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Music Theory Workbook for Guitar

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Q	I just recently bought your book "Music Theory for Guitar, Vol, 1" and started doing the exercises titled "Basic Intervals" on page 16. I'm recently new to playing guitar and have learned that the notes appears many times on the fret board. In doing the first exercise and my answers do not correspond always to your answers. For example, the first question after the example given has a D and a C sharp. Would it be wrong for the D to be played on the open forth string and the C sharp on the second fret? Is there a reason why the notes are started on a particular string and fret in your book that I am not understanding or is there another possible right answer than the one given?
A	First, thanks for buying the "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One." Your answer regarding the fingering of a D to a C sharp is correct. There are many correct answers for each exercise in the book; so many that the books would have become prohibitively expensive to print. I chose to use answers that were mostly within a five fret range on the neck of the guitar. Muse-eek has set up an area for customers that own one of their books where additional free information can be downloaded. You will find the alternate answers to Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One in this area. Go to main book page and you will see a link for this member's area on the left side of the page. You will see by looking at these alternate answer files that there are A LOT of right answers, and if I included all open string possibilities there would have been even more. I highly recommend that customers who own one of the muse-eek books check this member's area out. There are many extra files for music theory, ear training, rhythm and is constantly growing with new information to help you develop your musical potential.

Q	Thank you for the books you have put together. I am new to music theory and newly learning the acoustic guitar. I have taken one semester of guitar at a University and I am presently enrolled in Fingerstyle Guitar 2 and Guitar Chord Theory. I was looking at Amazon for additional books to supplement my learning, and I found your books. I have purchased the first and second volumes of the Chord Workbooks. The information contained within those two volumes about chords is impressive, and I'm sure as I grow in my development I will find it all indispensable. However, I was wondering if you have written a book that describes scales in detail? My Guitar Chord Theory class just started and there is quite a mix of beginners to advanced guitarists. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by their knowledge of guitar/music theory and my almost complete lack of it in comparison. I'd like to learn how to build scales, the best way to study them, and I'd like to play them with ease. I do have a workbook provided by the University that is helpful, but it seems written more for the student who has more knowledge than I. It doesn't explain which finger goes where when you start at the second position, or what does it mean to be at the second position, etc... It assumes that I will understand this already. I didn't skip any prerequisites for the class, so I feel I must need additional instruction. Can you tell me if a beginner will find it easy to grasp scales and how to perform them by purchasing your Music Theory for Guitar Vol. 2. I realize that I should probably purchase both Vol. 1 and 2, but I'm a little tight for spending money after buying all my books for 19 credits. I'd like to just get the one that will help me right now, and I'd get the others later. Also, A Big Metronome, is it helpful for sight reading guitar sheet music and understanding the timing between notes? I'd love to have some more practice with that as well. Thank you very much for your time, and I'll be looking forward to your response.
A	Thanks for contacting me and thanks for buying my books. I think the 2nd volume of the Chord Workbook may be a little over your head to start with. But you should find that once you get comfortable with the chords in Chord Workbook Volume One the chords in Volume Two will be particularily helpful when you start playing with ensembles. The chords in Volume One are more commonly used in solo and duet playing. The chords in Volume Two are more useful when playing with an ensemble because in those situations one doesn't generally play any notes on the two lowest strings on the guitar. That's because the two low strings can interfere with the bass player's range and cause a muddy sound. Using chords based on the upper four strings keeps your sound more separate and discreet and can also help you work better with a piano player. As far as scales go I would highly recommend getting the 2nd volume of the music theory for guitar. This book gives you information on how to build 22 scales and also gives you exercises to help you memorize each scale. Also the muse-eek website gives you a bunch of audio examples so you can start applying these scales. If you need help on how to practice scales go to www.arnoldjazz.com and go to the music workshop. If you look under the scale section you will find 19 scales that you can download for free and these will give you the fingerings and how to play them all over the guitar neck. You definately should not get The Big Metronome. This book is for intermediate to advanced musicians looking to improve their internal concept of time. Obviously it would help you but I think for now you need to work on the basic mechanics of music. If you want to help your recognition of notes on the guitar via notes on a page I would recommend Single String Studies for guitar Volume One. This will give you exerices on one string at a time so you can concentrate on learning were each note is on each string in relation to the notes you see on a music staff. As far as rhythm goes I would recommend Rhythm Primer. This will not explain the timing between notes but it will give you simple rhythms that you can learn. If you run into a rhythm you don't understand, e-mail me or check the FAQ page where your question may have already been addressed. It sounds like you are very dedicated to learning music the right way and I applaude you for this. You are the type of person I have written my books for and I'm glad you have found them useful. I wish you great success and don't hesitate to contact me if you have more questions. By the way postions on the guitar neck refer to the fret that you place your index finger on. so... if you start playing something on the 5th fret with your first finger on the 5th fret you are playing in 5th position. I too was mystified when I fist started studying at Berklee, as to what they meant when they talked about position. but its really that simple---it's where you put your index finger that determines the position.

Q	I've recently purchased your Music Theory and Chord Theory workbooks and find them to be excellent sources for studying the guitar. However, I do need clarification on the "Cycle 5" Movement through the cycle 5, (C,F,Bb,Eb, etc.) is in 4th's (5 half steps) and not in 5th's as I previously assumed - Please explain. Also, I know the study/practice pace will vary depending on the student's time, motivation, etc. but is there a recommended pace for your workbooks?
A	Thanks for buying the books and I'm glad you are finding them useful. Cycle 5 can be thought of in two ways. The most common way is to think moving UP in 7 half steps i.e. C to G etc or 5 diatonic step in the key of C C i.e. C to D to E to F to G equals 5 steps or a 5th. But, you can also think of moving DOWN 7 half steps from C which would be the note F. Once again if you are in the key of C you could also move down 5 diatonic steps i.e. C to B to A to G to F which equals 5 steps or a 5th. The reason I use the cycle moving to down rather than up is because of the way music (particularly contemporary music) moves in many compositions, i.e. it modulates through keys moving DOWN the cycle 5 pattern. But, really either way will work when practicing your theory or chord work. As far as how to work through the "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One and Two" I would learn maybe 10 to 15 chords moving them cycle 5 the way I recommend in the book. This will help to make sure you know these chords in all keys and will also help you memorize the notes on the two lowest strings on the guitar. The next step would be to skip to the progressions in the back of the book. By learning chord progressions you will hear how these chords relate to real music and it will help you to memorize each new chord. One of my main criticisms of other chord books is that you aren't given enough examples of how these chords are used and what they sound like in a musical example. I noticed through my many years of teaching that if you don't apply chords to a musical situation it is almost impossible to remember a chord voicing for a long period of time. In "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" I would recommend doing a page a day. Some of my students also do one example from 10 different pages a day because they feel it helps them remember chords better. The most important thing is to at least do some work everyday. In "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two" I would recommend taking one scale writing out the answers and then applying that scale to the midifile chord progressions found on the Muse-eek website. Once again some of my students do one example from 2 or 3 different scales a day because they feel it helps them remember scales better. The most important thing is to at least do some work everyday, and applying these scales to the midifile progressions is a must. Really the bottom line of both theory books is to keep you "thinking the notes." Over time you will see a pattern developing which is OK as long as you know what the notes are and you are not relying on a pattern. With all practicing, consistency is the key. Whatever amount you can do always try to practice every day rather than once every few days. I wish you good luck and feel free to write back if anything I have said is unclear.

Q	I'm reading your great book "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" and I'd like to ask you about some doubts that I have: On page 3 you say that there is no sharp or flat between E and F, and B and C. Ok, I did all the exercises for Basic Intervals and Larger Intervals with that premise. Now I'm doing the exercises on page 18 and I found that in the exercise number 4 on the second line there is an E#. In this exercise you ask for a G# major triad. So to create the Major triad I need: a major third on the bottom which equals 4 half steps which is a C not a B# and a minor third in the top which equals 3 half steps equals D#. My answers is G#, C, D#. Now if you check the Major Triad Answers on page 109, you will find G#, B#,D#. I find the same thing in the exercise on page 18, third line, Exercise one which asks for a C# major triad, so following the rules I found the answer to be C#, F, G#. The answer in page 109 is C#, E#, G#. So, is there is a mistake in the book's answers oram I doing something wrong? I also have another question. I don´t understand the meaning of the Natural Sign. Ok, thanks for responding and I'd like to say congratulations for your books.
A	You have asked very good questions which come up frequently with students. First let me say that on a fixed pitch instrument, like the Guitar, Piano, most Woodwinds and Brass etc., a B# is the same note as a C and a E# is the same as an F. If you play an non-fixed pitch instrument like a violin, trombone, or voice, musicians will sometimes make a note a little sharper or flatter depending on the music and the quality of the musician. For all practical purposes though, in WESTERN notation methods, (we are not talking about for example, Indian music with all its microtones) a B# is a C, an E# is an F. You will also notice in the Music Theory Books, that I use double sharps (X) and flats (bb). So, for instance a CX is the same as the note D and a Bbb is the same as the note A. The reason that all these notes have such unusual names is because of the system of notation that has been developed over the last three hundred years (or so). Basically it works like this. If you have a C major scale you would have the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. If you have a C# major scale the notes would be C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B#, C#. You can see that for each note in the scale we use a different consecutive letter of the alphabet and then apply sharps or flats to make these notes the correct pitch. I have recieved quite a few complaints about this from students asking why I bother to use these unusual spellings of notes, chords and scales. I believe that even though the accepted system of notation is more difficult it is my responsibility as an educator to let you know the correct way music theory is thought of by the established conventions. At the same time I will say that I do often think of a B# as C and an E# as F, but on the other hand I've also spent a lot of time learning keys like G# major (G#, A#, B#, C#, D#, E#, FX, F#) and Cb major Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb because they occasionally show up and you need to be able to read and function in those keys when they do. If you are constructing a G# major triad, a major third on the bottom is made of 4 half steps up from G# so it would be the actual note C but because you need to use a different note name for each degree of the scale you will have to alter the note C and make it a B#. and then add a D# which is another 4 half steps above the B# to complete the triad. Therefore the notes would be G#, B#, D#. There is also a little helpful device you can use when building chords and scales, which is mentioned on page 13 of the "Music Theory for Guitar Volume One". If you have a chord like Fb major triad first you write out an F, an A, and a C because these notes are every other degree of the scale and are some kind of third interval apart. Now you need to use sharps or flats (in this case flats) to make the chord conform to the 4 halfs between the 2 bottom notes and 3 half steps between the two top notes. Therefore you would have Fb, Ab and Cb. You also asked about a Natural sign. A natural sign is used to (1) describe the condition of a note, and (2) as an accidental, as are sharp and flat signs. Accidentals are used to temporarily alter the degree of a note so that it does not "fit" into the key signature that a piece is mainly written in. You might encounter a piece written in C major, where the composer wants to have the sound of a G# in there, you would see a # sign in front of the G. This would only apply for one measure. If the composer wants that G# in there again, there would have to be a # next to the G in the next measure too. Natural signs are used in the same way. Therefore if you had a measure of music where you had an Ab followed by an A you would have to put a natural sign in front of the A to cancel the Ab. Remember that all occurences of sharps flats and natural signs only apply to the measure they are in so with each new measure you will have to use these these alterations again. In modern practice a sign used as an accidental affects the note immediately following and is valid for all the notes of the same pitch (but not in different octaves) within the same measure. Let me reiterate that when using a key signature like the ones mentioned on page 5 on the "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" you wouldn't need to write out every occurance of let's say an F# in the key of G because the key signature does that automatically for you. But, you would have to still write in the natural sign if you wanted to alter a note that is an accidental in the key signature. For instance if you wanted to make the F# an F natural. If any of this isn't clear feel free to contact me again.

Q	Do you have to know how to read music to use this book? I'm a beginner and I'm starting to feel like a parrot playing songs with no understanding of how or why it works. I want to learn much more. Do you have any suggestions? If this book isn't right for me, which one is?
A	That's pretty funny about feeling like a parrot; I like the analogy. You don't need to know how to read music to work with the "Music Theory Workbooks" because both of them teach you the basics of reading music so that you can work through the exercises. "Music Theory Workbook Volume One" helps to develop your ability to spell chords and know what notes are in each chord type along with what tensions are available for each chord. It also teaches where the notes for each of these chords are on the guitar. "Music Theory Workbook Volume Two" teaches you 22 scales in all keys and gives you typical progressions to use to improvise with the scales. There are audio examples of each scale on the muse-eek website. Both books also talk about the typical chords that make up chord progression and why. Of course no book can cover every chord progression and explain how it works. That's part of the reason for the info@muse-eek.com and the faq@muse-eek.com which is a forum where you, the student can ask specific questions. Building an understanding of the "hows and whys" of music really requires many different tools. Using the Music Theory books is like learning the alphabet of a new language. Building sentences, paragraphs and stories would be the next step. I have books that will help you with that phase when you get there. Remember that consistency and having a regimen of practice when working through these books is the key. Try to do at least a few of the exercises every day. If you have any more questions let me know

Q	I have a question about Page 20, Row 6th, Excercise 3rd : I made the Diminished Triad and when I checked the answer on page #111, I saw that B was shown on the 5 fret on the 3rd string ??? Should'nt the B note be on the 4 fret of the 3rd string?
A	Well, I'm impressed you actually found a mistake in the book. The B should be on the 4th fret on the G string and not the 5th. Of all the 100's of students I've had work through that book your the first to notice this mistake. I even had the book proof read by two graduate students and they missed it too. I guess anyone would get a little cross eyed after looking at those answer pages for to long. Anyway I hope you are not to upset to find a mistake. Both Muse-eek and I have made every effort to catch mistakes and misprints, but with thirty-six and counting technical books to proofread, some get past us. We will have a "corrections" page up at the muse-eek.com website in about a month. You will be able to download a PDF file of this page so your book will be correct. And because of your comments, we will of course be correcting all future printings of the book (From today on, as a matter of fact!)--so thanks again. 03/30/00 If you have any other questions or comments please let me (us) know. We are striving to make Muse-eek an excellent distance learning company for music education. We hope to provide students with the tools to become first rate musicians and to clear up misconceptions and bad practice habits that can plague their progress.


Q	I don't understand how transposition works with the guitar. I realize that guitar is a transposing instrument when you read a written part but I don't understand what that means. Could you explain it to me?
A	Well this transposition stuff does get confusing doesn't it. Let me give you a couple of examples that will help you see how to write for the guitar and also understand what you are reading when you play guitar music. First, let me say that the guitar is a transposing instrument and sounds an octave below where piano music is written. So, let's say I'm composing a melody at the piano and I want the melody to be C, D and E starting on middle C on the piano. If I want the guitar to play this melody in the same octave that it is sounding on the piano I will have to write this on the 3rd space of the staff for C, moving to the 4th line for D and then the 4th space for E. As you can see the guitar is reading notes an octave above so that the sound will come out in the same octave of the piano. Second, let say you are reading a guitar part and the first three notes are C (one ledger line below the treble clef or what would commonly thought of as middle C) to D space below lowest line and E first line of the treble clef. When you play the first note C this is not sounding in the same octave as middle C it is the pitch one octave below middle C. As you can see from these two examples the guitar as far as pitch is concerned is a fairly low sounding instrument - (the low e-string sounds way down an octave and a minor sixth below middle C) but with a very broad range of notes; at least four octaves. This actually is one of the reasons they made the guitar a transposing instrument because it would need both the bass and the treble clef to accomodate all the notes on the instrument. Rather than have guitar written with a grand staff (grand staff is when you use both the bass and treble clefs together, like piano) they just use the treble clef but make the guitar a transposing instrument. It's really ultimately easier to do it that way. (--you don't want to have to read grand staff, do you?) Single String Studies is written for guitar, therefor it is already transposed into the treble clef for you . But remember if you read middle C in an exercise, you are playing the 3rd fret of the A string and it is actually sounding an octave below this note. If you are playing along with a pianist and looking over their shoulder at treble clef, you will have to play an octave higher on your instrument if you want to play the same pitch and blend with the piano.. Hopefully this helps you understand and picture how this system works.

Q	I recently purchased your "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" and just started looking at it. (I've been playing (mostly by ear) for 11 years, and am really excited to learn some theory!) However, I noticed that it says the exercises were designed for a 24 fret guitar, and as I counted the frets on my guitar, I found only 20 (or is it 21, do you count the last fret by the sound hole?). Will I need to modify the exercises in any way since I have fewer frets? I apologize if this is answered in the book...like I said, I only got thru the first few pages, and just wanted to get this cleared up before I start. Thanks for your help with this!
A	First, Thanks so much for buying Music Theory Workbook for Guitar. I wrote the book thinking that most people would be playing electric guitar, and many of those have twenty four frets. Would I be correct in assuming you are playing an acoustic guitar? If so, don't worry. For the purposes of learning music theory, it will be fine, since I believe the highest note used in the book is on the 20th fret. The only difference is that it is much EASIER for you to physically play the notes on a 24 fret guitar when the exercises are found on the upper range of the neck. The main thing is memorize where the notes are on the guitar fretboard and understand how each interval or chord is build using standard musical notation. I hope you enjoy the book. Learning music theory is a lot like mastering a foreign language--it requires work and memorization to learn the grammar and vocabulary, so it isn't always easy. But if you can get it to the point that you can just think and speak it, you will be able to communicate what is inside you to other people in newer and more eloquent ways. Good luck!

Q	Let me ask you something : Page 21, 3rd row,exercise 3: I found the following answer: F on 5th string, fret 8; A on 4th string fret 7 and C# on 3rd string fret 6 but the answer on pag.112 is F on 4th string, fret 3; A on 3rd string fret 2 and C# on 2nd string fret 2. The notes are the same, but the position on the fretboard is different. If you see the exercise just above, second row exercise 3 is just 1/2 step up of each note : F# on 5th string, fret 9; A# on 4th string fret 8 and Cx on 3rd string fret 7 Why the diference ?
A	There are many places to play the same notes on the guitar. In the example you cite there are 3 places to play those notes. If we just look at the F (1st space on the treble clef) this note could be on the D String 3rd fret, A string 8th fret and the 13th fret of the E string. Therefore there are 3 right answers for this example. This points out one of the reasons why the exercises in a book like Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One are so important. The guitar has so many notes that are doubled that it makes it very confusing for a student to know where to play notes that are written on the staff. The music theory book makes you aware of this problem. Some students have asked why I didn't write down every possibility. I could have given the starting note for the first exercises but I wanted to force the student into finding the note on the fretboard without any help. You must also realize that this would have given the book two to three times more pages. To try and keep the price down I decided to just put one answer for pages 16 to 36, so it is possible that your answer is correct even though it is different from what is written in the book. After page 36 I have given you the starting note so this forces you into one position for each exercise, but of course there would be more correct answers if you started on another string. In general, you should not discount your answer right away if it differs from the answer in the book. Think it through, and see if your answer could be correct. You may find your answer can work too. Of course if you believe your answer is correct but want to be sure, you can always contact me. Some students just change their answer to the book's answer until they get stronger with note recognition on the fretboard. Either way, you are thinking about where the notes are located on the guitar which is what I'm trying to encourage you to do. Let me know if you have any other questions. We are in the planning stages of a new section for the Muse-eek website. Soon we will have a place that is especially for people who have bought and are working seriously with the books. They can log on and get all the alternative answers, on downloadable pages. We are also planning to have tests that will be very like "midterm" and "final" exams. We'll even give diplomas!! But we haven't got that part quite figured out yet! Stay in touch

Q	I really enjoy the book. I've been moving lately and have put it down but will start again soon. I have been studying West African balafon for the last few years and I was so excited to hear about the proposed exercises that I sat right down and ordered it at my next internet session. I'm also strongly considering applying to Berklee. Do you have any tips? thanks again
A	It's hard to mention everything you might need to prepare for when entering Berklee College of Music or any college to study music. One big thing will apply at most music colleges: You will have very little time to actually play your instrument. This is because music colleges will initially try to improve your basic musicianship skills, like music theory, sight reading to develop your recognition and performance of rhythm and melody, and ear training. The colleges must bring the students up to a basic level of musicianship before anything further or more exciting is taught. So if you can get yourself up to that level BEFORE you go, you will really get a lot more out of the program, and you will get to play your instrument a lot more. I would recommend working through as many of my rhythm books as you can. i.e. "Rhythms 1-3", "Rhythm Primer", "Odd Meters", "Contemporary Rhythms 1-2" "Independence One". You should be able to read these books at the following tempos: "Rhythms One" at half note equals 120 (metronome on 1 and 3 and also 2 and 4) "Rhythms Two" at quarter equals 120 (metronome on every beat) "Rhythms Three" at quarter equals 50 (metronome on every beat) "Rhythms Primer" whole note equals 100 (metronome one beat per measure) "Contemporary Rhythms One" same as Rhythms One "Contemporary Rhythms Two" same as Rhythms Two "Independence One" various tempos depending on exercise For music theory I would work through "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume's One and Two". Even if you are not a guitar player you could work through the exercises because each problem requires that you answer it in traditional notation (guitarists are also required to place the notes on the fretboard.) If you can bring your music theory up to a level where it is a language you can speak fluently you will get a lot more out of music school For ear training I would recommend getting" Ear Training: One note" either Beginning or Intermediate level depending on your background (read more about the book at amazon or on muse-eek's website to make your choice) I would also purchase "A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing". If you can get your ear to the point that you understand what's going on by just hearing the notes you can process music and musical concepts much faster. I know this sounds like a lot of work but this can make a major difference in your success at college and in music in general.

Q	I am a beginner of actual guitar instruction, but have played for 2 years. Anyway, I was wondering if you were to place your books in order of "importance for beginners" or "best way to learn" and the student had the amply time and money to focus his/hers time and energy into the books what order would you recommend them? I have already bought your, "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume 1" and already (in only a week in fact) have learned tons about what makes chords, why certain chords go together etc, but is there a book of yours that would be more beneficial in the long run to study before this one? I realize that all students have different wants/desires out of the guitar but could you please give me a kind of "road map"? Thanks again Mr. Arnold, and I look forwarding to getting better at the guitar through your books.
A	Regarding a regimen of study with my books, I recommend starting with "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume 1" and "Theory Workbook for Guitar" Volume 1 or Volume 2 (you don't have to complete Volume One before going to Volume 2) Along with this I recommend getting started with Ear Training. You should at least work with "Ear Training: One Note Beginning" and at some point not too far in the future you should start working with "A Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training." You should download the proper way to play scales, which is located on the www.arnoldjazz.com music workshop site. This will give you a good base to start from. Also you should get yourself a tape recorder so you can record some chords/vamps to play over. Keep in mind that there are 5 basic areas that you should be working on to develop properly: 1. Music Theory 2. Chord Work 3. Ear Training 4. Scale work 4. Improvisation (playing over chord progressions)-- basically being creative! This is where you apply the chords, scales, theory you've been working so hard to learn. This will also develop your ear and your musical connection to real music. You should also register for the "members area" on the main book page of muse-eek.com Over the next year muse-eek will be adding extra text and audio files, videos and other educational information which is free for you, being an owner of one of my books.

