study.

What I'm finding though is I'm starting to see interval relationships by just looking at the guitar which makes my ability to tell someone what the 5th of any key is or other such interval knowledge. So one of the bi-products of this book is it teaches you how see interval and chord relationships on the fretboard so you can use the visual information to find answers to any music theory related question that you might encounter. For instance I've been downloading some information on the internet about playing a blues riff and it talked about playing a 5th to a 6th on the low E and A string. I knew instantly what that was and could move it around to other strings and it made me understand and learn the blues quicker.

I think one of the best things about getting any of Mr. Arnold's books is it allows you to enter their member's area for free. This is an incredible resource filled with 100's of videos and MP3 files to help with various aspects of learning the guitar. Some of the resources are completed and some are still under construction. For instance The Music Theory Volume One book has videos on how to apply major triads to the guitar all over the neck. I've just started on this but it seems promising. I think it's going to help me directly apply the information I'm learning to the guitar fretboard in a musical way. Once again this is not easy, when I first watched the video I thought it was pretty overwhelming to learn the major triads all over the neck. I think the first video will probably take me a month to master. But I'm inspired to do this because Mr. Arnold shows in some of these videos how the major triad can be used as a music fill to sound like Jimi Hendrix. Since Hendrix is one of my idols this really made me want to learn the chords on the fretboard because I could see a direct application.

So I guess what I'd like to convey is this book is hard, not a whole lot of fun to do the exercises but I'm learning something that seems to be really helping and for me that's the trade off. I don't mind working hard if I get something back in return. If you are like that too then this is a good book to get.

I'll admit, I got into playing guitar just to learn the songs of my favorite bands. But, after awhile I got bored, and decided to really sit down and try to begin to master this instrument. Bruce Arnold's book is a great place to start, with Chord Workbook Volume One being a great supplement. In this book you'll learn (by endless practice) what notes make up what chords on the guitar, this process and knowledge may not seem important now, but if you stick with it, you might just start noticing patterns in guitar music. Knowing what notes make up the chord voicings you use, will, if you practice and stick with it, open up a whole new world of guitar playing for you: where you can improvise and solo and go off whenever you like, because you know what chords/notes go where. Give it time, and good luck!

Another amazing book by Mr. Arnold. Bruce knows damn well that most guitarists are self-taught, and therefore don't have the same music theory training that other instrumentalists do. This book is his response. In an easy to understand manner, Bruce has the reader learning music theory, how to build chords, and all in a workbook/quiz-like manner that is both challenging and enriching. I have used this book, and found that my guitar playing has improved because of it. I recommend this book to anyone aspiring to be a great player of ANY genre.

Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One is a serious workout. I wasn't just presented a bunch of music theory but was required to work through pages of exercises to make sure I not only understood the information presented, but had a working knowledge of it. I also found that muse-eek.com has a Frequently Asked Questions forum where I could contact Mr. Arnold to ask him questions that arose as I worked through the book. I really couldn't ask for more. It's was the next best thing to living in New York City and studying with a high calibre teacher-- all for the price of one book.

I have found nothing better than this, but you have to know that music theory is tough stuff. I am sure I will be entirely a better person if I can get through this book. I will certainly be a better guitar player. I actually love it but find it hard and slow going. This may say more about me that the book, but there you are. I have been learning blues and folk guitar for 18 months and feel I need this stuff.

I found this book to be a great investment. It took me about 2 months to work through the book but now I have a completely different understanding of the music theory and how it relates to my guitar. I also took advantage of the publishers website which is stock full of information and free downloadable information. Mr. Arnold also gives email support for his books so that was an added value. He didn't even mind if I was asking question not related to the book. A really great teacher!

Bruce Arnold is an accomplished jazz guitarist and educator. I reviewed three of his instruction books: 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist; Chord Workbook for Guitar; and Music Theory Workbook for Guitar.

I also listened to an incredible jazz music album he provided for my listening pleasure. As a player, he is awesome. As a writer of instruction manuals, he is very good for the more advanced student. I compared his books with the Mel Bay series, which I use for my students (and on which I learned). His go into much more depth than those I'm accustomed to. Ideally, I would introduce his material after a couple of months.

I am eager to see some of the other books he has in his series of over thirty instructional manuals. I believe depth is the best term to describe what this educator has to offer. He takes on some of the more difficult aspects for guitarists and digs deeply into the subject material. I would have killed to have manuals like these when I was in college.

This is a huge book with a ton of exercises. My only complaint is that the exercises are introduced without much explanation. There are about fifteen pages of explanation at the beginning, and then 100 pages of exercises. If you aren't prepared to dive right in to this book, then I'd suggest starting out with the Guitar Fretboard Workbook by Barrett Tagliarino, which contains less exercises but more thorough explanations. That way when you open this book, you'll already know what to expect and can move right along.