Q	I have played guitar for 10 years but have never become what I would call an accomplished guitar player status. I've also taken a number of theory courses in High School, at UT Austin, and at MIT. None of them applied to guitar and I've never really been able to retain the theory. I've always played by ear and so have never gained any knowledge of the theory with respect to guitar. So you can assume I don't know the scales or chord names etc... Now in August I will be leaving to travel for leisure around the world for 1 year. We will be backpacking and I will be taking a Martin Backpacker guitar. I would like to use some of this time to get back into playing. What I would like you to help me with is to locate the right materials for me to meet my goals and/or to have some insight from you on how my goals may need to change. Basically, I'd like to learn more guitar theory enough so that I can also spend some time learning to play Jazz. So, I am trying to figure out the right guitar theory book/s and Jazz book/s to take with me. I am considering your books but would like your opinion on what would be reasonable and appropriate to take. Keeping in mind that I cannot carry more than a few books. I truly appreciate any time you take to help me make my decisions.
A	For your trip I would recommend either Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One or Two and Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One. The Theory Workbook will give you the same theory you learned in your classes but it is completely geared to the guitar fretboard. The Chord Workbook will teach you chord voicings (many of them you might already know) and have you apply them to 36 chord progressions found in the back of the book. When learning theory or chord usage, application is the only way I have found to memorize and ingrain this knowledge so that it becomes a natural part of one's musical ability. Let me also say a few things about each book. 1. The Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One teaches you how to build chords from simple triads to highly complex chords. You have to write the notes found in each chord on a staff and also write out where these notes would be on the guitar. This directly applies music theory to your guitar and makes all the difference as far as actually using this knowledge when playing the guitar. 2. The Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two teaches you how to build scales. You have to write on a staff where the notes are found in each scale, and also write out where these scale degrees would be on the guitar. Once again this directly applies music theory to your guitar and makes all the difference as far as actually using this knowledge when playing the guitar. 3. The Chord Workbook will teach you chord voicings but not every chord voicing under the sun, only the voicings professional guitarists use. The voicings found in Volume One always have the root in the bottom voice. Volume Two gives you the upper four string voicings. This book also teaches you how to reharmonize a chord progression. The 36 chord progressions in the back of the book show you how to apply the reharmonization techniques. The chord progressions are presented in two formats. a. Chord symbols with a fret number to guide you to the right voicing b. Chord voicings (just the notes) which forces you to figure out chords based on the notes only. FYI At Berklee College of Music and many other Universities, not to mention in the professional world, you are required to read music where only chord voicings are given. This is extremely hard if you haven't put in the time to learn to read in this fashion. I should point out that though even a beginning guitarist could use any of these books, they are designed to prepare a guitarist for a professional career in music. Whenever possible these book approach music from the perspective of how you, the player, will encounter music in the "real world." Consequently these books are not "fun" and I must emphasize to you that they are very hard work. But if you stick with it, your musical ability will escalate like crazy; I've seen it countless times. I usually give the analogy that learning music theory is like learning a foreign language. You need to learn the nuts and bolts of how a language is put together before you can make sense of it and begin to use it to express yourself. You also need to realize that you can't just jump into these books 4 hours a day, either. You will need to build up slowly or you will burn out. Think of it like being a runner-- you wouldn't go out and run a marathon your first time out, right? You would work up to it. In particular I think the theory books would be really good for you. Many of my students work on these books when they are traveling. Keep in mind that mental practicing is even better than physical practicing, so working through these theory book exercises even without a guitar is great. Note: you can check how well mental practicing works by finding a short excerpt of music and learning it entirely in your head. Work out how you would pick it, where the notes would be on the instrument, what the rhythm would be. Then slowly try to build up speed in your mind. Do this for a week and you will find that that when you first play this excerpt it will probably be the best, fastest thing you know how to play. I'm always practicing in my head. But, keep in mind that this kind of practicing is extremely taxing, and you will tire quickly. If you do decide to get the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One you should go to the "members section" of the www.muse-eek.com website and download the "alternate answers for the first pages. This will greatly help you get started with the book because it contains alternate answers to each exercise. Many students wonder why these alternate answers weren't in the book to start with. The problem with that is that the book would have been around 1800 pages long. This would have been very expensive not to mention a drag to carry around. But, it does point out one of the main problems that guitarist have to deal with when learning their instrument. Each note can be found in many places and that is one of the reasons the guitar is one of the most difficult instruments to master. I hope you have a good time on your vacation. If you decide to get the books I think you will find yourself in an entirely new place with your guitar in a year. If you have any questions along the way let me know.

Q	I'm quite interested in your books; I'm moving forward from Bill Edwards' Fretboard Logic Series and I think I've found the right path with your books. I think that I'm going to start out with the Music Theory series, but I noticed that you said in the FAQ that you didn't have to complete Vol. 1 before doing Vol. 2. Can I simply order Vol. 2 and do it? Is it like a totally seperate book -- does not rely on any of the info in Vol. 1? My preference would be to get started on scales, but I don't want to cheat myself and not do Vol. 1. I'd get both, but I'm almost a starving college student (already starving, almost a college student). Thanks a bunch. And, btw, is the theory series the right one to start off with? It's either that or chords, and I'm thinking theory is the way to go.
A.	Yes, you could just start with Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. Basically "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" teaches you how to build chords and gets you to memorize the "available tensions" on each chord type while "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two" teaches you how each scale is built and what type of chord progressions you can use with each scale. There is a theory section at the beginning of each book that is pretty much identical in both books. The exercises of course are completely different. Both books are essential to developing your music theory knowledge. Basically you need to get your music theory to a point where you can communicate like a second language with it. Usually at a college level this takes two years of class work. What's unique about these two theory books is they not only teach you chords and scales but they also ingrain where these chords and scales are on the guitar. If you do start with "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two" make sure to take advantage of the audio files found on the muse-eek.com website. Along with doing the exercises it is of parimount importance to improvise with these scales so you develop a "real" musical connection. I usually recommend students start with one of the theory books and the "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One," but that can be kind of expensive for some folks. You might check out the "order page" of the muse-eek.com site to see if there are any "seconds" available for the "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" or the "Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One". Usually these "seconds" books are almost in perfect condition but may have some abrasion on the cover, or an ink smudge or the likes somewhere in the book which make them unsellable but are just fine and contain everything you need

Q	Your book (Music Theory Vol. 2) arrived today and I must say that I am very impressed with it. That 100+ pages of exercises puts a smile on my face (for some reason...). I'm looking forward to getting into it. I, however, have a question. I have been using the scale forms that Bill Edwards uses in his Fretboard Logic series. These forms make sense to me because of their simplicity and symmetry. I noticed that the answers in the back present different scale forms than the ones I have learned. I don't think it would be much of a problem for me to re-learn new forms, but is there any advantage to learning the forms presented in your book over another? Musically, they are the same, of course -- guitaristically, they are just played in a different manner. The only problem I can see coming up is doing the worksheets and then finding different answers in the back, which would be do-able, but more time-consuming, and I could make mistakes. Here's an example of what I mean: This is how you would play a C Major scale: e\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| B\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| G\|-\|-\|-\|b\|c\|-\|-\| D\|-\|-\|f\|-\|g\|-\|a\| A\|-\|-\|c\|-\|d\|-\|e\| E\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| And this is how I have been learning it: e\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| B\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| G\|-\|a\|-\|b\|c\| D\|-\|e\|f\|-\|g\| A\|-\|-\|c\|-\|d\| E\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| Same scale, different form. Any advantage over using yours, other than my answers would match the answers found in the back of the book? Can't wait to dig into this! Thanks for any help.
A	The short answer to your scale delemma is that you should know how to play a scale using any form, which is pretty easily done once you know the notes in the scale and the notes on the guitar fretboard. Bill Edwards' forms are basically the forms used at the Berklee College of Music. These forms are good for keeping you in one position on the guitar and they work really well for example, when you are playing something which is very diatonic. Bill's/Berklee's forms are also a little easier to play because you are not going out of position, as you do with the "3 notes on every string" forms. I use the "3 notes on every string" forms for two main reasons. One, they pull you out of that one position, so you get used to moving in a more linear manner on the fretboard which will be necessary if you play non-diatonic music. Two, you can play 6 notes on any string and this will pull you up the neck linearly into a different position on the neck without changing your picking. Of course you could work out systems where the Bill/Berklee scales do the same thing but it would be a lot more involved and wouldn't be the same for each scale position. You can use either system with the book. Once you know the notes of the scales and the notes of the fretboard it shouldn't be too difficult to make sure you are correct. I personally would recommend doing both, which is one of the reasons I've included an extra worksheet in the back of your book. But really, the most important thing is that you use the audio files on the muse-eek.com website to improvise with these scales, because you to need to hear and develop your own way of using the scales. Let me know if you need any more help.

Q	I've been playing for 2 years, have never taken lessons, which I now regret. I figured things out the real hard way. I'm realizing I need to know more about the structure and formation of root notes and their relationship to chords. I understand the part about notes in a chords scale, but I have yet to grasp how the notes of a chord are related to the root. I was told it was the 1-3-5 notes from the scale. If thats the case then a (D major chord) would be d,e,and f#. Instead a (D major chord) has a d, f# and a. I'm quite confused and need some help.
A	I think you have having a little problem with how to figure out the notes of chords. Just to give you a quick background. The major scale is derived from the chromatic scale. The chromatic scale is C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C The distance between each of these notes is called a half step. So the distance between C and C# is one half step. (also going up each fret on the guitar is a half step.) The major scale pulls 7 notes from this chromatic scale to complete itself. Those notes are: C D E F G A B As you can see some of these notes are half steps and some are whole steps (a whole step equals two half steps.) So, here is how the major scale is built by looking at it as half and whole steps. C-D = whole step D-E = whole step E-F = half step F-G = whole step G-A = whole step A-B = whole step B-C = half step To figure out chord tones (notes) of chords you can use the major scale or you can use the chromatic scale. If you use the major scale a C major chord formula is 1st 3rd 5th notes of the scale. So the notes would be C E and G. If you use the chromatic scale the formula is 4 half steps (also called a major third) between the bottom notes and 3 half steps (also called a minor third) between the upper notes. So if we look at our chromatic scale: "C" C# D D# "E" F F# "G" G# A A# B C you can see you get the same answer: C E and G but you have figured it out using two different scales. There are of course many different types of scales and chords that you need to know in order to play music and understand what you are playing. Therefore you need to work with both the chromatic scale and the major scales in order to learn all the chords you need to know. I have written a book called Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. This book gives you the theory behind each chord and then has you write out many different chords on the music staff and the guitar fretboard until you memorize all this information. I think this book would be an excellent resource for you. You don't need a teacher to go through this book because the answers are in the back of the book. After purchasing the book you can also find alternate answers in the "members section" of the www.muse-eek.com website. The members section is open to anyone who purchases a muse-eek book. It has many other educational files you can down load for free so it's a great resource to help you educate yourself about music. Hope this helps you understand the process a little better. Remember, you can always contact me when you have questions.

Q	I bought your book, Music Theory Vol 1, and have started to work on the basic intervals. On some of the exercises I came put with some answers I thought were sharps and while you gave flats. My question is: When are notes sharp or flat. Also, how much time should be spent on a section? Is it necessary to memorize the names of the intervals and their distance between notes? I also find myself counting my fingers during these exercises to find the next note, is that improper?
A	If you have the note "C" and you need to write any augmented or "sharped" interval i.e. augmented 5th or sharped 4th you would use a sharp sign. If you have the note "C" and you need to write any diminished, minor or "flatted" interval i.e. diminished 5th, minor 3 or flatted 5 you would use a flat sign. It gets a little more complicated when you have any note besides "C" because all other notes have sharps or flats as part of their key signature. For example for the note D if you needed a minor 7th the note would be "C" natural because C# is the major 7th and you need to flat it to get the minor 7th. I recommend in the book that you start using the scales/key signature to help you find the answers to the exercises. This will also help you to decide what accidental to use for each problem. Basically if you are in a sharped key you would use sharps or natural signs for your note names if you are in a flatted key you would use flats or naturals signs for your note names. It's good to memorize the names of the intervals and the distance between notes. But, if you start using the scale/key signature method you really just need to memorize each scale degree of every key and you will quickly be able to find the note you need. Counting on your finger is OK to begin with, I would recommend counting on your fingers and imagining the guitar fretboard in your mind and a good second step. Moving over to thinking the scales and or scale degrees as the next step and finally thinking the scales and seeing them on your guitar and the best and finally step.

Q	I just checked out your web site and I thought you might be able to help me ... I just started taking guitar lessons (I'm 35 years old, but hey, better late than never!) and I'm having a lot of trouble understanding how to read the music and find the notes on the guitar. It doesn't make any sense to me ... I took piano for 7 years as a kid so I do know how to read music even though I'm rusty. When I look at the music, I keep seeing a keyboard in my head ... I look at the guitar and I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out where the note is on the guitar. I know this is a strange question, but I thought you may have come across someone else with a similar problem. What I'm trying to understand is where the open strings are on a keyboard ... I thought that might help me understand the whole & half steps using the frets ... thought you might have another suggestion as well. I've only had 2 lessons and I know I should probably be more patient, but I'm one of those people who! has to understand 'the big picture' if you know what I mean ... I'm not sure if I made myself clear, but I'd appreciate any insight or suggestions you might have ... my goal is to be able to look at a piece of music and to be able to play it on the guitar and at least recognize the tune ... that shouldn't be too much to expect, is it? Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide. Hope to hear from you soon.
A	You aren't alone. Many students have problems figuring out where the notes are on the guitar. Unfortunately it's much more complicated than the piano so memorizing all the notes on the fretboard is an inescapable but necessary hurdle. As far as where the open strings of the guitar are on the piano keyboard the "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" will tell you where the open strings are in comparison to the piano keyboard and will also talk about the guitar as a transposing instrument (the guitar sounds an octave below where written) You will find reading music on the guitar to be much more challenging initially than on the piano. The guitar has many repeated notes. (For example it has 5 middle C's) This makes it quite difficult to decide where to play a given melody on the guitar. I suggest that you get the "Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" because it will help you to learn to notes on the guitar along with learning music theory. Although your piano background may have already given you an understanding of some of the theory presented in this book, the fact that all the exercises are geared to the guitar will re-orient you to your new instrument and how it works. Also if you really want to torture yourself you could get the book "Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One" This book forces you to read notes on only one string which really helps you learn where all the notes are. Neither of these books are particularly fun but they do the job and if you are serious about learning the guitar they will be a great help. In any event I wish you good luck with your guitar studies and if you have any other questions let me know.

Q	Thank you for your unselfish willingness to share your knowledge and expertise, as a novice newbie your site provides a wealth of information, anyway just had to say your efforts are truly appreciated. In your "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" you make reference to the fact that the 2 e's are located on the 2nd fret D and 5th fret E,when refering back to the previous treble clef, this may well be one of my finest moments of stupidity but why are they not located on the open E, A or G.
A	I'm glad you have found the site useful. As far as the "E" question goes, first some background: There are fortunately or unfortunately depending on your mindset 6 places you could play an E which is the 4th space of the treble clef. open string on high E string 5th fret on the B string (this is the note I give in Music Theory Workbook) 9th fret on the G string 14th fret on the D string 19th fret on the A string 24 fret on the low E string The example I gave in Music Theory Workbook for Guitar shows two E's an octave apart. Once again there are a few places that these notes could exist on the guitar. You could also get the same pitches at 7th fret on the A string and 9th fret on the G string 12th fret on the E string and 14th fret on the D string Working through both music theory workbooks will really help you to see these relationships on the guitar but will also help you to understand how to build chords (Vol 1) and how to build scales (Vol 2) Hope this helps. Let me know if you need any more assistance. Also remember there are no stupid questions. All it takes is one missing bit of information and something will seem incomprehensable.

Q	I 'll try to be short. I am caught between buying your course of study ("Chord/Theory Workbooks") and one other course "Fretboard Logic" by Bill Edwards that has gotten a lot of attention. I would ask if you have any idea of the fretboard logic series compared to the info your course contains.
A	Bill Edwards book "Fretboard Logic SE Special Edition Volumes 1 and 2 combined" ISBN 09624770 is pretty much a completely different approach to learning guitar-and music for that matter than the Music Theory Workbooks. Deciding on the educational path you want to take with guitar is probably the most important decision you will make in your musical career so you should think about a few things: 1. Your goals with music 2. Your internal ability to hear/process/understand music 3. Your attitude towards learning music. 4. What you want from music. Take a few moments and think about these four things. Maybe even write down 3 or 4 answers per question. Because so many guitarists start out wanting to play rock guitar, most guitar book authors first and foremost figure that you really just want to get to play the guitar as fast as possible. Guitarists more than any other instrumentalist are very concerned about speed. Many types of books have been created to accommodate this rather large group of students who think they don't need ear training, music theory, note names etc. Usually the rationale students give behind these beliefs is that "so and so" from this "famous rock band" doesn't know any music theory or maybe even the notes on the guitar, so why should I have to know these things. There are a couple of points that these students don't realize. 1. Many of these musicians have exceptionally good ears but very little musical knowledge. But an exceptional ear is very rare. The ability to hear what you want to play or write can go a long way towards sidestepping the handicaps created by lack of formal musical knowledge, but most students are not gifted in this way and need to develop better aural skills. 2. There is also the category of musicians that are for instance, singer songwriters who just use the guitar as a vehicle to express their lyrics and basic song forms, and therefore need only a limited amount of information usually just chord voicings. Then they use their "ear" to guide them. As a result of these demographic most guitar and music books rather than spending time helping a student develop their aural comprehension just give students a visual reference to music through tablature and diagrams. (Note: Teaching with diagrams is not within itself a bad thing. You just have to have excellent ears and the ability to internalize (audiate) the sounds you see on a page or on the guitar fretboard. So the problem here is that 99.9 percent of every student I have taught has had very weak ears. When I taught at Berklee College of Music they would say "That student can't even hear a door slam." This is really the main problem I have with alot of the books that are available for guitarists. They make no mention of developing your ear, which is a key component of musicianship; particularly if you are going to rely only on tablature and diagrams to play your instrument. To make matters worse most ear training books teach you the wrong concepts for learning how to hear. Therefore even if you realize you have an "ear" problem, you will be directed toward learning intervals, and that will not get you to the point you want to be at. Many students commonly tell me that they have this friend who: never practices, can play anything they hear really quickly and when they play, it just sounds so good. The student also feels because of this that there is something wrong with them because they don't play as well even though they practice a lot more. Again, 99.9 percent of the time it's the student's aural comprehension that is holding them back. If this all makes sense to you and you feel like you should give some attention to developing your aural comprehension check out the "Ear Training: One Note Method" and the "Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training." To Sum up: It must be kept in mind that everyone has different priorities and tastes, therefore a student may get much more from "Fretboard Logic" than from the Music Theory Workbooks or even the ear training books. When Mr. Edwards states on page ix of his book that he feels that "Fretboard Logic SE Part 1 will teach you a great deal about just one thing: how the tuning works out on the fretboard in terms of patterns," he is summing up the first half of his book very well. It basically comes down to a student realizing through time and experience which system of education best fits their needs and goals.

Q	I purchased your Chord Workbook for Guitar: Volume One a few months ago and am a little frustrated at my slow progress. I am a beginning guitarist and I have been trying to gain some understanding of the guitar because I am upset with the "random" feeling in my playing. I have no teacher and my friends seem satisfied with the predictable sound of power chords. 1) "Stacking up 3rds" to build diatonic chords seems only to work in the key of C. I know this isn't right but when I stacked 3rds above the D scale to form the chords in its key it begins with a D-. This seems odd to me especially because it is a rotated form of chords in the key of C. What am I doing wrong?
A	When you figure out the diatonic chords for the key of D major you need to start on a D major chord. A D major chord contains the notes D, F#, A (and C# if you add in the 7th). In half steps that would be: D to F# = 4 half steps F# to A = 3 half steps A to C# = 4 half steps So then if we continue up the D major scale (D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#) the diatonic chords would be: D major7, E minor7, F# minor7, G major 7, A dominant7, B minor 7, C# minor 7 b5 So you can see by comparing the diatonic chords from C major: C major7, D minor7, E minor7, F major 7, G dominant7, A minor 7, B minor 7 b5 that they all are the same type of chords for each scale degree but different letter names because you are starting on a different note The diatonic chords you were building starting on D- (minor) are the diatonic chords of a D Dorian scale which are the same as C major. D minor7, E minor7, F major 7, G dominant7, A minor 7, B minor 7 b5, C major7 It is important to realize that even though they are the same diatonic chords you will need to sooner or later learn the diatonic chords of the other modes too. Many songs are not in a major key; you will find songs in such keys as Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, etc..

Q	2) I am also having trouble understanding how to use tensions/chord tones for each chord. Does it only explain the structure of the chord; is that its intention? Are they only used to determine appropriate substitutions? This is a little vague but I hope you can help me.
A	There are many ways to use tensions. Let's look at two to start with. If you have a C chord it has the available tensions of 9=D, #11=F# and13 (or 6th)=A If you are playing a chord you can add these notes into the chord to give it more "color." You can see a real easy application of this by playing an open C chord (see diagram A) Diagram A 0 E\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| ...B\|-\|-\|d\|-\|-\|-\|-\| 0 G\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| ...D\|-\|e\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| ...A\|-\|-\|c\|-\|-\|-\|-\| X E\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| (X's indicate strings that are not played. 0's indicate strings that are played open.) You can also go back and forth playing the regular C chord then the C add 9 chord. You can also do this with the tension note "A" (see diagram B) diagram B 0 E\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| ...B\|c\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| ...G\|-\|a\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| ...D\|-\|e\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| ...A\|-\|-\|c\|-\|-\|-\|-\| X E\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\|-\| Once again switching back and forth between the open G and the A note is a very nice sound. You can of course build up many chords with tensions. These are the chords you are building in the "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One." For instance Cmajor 79 or C major 69 etc. Remember that every chord type you build in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One" are useful in different styles and different situations. For instance the C major 69 is a cool chord to end a blues on. You can also add tensions in when soloing. Most tensions are already found in the scale-- for instance if you were soloing over a C chord using a C major scale (C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C) or a C pentatonic (C,D,E,G,A,C) you can see that the tension D and A are in these scales. What can make your soloing more interesting is to start and/or stop on these tension notes to end your melody. You will notice that the F# is not in either of these previously mentioned scales. You can add the F# in as you improvise with either of the aforementioned scales and it will add a cool sound. You will commonly hear people like Steve Vai add the #11. In this case F# added into solos and compositions gives the melody a very interesting color. In general you will find many heavy metal compositions and solos adding in this #11. There are many more uses for tensions. You will find them to be the basis for many chord substitutions and new scale possibilities. As you understand tensions and begin to "hear " them you will find them to very valuable for incorporating a contemporary sound into your playing. I hope this helps. I've given you a LOT of information, so don't be afraid to contact me again if you have more questions--I want to be sure you understand everything.

Q	In Major scale intervals, why is it that the 4th and 5th are called perfect?
A	The quick answer is that historically this is what people have called these intervals. For a more indepth explanation see below. You might also look into reading Grout's "History of Western Music" which gives a very detailed explanation of many aspects of music and music history. The longer explanation to why 4th and 5ths are called perfect. I think there are a few ideas on this, but my understanding is that it all began with a little misunderstanding between the Romans and the Greeks... The Greek system of music was based on tetrachords, of which there were three types, diatonic, chromatic, and enharmonic. The outside interval (primary diaphony) of each of these tetrachords had the pitch ration of 4:3 (i.e., the perfect 4th interval). The inner two notes of each of the three tetrachords were different, depending upon which of the three types you were dealing with. If you had the outside P4 interval from C up to F, the diatonic tetrachord would be C, Dd, Eb, F; the chromatic would be C, C#, D, F, and the enharmonic would be C, Dbb, D, F (Dbb is not a typo). Note that the first is diatonic to the modern key of Db, hence diatonic; the second is not diatonic to any modern key, hence chromatic; and the third has an enharmonic relationship between the first two elements, hence enharmonic. You can see how these words changed their meaning over the centuries. In actuality, the enharmonic tetrachord's bottom two pitches were quarter tones apart. Anyway, all of the inner intervals of the tetrachords could be tuned in different ways, and I think this practice has been translated to "shading." The outside interval, the P4, however, was always constant. Next came the combination of two tetrachords, which formed either a septachord (I think the original Latin was heptachord), an octave, or double octave. If the top note of one tetrachord was the same as the bottom note of the other, the two tetrachords were considered to have a conjunct relationship. If the top note of the bottom tetrachord was a whole step away from the bottom note of the top tetrachord, they were in a disjunct relationship. Each of these tetrachords duplicated the top note of the top tetrachord beneath the bottom note of the bottom tetrachord (hence an outside interval of the octave). The added note at the lower octave was, I believe, called the proslambanomenos. This whole thing evolved into what was called the Greater Perfect System, which was a two-octave scale of made up of a two tetrachords in a conjunct relationship, and two tetrachords in a disjunct relationship. In other words, it include both possibilities of these relationships and was therefore complete, or perfect. There were a few variations of this, but I can't remember what they were. I think, although I am not sure, that because the various intervals that could occur between the outsides of the individual tetrachords in the two octave Greater Perfect System were those of a P8, P4, and P5, that this is the reason they were called perfect. In this case, we see a classic Heideggerian example of a mistranslation of Greek thought into Roman language. Perfect, for the Greeks, meant complete. Thus, the Greater Perfect System was really the Greater Complete System. The distinction is more that subtle. Simpler ideas that have been advanced, although I don't think they are as valid, are that the ratios between the perfect intervals are less complex than those between the other intervals. And, it just so happens that the ratios of the P8 (1:1), P4 (4:3), and P5 (3:2) interval are the only ones consistent between the Pythagorean system of intonation and the just system of intonation; every other interval is tuned differently. Also, in well-tempered intonation the P8, P4, and P5 are the only "beatless" intervals. This makes little sense because they were called these names way before the 18th century. I really think that, when considering the true meaning of the ancient Greek word that has been translated into perfect, that the former is more likely. I don't remember the original Greek word, but it was mistranslated into the Roman perfectum. There are probably a few more ideas on this, but my understanding is that it all began with a little misunderstanding between the Romans and the Greeks...

Q	Can a fifth be flat? the book says that a flattened fifth is a diminished fifth, but in the basic interval questions there are flat 5ths.
A	You can use a b5 to name a 6 half step interval and it is commonly done in contemporary settings. If you hold strict to the conventions set down in many well respected music theory books they would only call a 6 half step interval a diminished 5th or an augmented 4th. Personally I think you will find any educated musician will have no problem with you calling a 6 half step interval a b5.




Q	Is it possible to use open strings to find the intervals even though the answers don't give them?
A	Yes this is fine

Q	If I have an A sharp on the staff and I am looking for a minor seventh, the answer is G sharp, but why do I not write Aflat on the staff? I am having some difficulty figuring out which to write since I write one thing on the staff and then the answer is the same but a different note. Basically I was wondering does it matter if I for example write D sharp or E flat when finding an interval?
A	I've given the long explanation below but an easy way to make sure you have the right letter name and then either sharp or flat the note is to first always count up to the interval type. By this I mean if you need a minor seventh above above A sharp then start with A and count up seven A, B, C, D, E, F, G. So now you know the correct answer has to be some sort of "G." The long explanation The reason that all these notes have such unusual names is because of the system of notation that has been developed over the last three hundred years (or so). Basically it works like this. If you have a C major scale you would have the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. If you have a C# major scale the notes would be C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B#, C#. You can see that for each note in the scale we use a different consecutive letter of the alphabet and then apply sharps or flats to make these notes the correct pitch. I have recieved quite a few complaints about this from students asking why I bother to use these unusual spellings of notes, chords and scales. I believe that even though the accepted system of notation is more difficult it is my responsibility as an educator to let you know the correct way music theory is thought of by the established conventions. At the same time I will say that I do often think of a B# as C and an E# as F, but on the other hand I've also spent a lot of time learning keys like G# major (G#, A#, B#, C#, D#, E#, FX, F#) and Cb major Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb because they occasionally show up and you need to be able to read and function in those keys when they do. If you are constructing a G# major triad, a major third on the bottom is made of 4 half steps up from G# so it would be the actual note C but because you need to use a different note name for each degree of the scale you will have to alter the note C and make it a B#. and then add a D# which is another 4 half steps above the B# to complete the triad. Therefore the notes would be G#, B#, D#. There is also a little helpful device you can use when building chords and scales, which is mentioned on page 13 of the "Music Theory for Guitar Volume One". If you have a chord like Fb major triad first you write out an F, an A, and a C because these notes are every other degree of the scale and are some kind of third interval apart. Now you need to use sharps or flats (in this case flats) to make the chord conform to the 4 halfs between the 2 bottom notes and 3 half steps between the two top notes. Therefore you would have Fb, Ab and Cb.

Q	I Recently purchased your workbook "Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One." So far I love it! Yet, I was unable to locate FAQ@muse-eek.com. I'm working on the Major Triads section and started answering the questions on page 18. On the top row, far right I have the chord E (EG#B) and the answer is perplexing me (see answers on pg.110 top row, far right. You show a 'B' on the G string two frets down, would this be an A...? I'm guessing the right answer would be a B on the 4th fret. Also, is there a site that has revisions on it. If this is a mis-print I'm sure someone else has found it also.
A	If you go to: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/mt/lower.html and look down the left column you will see a link for FAQ. This is were you will find previous FAQs and a link to send an FAQ. You can also send an FAQ by just sending an email to FAQ@muse-eek.com For pages that have been updated or have corrections you can find those at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/books.html You will notice in the left hand column a link for Corrections and Additions. If you want the alternate answers for the music theory book you will find that information in the "member's area." There is a link to join the member's area on http://www.muse-eek.com/books/books.html again in the left column you will see a link for member's area. If you check the example pg. 110 top row, far right you should see a number 7 in a circle. This indicates that the E is located on the 7th fret of the A string. Therefore the B you are seeing on the G sting would be at the 4th fret because it is 3 down from the 7th. If you have problems with reading the diagrams check page 14 for an example of how fret markings are used. Hope that makes sense, if not let me know. Any other problems or questions feel free to contact me.

Q	Hi I was interested in purchasing the Music Theory workbook for guitar: Volume One, but I do not know how to read music, are these books written in tablature form?
A	The theory books are written to help you learn both fret board diagrams and how they relate to the notes on the staff. Therefore it will take you step by step through the process and teach you this valuable tool. You do not have to be able to read to start these books. The books will teach you this information. As you probably know tablature is not used by professional musicians because it doesn't give you the rhythm for the notes. Therefore if you continue to just read tablature you stand a very strong chance of being very weak rhythmically. Considering 99.9 percent of contemporary music is rhythm based I think you can see how you will develop a real handicap. Besides the information presented in the music theory books there are lot's of help files in the member's area of the muse eek website. Once you buy a book you get free access to this area which has tons of cool stuff to help you in the music theory area and others. Hope this answers your questions let me know if you have any others.

Q	I have been working with your books for a short time now. And now I would like to ask you a couple of questions on some of the material. In Major scale intervals, why is it that the 4th and 5th are called perfect?
A	The quick answer is that historically this is what people have called these intervals. The long explanation to why 4th and 5ths are called perfect: I think there are a few ideas on this, but my understanding is that it all began with a little misunderstanding between the Romans and the Greeks... The Greek system of music was based on tetrachords, of which there were three types, diatonic, chromatic, and enharmonic. The outside interval (primary diaphony) of each of these tetrachords had the pitch ration of 4:3 (i.e., the perfect 4th interval). The inner two notes of each of the three tetrachords were different, depending upon which of the three types you were dealing with. If you had the outside P4 interval from C up to F, the diatonic tetrachord would be C, Dd, Eb, F; the chromatic would be C, C#, D, F, and the enharmonic would be C, Dbb, D, F (Dbb is not a typo). Note that the first is diatonic to the modern key of Db, hence diatonic; the second is not diatonic to any modern key, hence chromatic; and the third has an enharmonic relationship between the first two elements, hence enharmonic. You can see how these words changed their meaning over the centuries. In actuality, the enharmonic tetrachord's bottom two pitches were quarter tones apart. Anyway, all of the inner intervals of the tetrachords could be tuned in different ways, and I think this practice has been translated to "shading." The outside interval, the P4, however, was always constant. Next came the combination of two tetrachords, which formed either a septachord (I think the original Latin was heptachord), an octave, or double octave. If the top note of one tetrachord was the same as the bottom note of the other, the two tetrachords were considered to have a conjunct relationship. If the top note of the bottom tetrachord was a whole step away from the bottom note of the top tetrachord, they were in a disjunct relationship. Each of these tetrachords duplicated the top note of the top tetrachord beneath the bottom note of the bottom tetrachord (hence an outside interval of the octave). The added note at the lower octave was, I believe, called the proslambanomenos. This whole thing evolved into what was called the Greater Perfect System, which was a two-octave scale of made up of a two tetrachords in a conjunct relationship, and two tetrachords in a disjunct relationship. In other words, it include both possibilities of these relationships and was therefore complete, or perfect. There were a few variations of this, but I can't remember what they were. I think, although I am not sure, that because the various intervals that could occur between the outsides of the individual tetrachords in the two octave Greater Perfect System were those of a P8, P4, and P5, that this is the reason they were called perfect. In this case, we see a classic Heideggerian example of a mistranslation of Greek thought into Roman language. Perfect, for the Greeks, meant complete. Thus, the Greater Perfect System was really the Greater Complete System. The distinction is more that subtle. Simpler ideas that have been advanced, although I don't think they are as valid, are that the ratios between the perfect intervals are less complex than those between the other intervals. And, it just so happens that the ratios of the P8 (1:1), P4 (4:3), and P5 (3:2) interval are the only ones consistent between the Pythagorean system of intonation and the just system of intonation; every other interval is tuned differently. Also, in well-tempered intonation the P8, P4, and P5 are the only "beatless" intervals. This makes little sense because they were called these names way before the 18th century. I really think that, when considering the true meaning of the ancient Greek word that has been translated into perfect, that the former is more likely. I don't remember the original Greek word, but it was mistranslated into the Roman perfectum.

Q	Can a fifth be flat? the book says that a flattened fifth is a diminished fifth, but in the basic interval questions there are flat 5ths.
A	You can use a b5 to name a 6 half step interval and it is commonly done in contemporary settings. If you hold strict to the conventions set down in many well respected music theory books they would only call a 6 half step interval a diminished 5th or an augmented 4th. Personally I think you will find any educated musician will have no problem with you calling a 6 half step interval a b5.

Q	Is it possible to use open strings to find the intervals even though the answers don't give them?
A	Yes this is fine

Q	If I have an A sharp on the staff and I am looking for a minor seventh, the answer is G sharp, but why do I not write Aflat on the staff? I am having some difficulty figuring out which to write since I write one thing on the staff and then the answer is the same but a different note. Basically I was wondering does it matter if I for example write D sharp or E flat when finding an interval?
A	I've given the long explanation below but an easy way to make sure you have the right letter name and then either sharp or flat the note is to first always count up to the interval type. By this I mean if you need a minor seventh above above A sharp then start with A and count up seven A, B, C, D, E, F, G. So now you know the correct answer has to be some sort of "G." The long explanation The reason that all these notes have such unusual names is because of the system of notation that has been developed over the last three hundred years (or so). Basically it works like this. If you have a C major scale you would have the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. If you have a C# major scale the notes would be C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B#, C#. You can see that for each note in the scale we use a different consecutive letter of the alphabet and then apply sharps or flats to make these notes the correct pitch. I have recieved quite a few complaints about this from students asking why I bother to use these unusual spellings of notes, chords and scales. I believe that even though the accepted system of notation is more difficult it is my responsibility as an educator to let you know the correct way music theory is thought of by the established conventions. At the same time I will say that I do often think of a B# as C and an E# as F, but on the other hand I've also spent a lot of time learning keys like G# major (G#, A#, B#, C#, D#, E#, FX, F#) and Cb major Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb because they occasionally show up and you need to be able to read and function in those keys when they do. If you are constructing a G# major triad, a major third on the bottom is made of 4 half steps up from G# so it would be the actual note C but because you need to use a different note name for each degree of the scale you will have to alter the note C and make it a B#. and then add a D# which is another 4 half steps above the B# to complete the triad. Therefore the notes would be G#, B#, D#. There is also a little helpful device you can use when building chords and scales, which is mentioned on page 13 of the "Music Theory for Guitar Volume One". If you have a chord like Fb major triad first you write out an F, an A, and a C because these notes are every other degree of the scale and are some kind of third interval apart. Now you need to use sharps or flats (in this case flats) to make the chord conform to the 4 halfs between the 2 bottom notes and 3 half steps between the two top notes. Therefore you would have Fb, Ab and Cb.

Q	I am a novice keyboard player and I am wondering if any of your ear training courses could help me find out what chords my left hand should play to harmonize the melody being played by my right hand. I know all about the circle of fifths, but I was hoping I could simply listen to the melody notes and somehow figure out instantly what chord comes next vis-a-vis the melody line. Same is true with my guitar playing - how do I know what chord comes next, and will your ear training course help me with this?
A	In order to develop the ability to harmonize a melody by ear you will find my ear training course to be of great benefit but you will also need a good understanding of harmony and music theory so you know what notes are in each chord in any key. In general many of the notes in a melody are also found in the notes of the chord that is used with the melody. Therefore knowing what notes are in each chord is crucial. Musicians many times use a combination of ear training and music theory to make decisions on which chord to use. By using my ear training method you will develop an ability to recognize the notes you hear which with the addition of some theoretical training you will be able to add in the correct harmony. Keep in mind that this will not happen overnight. Since I don't know your current aural recognition skills nor your music theory understanding it is hard to give you a time frame. I wouldn't be surprised if it took a novice player 2 to 3 years before they could harmonize fairly complicated songs. The main thing to keep in mind is that you need to develop the follow: 1. A firm sense of key 2. Knowing the sound of each note in a key center 3. Theoretical understanding of chord structures You would need to apply yourself everyday to this. I would recommend you use the following books. Ear Training One Note Complete Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One or Music Theory Workbooks for All Instruments Volume One (will work well for piano).

Q	I am a total beginner when it comes to music and guitar-playing. I just recently purchased my first guitar and have invested a lot of time into looking for the best self-instructive material around. When I came across your books, I heard great things about them, and it has really made me interested in the information you have to offer. Just to give you an idea of my limited knowledge when it comes to music, I do not know how to read notes, I don't know music lingo, and embarrassingly, I don't even know what the function of a chord actually is. However, I am very dedicated to learning this instrument properly and effectively. A lot of guitar books I have seen only show you how to read tabs, and those that teach using notes don't actually teach you how to read them because they assume you already know how to. Additionally, most books toss around jargon with the expectation that you already know what the author is talking about. However, I do not enjoy that luxury. What books would you recommend for someone who knows absolutely nothing about music and guitar-playing like myself? What progression of material and books would you suggest I follow in order to maintain steady and effective musical development?
A	I would recommend the following books: 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One Ear Training One Note Complete These books all take a student from the very beginning and don't use any words that you wouldn't understand. The nice thing about my books is you can contact me if you don't understand something and I can further explain it. Also after you receive your books you can join the "member's area" on the muse-eek.com website were you will find a lot of additional free information.

Q	I was just wondering: chords are made up of three notes or more played at the same time, but when doing the exercises for triads in the first theory book some answers are only on two strings. Does this mean that a triad is not a chord but just three notes played to become for example: a minor triad or a diminished triad.
A	Triads are chords. You can play (write) three notes (or more) on two strings. In other words the number of strings you are playing doesn't have to equal the number of notes you are playing. This is one of the strange things about a guitar. You have so many places that you can play various notes. If you want to see all the possible combinations download the alternative answers for the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One which can be found in the "member's area" of the muse-eek.com website.

Q	I recently started working on your book 'Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Vol. 1' and quite frankly, it rocks. I was wondering if there is anything I need to know before starting on the exercises besides the information on the first few pages. I ask this because I find myself counting on my fingers to find notes. Should I first memorize the notes on each string and then do the exercises? I was thinking about purchasing 'Single String Studies' to go along with this. Is this a good idea, or would you recommend another book (I'm a complete and beginner by the way)?
A	All the information you need to start on the exercises is contained in the music theory section of the book. It's OK to count on your fingers for awhile. You will see as you continue you will start to remember the notes in each chord type and where they are on the guitar fretboard so you won't need to count of your fingers as much. One of the reasons there are so many exercises in the Music Theory Workbook is to keep you working with this theory knowledge until it becomes second nature to you. You should also check the "member's area" of the muse-eek website for other ways to think about the music theory information you are working with. Single String Studies would be a good book to do along with the Music Theory book. Keep in mind that this book is hard and will take you some time before you can play any of the exercises completely correct. Most students find they have to work through this book at least two times before things start to click, so be patient. I would also recommend you get started with some ear training. Remember all the information you learn in your head and hands will mean nothing unless you can also hear these notes in the right way in your head. To start the ear training process you should get Ear Training One Note Complete.

Q	I bought an acustic guitar about 2 years ago, and like every beginner I was very frustrated. I stopped playing for a while and picked it back up and have been practicing as much as I can the last few months. I have a couple of beginner books, and they helped some, (with configuration of chords etc.) but I didn't know why. I found your book on amazon (1st steps) and a lot of people who reviewed it said it was great. I bought it and I love it. My problem is, I tend to jump around too much, from reading theory, to chord progressions ,to barre chords, back to theory, etc. I want to be able to play songs on the guitar, so I was wondering if it is ok to try some songs on the guitar before knowing most of the fundamentals from your books? I want to purchase "Music Theory Workbook Volume One" and also "One Note Ear Training," should I wait till I'm knowledgable enough with 1st steps before buying the other two books so I don't jump around and get involved with these books prematurely?
A	I think it is fine if you learn other songs while you are studying the 1st Steps book. From your description of your situation though I think what you really need is a regimen of practice so you get to the things you want to do and the things you should do to improve your musicianship. If you could religiously practice one hour a day with some other extra time thrown in while commuting or use anyplace where you have some down time to do some other music work. Here is what I'd do; 1. For 15 minutes practice the chord progressions from the 1st steps book. Make sure you can play the progression in time and that you get to each chord when you need to. Use the midifiles or audio files to check your progress. You should try to master one progression every other week. 2. Download scales from http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/index.html Download the major scales from the music workshop. I want you to learn the C major scale in 7 positions on the guitar. Make sure you are learning this by either saying the note names or degrees. Do not learn the scales by fingering patterns. I want you to do a new scale position each week. So week one you will learn the C scale starting from F. The next week you will learn the C scale starting from G. When you finish the C major scale you should then learn the C dorian scale then C phrygian etc. Practice this for 15 minutes. 3. Spend the last 1/2 hour learning songs you like or improvising with the scales you have learned. Muse Eek will have a "site license" available to you in a few months. By paying a modest fee you will have access to 100's of mp3 files that I've recorded. You can use these as backing tracks to improvise over. 4. Ear Training One Note Complete. Do 5 times a day for 5 to 10 minutes. This is best done while commuting or lunch breaks or before you go to bed. etc.. 5. Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. Do one page a week so about 3 to 4 exercises a day. You will have to work up to this because the first ones will take you awhile to figure out. Once again this is a excellent book to do if you commute by train or have other times when you are sitting with nothing to do. I should also mention that you should get the e-book Guitar Technique so you learn your scales with the proper technique. Make sure to check out the pictures and videos on the website so you see exactly what you should do. You should take the next couple of months to work into this kind of schedule. It takes time to rearrange your life to include music. So be patient and look at this as a long term process.

Q	I told you in a previous email that I did not know all the notes on my guitar fretboard. I can figure it out, but I don't know all the notes automatically. Anyway, I have been working with the ear training one note beginning cd, and guessing the tones and trying to relate them to the key. Now, my question is, even though I don't know all the notes on my fretboard (I am working on it though), since the name of the tone is called after it is played, I can still use this method to memorize the sounds of the tones against a key, right? My point being that it has nothing to do with my fretboard, I am merely trying to memorize the tones against the key, and if I hear the tones enough and know what the tone names are, I will memorize them and be able to recogonize them. Also, should I be listening to the cd from the beginning, or should I shuffle each track?
A	You do not need your guitar or knowledge of the guitar fretboard to master this type of ear training. You will though need to develop good music theory theory skills so when you are in a real musical situation you can apply your ear training skills. The most important thing to learn is the relationship of all notes in every key. For instance if you hear a note and recognize it as the b6th in the key of E you will need to know instantly that this note is a "C." Therefore it is important that you start soon improving your music theory knowledge. I would use shuffle play whenever possible. You can also fast forward into the CD to help combat the memorization of the 1st exercises on the CD.

Q	Would you tell me if you think your theory books for guitar will be equally effective for a bass player?
A	Personally I think the Music Theory Books would be good. Here are the drawbacks. 1. You are filling in notes on a music staff but it is in treble clef not bass clef. 2. When you get to the chord section and you are filling in the notes on the guitar diagrams. Some of these chords will have notes on the high B and E strings on the guitar which of course the bass doesn't have these strings. The benefits are: 1. You will learn all the notes in every chord type in every key and know this information by looking at your bass. 2.You will learn treble clef which is an important asset to a bass player. 3. You will learn the theory information you need to know to understand the working of contemporary music.

Q	I am very new to music theory so am finding it all a bit hard. Do you know what the difference is between a diatonic and a non-diatonic chord is?
A	The notes of a C major scale C, D, E, F, G, A, B are commonly referred to as the diatonic notes of the key of C major. If we had the key of D major the diatonic notes would be D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#. Because many pieces of music are written using only the diatonic chords of a key it is a very common practice among musicians to learn the diatonic chords of every key using numbers and letters to aid in the memorization and quick learning of new songs. So the C scale would be: C, D, E, F, G, A, B 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 I would recommend if you don't have my Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One or Music Theory Workbook for All Instruments this would be a great source for you to first understand music theory but more importantly give you many many pages of exercises so you can engrain this information into you head and hands so you can effectively use it when you are try to understand music.

Q	Hello. My instructor of 6 whole weeks now has me in Mel Bay's Modern Guitar Grade One. After reading some reviews of your books on Amazon, I became interested. Another fellow told me online about the Berklee series by Leavitt. I dunno. Maybe I should stick to Mel Bay? Anyhow, I am soon to be 41 with no musical understanding at all, but am excited to learn guitar and music theory.
A	There are a few books that would be good for you but I'm just going to recommend one. It's called Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. This will compliment your lessons nicely. Basically you go through the book and fill out exercises about where the notes are on the guitar and what notes are in chords and intervals. If you can make it through this book you will have a whole new take on the guitar and music in general. Remember to learn Music Theory you need to get to the point where you can use it as a language. This book will help you raise your ability with music theory so you can use it transparently in your music. Let me know if you get the book and I'll give you some direction on how to work through it.

Q	I have a question about the "Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Vol. 1." Regarding the exercises on page 16, is there a particular method to approach them? Should I try writing or spelling out the scale relative to the tonic of the interval I need to complete for each exercise, and then answer? For example, for the major 7th interval starting at D. Is it ok to just go down 1/2 step to get the answer, or should I spell out all the notes in the key of D up to the interval? Are there any tricks or shortcuts to memorizing the notes and intervals in each key?
A	If you want to write out the scale I think you're better off getting Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two which is where there are already prepared worksheets for you to use in every key and scale. It is fine to think down a half step to get the major 7th degree of the key. In the long run you just want to visualize the guitar in your mind to figure out any music theory relationship. I think the best way to memorize all these music theory relationships is to use them. That's part of the reason that the Music Theory Workbooks are so large. By filling out every page you will come close to the amount of work a typical college freshmen goes through in one year in order to memorize these relationships. You will also find the ear training exercises found in Fanatic's Guide, Key Note Recognition and 2 note Ear Training to be very useful in exercising your theory knowledge.

Q	Would Guitar Clinic be a good supplement to the following titles: 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist, Music Theory Vol. 1 and Vol. 2?
A	Much of the information presented in 1st Steps, Music Theory One and Two is in Guitar Clinic, so I don't think that would be a good choice. Guitar Clinic does contain some advanced techniques for improvisation such as Modal Sequencing, Approach Notes, Superimposition and Hexatonic Scales. All of these are quite cool but are more advanced concepts. Overall you are expected to augment your serious study in these books with long hours of applying this information to chord vamps, songs and jams that you create through the knowledge you gain in these books. If you approach these books like they are giving you the raw knowledge and then you apply your own creativity you will be greatly rewarded.

Q	I'm pretty keen on buying your books but have a problem. I'm a left-handed guitarist who's been playing for about 18 years and my theory and sight-reading is pretty weak. I've been looking for some books to help me really learn my instrument. I find it pretty tricky and laborious trying to read chord and fretboard diagrams backwards. Are your Music Theory Workbook's available for left-handers? If not, what would you recommend I do? How can I make using your books easier?
A	The books aren't currently available for left handers but I would like to release left-handed editons of some titles in the distant future. I think the bottom line here is you need to take a couple of books like the Music Theory Workbooks for Guitar and work through understanding the theory and then applying it. What I'm saying here is once you understand a chord or scale and you've written it out in the book you then close the book and memorize an image in your mind of where this chord or scale is on the fretboard. So this is a three step process. First, learn the basics of music theory, apply this information by doing the exercises in the book. Take an example from the book, close the book and memorize it in your mind by seeing an image of the fretboard in your mind and memorizing the position. By doing this with each problem you will soon be lightning fast with music theory. When theory gets this fast it's like a language; you just do it and don't even think about it. I should also mention that later you should also get into the ear training books so you can hear the sound too.

Q	I have a question about the Music Theory Workbook. When working from the starting note given in an exercise, how should I work out finding the next note (in the case of an interval, say)? For example, a perfect fifth above a Gb (page 16, fifth row, third column) - I know it has to be some flavor of D. Should I: (1) Have the guitar in hand and count the appropriate half-steps to get to Db OR (2) Memorize the fretboard such that I know where the interval is by looking and, from my knowledge of the notes on the fretboard, name the note OR (3) Memorize all the key signatures, knowing in this case that the key of G flat has six flats and that D is one of the notes that is flat? Secondly, should I work the same interval in the cycle of fifths? That is go from the Gb to Db to Ab to Eb et.al.? Or just go on to the next interval on the page (Which is the Ab major 7 in this example)? The reason I ask this is because on page 16 there are only two diagrams dealing with a perfect fifth, one starting from C and the other from Gb. That leaves out 10 other possible notes where the interval could start from. (My hunch is, however, that by working through the book "all the bases" will eventually get covered).
A	Actually in the long run you need to know all the methods you presented. By doing the music theory book I think you will find that they all begin to take shape. You definately want to get to the point were you can just look at the fretboard and see interval relationships. For example knowing that up one string and 2 frets on the low E,A,D and B strings is a fifth will help you quickly indentify a fifth away from any note. This will also help you memorize the names of all notes on the guitar. There are of course other times that you will need to know the key signatures when you are using scales to improvise. You can also use the scales to help you figure out intervals (see the file found in the Music Theory section of the Member's area called "music theory additional lesson." Of course the 2nd volume of the music theory will help you memorize all your scales. If you want you can work through both volumes at the same time. I would just work through all the exercises in the book first. If you find that you still need work on intervals then start doing them cycle 5. I have a feeling that you won't need to do that.

Q	I was wondering if you would have any suggestions on what path one should follow if interested in playing Flamenco Nuoevau guitar style? Would you recommend exclusively your books (and if yes, which ones) or there may be some other school of guitar taught you would find more suitable, seeing as you are mostly concentrated on jazz-style guitar playing?
A	I don't think any of my books apply directly to playing the Flamenco Nuoevau guitar style. I will say that quite a few of my books apply to developing basic guitar knowledge which is important no matter what style of music you are interested in. Basically any music that you want to play well requires you have extensive knowledge in the following catagories in order to understand the music from a theoritical and aural perspective. Music Theory Technique Ear Training Sight Reading Rhythm and Time I have books that cover the basics to some pretty advanced stuff. I would suggest you start with Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One Ear Training One Note Complete Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training Guitar Technique (ebook) Rhythms Volume One These books lift up your basic musicianship level so no matter what style of music you play you will have the basic musical skills to play and hear music on a deeper level. I'm sorry I don't know of any books directly related to Flamenco Nouveau which would also be an important addition to your study.

Q	I have purchased Music Theory for Guitar Vol 1 and Single String Studies Vol 1. While I like the books, I really feel lost, especially on directions for the exercises. The first exercise on pg 16 of Music Theory gives no direction at all. Since I am a total beginner, it really would help to have some more specifics. I think I figured out what to do by looking at the first few answers. One question I have is on the Single String book. Again no instructions and maybe I'm not as smart as the average person, but take the first example: Exercise 1 Low E string only. There are multiple appearances of the same note at different places on the staff. For instance, A on the second space of the staff and A 2 lines below the staff. If I am to play these notes only on the low E string my gut tells me they should be on 2 different frets... an octave apart? So, I think the one that is 2 lines below the staff would be on fret 5 and the one on the second space of the staff would then be on fret 17? That doesn't seem right to me, so please help me out with some guidance before I give up. I want to stay with this because I want to learn the guitar and learn music but I have to have a sense of progress and right now I'm floundering.
A	Sorry to hear you're having problems getting going with the books. Your basic instincts are pretty much right! With the music theory book you need to fill out the answer for each question by placing the correct answer on the staff and within the guitar fretboard diagram. It will take quite awhile to work through this book, but over time you will begin to remember the notes in chords and where they are located on the guitar fretboard. You are correct about the single string studies: You will play notes only on one string and some notes will be very high up on the fretboard. What I'd like to do is set you up with a practice schedule. If you could give me a detailed listing of the amount of time you have to practice, then I can help you organize and improve at your fastest rate.

Q	Thanks so much for you rapid response ... I work approximately 50 hours a week. I do have time to listen to the CD in the car each day but it differs 3 days a week about 1 hour, 1 day a week about 2 hours. I try to practice between 30-minutes to one hour daily but it's probably more like 5 times a week. I have 3 children including an 18-month-old so it's challenging. I also recently moved and am living out of boxes and restoring the residence in my spare time. I am currently working on page 16 of the workbook and trying to practice the first 5 chord drills in the beginners book. I also tried for the first time last night to incorporate a few minutes of the single string drill for the low E string. I typically have a little more leeway on Saturday and Sunday but usually things come up so I believe that is a fairly accurate sum of what I can do. I also bring the theory book (just got it on Monday) to work with me and use it on break ... I don't consistently have a free lunch hour to devote.
A	I would prefer if you had about 20 minutes outside of your daily guitar practice to do some work in the music theory book. Do you have a lunch break or other short down time consistently each day? I'm also developing some audio CDs for this so if you don't have a sit down time we will work around it. Let me know.

Q	20 minutes to work on the theory book is not a problem. I can do that in work, on break or lunch.
A	OK so you will do the Ear Training twice day while commuting for 10 to 15 minutes. Do the Theory book for 15 to 20 minutes during a break each day. For your 1/2 to one hour of practicing you should split this up 50/50. 50% book work and 50% playing. 1. Single String - study one page per week spend 10 minutes on the page. Don't worry if it sounds awful for 6 months just do it. This process takes time. Try not to look at the fretboard when you are playing the notes. Use the midifiles if you can to make sure you are playing the correct notes. 2. Continue working on the chord progression in the 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist. When you feel you have them so you can play along with mp3's on the website it's time to start on the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One. Let me know where you are with this. When you're ready for the Chord Workbook I'll give you an assignment in that book. 3. Download the C major scales from my website. You need to go to www.arnoldjazz.com and the music workshop and download the C major scale. You want spend a couple of weeks on each scale. You are going to first work your way through all the C modes so first C major all positions then C dorian positions etc. Remember we are learning note names and degrees here not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. Reference the 1st Steps book for guitar technique stuff. Be anal about this because the more relaxed and close to the neck your hand is the better you are going to play. You also want to spend time playing/improvising with these scales. Use the midifiles and progressions connected to the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume 2 (look on the website for the midifiles). I'm also creating some mp3 files over the next couple of weeks that you can use so contact me in 2 weeks about that. The other 50% should be spent doing something on the guitar that you enjoy. This could be playing the chord progressions in the 1st Steps book, playing along with a CD, or just noodling. If this isn't part of your practice schedule sooner or later you will give up. It's important to enjoy playing the guitar.

Q	Hi, I own Music Theory WB Vol. 1 and Single String Studies Vol. 1. I'm a complete beginner and I've reached the Db major page in the SSS and I'm still going a little slow and making a few mistakes. Is this supposed to happen? Also, in the theory book I've reached the 7th chords and I now know the structures for the chords thus far, but I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to learn. Should I memorize every chord in the exercises, or do I just have to familiarize myself with the structures?
A	It is common to make mistakes and generally to have a hard time with Single String Studies. This book is developing so many things at once in your playing that you have to be very patient. You should just read a page a day/week. Spend 10 minutes on the page and do this for the foreseeable future. You should find over time that you have the ability to easily find notes on the fretboard, know their note names and where they are on a music staff. Conversely, this will also help you to read music. The Theory books are developing a few things simultaneously too. By working out all of the exercises in the book you are starting to get a working knowledge of what the 3rd, 5ths etc of every chord are and where you find this information on the fretboard. You should find a familiarity growing as you go through each exercise particularly starting with the 7th chords and beyond. For example, once you get to the Major 7 9 13 chords you should start to recognize that the basic structure is just a major 7th chord and then you are adding in two notes (9,13). You should also start to see where the notes of a major 7th are on the fretboard. As you progress through the book you will find that you start to remember the basic structures of chords which are the underlying structure of all the chords with added tensions. This familiarity with the underlying structure will help you to move through the book at a faster rate and help you to start using music theory as a natural tool. Music Theory should become a natural part of you, just like speaking a language. The most important thing is to be consistent and spend 10 minutes or so on the Single String Studies and 30 minutes or so on the Music Theory book each day. A year from now you will have a real working knowledge of music theory and be able to apply it to your guitar in a natural fashion. This will allow you to process and fly through many things in music that most only dream of.

Q	I have purchased your chord and theory workbooks from Amazon.co.uk and I am also very keen to begin to learn how to sight read from scratch. I have read your recommendations for study on muse-eek.com, but was wondering whether the books mentioned therein are suitable for learning to sight read or whether they are best used to improve sight-reading once a musician already has reasonable competence in this area. This query does not relate as much to the recommended rhythm books, as I have been informed that these start from a basic level.
A	The books that I have for sight reading can be used by a beginning student. I teach a rather extensive program of sight reading for guitar at NYU and Princeton Universities. It's quite a few books to start out with, so you may want to start with a couple if money is tight. Here is a list of what I start students with: Rhythm Primer Rhythms Volume One Rhythms Volume Two Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One LINES Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One Students spend one hour a day working out of these books. You will find that if you put in this amount of time your reading will be much better within a year. This is a four-year course and many of these books are used over and over at different tempo markings and also different musical concepts are applied. If you end up getting these books let me know and I'll work out a practice schedule for you. Another good thing about many of these books is that I also use them in my Ear Training courses, so they serve double duty. Some of these books, like Single String Studies, are very difficult for beginning students, but once you understand that it's the process that's important and not that you get everything perfect the first time through you will be fine. There is also some help files in the "member's area" if you have specific problems like reading and understanding rhythm.

Q	Thank you very much for replying. I have indeed ordered all of the books you prescribe for sight-reading from Amazon.co.uk. Additionally, I have also ordered the Music Theory and Chord Workbooks Vols 1 and 2 and will be ordering the recommended books for ear training as soon as finances permit. As regarding the time I have available for practicing, I am taking currently on a 'gap year' after recently graduating in Law. The sole purpose for this gap year is to study the guitar. Thus I have around 8 hours per day for 7 days a week to study! I would be incredibly grateful if you could advise me on a suitable programme (or program as it is on your side of the Atlantic!). Just to mention I have ordered your 'First Steps' book. I have been playing around 10 years but I only ever consciously sat down and practiced for the first 6 months of that time so I thought I should ensure that my basic technique and knowledge is correct. I think I would prefer to work through this book before I embark on the others but would be very interested to see what you think.
A	1st Steps is a good place to start, particularly for checking out your technique. Can't stress enough how important that is going to be to your progress. You may initially move a little slower but once your technique is in the right place you are going to fly through stuff. Your obviously going to have to build up to practicing 8 hours a day, so start with a comfortable amount of work that leaves you wanting more each day and add on some time each day. I'm going to give you an assignment for the ear training too so you can get started on that right away. So you need to get: Ear Training One Note Fanatic's Guide Try to listen to the Ear Training One Note CD 5 to 10 times a day for 5 to 10 minutes. Make sure to go to www.muse-eek.com and read all the FAQs. This can help you think of this practice correctly. Start with the 1st "one note" exercise in Fanatic's Guide. Sing for about 10 minutes working your way through all keys with one or more notes. Do this 5 to 10 times a day. Now for the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One you want to learn around 10 new chords a week. Go through the chords from the beginning and make sure you learn them all. Use the cycle 5 suggestion to help you memorize these chords. If you already know quite a few, go back and start learning the chord progressions. You should try to learn one chord progression per week. In the next couple of weeks there is going to be a link up with some audio files for this book so stay tuned, Volume Two will come later. For the Music Theory books you want to do one page a day from Volume One, one scale a week from Volume Two. You need to go to the music workshop on www.arnoldjazz.com and download the 19 scales. You want to learn a new scale each week. You are going to first work your way through all the C modes, so first C major all positions, then C dorian positions etc... Remember that we are learning note names and degrees here, not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. Reference the Guitar Technique book and be anal about this, because the more relaxed and close to the neck your hand is the better you are going to play. You also want to spend time playing/improvising with the scales. Use the midifiles and progressions connected to the book or create your own. Download the applying music theory article from the "member's area," this will give you other ideas on sequencing scales. With your right hand technique, the important thing to remember is that if you have played a lot, or with a previous technique, it's going to take some time for your mind to stop sending commands to your wrist, for example, and start sending it to your forearm. Concentrating on your forearm will help your mind switch these impulses to the right place. Never play if you have pain and if you do have pain your probably tensing up somewhere. Always practice standing up and have your guitar high enough so your left hand isn't bent too much at the wrist. Check the website for pictures and videos. Remember it's going to take time to build up to this much serious practicing so work up to a full schedule over time. Now for the sight reading. All exercises will be sped up, or I'll give you approximate starting tempos if they are too easy or hard to adjust to on the metronome. Never stop once you start reading something until the piece is over. The worse thing you can do is stop. If you miss something, just try to keep your place in the music, this is the most important thing. 1. Go to the "member's area" and download the file "beat reading." Find some music at home or from a local library and do the beat reading 10 minutes a day. 2. Rhythm Primer: start with first pages. You want to work these exercises up to a very fast tempo. I'm talking like 120 bpm for a measure (so a whole measure goes by in one beat of the metronome). Obviously, you're not going to start there, but start where you're comfortable and speed up the exercise each day. Read from this book for 5 minutes then move on, just one page a week. 3. Rhythms Volume One: Three pages a week. First read through the 3 pages. Over time you want to start using the metronome on beats 2 and 4 rather than every beat or 1 and 3. Isolate the measures you have problems with after reading all the way through and work on them. Do this for 10 minutes. 4. Rhythms Volume Two is the same as Volume One except you will use the metronome on every beat. 5. Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One can drive ya nuts so be patient with this book: One page a week, don't look at the fretboard and use the midifiles on the muse-eek.com website to let you know if you are correct or not. Start REAL slow. Don't worry if you make a lot of mistakes, this will improve overtime. Make sure that you are standing when you work with this book. This should be 5 to 10 minutes of practice. You want to move through the book by keys, so first do low E string in C then A string in C, etc.. 6. LINES will be one key a week (10 pages). Obviously you will be able to read through the 1st 4 pages much easier than the pages with double stops etc ... If you have to play the multiple note chords really slow, that's totally cool. You'll see over time that you'll just start to remember the shapes. Should be about 10 minutes of practice. 7. As you get better with the reading you also want to read just about any kind of music that you can find and vary it as much as you can. I'm working on a new section of the website with downloadable pdfs of music to sight read, but this may be awhile. If you run into problems or questions let me know.

Q	Hi, I am a guitar player using your beginners courses (fanatics guide, and complete one note). Currently my playing consists of patterns and memorized licks I can hear in my mind. It sounds pretty good but is not very free. As of now I am not playing in a band and I thought it may be beneficial to cease playing the guitar for a while to concentrate on this new approach for my musicianship. What are your thoughts on this? If I should keep playing, what kinds of practicing should I do? I feel that I don't want to reinforce any of the habitual ways of hearing and playing I use.
A	I'm glad to hear you have started on the ear training. This may be a long path for you but at the other end you will really "hear" music and that makes all the difference. I don't think you should stop playing, I think you should just expand. Obviously it's good to hear stuff in your head and then play it, but it's also good to understand what you hear intellectually so you can play something and then realize all the possibilities. I would recommend you add a couple of things into your playing/practice sessions. Actually some of these things could be done without a guitar. Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One and Volume Two. Both of these books will actually help you with your ear training too. You need to develop your understanding of theory so that when you hear a note, and let's say you know that note is the 5th and you know your in Gb, then you need to instantly know that note is Db and then you instantly need to know where that is on the guitar. These two theory books will help that to happen. I also think you need to go to www.arnoldjazz.com and the music workshop and download the 19 scales. You want to learn a new scale each week or every other week depending on how much you practice. You are going to first work your way through all the C modes, so first C major all positions and then C dorian positions etc. Remember, we are learning note names and degrees here, not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. Reference the Guitar Technique ebook and be anal about this because the more relaxed and close to the neck your hand is the better you are going to play. You also want to spend time playing/improvising with the scales. Use the midifiles and progressions connected to the 2nd Theory book or create your own. You should also download the applying music theory article from the "member's area" this will give you other ideas on sequencing scales. It's a little advanced but if you need some help applying let me know. Because you haven't approached music with such a structured practice style give yourself a break and try to incorporate all this stuff slowly over a couple of months. The important thing is to keep doing this for a few years. If you give this stuff some time amazing things will happen.

Q	I'm having a hard time deciding which book I should buy, the music theory workbook or the chord workbook. I have been playing guitar for about 2 years (mostly in the flatpick bluegrass style) and have had theory course in college (7 years ago), so I have something of a decent foundation. I want to stay sharp in my knowledge of theory and how it relates to guitar playing, so I was excited to find that you offered workbooks (with the answers!!). I wonder if one of the books I mentioned would be "better" to learn first, or if one is more advanced than the other, or if they are geared toward different approaches...etc. Any info you could give me would be very helpful and appreciated.
A	The two books do entirely different things. The Theory book presents you with exercises that you fill out. Most of the book deals with spelling chords (from simple to highly complex) and writing down where these chords would be on a music staff and on the guitar fretboard. This book is excellent for getting music theory knowledge and applying it directly to the guitar. The Chord Workbook actually contains the same explanation of theory as the Theory books but none of the music theory exercises. The Chord Workbook contains all the chords that you would commonly find in a well put together chord book but this book contains chord progressions so you can apply the chords you are learning. This is crucial. If you are ever going to use a chord, you need to practice it with real music and have examples of how it is used. The chord progressions provide you with an outlet for all of this. There is also a reharmonization section which explains chord reharmonization. The chord progressions, along with giving you examples of how the chords are used, also give you examples of how to apply the reharmonization method. This reharmonization method is useful for any type of music including bluegrass. The examples are more weighted towards jazz, but if you use less reharmonization you can apply these concepts to any style. I'm not sure of your goals, but the above explanations should give you a pretty good idea of the books contents. If you want a well-rounded approach to your music studies I would recommend getting both of these books and the Ear Training One Note Complete book which will get your ears developing along with your mind. I would also recommend you go to www.arnoldjazz.com and the music workshop and download the 19 scales. Learn a new scale each week if you can. You are going to first work your way through all the C modes, so first C major all positions and then C dorian positions etc. Remember, we are learning note names and degrees here, not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. Reference the Guitar Technique ebook to make sure you are using the proper technique. This is important! If you decide to go for all of this you will see some amazing progress in your ability. Give yourself 6 months of practicing this stuff an hour or two a day and you'll be turning some heads.

Q	I am left-handed and a few years ago, I took guitar lessons from a teacher who told me to play right-handed. I found the going extremely difficult, either because I was playing right-handed or simply because I had no talent. Now I would like to try again, this time, playing left-handed. Would your book help? If not, could you please recommend some other book? Also any recommendations for a good left-handed guitar, or should I buy a right-handed guitar and reverse the strings?
A	I do have some books that I think would be good for you. It's really a matter of whether you want to spend the time dealing with the fact that they are written for a right handed guitarist. For Instance, Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One and Two are excellent for helping you build up your knowledge of Music Theory and the fretboard. All exercises could be filled in, it wouldn't matter if you were right or left-handed, but the answers in the back of the book would be shown for a right-handed guitarist. You could hold the back of each page up to your computer monitor and read through the back-side of the page to see the left hand answers. Most students only need the answers for the first couple of pages and then they understand the process and continue without constantly checking the answers so this book might work for you. I think 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist would be good too. There are three important things you could gain from this book. 1. How to physically play correctly. There is a detailed explanation of how to use both hands with pictures and videos to help you understand. This information is crucial to developing proper technique, which will make all the difference in the world for your progress. 2. Chord progressions with rhythms written out for your strumming hand. This will help you develop basic strumming skills. For the chords you will have to once again look through the back of the page. For most chords I think it would be quite simple for you to figure them out quickly. 3. A detailed explanation of rhythm and reading rhythm. This will be important when you come across rhythms in music that you might need to read. It will also help you to gain a mental image of how music is organized rhythmically. Working through the strumming patterns will also help point out any rhythm problems you might have. This is very important to your rhythmic development and overall musicianship. There is one more book I would get that is an ear training book and wouldn't be affected by your left hand approach. This book is Ear Training One Note Complete. I can't stress how important it is to also develop your ear as you develop musically. It will make all the difference in the long run to your overall ability.

Q	My son just started college this year and is taking music theory. This is the first interest in music he has expressed, besides having a car stereo that is rated on the Richter Scale rather than in decibels. Music isn't his major but he sounds like he wants it for a hobby. I'm overwhelmed because I see it as a blessing in that we can rebuild our broken relationship. We haven't talked so much in years. The real question is how can I direct him when it comes to ear training. I know that they will use interval training in the class. I have loaned him One Note Complete and told him that if he followed the method he would be able to hear much better than the interval method. I know that this will cause him confusion because when they test him on intervals he needs to be able to pass their test but using your method. What do you recommend? I loaned him a guitar and ordered him your First Steps book.
A	Well I think you did the right thing to give him the ear training book. At least now he knows there is an alternative. It really shows you care about him and he will realize that maybe not now but certainly later if he continues with music and realizes that the interval thing just isn't cutting it. First Steps also is a good choice because if he starts learning the guitar and follows even half of the information on proper technique he will improve quickly. Of course he could use Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One but you might want to wait until you are sure he is serious because that is a hard book and takes a lot of will power and determination. It's a great way for a guitarist to learn music theory. Applying music theory to your own instrument is the best way to make sense of your instrument and also a great way to help you remember all of the theory relationships because you see them on your instrument. Wishing you the best of luck with your son he's lucky to have a father who cares. If you need further advice let me know.

Q	I have never played a musical instrument before and have decided to learn to play the guitar. I started with Guitar for Dummies, because someone gave me the book. I still haven't mastered playing chords, which is the first part of the book. The problem here is trying to remember where to place my fingers on the fret board then changing to the next chord. I assume that trying this over and over 7 days a week will solve this problem. I had no idea if what I was playing sounded right, so I thought that Ear Training was the thing to do. I purchased One Note Ear Training Beginning Level. Do I need to learn something about music notation, before working on Ear Training? Should I be working with some of your guitar books before continuing with Ear Training? As someone with an electronics and mathematical background I have the inclination to go look up the frequencies and mathematical relationship between the notes. Would this help me any in learning to play an instrument?
A	Thanks for contacting me. I would recommend you get 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist. You first want to study the section on proper playing technique. Look at the pictures and the videos to make sure you are playing correctly. This will make a major difference in your progress. Second I would look at the chord voicing and start applying them to the chord progressions. These progressions have midifiles and mp3 files that you can download to help you hear what they should sound like which will help you learn quicker. Along with the 1st Steps book I would get Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. This book will help you learn music theory and apply it directly to the guitar. This will improve your understanding of music and how it relates to your instrument. The other book I would recommend would be one of the Ear Training One Note books which you already have. I would spend 30 minutes to an hour on the 1st Steps book. 15-20 minutes a day on the Music Theory and do the Ear Training book with a discman throughout the day when you have a break. Try to do the Ear Training 4 to 5 times a day for 5 to 10 minutes. If you have further questions let me know. I would also recommend reading the FAQs found for each of these books on the muse-eek.com website. I would also recommend you join the free member's area on the muse-eek.com website now that you own a muse eek book. There is a lot of additional information found in this section of the website that will be useful to you. I think Guitar for Dummies is a good reference book. It will help you with basic understanding of the guitar. I think the book falls short in that the chord progressions are not that hip and the explanation of how to physically play the guitar is not well developed. But I say over all of the books available it is a good purchase. I wouldn't particularly recommend you look up the frequencies and mathematical relationships between the notes. While interesting, it isn't the main thing that I think you need to learn right now. Having an electronics and mathematical background though may help you to relate music to a field you currently understand.

Q	I bought a guitar very recently and am very much motivated to play it. I looked around for resources and books and found your books on amazon. First I bought 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist and then Music Theory Workbook Volume One following some of your advice and suggestions from co-readers on the site. Soon after that, I saw your FAQ suggestions and strong recommendation on the Ear Training, so I got it too... Looking around those 3 materials, I realized there is plenty to learn (actually overwhelming!) and the stuff you speak about in the workbook and ear training isn't going to be easy for a beginner like myself. I haven't played any instrument before. I work around 10-12 hours a day and additionally I have my language lessons, workouts, etc, etc that keep my day/weekends quite exciting and busy. I actually enjoy being busy. What type of a schedule would you personally recommend for a person like myself? I am a bit confused because my concern is - I want to spend optimum time on the right book/CD so that my progress is stable and keeps going on and on... at the same time it shouldn't demand any time more than what I really have. Although I am learning it to play it just for myself, I have some objectives: 1. Know the instrument properly. 2. Hear to any music (especially from my favorite rock stars) and play them. Do you think I made a wrong decision by getting all the 3 resources at the same time? Where should I exactly start? Should chords be part of my first lessons or is it the theory part?
A	You made the right decision to get all 3 books if you have the will power and concentration to fit them into what sounds like a very busy life. I think one of the key things here is do you have any spare time at work where you could listen to an ear training CD for 5 minutes maybe 3 to 5 times and/or do 10 minutes of music theory work. If you do then I'd spend between 1/2 hour and 1 1/2 hours a day playing guitar and do some extra practicing on the weekends. The important thing is to be consistent. If you can only practice 1/2 an hour a day then be consistent and always practice that amount. This is one of the main keys to becoming a good musician. Of course you have to also realize that only practicing a 1/2 hour a day it will take longer to progress than if you practice more. But this is your situation now so work within your current situation and try to figure out a way in the future to devote more time to music.

Q	I have the first books and I am ready to start. What type of schedule should I use to practice? I take the train to work so I have an extra hour and a half away from the guitar to do the exercises in the workbook.
A	For the Ear Training One Note Complete book try to listen to the Ear Training One Note CD 5 to 10 times a day for 5 to 10 minutes. Make sure to go to www.muse-eek.com and read all the FAQs this can help you think of this practice correctly. Doing this on the train is a good idea. Now for the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One you want to learn around 10 new chords a week. Go through the chords from the beginning and make sure you learn them all. Use the cycle 5 suggestion to help you memorize these chords. If you already know quite a few go to the back of the book and start learning the chord progressions. You should try to learn one chord progression per week. There are mp3 files up on the muse-eek.com website for these progressions. Look under the title and you will see a folder on the left side called mp3. The Music Theory books you want to do one page a day from Volume One. Additional stuff: You need to go to www.arnoldjazz.com and the music workshop and download the 19 scales. You want to learn a new scale each week. You are going to first work your way through all the C modes so first C major all positions then C dorian positions etc. Remember we are learning note names and degrees here not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. I'd recommend you buy the the Guitar Technique ebook and check out how I recommend you play the guitar. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006J9UF/museeekpublishin Be anal about this because the more relaxed and close to the neck your hand is the better you are going to play. You also want to spend time playing/improvising with these scales. Use the midifiles and progressions connected to Music Theory Workbook Volume Two or make up your own. You can find the Music Theory Workbook files under the book title on the muse-eek.com website. Also download the applying music theory article from the member's area this will give you other ideas on sequencing scales.

Q	I have previously studied classical guitar, especially Spanish master's pieces by Tarrega, Torres and Segovia, and some Brazilians like Villalobos, obviously as an interpreter. Needless to say, in a pretty much mechanistic way since I feel my knowledge in music theory is rather too modest, not to say mediocre. I've read outstanding reviews about your accomplished musicianship and teaching approaches and therefore I would like to get some advise from you; I am planning to purchase some of your publications and in face of your prolific editorial production I would like to count on your proficient advise to choose the right ones for me. As I said before, I have some background, I don't have huge playing limitations, in terms of my playing skills I would rank myself as an intermediate-to-advanced amateur player. I am looking forward to getting an in-depth understanding of basics in chord construction, classification and terminology, intervals and scales over chords concepts. Needless to say, exercises on modes and scales are always welcome as well as other concepts not mentioned above.
A	I would recommend the following books for you. Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volumes One and Two Chord Workbook for Guitar Volumes One and Two Ear Training One Note Complete Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training Guitar Technique Ebook If you let me know the amount of time you have to practice I will help you with a practice schedule. If you want me to do this also let me know when throughout the day you might have 10 to 15 minutes of down time that you could do ear training exercises with a discman. You need to go to www.arnoldjazz.com and the music workshop and download the 19 scales. You want to learn a new scale each week. You are going to first work your way through all the C modes so first C major all positions then C dorian positions etc. Remember we are learning note names and degrees here not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. Reference the Guitar Technique book and be anal about this because the more relaxed and close to the neck your hand is the better you are going to play. You also want to spend time playing/improvising with these scales. Use the midifiles and progressions connected to the book or create your own. Download the applying music theory article from the member's area this will give you other ideas on sequencing scales. PS Guitar Clinic would also be a good book because the back of the book contains information on 3 very important concepts of improvisation.

Q	How do I exploit the Music Theory Workbook to help me become able to play the pieces from the Comping Styles, up to speed, with decent tonality, within an elderly man's lifetime? Or, if all I can aspire to do is play the toughest bass notes from a page, what is there to gain from the study of theory?
A	First let me say a few things to give you some perspective. For many people it takes about a year to work through the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. Comping Styles for Bass or Guitar Volume Two requires a pretty good knowledge of 16th note rhythms. I would recommend working through Rhythms Volume Two before attempting Comping Styles if you have weak 16th note reading ability. I also recommend Rhythm Primer to those students that really haven't read much music at all. For my ensembles at NYU it takes one year for students to work through the Comping Styles book. They only attempt this book after working through Rhythm Primer and Rhythms Volume Two. I think the best way to think about music theory is through an analogy. In order to understand a language like English you need some knowledge of how to spell words and how sentences are organized etc... You of course could learn English just by someone teaching you how to say phrases but by using this method you would have a great difficulty forming your own phrases correctly because you don't understand the nuts and bolts of the language. The same holds true of Music Theory. So let's look at how that applies specifically to Comping Styles. If you learn Music Theory you would understand which notes I'm picking for the bass line and how those notes relate to the chords. This knowledge will help you form your own bass lines when you are playing a Funk piece with another group. It is also of course important to know the names of all the notes on the bass and where the chord tones are for every chord type. By learning that information you will find the notes in the Comping Styles examples quicker and you will be able to substitute other possible chord tones for each example because you will know what notes are theoretically possible. I hope this helps you see the importance of Music Theory in making you a better musician. You will find that sooner or later the music theory information just becomes 2nd nature just like speaking a language is for you now. Keep Practicing. It won't take a lifetime, it just takes application and dedication everyday.

Q	A few days ago I ran into your books via Amazon reader feedback. I am 44, just starting with music (playing the electric guitar, reading, ear training) and struggling my ass off at Music School, where everybody is 18 to 22 years old, except the instructors, at 28 to 32 years of age. Hell, they could ALL be my children! Well, so I saw the light late, perhaps I am slower, blinder and more stubborn than others, but I finally recognized (after a lot of self doubt) that I am not an Economist so here I am studying music. Weeeell, the reason I'm writing you is to say 'thanks for existing' and for writing all those wonderful books of yours, which the magic of Amazon is delivering to my doorstep in Buenos Aires. The love for music and for teaching is apparent in every sentence you write. You see, Argentina being one of those oral-tradition societies that don't really believe in books as applied to learning, all the stuff said in class is oral, write-it down in your notebook and then go home and practice. So I go home and try to practice, and miss not having my teacher next to me, because I sort of feel lost, trying to remember everything that was said in class but I couldn't jot down because I had a guitar in my hands, never mind that my brain seizes because even though it's beginner level, the guitar class is truly challenging for me. Now you come along, with your books, and work-books, and CDs, and midi-files, and for the first time I now get the feeling I can really do this, because I have all the material I need at home, as books, CDs, midi files from muse-eek, etc, that I can work at my own pace and not get stuck and de-motivated. Mostly I have been a self-learner all my life, so your books come hand-in-glove for my needs. :-) Oh, and I do have one question for you. As an ex-glider flight instructor, we were all aware that learning speed decreased linearly with age. As such that we had a golden rule for all normally-abled students, that required a minimum number of instructor-accompanied flight equal to the student's age plus 10 before the student was allowed to fly solo. The question then is: Is there any data on how music learning times are affected by age? Sort of like languages take longer to learn as you get older (and music is a language). PS: If I can pay you back with just two ideas... :-) 1. Get your stuff translated into spanish, that's a big market, and many other languages as well. Surely the text is easy as pie to translate, and you could get some languages grad students at Princeton to help-out. 2. How about some really simple software to track ear-training progress? (perhaps there's a pattern as to which exercises you hit and which you miss, so the software can play the ones you miss more often, and also tell you via a histogram chart how your doing. Again you could get computer science students to help-out.
A	Nice to hear from you and thanks for your kind words. I'm glad the books are helping you because you are exactly the type of person I wrote these books for. Mentally it has been shown through studies that a person does not learn less efficiently as they age. Of course physically people do develop arthritis and other ailments but the mind works just fine. I think one reason people feel that it's harder to learn as they get older is that they have preconceived ideas about what they are learning or they have to unlearn bad habits before learning the correct ones. Because of this learning can be more time consuming but this just takes dedication and persistence to overcome this hurdle. You should read Eric Kandel and Larry Squire's book 'Memory: From Mind to Molecules.' This book really goes to the heart of how we learn and is important to help you understand how to improve quicker with your music studies. I've taught and studied this way my whole life and it's great to have a Nobel Prize winner confirm what I've noticed in myself and my students. Link below for book. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/- /0805073450/qid=1068559715/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002- 4708838-3970425?v=glance&s=books Thanks also for your suggestions. I thought of both but haven't acted on either yet.

Q	When working through the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume 1, on P. 24 (the first page that starts with 7th chords), a line on the page reads 'Therefore a -7 is a major seventh with a flatted 3rd and flatted 5th.' Shouldn't it be a flatted 3rd and flatted 7th? I don't know if this has been corrected since I bought the book; I didn't see anything up on the updates and additions page. I am enjoying working on the music theory workbooks, it really shows one how weak one's theory knowledge really is. Can you suggest me a book from your book list (at arnoldjazz.com), or from anywhere else, that talks in detail about the different tuning systems (i.e. Just Intonation v. Equal Temperament)? Sometimes when listening to the One Note CD, I sometimes notice that the natural 3 (also sometimes I notice the natural 7th) sounds different, than the natural third in say Indian Classical Music for example.
A	Page 24 of Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One has a mistake. You can download the corrected page at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/book_corrections/bookcorrects.html I would recommend Genesis of a Music by Harry Partch as a good place to start to understand the world of alternate tuning systems and the history of it's application.

Q	I'd like a little advice on what books to purchase. Right now, I am a beginner. I am working through Hal Leonard's Play Guitar Today series which basically teaches the user to read in 1st position, a little in 5th position, delves into chords a bit, technique, and a bit on theory (scales, etc). After I complete those books, I want to keep up my studies. I've been looking at Leavitt's Modern method for guitar, David Oakes's music reading for guitar, Leavitt's Reading studies for guitar, and of course your books. What I want to do is to keep developing my ability to read music on the guitar but to further my knowledge in theory as well. I want to know how (and to recognize when) to read in different positions, recognize things like different keys, develop my knowledge of scales, things of that nature. Single String studies piqued my interest. Will this book teach me reading, position changing, how to transpose, things like that? What about proper rhythm, time signature and music notation? Does SSS cover these things? How far up the fretboard will SSS take me?
A	Thanks for contacting me. I've given you a pretty comprehensive look at studying guitar. I'm sure it will be overwhelming but take some time and study what I've said. Most importantly, if you do decide to get serious about this and start working from my recommendations, build up your practice time slowly over a few months. Don't just jump in and overwhelm yourself. Throughout this email I'll make some recommendations for books that will help you: 1. Learn read music on the guitar 2. Learn to read in different positions, 3. Recognize things like different keys 4. Develop your knowledge of scales 5. Include additional suggestions and assignments I'll first make some comments of the books you mentioned. I'm not familiar with David Oakes's book. Leavitt's Modern Method and his sight reading books I both learned out of when I was at Berklee and taught from when I taught at Berklee. I have to say I'm not totally in love with these books and that's one of the main reasons I wrote my own methods. I would say in general it is good to own and have worked through Leavitt's books because it does show you how to develop reading in one position and gives you little reading exercises, shows you the 5 position scales. On the other hand: 1. I don't believe reading in position is always the best thing to do. As a professional guitarist most music I play is not stay in one diatonic key so the position play is a hindrance rather than a help. Of course if all you every play is diatonic music position playing is fine. 2. I think learning scales in only 5 positions isn't the total picture. I teach scales starting in all 7 positions with 3 notes on every string. I find this method helps to open up the guitar fretboard in a more linear fashion. You can download my scales for free at http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/wslinks.html#SCALES 3. Leavitt's book does teach you about scales, chords and music theory. But honestly, just because you read something in a book doesn't mean you know it the way you will need to use it. It's kind of like if you read a book about speaking French and it explained all the words and how they are put together into sentences. You still wouldn't be able to speak French because you need to apply and use the information. This is were the Leavitt books fall short because once your at Berklee College they give you the exercises to help you apply the information. I guess they feel if they include this information in book form students wouldn't have any need to go to the school. This of course would be short sighted because Berklee can add so much more to your education but most students don't think that deeply. So this brings me to what I would recommend. I'm going to give you a rather large list here so don't think I'm just trying to get you to buy a million books I just want to set out a course of study for you over the next few years so you can develop into a great guitarist. The amount of this that you can work through at any given time will depend of how much time you have to practice everyday. To develop yourself I think you need to explore the following things: 1. Make sure your guitar technique is correct so you don't go off learning a bunch of stuff only to find later that your technique was flawed and have to start over. 2. Develop you ability to play any chord and read through chord charts that either give you chord voicings or chord symbols 3. Develop your music theory in relation to understanding all commonly used chords and scales and have a working knowledge of this information on the guitar fretboard. 4. Develop your knowledge of the fretboard in conjunction with reading music in time. 5. Develop your overall sight reading skills. 6. Develop an ability to play and apply all the scales you need for improvising which will also help with your overall technique and sight reading skills. Now here are the books I would recommend for each of the points above. I've also given you a more detailed explanation below. These books would be what I would begin with: 1. Guitar Technique ebook 2. Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One 3. Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One and Two 4. Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One 5. LINES Sight Reading and Sight Singing Exercises 6. Rhythm Primer Here is a more detailed explanation with practice tips: 1. Get Guitar Technique ebook so you can see how to play correctly with both hands. 2. Get Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One. Start learning the chords cycle 5 as suggested in the book and as soon as possible start learning the chord progressions in the back of the book. You want to learn both the chord symbol and chord voicing examples for each exercise. You can also find examples of me playing these progressions at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/chord1/mp3.html 3. I would recommend working through both Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volumes One and Two. I'd do a page out of each book a day if possible. This course of study will take you about a year but you will know all chord types everywhere on the guitar and all of the important scales used in music 4. Single String Studies will help you develop your knowledge of the fretboard in conjunction with reading music in time. Keep in mind that this book is hard and will take you some time before you can play any of the exercises completely correct. Most students find they have to work through this book at least two times before things start to click so be patient. Start with metronome on 60 and give yourself two clicks for each note. The first exercises are all on one string. I would recommend going through the book as follows: C major low E string exercise C major A string C major D string C major G string C major B string C major high E string Then start the process over in the key of F. Do the all strings study after completing all single string studies. Try to work towards not looking at the fretboard but feeling where each note is. 5. LINES would be a good book to get you reading in all keys. Read first four pages of each key as fast as possible. Half equals 132 would be a good place to start. Once you work through the book start reading the 2 note examples at a slower tempo like quarter equals 60. I would work on these two exercises through all keys in this book. Try to do one key a week. 6. Rhythm Books First you need to understand how rhythms are written out. There is a file in the member's area which explains the basic of rhythm and how to write out various types of rhythm. You need to develop your recognition of rhythms written on a page and also learn and internalize what they sound like. I would recommend you start working through the rhythm series of books in order to gain this ability. The rhythm books have midi files with them so you can play along with a file. This will help you know if you are playing the rhythms correctly. Start with Rhythm Primer and follow the directions given in the book. Overtime you want to work through the following rhythm books to fully develop your sight reading skills. The books are in order: Rhythm Primer Rhythms Volume One Rhythms Volume Two Odd Meters Rhythms Volume Three Contemporary Rhythms Volume One Contemporary Rhythms Volume Two Scales Remember we are just doing an introduction to all these scales they don't have to be fast but they need to be consistent and Gb major should be as strong as C major. You need to go to www.arnoldjazz.com and the music workshop and download the 19 scales. You want to learn a new scale each week. You are going to first work your way through all the C modes so first C major all positions then C dorian positions etc. Remember we are learning note names and degrees here not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. Reference the Guitar Technique book and be anal about this because the more relaxed and close to the neck your hand is the better you are going to play. You also want to spend time playing/improvising with thes scales. Use the midifiles and progressions connected to the book or create your own. Download the applying music theory article from the member's area this will give you other ideas on sequencing scales. You can also use the midifile from the 2nd Music Theory book which are downloadable at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/mtwbforguit2/midi.html You can also use flash cards to test yourself. Make the following flash cards: 1 set with list of all 19 scales. 1 set with degrees 1-7. 1 set with all keys. SIDE NOTE: Augment reading out of these recommended books with books that you check out of your local library or other sources. Remember to read as many types of music and manuscripts as you can find. SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION If at some point you want to study reading like a freshman majoring in music here is the assignments and books given for any student entering NYU as a jazz guitar major: 1. Go to the member's area and download the file 'beat reading.' Find some music at home or from a local library and do the beat reading 10 minutes a day. 2. Rhythm Primer: start with first pages. You want to work these exercises up to a very fast tempo. I'm talking like 120 bpm for a measure (so a whole measure goes by in one beat of the metronome). Obviously your not going to start there but start where your comfortable and speed up the exercise each day. Read from this book for 5 minutes then move on. Just one page a week. 3. Rhythms Volume One: Three pages a week. First read through the 3 pages. Over time you want to start using the metronome on beats 2 and 4 rather than every beat or 1 and 3. Isolate the measures you have problem with after reading all the way through and work on them. Do this for 10 minutes. 4. Rhythms Volume Two is the same as Volume One except you will use the metronome on every beat. 5. Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One can drive ya nuts so be patient with this book. One page a week, don't look at the fretboard, use the midifiles on the muse-eek.com website to let you know if you are correct or not. Start REAL slow. Don't worry if you make a lot of mistakes this will improve overtime. Make sure you're standing when you work with this book. This should be 5 to 10 minutes of practice. You want to move through the book by keys so first do low E string in C then A string in C, etc.. 6. LINES will be one key a week (10 pages). Obviously you will be able to read through the first 4 pages much easier than the pages with double stops etc. If you have to play the multiple note chords really slow that's totally cool. You'll see over time you'll just start to remember the shapes. Should be about 10 minutes of practice. 7. As you get better with the reading you also want to add in reading just any kind of music you can find and vary it as much as you can. I'm working on a new section of the website with downloadable pdfs of music to sight read but this may be awhile. EVEN MORE INFORMATION This is the assignment sent out to NYU guitar students to prepare for entry into NYU Assignments: Suggested Work for entry into NYU performance program You want to read one hour a day. 10 minutes or so from each of these books. If you have time left over read classical music, transcribed solos and any other music you can find. It is good to look at lots of different types of scores to train your eye to deal with multiple manuscript styles. 1. Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume: learn one chord progression starting on page 107 a week (use a swing/blues feel). Use metronome markings from book but make them half notes rather than quarters so the progression on page 107 would be a half note equals 80. Put the metronome on 2 and 4. You will be expected to play the progression by yourself and also solo over these changes while someone else comps for you. Learn to read chord voicings for this chord progression which is located on page 131. We usually do the reading of the actually chord voicings slower so say half note equals 60. You should go to the address below to hear me playing these progressions so you know what I'm looking for: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/chord1/mp3.html 2. Rhythms Volume #1 Read 3 pages a day, play rhythms on one note at half equals 80, metronome will be on 2 and 4. This will be with a swing feel. You can hear some examples at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/rhythm1/mp3.html We are shooting for a half note equals 120 with this book. Start where you are comfortable but always have the metronome on 2 and 4. If you are going to tap your foot tap it on 1 and 3 or not at all. 3. Rhythms Volume #2: 3 pages a day, play rhythms on one note. We are shooting for quarter equals 120 with this book. Start where you are comfortable. Metronome should be quarter notes. You should tap your foot with the quarters or not at all. 4. Single String Studies for Guitar Volume #1: Read one page a week and be patient with yourself this is a hard book, play exercise on one string, start somewhere at around quarter equals 50 with the metronome on each beat. Try not to look at the neck to find notes. You can find audio files to help you make sure you are playing correctly at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/sst1/midi.html 5. Rhythm Primer Pages 3 Pages a day. These are easier rhythms so the idea is to get your eye moving through music quicker so shoot for a whole note equals 200 on the first 6 pages or so. Once you get into the eight note studies slow the metronome down to around a half equals 120. 6. LINES: Read first four pages of each key as fast as possible. Half equals 132 would be a good place to start. If that is fine then start reading the 2 note examples at a slower tempo like quarter equals 60. I would work on these two exercises through all keys in this book. Try to do one key a week. ******************* Jury requirements: I'd like you to get through the 19 most commonly used scales in improvising. You can find a list with fingerings at: http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/wslinks.html#SCALES All keys all degrees. Learn it by the notes not the patterns. Technique is extremely important here so if you can send a video before starting that would be great. I would learn the scales all in one key and then move to another so. C major then C dorian then C phrygian. etc... The learn them all in F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, B, E, A, D, G. Use flash cards to check yourself so: 7 cards for degrees of scale (there are 6 and 8 notes in some of the scales but just use 7 cards) 12 cards for the keys 19 cards for the modes You turn over a degree card it says 5th You turn over a key card and it says Gb You turn over a mode card and it says Dorian b2 So you play a Gb Dorian b2 scale from the 5th. These scales do not have to be fast but should be played consistently from beginning to end without stopping. *********************** Ear Training: Get: Ear Training One Note Complete Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training Follow the concepts laid out in the book. Go to the muse-eek.com website and read the FAQs. http://www.muse-eek.com/books/ET_1_note_complete/eartrngfaq.html http://www.muse-eek.com/books/fanaticsguide/lower.html Try to do work out of both of these books about 5 times a day for about 10 minutes. It would actually be a great idea to get these two books soon. The ear training process takes quite a while. Email me if you have questions. If you can get a head start on this stuff it's going to make a major difference in your ability and your work-load at NYU. As I'm sure you know it's hard to find time to practice when you are in school so getting some of this basic stuff together before hand will help us concentrate on the hipper stuff.

Q	What is the circle of 4th's relationship to key signatures?
A	Cycle 5 and Cycle 4 are really the same thing it just depends on which way you think of it. If you move up a 4th from C you get F. If you move down a 5th from C you get F. If you go up a 5th from C you get G. If you go down a 4th from C you get G. Below are the complete cycles of keys for both movements. If we go down in 5th we get: 1. up in 4ths C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, B, E, A, D, G, If we go down in 4ths we get: 2. down in 4ths C, G, D, A, E, B, Gb, Db, Ab, Eb, Bb, F If we go down in 5ths we have the same as up in 4ths: 3. down in 5ths C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, B, E, A, D, G If we go up in 5ths we have the same as down in 4ths: 4. up in 5ths C, G, D, A, E, B, Gb, Db, Ab, Eb, Bb, F

Q	Is there a technique that you can suggest to help someone memorize the notes on the guitar?
A	Because I don't know your level it's a little difficult to help you out. I would recommend playing all major scales up and down each string. This will help you memorize the notes but keep you from memorizing patterns. To do this I would start on the low E string and play a C major scale up the E string E F G A B C D E F G ... go as high as you have frets on the guitar Then move to the A string and play a C major scale A B C D E F G A B C D ... go as high as you have frets on the guitar Continue on the D, G, B, and high E strings. I would then switch keys to F major and start back at the low E string. So the notes in F major on the E string would be: E F G A Bb C D E F go as high as you have frets on the guitar Continue through all 6 strings and then move on to the following keys in this order Bb Eb Ab Db Gb B E A D G In the long run I would recommend working through the Music Theory Workbooks for Guitar Volumes One and Two so you can learn how the notes on the guitar fit into chords and scales.

Q	I am studying from these books: One-Note Complete Fanatics Guide Rhythm Primer Single String Studies for Guitar VOL.1 Chord Workbook for Guitar VOL.2 Music Reading for Guitar (The Complete Method) by David Oakes and for now studying theory from different websites. I plan on ordering your Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Vol.1 on Monday. I am a lefty who played righty for about 15 years but about 2 years ago decided to teach myself lefty because I could not get my staccato up to the speed that I wanted. Now after drilling myself in proper technique, the speed in my picking hand is better then when I was playing righty and my vibrato is better. QUESTIONS: 1. Fanatic's Guide - On tracks 5 and 10 I cannot reach the 13 with my voice and if I lower the tonic down an octave then I can't go low enough to sing the 1. Here is where I am starting the singing for each tonic on the guitar for each track: Track One: C on 3rd fret A string. Track Two: F on 3rd fret D string. Track Three: Bb on 1st fret A string. Track Four: Eb on 1st fret D string. Track Five: Ab on 6th fret D string. Track Six: Db on 4th fret A string. Track Seven: Gb on 4th fret D string. Track Eight: B on 2nd fret A string. Track Nine: E on 2nd fret E string. Track Ten: A on 7th fret D string. Track Eleven: D on 5th fret A string. Track Twelve: G on 5th fret D string. 2. On Rhythm Primer you say to get up to playing a whole measure equals one beat at 100 bpm. How am I going to play that fast with 2 downstrokes in a row? I can only play a measure equals one beat at about 55 bpm with consecutive downstrokes. And when it comes to playing the beats on 2 and 4 I have to put the metronome on 100 at a half note equals a measure to feel the beats on 2,4. 3. On Single String Studies I assume that when it comes to the All Strings Exercises you can play any single note on any fret of any string as long as it is the correct octave pitch. So it is a matter of quick decision? 4. I ordered as a seconds Chord Workbook for Guitar Vol. 1 but they sent me Vol. 2 instead. I kept it because I realized that on the top of the pages it shows the spellings for each chord and therefore I can on my own create each of the chords that are on volume one by simply locating the tonic on the low E string or A string and from there go get a fake book and start applying the six and five string bar chords. The only thing I would be missing would be your reharmonization method for Vol.1? Also if I were to play in a band with just a drummer and bass player should I play the six and five string chords or should I play the 4 string chords and inversions? I know 4 string chords are good for ensemble and chord melody. 5. Are you familiar with Music Reading for Guitar by David Oakes? He teaches reading in 5th position, 5th position 8va, open position, 2nd position, 3rd position, 7th position, 12th position, and SHIFTING POSITIONS - The Pipeline he says 'I like to think of positions as sharp-key and flat-key reading areas on the neck. For example, first position is a flat-key reading area. Second position is a good sharp-key reading area. Third position is a flat-key reading area, and so on. I would never read a flat-key melody in the second position. For a melody in this range, I would choose first or third position, up and down the fingerboard (the pipeline technique).' 6. I am going to order your Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Vol.1 just to help drill in all the chord spellings as I will also play 6 and 5 string chords I construct to the progressions from Chord Workbook 2. Until I purchase Theory Workbook 2 I will use the scales on Arnoldjazz.com to improvise over the midifiles for Theory Workbook 2 on museek.com.
A	First with your question about being able to sing the 13th of the key of Ab which is the 5th track on the Fanatic's Guide CD. First let me say that in your well documented examples of where you sing each note you refer to singing the root of F major on the 3rd fret of the D string: Why not sing this note for the 13th of the key of Ab major? Once you get to the All String Studies in the Single String Studies book you can access the notes anywhere you feel is appropriate. Of course, you will first have read through all of the single string studies before attempting the all string studies so you should have a pretty good idea of the possibilities. I'm wondering with Rhythm Primer where you got the idea that you should play these exercises with only downstrokes? As a tempo gets quicker on the guitar you will need to alternate pick. Furthermore you shouldn't start these exercises faster than your current ability but should slowly work up to faster tempos. Sorry to hear that you received Volume Two rather than Volume One of the Chord Workbook for Guitar. Please contact Muse Eek and have them send you Volume One. I'm sure they will do this at no expense to you because it is their mistake. The chords in the second chord book are mostly used in ensemble playing though you will find the voicings in Volume One used especially in cases where the bass player is playing the same bass note over and over again. I am not familiar with the book Music Reading for Guitar by David Oakes. While I believe that position reading can be useful when reading melodies that are mostly in a key center, they really handicap a person when they read a melody that has a lot of accidentals, or switches keys frequently. Therefore I'm not that fond of a sight reading system that bases reading on positions. In general you will find that most melodies will be easy to read in either 5th or 7th position. While this is a generalization I have found this to be the case in most instances. Ledger-line melodies in upper positions should most certainly NOT be read vertically but should be read in a position that allows you to gain access to these notes quickly, especially when the melodies are fast and move through larger intervals. I think the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar would be a good addition to your learning materials. Hopefully you will take the advice I give you above and think it through. I wish you the best of luck with your music studies.

Q	Lets say each of the books/CDs of yours that I purchased are classes I am taking at a University. In which order would my classes be and for how long? I presently have all the time in the world for music, but unless I have a daily road map I sometimes get loose discipline. With the One Note and Fanatics I currently do each of them for 10 minutes one after the other for 8-10 times a day because I can only take them in small doses. So just insert 20 wherever in my routine that you think would be good to work on them. I OWN: 1. One-Note Complete 2. Fanatics Guide 3. Music Theory Workbook One 4. Chord Workbooks One and Two 5. Rhythm Primer 6. Single String Studies 7. 19 Scales off of Arnoldjazz.com ** a lot of different style sheet music
A	You want to build up to 6 to 10 hours a day. I would suggest doing this over a years worth of time in order to change your current life style and develop the mental and physical conditioning needed to work this hard. The schedule is below: 1. One-Note Complete and Fanatics Guide: Do short 10 minute practice periods 10 minutes for each book, alternating throughout the day. 2. Music Theory Workbook One: Work up to doing 5 pages a day. I'd break this up into a few different sessions each day 3. Chord Workbook One: Learn one new chord progression a day with associated chords. Play both the exercises with notes only and with chord symbols. Also, work your way through the book learning all chords cycle 5. I'd work through 5 to 6 new chords per week. 4. Chord Workbook Two: Learn one new chord type per week. Be able to play all the chords up and down the neck for each chord type. After completing this you will then work on the chord progressions. 5. Rhythm Primer: Follow directions in book. Play a new page each day. Try to work the tempo up as fast as you can using directions in book. 6. Single String Studies: One page per week moving to a new string, same key, each week. Do not look at the guitar neck as you play, try to feel where the notes are. Use midifiles to check your accuracy. 7. You should really have: Rhythms Volume One and Two and LINES along with a lot of different style sheet music to complete your sight reading studies. I want you to read one hour a day from the books and various sheet music. Download Beat Reading from the member's area, rhythm studies, and apply to various pieces of sheet music each day. Spend about 15 minutes doing this. 8. Learn the 19 Scales off of Arnoldjazz.com in all keys. I want you to learn all 19 scales in one key each week. Hopefully you have checked out Guitar Technique ebook so you don't go through all of this with bad technique and then have to start over later. 9. You need to apply the scales to real music. Make loops or vamps each day and apply the scales. Also download the Applying Music Theory from the Muse Eek member's area for other scale ideas to try when you improvise. You should spend at least 2 hours a day applying the scales. Remember to build into this so you don't hurt yourself. Again please check out the ebook guitar technique so you don't do all this work in vain.

Q	When you said play all the scales in one key each week did you mean A or B? (A) DIATONIC- key of C Maj. C Ionian, D dorian, E phrygian, etc. Or did you mean: (B) C Ionian, C dorian, C phrygian, etc. and when playing 7 positions for C Ionian starting on first fret low E which is F lydian I should be thinking F=1 G=2 etc., right? And not F=4 G=5 etc.
A	I meant B. C Ionian is not the same key as D Dorian or E Phrygian. The scales contain the same notes but are not thought of or heard the same way. You do not think F lydian when you start a C major scale from F. You think C major so F=4, G=5 etc... The fact that you have asked these questions shows me that you don't understand the ear training process that you are trying to master. I suggest rereading the ear training books. Remember just because you start on a note somewhere doesn't make it the root of some key. If you have problems hearing a C scale starting from F in the key of C then I suggest you record a C vamp or play the corresponding track from the Fanatic's Guide while you play the scale to make sure you are hearing it properly.

Q	When I hear E in A Maj I think 5. If I were to hear C in G Maj, I think 4, no confusion. Here is the confusion: I have a video by Vinnie Moore that says F lydian is in the same key as C Ionian, just starting on a different degree of the major scale. He says 'So if someone says lets jam in D dorian you would know that you are in C Ionian.' Then he plays the 7 modes over a B note vamp so you can really hear the different tonalities of each mode. Then he says that they were all in different keys, that B Ionian is not the same key as B dorian or B phrygian but that they were played over the same root note.
A	I haven't seen the Vinnie Moore video so I'm only going on your word but I assure you that the key of F lydian is a completely different tonality than C major. To use your examples, if you play a C in F lydian it will sound like the 5th. If you play an F in the key of C major it will sound like the 4th. Therefore, these key centers are not the same. If someone says lets jam in D dorian you do not think C major you think D Dorian because you are in the key of D dorian not C major. By the way if you understood my ear training you would have realized this is true.

Q	Wow! It finally sunk into my thick skull. A mode is a tonality and not just one scale in one position like I thought, the 7 different positions you show for each mode are all in the same tonality (mode). And when improvising, many chords have avoid notes like F in Cmaj7 chord, so C Ionian would have F as the avoid note. Playing C dorian over Cmin7 there is no avoid note. I really should have read the ear training book more carefully and not so much in a hurry to get to the CDs. I also think Music Theory Workbook 2 will help engrain this stuff. I have been enlightened.
A	That's a real break through for you and it's one of the most important things an improvising musician needs to know to play musically. I'm very glad we got that cleared up because you had me worried there for a while.

Q	Here's what I own: Music Theory Volumes 1 and 2 Jazz and Blues Bass Lines Comping Styles for Bass Single String Studies for Bass Volumes 1 and 2 Rhythm Primer Fanatic's Guide One Note Complete Big Metronome What kind of schedule would you recommend for someone who works two jobs and has a wife and three kids? I can give a committed hour everyday in addition to time in my car (delivery job). What would you recommend I do when I have additional time (very sporadic)?
A	In your situation practicing in your head is the best solution. It is common knowledge among classical musicians that you can learn a piece of music or for that matter anything in music by visualizing it in your head. Many classical musicians don't even play a piece on their instrument before performing it live in front of an audience. You can use this technique to help you work on music when driving a car or waiting for a light to change. Of the books you have you could use any of them to practice in your head. For instance you could think through and finger in your mind any scale or arpeggio from the Music Theory Books. You could memorize a bass line from the Jazz and Blues Bass Lines or Comping Style book or you could work on hard rhythms from the Rhythm Primer. You of course can listen to the ear training and sing notes over the Fanatic's Guide CD as you drive. (You might want to get a chromatic pitch instrument to help you check notes.) http://www.encoremusic.com/vocal/6630002.html Just remember that mental practicing is exhausting when you first start it. It takes months before you can do it for any length of time. As it develops you will find it to be the most efficient way to learn. I would then spend your hour or instrument practicing playing the things you have mentally practiced or use the time to improvise with the scales you are learning in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two.

Q	I have the Ear Training book and CDs. I started listening to it after reading it. I listened to it for about twenty minutes last night before I went to bed, and I've listened to it a couple times today. I have some concerns. First, I've never had any formal ear training, or much music training at all. I tried some simple computer program a while ago, but I had no idea what I should be doing with it, and did not understand what most of the terms were meant to represent, so that only lasted briefly for a day or two. The way you have described the goal of ear training is what I've been looking for: recognizing notes in a way like I recognize color. I thought of it in similar ways. I also have your 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist. When tuning (5 fret method) I have no idea when the notes are the same, even when I tune them both with an electric tuner and see how they sound. I can still hear something different about them. When I listen to the ear training CD, it seems as if I get C right the most. I don't know why, I had some ideas. Something about it being in the key of C. Had some other thoughts about it too. Also, the space between the note being played and the answer being given gives me a lot of time to think about what the note would be. If I'm to give the first note that I think it might be should I be using that much time? Once the note is played and I give a guess (it is usually a guess every time, which I anticipated before starting) then there is that relatively long pause afterwards. During that pause should I be rethinking my guess? Should I think about it more before guessing? When I listen to the CD, sometimes I think I compare the note to the last one played. I'm not sure if I am or what, but during waiting for the answer sometimes I'm thinking of it sounding different than the last note, higher or lower, and wondering about things like that. Sometimes I end up changing my mind about my guess (often both guesses are wrong anyways). I also forget to include the sharped notes in my guesses, and usually only answer with them because a previous note reminded me that I haven't been using them. I don't recognize the notes anyways, I'm wondering whether it's a C or F, I'm not wondering if it's a C or C#. I'm thinking that I should just guess with the notes all in mind, but when I guess D# or whatever other accidental, I don't really have a reason. Many times I'm off by a half step or something. But I do think that maybe sometimes I'll hear a note and think it sounds like an F# I heard before. I don't easily tell the similarity between the same note in different octaves. If it sounds different in some way, I start to think it might be a different note or I don't even sense any distinct similarity, unless maybe I 'equate' something between the two, not even sure if that is what is shared between them. (I've heard something about different 'color' notes, but any difference between them I end up getting confused about their apparent similarity). But I'm doing this with a progressive approach. It's definitely not review for me. My main aversion to many of the methods I encountered in general was too much of leaving it up to the student to figure out a lot, and that all my technique will just fall into place somehow. Learning from mistakes is necessary, but no matter what advice I'm going to be given, I'm going to make mistakes anyways and have to practice correcting them. I work part-time as a tutor and many I have been acquainted with present an attitude about teaching that people have to figure out everything for themselves to learn it well, not even realizing that the large body of information and learning they have they were exposed to repeatedly when they were very young. Or they had enough support that engaged their innate styles of learning to get started. Why so many think they've figured out a lot of the things they understand largely on their own I believe is fairly ridiculous. The main thing I find from your books is your teaching. You use many mediums (video, computer and internet, print, audio, etc). Different perspectives and ways of understanding anything help to focus on the similarities. You're willingness to interact with those using your books I'm sure really helps many who previously felt left in the dark to blindly find their way (I was thinking of getting rid of the guitar, wondering if I was really up for figuring so much out for myself, with all the loosely covered guitar technique concepts in many books.) I have about 7 or 8 method books, and most of them are filled with tons of exercises, with a few pages on technique (a word I didn't use much before). Whenever I came to an exercise, yea, I could practice it all I wanted, but I kept looking for information to give me more specifics ('How should this finger be?' 'Is my thumb ok this way? Or is this better?' 'This feels more comfortable. Do I just practice and use this as my own style?') All kinds of questions and the most articulate response I got was to keep working on it or experimenting and I'll get better. But work on what? I know what finger goes on what fret, your books says so on this 2-dimensional representation of the fretboard. I need clarification that explains how my three-dimensional hands should be interacting in time with this 3 dimensional fretboard, frets, set of strings, etc. I'm real glad I found your work, and I appreciate your correspondence from this and my earlier e-mail. P.S. My wrist occasionally bothers me, (right/picking), which I am going to have to clarify in a later e-mail, when I figure out more on whether it has anything to do with guitar or something else (I write holding a pen very different than the traditional way). I will try to make note of other things to ask about as I practice (just started over yesterday) to elaborate and focus on so I don't just glaze over something nonspecifically.
A	I can see that you have many questions and are confused about a number of things. I think some of this just comes from my method being new to you but I think there are a few things you can do to help educate yourself which should make many of your goals easier. I first think you need to learn a little more about Music Theory. This will help you in the understanding of your instrument and music in general but it will also help you to understand the ear training processes which in turn will help you to improve quicker. Being you are a guitarist I would recommend Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. This will help you to understand and build all chords in all keys. It will also help you to make the music theory like a second language. Remember that by making some of simple concepts in music theory clear in your mind your ability to practice and understand music will be enhanced. For your ear training work I think it is very important for you to start working out of the Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training. This will help you to start memorizing sound and give you a fighting chance when you are listening to the Ear Training One Note Complete CDs. You description of your mind's internal processing is common for someone starting off with this technique. With patience and the understanding that you will receive from the above books you will find your ability to focus and understand the ear training will grow over time. For the guitar related issues I think you should take a look at the video chord files found under the 'Help Files on Chords' link in the free member's area. This will give you an in-depth look at each chord and the pitfalls and problems associated with each chord. This should help you to decide if the way your are playing chords is correct or if they need more work. I think you should also get started playing scales on the guitar. Go to the scales folder in the member's area. Go to the Help files for Scales in the member's area and follow the link to the Video Scale files. Work through each scale position by looking at the videos and downloading the PDFs containing the fingerings. These videos along with the technique videos associated with the 1st Steps book should answer most of your questions on technique and how to play and think of each scale. If you follow the suggested right hand technique in the 1st Steps book your wrist problems will go away because my right hand technique doesn't involve using the muscles of the wrist. In general I think you should work on the above information for awhile and see what questions come up. Try to be as exact as you can when asking questions so I can really focus in on your problems.

Q	I began studying bass guitar about 6 months ago and absolutely love it. I have played piano for 15 years, but unfortunately didn't have a teacher who taught intense music theory, so I really only have the basics of theory down. I've been looking for a book that would incorporate learning detailed music theory into my skill progression on bass guitar. After looking at your site for a while, I have decided to go with the Single String Studies Volume 1 and 2 for Bass Clef, but I also wanted to ask you if your Theory Workbook For All Instruments would be beneficial for a bass player? I don't know how the book is set up, so I wasn't sure if it would apply correctly to a bass clef instrument or if it is geared primarily towards treble clef instruments.
A	What I've been recommending for bassists is to get Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One and just fill in the exercises and change the clef to bass clef. This book has the answers in the back of the book but they would be in treble clef. I unfortunately haven't had time to make a bass edition to this book but this is really what you need. You should keep in mind that a bassist should really know treble clef too so Xeroxing each page and doing it in bass clef and treble is really the best. You really should learn music theory directly applying it to the bass. With a little fudging this book could work for you and be very beneficial. Also keep in mind that when you get into larger chords there may be some places where you run out of room on the fretboard diagram. If that is a problem let us know and we will send you a larger diagram. The Music Theory Workbook for All Instruments would work but you wouldn't have the benefit of applying it directly to the bass.

Q	I am trying to improve my skills to build up and make my melodies and solos more compeling! I need some exercises and advanced theory! I play a mix of bluegrass, funk and rock! How can you help?
A	I'll do my best to help you. You might want to think about the limited amount of information you have given me to go on. The relevance of my comments are always inversely proportionate to the amount of knowledge I have about a students past education and specific goals. First if you don't know the notes on your instrument or how to build and find complex chords on the guitar I would recommend Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. Second if you don't know all the 23 scales most used in improvisation I would recommend Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. Third I would recommend you start working on some ear training so any advanced theory you might learn isn't just a mental process but is accompanied by an ability to also hear these relationships in a musical situation. For this I would recommend Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide to SIght Singing and Ear Training. Fourth if you don't know all the chords on the guitar and how they are used in a musical situation I would recommend the Chord Workbooks for Guitar Volumes One and Two. These books also contain advanced theories of reharmonization which is one of the corner stones of what I anyway would call advanced music theory. Overall most of my books are not stylistic. For instance the Music Theory Workbooks are not specifically for a rock, jazz or bluegrass player. While certainly idioms use more of one type of scale or one set of chord types I'm figuring you will get this information by transcribing solos etc. from CDs. My books concentrate on teaching the basic building blocks of music which you can then apply to the style of music you are interested in.

Q	I am interested in studying from your Music Theory for Guitar Workbooks. Can you recommend which book I study from first ... or can/should I work through both simultaneously?
A	You can study from both at the same time. One covers chord knowledge and the other covers scales. Make sure to also look in the member's area for many videos, mp3 and help files that go with these books.

Q	I already own a copy of your 1st Steps for the Beginning Guitarist. Wonderful book for breaking down chords and chord progressions. I have been using this in collaboration with an Alfred book by the name of Teach Yourself to Play Guitar (mainly for strumming techniques). My first problem is that I have difficulty remembering the positions of the chords. Secondly, I have no idea of what notes are where on the fretboard. I read your Recommendations for Study pdf and decided that the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One might be a great start and maybe later complimented with Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One. Am I headed in the right direction? Also, do any of your books cover strumming? But, beyond that. The main purpose of this e-mail is to ask you about my piano studies. I don't know what you're experience is with the instrument, but you seem like my last recourse in a long journey. I started out using Alfred's Teach Yourself to Play Piano, which was cool for awhile but I soon found out that it didn't teach me anything about fingering or improvisation, which are two very important issues for any burgeoning pianist (I think or at least have learned since receiving no training on those topics). Anyway, I've sort of given up on that book and am in the market for something new. But then that creates an even worse situation because there is so much crap out there.I'm currently looking at purchasing the Piano Handbook by Carl Humphries. I guess my question is: Are there any books that you could recommend for an autodidact like myself? I'm really stumped right now and ready to throw in the towel.
A	There are two problems that most students have when starting the guitar. Remembering where the notes and chords are on the instrument and coordinating their strumming. For the open chords I would recommend learning the chord progressions in 1st Steps and other songs you like to help you memorize the open chords. For the barre chords you could use the cycle 5 progression found on page 28 of 1st steps. By moving the chords cycle 5 it will help you to memorize and play the various barre chords. Over time this will help you memorize the notes on the low E and A strings and then you can just plug in whatever barre chord you need. Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One is also excellent for building your knowledge of notes and their corresponding shapes on the guitar. This book isn't much fun but will make a major difference if you work through it a little at a time. Single String Studies is also good. Once again a hard book and you shouldn't expect it to get any easier for quite some time. But once you get the hang of it you will have a real deep knowledge of the guitar fretboard. For strumming there is quite a bit of information in various places. You will find really basic help files for strumming in the member's area under Help files for First Steps. Of course the 1st Steps book gives you 3 strumming patterns per chord progression so that helps to build ability. I would also recommend the Rhythm books for strumming. Each page of these books gives you various rhythms. I would randomly pick a chord and strum through the exercises rather than just playing them with one note which is what the book recommends. I'd start with Rhythm Primer. For Piano I would check out Roberta Piket's books on various modes. See muse-eek.com or amazon.com She gives you the background for each scale, fingerings for playing the scale and associated chords, improvisational concepts with written out melodies so you can see typical melodies and she gives email support so you can stay on the right track.

Q	I have begun working on your Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume 1 and would like some advice on how to proceed through the exercises. I'm not sure if I should repeat the "Basic Intervals" exercise over and over, until it becomes easy, before moving to the next exercise, or if I should progress through each exercise only one time and keep moving forward, or if I should progress through a few exercises, then repeat, or if I should take some other approach ... What are your recommendations on how to work through the book?
A	I would suggest you check your answers with the correct answers in the back of the book. I would also download the alternate answers from the muse-eek.com website. Study each mistake and once you understand what mistakes you have made move on the the next exercise. As long as you understand your mistake there is no need to repeat the exercises. If you have more general questions or feel your just getting overwhelmed or lost please communicate with me so we can work through your problems and get you on the right track. The Theory Workbooks are not easy nor are they fun and the fact that you are trying shows great dedication on your part.

Q	I'm a casual singer trying to get better at all my musical aspects. I also want to write songs as there are often the times when tunes come up in my head but I have no idea how to put them down. For this, I figure I need to train my skills in music theory and ear training, and that's how I found out about your books. My preference leans toward rock, and there are times when I feel frustrated that I could only sing, so I decide I would pick up the guitar, too. (Seriously this time, because, in fact, I've played it on and, mostly, off for several years already but made little progress.) I also love the colors added to the music with the sound of synthesizers, as those found on electronic and progressive music, so I feel compelled to also learn the keyboard. All this should be valuable also when I later have the ability to compose my own music on computers, as I'll be able to perform most of the parts myself. I think I'm ready to put in 2-3 years or so before I'm at least beginning to be able to do that. I've read through the FAQ archive, which took me a few days. And my questions are as follows: 1. I figure I need to start with the following books: 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist Ear Training: One Note Complete A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing Music Theory Workbook Vol. 1 Rhythm Primer As for keyboard, I think I need to look elsewhere since I don't feel the Jazz Piano Vocabulary series are for a complete keyboard beginner like me. I also need a book to improve my singing, such as breathing techniques, resonance, range widening, etc ... I'm currently looking into "Singing for Dummies," "Singing for the Stars" and "Jeff Allen's Secrets of Singing: Male." Do you have any suggestion/recommendation for my selection, and for the books on keyboard and singing? 2. I'm currently working in the field of computing and I often have to do work over-time, so I think I could put in only at most 2-3 hours each day. Do you think that amount is enough for practicing the guitar, keyboard, and singing all together? Or would you recommend I choose only one or two? What is your recommended practice schedule? 3. As for Music Theory Workbook Vol. 1, which one would you recommend for people who play both the guitar and keyboard? What is in the "All Instruments" version that the "Guitar" version does not have, and vice versa? 4. Just my curiosity, do you still practice ear training everyday, or has this already become your second nature so that you don't need to practice anymore?
A	1. I don't have any recommendation for keyboard or singing. I think the books you picked for guitar and ear training are what I would recommend. 2. I think two would be just right. 3. I would do the guitar theory book. 4. In a way I do because I'm using it everyday to understand the music I encounter.

Q	To sum it up, I decide to go for these books: 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist Ear Training: One Note Complete A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing Music Theory Workbook Vol. 1 Rhythm Primer And other two books on keyboard and singing. You've recommended that I choose only 2 of the 3 things (guitar, keyboard, and singing). I still feel like I would first give it a try doing all three. I think I have 2-3 hours each day for these, with several short breaks for ear training. Do you have any recommendation for a schedule for such a crazy undertaking? Regarding your recommendation on Guitar version of Music Theory Workbook over the All Instruments version, does the Guitar version also include stuffs and practices on Bass Clef?
A	Well here is what I would recommend for the books you want to get. I can't recommend a course of study for the other books because I don't know their method. 1. 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist Learn a chord progression each week. You may have to first learn the chords which I would recommend learning 3 or 4 per week but it is always best to apply them to chord progressions. This book has multiple resources so join the "member's area" for additional help. I would study 30 minutes from this book daily. 2. Ear Training: One Note Complete This should be done with a discman and listened to mulitple times throughout the day. 3. A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing 15 minute singing 2 to 3 times a day. 4. Music Theory Workbook Vol.1 One page a day would be great but at least one page a week. The time this takes greatly depends on your ability to understand music theory. At least 15 minutes a day 5. Rhythm Primer At least 15 minutes a day developing your rhythmic understanding. Both versions of the Music Theory books are trying to get you to know the notes in any chord. Neither book works on bass clef recognition. The most important resource you need first is a quick recognition of what notes are in any chord.

Q	I am located somewhere between beginner and intermediate on the guitar player spectrum. I know chords very well and can play fingerstyle guitar. I just need to figure out what a few things mean when it comes to tablature and chord interpretation. First- chords such as Dsus4, do not make sense to me. I know what it is, but I don't understand how the sus4 part of that chord turns the D- x x 0 2 3 2 into x x 0 2 3 3, and does that sus4 change the E string that way constantly or does it vary from chord to chord. Second- chords that are mixed together using a /, such as C/B or Dsus4/F#. Basically, I don't understand what needs to be changed on each individual chord in order to achieve the desired tone. Is it just something that has to be determined by ear, or is there a method followed each time a / presents itself?
A	One of the problems you are running into is you are relying on how chords look on the guitar rather than what notes are in specific chords. While the guitar is good for sliding things around and just watching the fingers you are going to begin to run into more and more problems as you work through more complicated chords like a sus4 or 7sus4. In the long run you would really help yourself if you worked through the book Music Theory Workbook for Guitar which will explain each chord type and help you memorize where these notes are on the guitar and the music staff. Dsus4 contains the notes D, G, A. A "D" chord contains D, F#, A so what has happened is the G has replaced the F#. So on the guitar rather than putting your finger on the 2nd fret of the high E string which is the F# you are putting your finger on the 3rd fret which is a G. Slash chord or chords that contain "/" can be two types of chords. Usually this symbol means to put a chord over a bass note. So C/B means to play a C chord but put a B in the bass. Usually on guitar you would play this bass note on the low A or E string. You will also occasionally find chords that say C/B where they mean that a C triad is placed over a B triad. A more correct way to notate this would be Ctriad/Btriad. You will very seldom run into this in guitar parts but thought I should mention it. Most of the times these triad over a triad chords are impossible to play on guitar. In those situations you should just play the upper chord.

Q	I just purchased three of your books by Bruce Arnold from Amazon.com. I bought The Essentials, Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Vol 1, and Single String Studies for Guitar. I can only say that I am overwhelmed. I have tinkered around with the guitar for many years, stuck on the same few chords and riffs and never got very far. I decided to take it more seriously and took guitar lessons for a few months and then piano for a few months. My schedule at work forced me to quit both times. Besides, I learned more on my own wading through piles of different method, theory, and song books. I also don't have 4 or 5 hours a day to practice. I will be lucky to squeeze in a couple of hours every other day. I am in my late forties and am beginning to think that I have spent a lot of money on a lot of books and several guitars for nothing. I really want to do this but keep feeling overwhelmed. I have looked at other methods such as Fretboard Logic and several others, none of which seemed very thorough. I could see where I could gain some knowledge but it always seemed to leave a lot of the why out of things. Perhaps I should not be concerned with that, but that is just the way I am. I can't see ever having a career in music, but I sure would enjoy learning all that I can. I am honestly at a point that I don't know where to begin again. The Single String book was a mistake (too early... I don't read music for guitar at all... barely for piano). I look at the Theory Workbook and can just say huh? I am not daft. I am an educated professional with a lot of creative energy. However I am really feeling lost. Should I back up and start with the 1st Steps for Beginning Guitar? I also notice a strong emphasis on ear training. That is something that none of my instructors ever even suggested. However it makes sense. I looked at the One Note series ... there are three levels. You also sell a book that appears to have all three levels along with the CDs. Is there any difference between the separate volumes and the single one with all levels as far as content, either text or CDs? I have glanced over the FAQs and they all appear to point to the three books Theory level 1, First Steps for Beginning Guitar and One Note Beginning Level. Does this sound like a logical place for me to start? Will the Beginning book help me make sense of the music theory workbook? I assume the ear training to be almost a separate issue... What about mechanical technique? What books do you have to help with correct technique? Please respond. I don't want to buy any more books that will just sit on a shelf. I have wasted enough money on other methods already. I am willing to put in some time on this, but only if I can see that it will bring results. I would like to find a way to study such that I can spend an average of 10 hrs or so per week of actual playing time (sometimes more) with time on my commute (pub transit... obviously not while driving) average 45 minutes a day. And squeeze every minute I can into theory. I want to do this! I just need a little help finding the starting gate and then point me toward the right path (books). Would it be a wiser investment of time to take a course in theory at the local community college? I have considered that too. More structure. However, I just know I would get to mid-semester and have to drop because of some project or business trip conflicting. That is why I am trying to do this without lessons or classes. What are my goals? I want to be able to do some open mics and really wow them. I want to be able to pick up a guitar (and maybe eventually sit down at a piano) and learn a song of average difficulty in a reasonable amount of time. I want to be able to sit in and confidently jam with average musicians playing simple 12-bar blues. I want a repertoire of 40 or 50 songs that I know by memory. Frankly, I know I have a lot of work ahead but given that I am willing to give this several years, I can not see why I can't do it with the right direction and a little help of the right information. Can you help?
A	I think we are going to have to first work through what you know so we can figure out what books to use and how to organize your practicing. In general I think your practicing should be divided up into two categories. Technical and Creative. Let's concentrate on getting the technical set up first. I need to know a few things about your playing in order to help you. If you don't understand a question I'm asking let me know. 1. Do you know how to play all your "open" chords on the guitar (these are the chords on the first few frets of the guitar which usually contain open strings)? 2. Can you play any scales on the guitar? If so, what scales and in how many places? 3. If you do know your open chords can you strum through easy songs and make them sound like music?

Q	I can tell by your questions that you are thorough in your answers. 1. No, I do not know all the open chords. I know a few very well... your standard E, D, C, F (not the barr), G, A, Am, A7, B7, etc. All the ones that everyone first learns. Mostly the Majors, not many Minors. I can make most changes fairly smoothly with just a little work. If it is a change that I have been playing forever, I can make the change very smoothly and quickly. However, I have been working on some chords forever and have never been able to smooth out changes to it such as a B7 chord and there is one voicing of an E7 that I simply can't seem to smooth out, even played slowly (the four finger version instead of the two-finger voicing). I guess that the difficult ones require the pinky (not a surprise, I am sure). New chords take me more time than I think it should. I know a few that I learned from songbooks that are odd voicings or inversions, but not a consistent list. So the basic answer is that I know some of the open chords. I have always had a heck of a time with barr chords. I have small hands and the strength needs to be built for barr chords. I can play a couple of the moveable forms but not consistently. 2. Scales... I only know the first pentatonic pattern with an extension into the next pattern, but not the full major and minor scales. I had memorized the G Maj scale pattern at one time, during lessons, but would have to brush up to remember it. So the basic answer is no, I don't really know my scales. 3. What chords I know I can play well and can definitely make them sound like music. I can (for the most part) tell by ear which ones should go together. If I take my time, I can play most of the chords and patterns that I know very cleanly and make them sound like music. I also pick patterns (arpeggios?) in the chords (using a pick or fingers) and can play hammer-ons and pull-offs (better at hammer-ons than pull-offs). I know what a I, IV, V chord pattern is (basically, but don't fully understand the meaning of "diatonic" as related to chord progressions. The term was just used by instructors but they could never provide an adequate definition). And I tend to play a lot of blues progressions and blues lead patterns because they are easy to fit into the I, IV, V pattern and because it is what I know. I know a couple of old songs and parts of several new ones (simple progressions) that very much sound like music. They are music, rhythmically and aurally. I just don't know the whys and seem to be stuck in a rut! Also, some of the chords give me difficulty. I also don't like just playing a song from a book by learning to put this finger here and that finger there without understanding what I am doing. I played drums in junior high and learned to read rhythm in standard notation. I have good rhythm both strumming and with arpeggios, but it breaks up in a lead pattern. I used to be able to strum and sing at the same time, but don't seem to have that coordination anymore. I feel sure that I could get that together with just a little practice. Confidence in my voice is the issue there, I do believe. I was a fairly good drummer as a kid and still feel that is a strong point in my guitar playing. My guitar playing is somewhat precussive (using muted string sturms between chords) in style at times and very melodic other times. I still remember the basic memorization tricks from piano lessons for the notes on the staff but cannot relate notes on the staff to the fretboard. I can still (very slowly and clumsily) read music for piano (but have to count to some notes from others that I know on the staff).
A	OK thanks for the update. I think we should review with 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist for the following reasons. 1. I want you to check the videos to make sure you are physically playing correctly. 2. I want you to learn ALL open position chords and be able to switch between them fast. 3. I want you to learn your basic barre chords and begin applying them to chord progressions. Let me know if you already have this book or let me know when you get it. Next I want you to learn some scales. Get a username and password for the member's area http://www.muse-eek.com/books/members/members1.html and go to the folder called Help files for general scale information I want you to learn the C major scale. Watch the videos you will see how to play and download the chart showing you the fingerings. I want you to learn a new position each week. The 1st scale is a C major scale starting from F. Remember you are trying to learn the names of the notes and their degrees. Make sure to pay close attention to HOW I play the scales. Good technique will make you improve quicker. Also I want you work with the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. Once again go to the member's area and watch the videos found under the link Help files for Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One The 1st exercise page we are going to do is the "Basic Intervals" page. Let me know if you understand how to do the page and understand what I'm saying in the Theory Section of the Book. You only need to read about 5 or 6 pages of the theory in order to do the "basic Intervals" exercises.

Q	I will be placing an order with Amazon for the 1st Steps book in the next day or so and it will be a week or so before I receive it in the mail. Would it make sense to purchase your Ear Training series along with it? I notice that you usually recommend that to the same people that you recommend 1st Steps and Music Theory Vol 1. I also noticed that you have one volume that appears to cover three levels of ear training or I can buy each separately. It looked much more economical in the single volume that covered all three levels. Any reason to purchase separate volumes? Any difference? I don't have to start using them right now, but if you are going to suggest that I use them in the near future, I may as well get them while I am ordering. I already requested and received a password for the private area of muse-eek.com. I will start looking over the recommended videos. Please let me know if there is a reason I should hold off on the ear training book(s).
A	Yes you can also get the ear training books. I would recommend Ear Training One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training.

Q	Sorry, but I forgot one question in my last e-mail. I typically worked on my barr chords on a Stratocaster since it was easier with the lighter strings and narrow neck (small hands). I always felt that I could eventually move on to the acoustic and the heavier strings once I got the muscle memory in my fingers as to what they should be doing and where. Is there any harm in this approach? Opinion?
A	I think that is a very good idea. Sometimes students start with acoustics and get discouraged because chords are harder on acoustics. I think you should definately stick with the Strat.

Q	Earlier you stated: "I want you to learn all open position chords and be able to switch between them fast." My original question was "What did you mean by all chords and change between them. My question was basically: "Certainly you are not saying that I need to memorize every chord and be able to make any change between them including all major, minor, 7th, maj7th, 9th, aug, dim, including inversions, etc. for every possible chord A through G, flats and sharps included." That does not seem realistic to me. Now that I actually have the book. I have to assume that you meant to learn all the chords in the ten progressions in the book and be able to make those 10 sets of changes quickly. Did I understand correctly? Anyway, I now have all of your books that I ordered and am ready to get started on a very comprehensive practice schedule as you mentioned. I have copies of the following books: 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist Vol 1 Music Theory Workbook For Guitar Vol 1 Ear Training One Note Complete Method A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing Vol 1 Single String Studies for Guitar The Essentials I have looked through the books and Fanatic's Guide and Single String Studies seem over my head completely right now. Essentials looks like simply reference material all gathered into one place. Therefore, I would assume I will be working with mostly 1st Steps for now and beginning Music Theory Workbook shortly. The Ear Training beginning seems to be something almost separate from the other two topics. So I guess that I will be working with technique, theory, and ear training simultaneously (eventually)? Getting through 1st Steps should be fairly fast since I know a good number of the chords already. That is the book I plan to begin with, using the videos to ensure technique. Any other guidance that you might have to offer? Did I misunderstand any part of what I was to do? Yes, I still have issues with playing back the videos but can work around the problem. I have not found any real fix yet. I can open them in a separate window (just takes several extra steps each time) or save to my disk (inconvenient as well); but I can see them. I will let you know if I find the solution to just viewing them in the open browser.
A	Yes you want to learn the chord progressions 1-10. So it would be great if you could work through one chord progression every few weeks. I'm not there to know your ability with each progression so you are going to have to police yourself and make sure you are able to play each progression. I'm sure you noticed that each progression has 3 different ways to play it each getting progressively harder. See how you do with each progression and remember there are ton's of audio files and video files to help you learn these progression in the muse-eek.com member's area. Music Theory Workbook for Guitar you should try and do one page a week. So 3 or 4 exercises each day just to keep you thinking about how chords and intervals are build and how to find them on the guitar. The two ear training books should be done throughout the day in short 10-15 minute intervals. Once again I don't know your daily schedule but it would be great for instance if you had a CD discman and could listen to the Ear Training CD while commuting, eating lunch etc. The singing stuff will have to be done at home but if you could find 3 or 4 five minute spaces of time throughout the day that you could work on the first exercise entitled "One Note" that will really help you over time. Keep in mind that the Ear Training and the Music Theory will take sometime before it sinks in so be patient. I would also like you to download some scales from the member's area and learn how to play them. Go to the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two folder in the member's area and follow the links to Video Scale Files. You should watch the movie for all the positions of the C major scale and also download the C major fingering chart. I'd like you to learn the C scale in all 7 positions. I'd learn a new position each week. You could also download some of the vamps that are listed in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two folder and improvise using the scale you are learning that week so you get some real application of the scale you are learning. You should skip the Single String Study and Essentials for now. I know you are having video problems but there is a lot of information in those movies so if possible use them they will help a lot.

Q	I wondered how one could play, learn scales and chords, and not pick up on the patterns that naturally form. I guess that I was fairly on the mark when I said the patterns would follow learning the nuts and bolt theory behind music in general. While I am thinking of it. I have not found a very good definition of "degrees" in a scale. Can you please point me to that information? For example, in the key of C is C always the first degree? Do note degrees always stay the same relationship to a particular note? If the answer is yes, I don't think further explanation is needed. When one begins to discuss modes and such, I get confused regarding degrees. Different modes appear to simply be the same scale beginning on another note besides the Tonic. Frankly, I don't yet understand the importance either. I know it is important information, only because it keeps coming up, but I don't yet see the application. Yes, I know that I am getting ahead of myself but I would still like to know. Interesting story about your party. That was one of the holes that I alluded to. I don't see how someone can play along with other musicians if they don't understand keys, the actual notes in scales, the relationship of the scales to the key, etc etc etc. "Jazz Guitarist." Well ... ya know, I am not sure what that is either. The only thing that I can guess is that they were referring to the complexity of jazz. I know that my piano instructor (who also played in a jazz group) always made somewhat vague comments about jazz breaking the rules (of music theory). I always assumed that the song forms and the progressions did not conform to the same rules as pop, classical, country or other genres. I never really knew what she was getting at with that. It was never important enough to me to try to get a better explanation. Jazz material is so beyond my reach at this point, it is not relevant. I know that when I used to play drums when I was a kid (HS and college years), I was always in awe of the complex rhythms in jazz and fusion. Rock and roll (particularly back then) was relatively simple (Stones, CCR, Black Sabbath, Rod Stewart... all pretty predictable stuff). Many of the rhythms were the same and you only really had to learn a few to limp along in a garage band or even one that played out occasionally. Jazz, on the other hand, had all these odd meters and interwoven, syncopated and non-syncopated rhythms. (Pardon my ignorance if my descriptions are not semantically correct.) There is certainly a fine line between jazz and rock with certain artists. Pat Methany, Jean Luc Ponty, and George Benson come to mind as being so different in styles but all are generally considered jazz musicians ... as is Keiko Matsumi (sp?) who brings a whole different style to jazz (not to mention a piano instead of a guitar). I know these quick fix players don't sound good. Why do you think I am trying to put the effort that I am into this at my age? Very few people put the effort into playing any instrument that is required to truly sound good. My realization of this really came into place when I read a book by a Mr. Jamie Andreas called "Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar." If you have not heard of it, here is the url: http://guitarprinciples.com. It is worth a look. Unfortunately for Mr. Andreas his real flaw in his writings is that he rambles (yes worse than me). It is a very rough read with exercises scattered amongst the text, buried in where you have to really look for them. The repetition is mind numbing. However, in this book are some general concepts of value. They revolve around paying minute attention to every detail of your practicing. It was the first place that I read how important being relaxed was. I have to say that I have tossed quite a few of his "principles" out the window, but there is value in some of them. I think that if he could only learn to be more precise and succinct in his writings, it would be more palatable. At any rate, the one really valuable thing I got out of the first read of the book was the value of truly taking time and paying attention when practicing. Learning how it feels when your hand is relaxed and in correct position, be it on the neck or your picking hand. That little piece of knowledge was worth the $30 or whatever he charged for the book. Your point on great guitarists and practice is quite accurate from what I have read in biographies. Stevie Ray Vaughn is a prime example. He was a true fanatic when it came to practice. I think he pretty much lived with a guitar in his hand. His techniques intrigue me in that he went at it with such brute force and passion. I have to admit that I am always somewhat confused how someone like him or George Harrison could have such amazing ability and skill and never bother to learn to read music. I would think that they would have wanted to have that capability. It just makes things so much easier. How the heck do you write a song if you can not read and write notes? I guess Stevie did not write much, as I recall, but George certainly did. I think that Paul was the only one of the four that could read music well. Not sure about John. I have read where Paul has said that he always wished that he had had more formal training. I guess that would be okay, but he seemed to do pretty well with what he had. I think that is one of those cases you talk about of a person having an exceptional ear, and he does read music. Would you like me to flag my e-mails with appropriate importance? I don't know how interested you are in my ranting such as this. I can flag the e-mails that have show-stopper questions as being high importance and others such as this one as low importance, if that would be desirable for you. For that matter, I won't bother you with the conversational e-mail if you would rather that I not. I would understand. One final comment. If you only knew how many times I have mentally kicked myself in the ass for not sticking with music and "practicing my ass off" when I was young and had the free time. So much free time that I actually had time to get truly bored and look for things to do. I only wish I had chosen to pick up my guitar and learn at that time. There were not a lot of options for learning back then... not a lot of books.. Mel Bay was about it as I recall and that did not get you very far. However, others did it; I could have too. Ah the power of 20/20 hindsight. I might have had that career in music (in some fashion or other) that I have always felt was where I should have been. Oh well, I still enjoy music, both playing and just listening. That is all that is important at this point.
A	Good Question: Scale degrees are always defined from a major scale so we have a C major scale C=1, D=2, E=3, F=4, G=5, A=6, B=7 and we change scales the alterations are always based from the major scale. Here are some examples: C Dorian has scale degrees: C=1, D=2, Eb=b3, F=4, G=5, A=6, Bb=b7 C Locrian has scale degrees: C=1, Db=b2, Eb=b3, F=4, Gb=b5, Ab=b6, Bb=b7 C Locrian Natural 2 has scale degrees C=1, D=2, Eb=b3, F=4, Gb=b5, Ab=b6, Bb=b7 Notice how the C Locrian Natural 2 scale has a D natural in it. A Locrian scale naturally has a flatted two so why in a C Locrian Natural 2 scale is the D a natural and not a D flat? This is because all alterations always refer back to a major scale. Jazz music follows all the music theory rules but it also applies many of the rules that most people don't know about. Yes it sounds like there was some great advice in the middle of Mr. Andreas Book. Relaxation is very important when playing a musical instrument. Don't mind hearing your comments. It's nice to talk with someone intelligent. A rare commodity these days.

Q	Ugh. That answer on modes will take some thought with a fresher mind than I have tonight. I guess that I did not look very closely at modes, since I didn't even catch that the intervals change from mode to mode. This is a prime example of the difficulties of trying to gather ones music education from a literal pile of books from a variety of authors and content. Some are method books, some are reference, and some appear to be pure dribble, after you actually waste your time reading it. I will try to sort that one out in my head over the next few days. I have a reference book on modes, but it does not really explain anything very well. Also, I only recall brief mentions of modes in your books that I have now. I suspect that this material may be in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume 2. If I recall correctly, that one goes into scales in depth. Also, at what point should I be looking at working in the Chords Workbook? The Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume 1 is not really about chords in my definition, since many of the chords have two notes on one string and therefore are not playable as a chord. Arpeggios, perhaps... but not really chords. Then again, I may be misinterpreting. It is of no moment. What is important is that I need to know when one should normally work on the Chords Workbook and how does it differ from the Theory Workbook... more accurately where does it fit in the sequence of your ongoing saga. I have read the recommendations and it appears to vary by the person's experience level to some extent. Also, thank you for the compliment. I am not certain that it is intelligence so much as common ground. We share a lot of the same views, at least about how to teach things. Besides, I have also taught in an industrial forum (not the same as academia or private teaching, I realize) and I communicate for a living (writing technical documentation). I enjoy the conversations as well. It is refreshing to chat with someone with something interesting to say. That is rare today as well.
A	The example I sent you about scales could be a little confusing. What I'm basically saying is the degree names for any scale always relate to a major scale. This is not particularly important stuff for you to know now but what is important is you start to learn not only what the names of each note in a scale are but also what degree these notes are in the scale. So C major is: C=1, D=2, E=3, F=4, G=5, A=6, B=7 I'd start there and make sure you can go up and down the scale saying the notes and the degrees. You are correct, scales are covered in depth in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume 2. The Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume 1 covers all the chords a professional guitarist should know and gives you 36 progressions to learn using these chords. For you I'd stick with 1st Steps until you can play the 10 chord progressions. Once that is feeling pretty good then it's time to start into the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume 1. The Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume 2 can be done at the same time as the 1st volume but that may be too much for you right now. Though I do usually teach scales to people working out of 1st Steps. That makes me think here is what I'd recommend for a student like you to practice. 1. Practice one chord progression each week in the 1st Steps book. Use the on-line help files to gain ability in switching between chords. (You can practice on more than one chord progression if you get bored or need new stimulus. 2. I would do two or three examples out of the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume 1 each day. This should take about 15 minutes. Check to see you have the correct answer in the back of the book. 3. Try to do the ear training 5 minutes 5 times a day. Don't worry about getting the right answer just listen and absorb the sounds you hear. If you can only do 1 minute 5 times a day do it. Do it during commercials if you watch TV. 4. Spend 5 minutes 5 times a day singing the "one note" exercise. If you can only do 1 minute 5 times a day do it. 5. I'd learn how to play the C major scale in 7 positions which are listed in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume 2 folder in the member's area. Learn one position a week. Say the names of the notes and the degrees for each position of the scale. Spend 15 minutes a day on this. 6. Improvise with the scales you are learning using the chord vamps which are also in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume 2 folder. Spend 15 minutes on this or more. It's fun so it's hard to quit. 7. If you have problems motivating yourself to learn the scales then at least play along and improvise with the vamps. This is a common assignment I give to a student who is studying with me.

Q	Sometimes I guess g# for g and d for d# and like that. Is this okay? I have read about another of your books. About Rhythm Primer and Rhytym One, I just know that they are teaching rhythm... how important is it and whats the function of these books? And what is your fact that tapping your foot isn't very good? I`m considering to purchase it, because I have a habit to tap the foot. And I'm asking about, if I have learned your ear training method, how can I use it because I have to learn about the solfege in all other scale, right ? So I must learn the solfege in other scales?
A	As I'm sure you know it's not OK if you guess g# for g and d for d#. It doesn't mean anything if you are close to the correct answer. All notes have a distinct sound none are like others. Rhythm development is extremely important. Rhythm Primer will teach you all the basic rhythms and Rhythms Volume One will introduce you to rests and ties. These are excellent books for developing a strong rhythmic sense and I recommend you get these to start developing your rhythm. Tapping your foot is OK if you are still having problems playing a rhythm or are just a beginner. Overtime though you want to stop tapping your foot as your recognition of the rhythms you are playing improves. You need to learn all scales and chords in all keys in order to apply the ear training to all keys. I would suggest you work through Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One and Two or Music Theory Workbook for All Instruments if you don't play guitar. This will help you memorize what all pitches are in every key so when you are doing your ear training in any key you will know the correct answers.

Q	After reaching page 35, dominant seventh #5 chords, I feel I've learned "something," but am not totally sure what. Yes I can easily construct these chords, but where is this all going? I feel that going on is useless unless I understand either where these many chords fit in or why am I learning to write out esoteric chords that I can't even remember a few weeks down the road.
A	Could you give me a more complete picture of what you have been practicing on the guitar and with music in general. It would also help if I knew a little about your goals on the guitar and music in order to help you.

Q	My main focus has been and still is Parkening's classical instruction book one. Have also taken advanced music theory and am comfortable with the caged system and sixth and fifth string roots. play two to three hours per day. My goal is to become an intermediate to advanced player.
A	Sorry a couple of more questions. You want to become a intermediate to advanced classical guitar player? In other words no improvisation or playing comtemporary popular music. By advanced theory do you mean classical theory such as Shankerian Anaylsis, 12 tone theory and intervallics or jazz theory such as chord scale relationships, superimposition of chords and scales etc...? Maybe you could expand upon your music theory training knowledge. Sorry for all the questions It's hard to make recommendations to students when your not sure of their current ability and training. It's great that you are practicing two to three hours a day that's in the ballpark for obtaining a intermediate to advanced player ability.

Q	I have a toll free #, glad to hear from you anytime.
A	I don't make phone calls to book owners we do email support only so all students can benefit from your questions which are posted anonymously on the FAQ site for each book. I realize you may not have time to give me a detailed history of your musical ability. Therefore I'm going to make a leap here and guess that you only want to be a classical guitarist and have taken a classical based music theory and have a knowledge of how chords are built. In your case the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar is meant to help you see the information you have learned about chord construction on the guitar. Most of the time when you study music theory they relate it to a music staff or a keyboard. Most classical guitarists I get as students have the problem of only being able to play guitar pieces and have very little knowledge of what they are doing theoretically on the guitar. Since you are only interested in learning classical pieces of music the information you are learning in the music theory book only relates if you want to figure out the music theory behind the pieces you are playing. You might do this for instance if you wanted to write an original piece in the style of your favorite classical guitar composer. This would also come in handy if you wanted to arrange a piece of music for the classical guitar. The music theory knowledge would also help you see many more possible places to play a musical idea on the guitar fretboard. Most students I speak to are interested in improvisation so then of course the Music Theory Books becomes much more valuable because it teaches you how each chord is build so you can use alternate places to play chords and arpeggios when playing chords or improvising. Finally this music theory information is invaluable if you are doing my ear training books. Lightning fast aural recognition skills require a quick knowledge of what all notes are in all keys and where those notes are on the guitar. Obviously this is the information you are being taught in the Music Theory book so this is another important application. At some point if you have time you should give me a more detailed account of your musical skills. If you plan on continuing with my books and communicating with me this will help me help you.

Q	I just purchased an acoustic guitar (Epiphone DR 200) and the three books you recommend for beginners (1st Steps for Beginning Guitarist, Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Vol. 1, and Ear Training One Note Beginning). I have just begun, and I have a question about how long my guitar sustains notes. After I play a chord, how long should the sound continue after I have finished the strum? It seems like it lasts for a while; should I do anything to correct it or take it to my guitar shop? Another question I have is whether you think it would be helpful or confusing to study music theory for the guitar and general music theory (based on the piano keyboard) at the same time. I am an absolute beginner on guitar and I have an older piano and a book on music theory based around the keyboard. I noticed that you recommend having a keyboard for the Ear Training book. Although I have never played an instrument, I have always been interested in music theory and I appreciate your approach that stresses the theory with the practice.
A	It is common for a guitar to continue to sustain a chord after you play it so most likely your guitar is fine and doesn't need repair. You can study both music theory books at the same time if you want. I would suggest starting with one first and make sure you understand what to do. Start with the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar and once you get going with the exercises you can then branch out to other books.

Q	I have been looking at key signatures and noticed some inconsistencies. Why is there no A# key? There are C# and Cb keys as well as Db. If there can be a C# key and Db, why not A# and Bb? I know I should be able to see the pattern for this, but I don't... sorry... and I am wasting time trying to sort it out . I get hung up on stuff like this.
A	Yep there are all those keys and more. There are many reasons why these key centers are used. Anyway of writing a key center is possible. For instance the key of B double flat major (remember it's just a bunch of half steps w, w, 1/2, w, w, w, 1/2) Bbb Cb, Db, Ebb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bbb For you I'd worry about the basic ones for now. C,F,Bb,Eb,Ab,Db,Gb,B,E,A,D

Q	Yes, I think I understand the basic concept of using a pick. I have always had a light touch with the pick. That just seemed natural and most of the beginners I knew years ago when we were truly just beginning tend to dig in with the pick. I never understood why. Anyway, your answer about the pick angle was very helpful. I just wanted to make sure I was not beginning a bad habit that would be easier for me to break now than later. The tinkering around with different picks is simply something I am doing for fun. I don't think it is very important which pick I use at this point, but I just like tinkering to find out what the different materials sound like and how the different styles (like a jazz pick) feel and work. It is just cheap entertainment. For years I was oblivious to just how much the pick material affected the tone. (i.e. the nylon ones having a warmer tone than the standard celluloid ones like Fender's.) On another topic the concept of cycle 5 is still nagging me. I am just taking the material at face value for the moment and I am sure it will make sense eventually. However, it will bug me until I understand. I still think of the circle of fifths (from piano class) where clockwise motion (assuming ascending tones) would be fifths (7 semitones). Conversely, moving counter-clockwise provides the circle of fourths (5 semitones). Both directions of traversing the circle assume you are ascending in tones. The cycle 5 process of practicing the chords is not ascending or descending in tone, as I understand it. It all depends on if you run out of fretboard and have to come back to the end of the neck again. All that aside, if you traverse the cycle 5 progression and assume ascending tones. In other words, going up from C to F to Bb and so on, we are actually moving fourths or in groups of 5 semitones -- C - C# - D - D# - E - F, for example. If we think of it descending or C down to an F, we then have 7 semitones or a fifth -- C - B - Bb - A - Ab - G - Gb - F. However, to me that seems sorta backwards, because we are traversing the circle of fifths in a counter-clockwise direction which normally makes it the circle of fourths of ascending notes. Am I making any sense at all? I am sorry to belabor this one, but things like this nag me until I either know why or know that there is no why, or that I am completely misreading. I hope my question is clear.
A	You can traverse the cycle 5 progression in two ways. Both are useful. Moving from C up to G etc. is how many classical tunes modulate so that's good to know. Moving from C to F etc. is how many modern chord progression usually work (think of the second chord of a blues for example). This whole clockwise counterclockwise isn't important. You could write either cycle 5 chart as a clockwise or counterclockwise diagram. Most books will give you the C to G clock wise progression. One of the reasons for this is most of these diagrams were originally talking about classical music theory and of course there is a lot of the C to G etc movement in for instance a Sonata Allegro Form or other classical styles of writing music. I've given it to you like you most often use it in contemporary music and the common chord progressions you will find. Start looking at some sheet music to contemporary music you will find parts of this cycle everywhere C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, B, E, A, D, G and not as much of this cycle C, G, D, A, E, B, F#, C#, Ab, Eb, Bb, F, C.

Q	So we are not really looking at 5th intervals since we are talking about chords? I guess the semantics seem unclear. Is the distance from C to F a fifth or a fourth? Counting half steps, I still come up with a fourth. This is the point of confusion. I think that one of the most difficult aspects of theory for a beginner is semantics. The terminology is foreign and can be misread so easily. This is only compounded when one is a writer and interprets every word. Sorry. The second chord in a typical 12-bar blues progression is usually the IV chord (or perhaps a IV7), which is the fourth diatonic chord. For that matter, I think the I-IV-V progression is probably the most popular progression in rock or blues... That would mean that the most common chord change, by far, would be a I-IV change. Is this your point? You mention modulation in your response below. Is that a reference to key modulations or does that term apply to chord changes (i.e. Are there chord modulations)? I understand what you are saying about contemporary chord progressions and will look at that a bit. I have not analyzed music much historically. I did not know where to begin. I am beginning to understand theory enough to understand a little about the patterns now, not as much as I might like, but a little.
A	If you count down from C to F it is 7 half steps. If you count up from C to G it's 7 half steps. When I'm talking about chords I'm talking about the bass movement. i.e. a C chord moves to an F chord in a blues that is cycle 5 movement. The modulation I mention is for key changes not chord changes.

Q	I sure hope that you get this method pays off handsomely for you. This is the best thing out there. Best of both worlds -- self-taught and taking lessons. I really have to give you a round of applause. Your books are priced such that it is much less expensive than private lessons, and I have already gotten so much more out of your material than I would have gotten out of 6-months of lessons. The personal e-mail availability is what makes the difference.
A	No they don't pay off handsomely but at least a few people get headed in what I think is the best direction. Most people don't ask questions and most people don't buy my books. But if your in it for the money then your in it for the wrong reason.

Q	I was not saying that you were in it for the money, and I certainly am not trying to be. My cousin (more like a brother) lives here in Houston and is a music teacher in public schools. I have known enough music teachers to know that they don't get rich. I was simply trying to pay you a very strong compliment. Perhaps I chose the wrong words. I have to be honest here and say that I can see why your books don't attract the general public. It is not a negative reflection on you or your material. Most people simply are not willing to put in the time and effort that is required to get through the books. They want the quick fix and go for the more commercially attractive Fretboard Logic type of books and methods. They want to go from complete novice to sounding like Eric Clapton in a week. I would love to do that too, but that is not reality. There is a plethora of method books, DVDs, books with CDs, and such, all claiming to give a person instant results. Some are even named similarly Instant Guitar, Play Guitar in 10 Minutes, and such nonsense. People eat that up. If you wrote those, I would think you were in it for the money. The truth is that there are even valid method books out there that just leave too much out. (I have a shelf full of them) They are not even claiming instant results but they just give you bits and pieces and don't tell you where to find the missing pieces. That is why I like your system so well. Like I said, I think this e-mail connection is the missing link in the other methods. That and I have yet to find any other method with so many good workbooks. The others just explain a concept and that is it. There is nothing to make it real, make it stick in your memory like your workbooks do. There is also a valid market for the quick-fix methods. As you are well aware, many people just have a handful of songs that they want to know or they are content knowing the beginning to the Stairway to Heaven solo to impress their young buddies. Some simply want to strum along to that handful of songs. They will never aspire to be able to play for hours and hours at a time and therefore will not likely injure themselves with bad technique because they are not playing but a few minutes at a time. There is nothing wrong with those aspirations. They just differ from mine. Again, to be honest, if all I wanted was to learn a half dozen songs or so and keep it simple (mostly strumming chords), I certainly would not want or need to go through the lifelong love affair with the guitar that I intend to continue. When you just aspire to better your current best, continue improvement over a lifetime, then you can only succeed with tenacity. It just takes commitment that the vast majority of people are not interested in making. There is no fault in that either. Your methods are attractive to those hard-headed people like me that want to understand everything they can about music and all the instruments they want to learn (I still want to return to my piano studies in a year or two, after getting some handle on the guitar.) Conversely, I think that applying to the piano what I learn about theory on the guitar will not be that bad. I will have the basics sorted out. Intervals are intervals. They are just laid out differently on a piano. I feel that I am learning theory the hard way. I could more easily learn theory via piano, but that instrument has a secondary interest in my heart. I tried piano lessons and I got way too bored with it and just fizzled out. I have always loved guitar, particularly acoustic. I love everything about it, the sound, even the way it feels to play. I like the control over the tone you have by differing the picking methods or by bending strings and such, just everything about playing guitar. The piano is cool too, but I don't feel the same connection with the instrument. I think that I am more likely to stick with my studies on guitar even though it is more complex than the piano as far as the layout of a fretboard (guitar is not linear like piano). At least I think it is more difficult to learn theory on guitar than piano, could be wrong.
A	Hopefully when they get cloning together you will be the first in line.

Q	It has been in my head for a while during my journey in mastering the guitar (I am 19 years old). I have been playing for a little over a year and a half. I first bought myself an electric guitar and made an investment in a tube amp ... beeautiful! I purchased a blues lead guitar method book by Peter Gelling ...I have gotten up to moving the minor pentatonic scale between keys ... in doing this it raised a question ... Am I going to hinder my progress by concentrating on one style mainly? I also got stuck understanding the concept of staying in a key. From what I understand, your books provide a broad overview (broad may be the wrong term) of the guitar method, not necessarily concentrating on any particular style. My goals are to be able to jam with anyone from any musical background, to understand why a musician chose a particular note, chording and/or scale, and to know why I would choose to go a certain way with a solo. My skills on the guitar include the ability to move within a chord progression that I come up with on the spot and some soloing based off the minor pentatonic scale. I try to emulate the extended soloing or jamming of Trey Anastasio (always wondering why he is going where he is going and moving licks and scales). I can also learn most popular songs quickly. I really want to learn the why's of the guitar. What would you recommend I do ... books, lessons, lessons in books etc.?
A	It's hard for to tell you whether you will hinder your progress by concentrating on one style because I don't know what you are practicing. I will tell you that in my opinion you need a good background in Music Theory, Chord Knowledge, Sight Reading, Ear Training which is all in one way or another related to Fretboard knowledge. I also don't know whether to tell you to study independently or through books because I don't know your learning affinities. I can definitely tell you that Trey is using way more than minor pentatonics so your knowledge needs some influx if you want to understand more jazz related soloing. If you want to use my books there would be quite a list of them to learn all the why's of the guitar and music. If you decide you want to go that route then write back with information on how much time you have to practice each day and I'll give you some recommendations.

Q	I would like to start out by saying I am amazed and appreciative of your turnaround time regarding e-mails. Thank you. As far as my learning thus far ... I decided to pick up the guitar a year and a half ago because I felt that my love for music can only be materialized if I picked up an instrument and actually started playing music. At first I was only interested in learning basic open chord songs (first one I learned was wonderwall by oasis), but then realized that this was pretty basic and wanted to become knowledgeable. I have a friend who plays and has been doing so for over 5 years so the only way I can gauge how I am doing is in comparison to him. I got interested in blues because I figured that most modern music, ie led zepplin, cream, is based off the blues. With this logic I bought Blues Lead Guitar by Peter Gelling. I mastered the first 10 lessons which include alternate picking, slides, trailoffs, bends and release bends and have also mastered the minor pentatonic scale in the key of A only, because Gellings method is to teach you the form in one key and than have you shift it to another key. I think I understand that to change the key you would start off with that scale form on the first fret (like if you start with an E shape form than continue into D shape and then C and so on that the root notes are the key you are in) *if that doesn't make sense tell me and I'll try to clarify. I'm up to lesson 15 where it is the "whole picture" showing the forms in the 4 different keys A, C, D, and E. It is here where I ran into the most confusion. I am blindly learning the fingerings without really understanding why it works other than that it sounds good. However, I have an understanding from several musicians/guitarists I have talked to, which I consider to be good, and they just say you have to hear where it should go. I can hear where it should go and I have plenty of melodies in my head but when trying to transcribe them to my guitar in the correct rhythm and sound I find it impossible. I want to be able to hear a song/solo in my head or previously recorded, and see the notes also and the techniques to get that sound. I have great dedication to learning the guitar, almost obsession but I see it as alright. I'm starting school in a couple weeks and looking for a job but that shouldn't stop me from practicing at least two hours a day. I sometimes jam with some friends including the one I mentioned before. I know he is better than I am but at the same time I feel his playing is predictable and boring at times however to an untrained ear or even a newbie it would sound good (lots of double stops and bends--bluesy sounding). He always tells me that with blues you can hear or feel where it is going. I often question if becoming knowledgeable of the actual notes you are playing interrupts the creative process or does it in fact give you an educated ear to bring your music to a whole new level that just feeling the music can. I have heard sound bytes from SRV about how he doesn't know how to read music but rather feels it and that thinking about the actual note would keep his fingers from playing the way he does. Hopefully that helped you out to see what you think I should do. If you have any questions about what I have said or gaps in what I have said tell me. And I was also wondering if you know the musical background of someone who plays on talk shows (like Jimmy Levino from Conan O'Brian) because they are always jamming to different genres of music and seem to have a firm knowledge of improvisation.
A	"Knowledge of the actual notes you are playing interrupts the creative process" This is a common misunderstanding I run into frequently. I would say that limited knowledge of the actual notes you are playing interrupts the creative process. I think the reason people say that limited knowledge of the actual notes interrupts the creative process is because people can easily misunderstand how they are suppose to use their knowledge of music and notes. To give you an analogy if you tried to think about every word you said as you were saying it you would talk in a very broken style. This is also true of music. In order to make the actual notes and musical concepts not get in your way you need to not think about it when you are performing but use this knowledge to help you understand what your are playing and why so that you can make informed decisions about what to practice and how to practice. So my opinion is that knowledge of the actual notes you are playing actually enhances the creative process because once this knowledge becomes second nature it doesn't get in your way it just allows you instant access to the sounds and ideas because you understand sound both from an aural and theoretical bases. I also think that anyone who finds themselves in a situation where they are letting their knowledge of music get in the way simply need to realize this and stop this behavior. Unfortunately many of these musicians don't know how and I think this is mostly because they have allowed a mental understanding of music to overtake their aural understanding of music and can't function just using their ear. This situation also certainly occurs with students as they learn there are certainly periods when their aural vs musical knowledge is uneven so their playing suffers. Many students that find their self in this situation decide to just stop thinking about music ever which is unfortunate because they also in turn severely hamper their future ability and understanding of music. I think you need to think these things over in your mind and make some decisions based on logic rather than on what others tell you. I think a good way to analysis this is to think about how you could learn a foreign language. Remember their are three parts to learning a language. Speaking, reading and writing. I think you can see that these are the same with music. Many famous and not famous musicians can only speak the language of music while others can do all three. You need to make a decision on what type of musician you want to be and not base this decision on old outdated and misinformed comments by musicians who don't understand the whole process.

Q	Where would I get just a book on notes to guitar. I don't know how to read them to play can you help?
A	There would be a list of notes on the guitar and where you find those notes on a music staff in the back of the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. You might also be able to find this information on the internet somewhere. Remember that having a list and memorizing it so it is useful in playing music is a completely different thing. Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One while not free and certainly not an easy book will teach you all the notes on the guitar and how they relate to chords and chord structure. If you have the ambition to learn music and how it relates to the guitar then this book would be a good place to start.

Q	I've been studying with Single String Studies and it is awesome! I also use the music reading for guitar by David Oakes. I need to try theory now and have some questions. I have the Fretboard Logic 1 and 2 books and they are great but I think I need to really know more than just where to play the stuff. I need to know why! The formulas are logical but I need to know more about the notes themselves and why it works the way it does. so, I need theory, right? Are your 2 Theory for Guitar books what I need? Do they cover circle of fifths and harmonizing besides chord and scale construction? Is it basic theory or is it pretty much a big complete text of what I should know? I was also think of the Jazz Theory book by Mark Levine and the Edly's Music Theory book which looks like fun to learn and look at in a funny way. What do you think? Would I be complete with your books? I'm a rock guy looking to expand. Your book has helped me so I figure, what the hell? The theory books should be just as great. I also hear that the Jazz theory book is the bible of theory for one wanting a complete understanding of theory. Is your book a pretty complete picture of thoery or should it be supplemented with other texts? Your own or others?
A	For theory I would recommend first working out of Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One and Two. After that any theory book you read will pretty much make sense. When you read a theory book by Mark Levine or any author they are assuming you know how to build chords and scales and can quickly apply it to your instrument. If you don't have this ability you will tend not to understand the books, misunderstand the books or be completely lost. This is why the two Workbooks are important because they apply music theory directly to your guitar so you develop an understanding of theory both in your head and in your hands. To complete the picture you need to develop your ear training skills because your ears will help you decide which parts of music theory apply in different situations. Without this you will only function on a superficial level. The develop of a trained ear in combination with a deep understanding of music theory will take years of work. The two theory books should take anywhere from a couple of months to a year to complete but the ear training could easily take 5 years or more to really get to a point where it is working quickly and naturally. If you are up for this challenge then in addition to the music theory books I would get: Ear Training One Note Complete Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training Starting in July of this year I will be teaching a summer workshop in New York City see www.nyuguitar.com I would strongly recommend raising your ability to the point that you would be able to attend this workshop because it will really benefit your understanding of music. I would also recommend working out of the books that either prepare you for audition or help you develop your performance skills. Currently there is one book out that is the ensemble book for pre-entrance practice. It is called The New York Guitar Primer Ensemble Book Two. http://www.muse-eek.com/books/nygmPR_ens_2/lower.html This contains a compilation of many of my books and would be an excellent book for improving your sight reading and understanding the application of scales to soloing situations.

Q	Do you recommend getting through the Theory Workbook For Guitar 1 before moving on to 2? Just curious. Or should I attempt both at once in addition to my other studies? I really want to learn theory.
A	You could go through both books at the same time. I would do a page of exercises each day in Music Theory Volume One. I would also learn one scale in one key in 7 positions each week on the guitar (see member's area under Help Files for Music Theory Volume One for fingering). In addition I would complete all the exercises for the scale you are learning in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two.

Q	Do you mean that book 1 has chords and scale exercises? And that the scales learned in book 1 also have lessons and exercises in book 2? So they can be used together? I think that's the way I understand your reply... I think I may only be able to afford book 1 at the moment but can't wait to take book 2 by the horns as well! Also, do these books address what I always think of as Theory issues such as Circle Of Fifths, harmonization, transposing etc? That's another aspect of music I want to learn. Do books 1 and 2 cover these areas? If not, which book do you recommend?
A	Book one teaches you how to build chords and ingrains into your memory where those chords are on the guitar. I realize your just getting started with music theory so you probably don't know what is important at this point. The first thing you need to realize is whatever you learn in music theory you need to see this information on your guitar fretboard in order for it to be useful for you as you play. Once you receive your Volume One book go to the member's area and watch all the videos associated with the book. These videos will reinforce the reason you are learning how to build all kinds of chords. Remember that scales go over chords so if you don't understand chords you are not going to understand how to use scales. Write back to me once you get the book and I'll give you a practice schedule which will include working on the music theory and practicing scales.

Q	1. I've reached page 32 of Music Theory 1 (Major 7#11 Chords) and I'm not entirely sure how to proceed. In the past examples, I've solved the problems by thinking in terms of "building" chords using triads, i.e. a diminished 7th chord would be minor 3rd -> minor 3rd -> minor 3rd. But I'm not quite sure how to "build" Major 7#11 Chords or any of the chords between pp. 32-37. Has the time come for me to memorize all major scales and then refer to p. 24? How should I think of the problems between pp. 32 and 37? Is there something I'm missing? 2. Since I've started I've been randomly dipping into the books and CDs in your series for 2 hours a day. I've read your FAQs and it occurs to me that maybe a random approach isn't the best approach. Can you suggest a division of my study time? I own Music Theory Volume 1, Music Theory Volume 2, Chord Workbook Volume 1, Single String Studies for Guitar Volume 1, The One Note Ear training CDs and book, and A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing. I've already completed First Steps for a Beginning Guitarist and, in all, I've been working with your system for over one month. What should my goals and approach be? What should I focus on?
A	I'm unsure of why you would have a problem figuring out what notes are in the chords between pages 32 and 37. Each page gives you an example of what notes are found in the chord and page 13 reinforces this by giving you the chord tones for all 4 note chords. I think knowing both methods for building chords is good to know and each will be useful in different situations. The interval method is good for those students that are just starting out with music theory and also helps you to see the internal interval structure which you can use later in advanced improvisation. The scale method helps you see which scales these chords come from while also reinforcing your knowledge of the 19 most used scales in Western Music. Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two would be a good thing to work through at the same time if you want to get more into using scales as a basis for spelling chords. Here is how I would organize your time within a two hour period. Music Theory Volume 1, 15 minutes Music Theory Volume 2, 15 minutes Chord Workbook Volume 1, 15 minutes learn a few new chords a week and start on the chord progression when you know enough chords Single String Studies for Guitar Volume 1, 10 minutes just read one page at a slow tempo The One Note Ear training CDs I would prefer you do this many times throughout the day for 5 to 10 minutes for the best results A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing. I would prefer you do this many times throughout the day for 5 to 10 minutes for the best results You need to start playing scales and improvising with them so go to the member's area and then the Help File for Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. Follow the links and download the PDF's for scales. I'd like you to learn a new scale each week in all positions. Be sure to examine the videos of me playing the scales closely so that you use the correct technique. You might download the ebook Guitar Technique just to make sure you are doing everything correct. You will also find more videos in the Guitar Technique videos folder in the member's are. THIS IS IMPORTANT DON'T LEARN ALL THESE SCALES WITH BAD TECHNIQUE YOU WILL JUST HAVE TO START OVER AT SOME POINT. So you need to learn each scale by key so first C major all positions, C dorian all positions etc... Then start to whole process over in the key of F and then continue cycle 5. i.e. C,F,Bb,Eb etc... Spend 20 minutes playing the scale in all positions saying the names or scale degrees as you progress up and down the scale. Then go to the MP3 vamps in the Help File for Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two and improvise on your scale with the vamps as backing tracks. I would spend 30 minutes doing this every day.

Q	I was wondering if the Theory Workbooks 1 and 2 and the Chord Workbook also contain guitar tablature. I cannot read music yet.
A	The whole idea of learning music theory is to also learn how to read music. You will not find a book that is worth studying if it only contains guitar tablature. The Music Theory Workbooks for Guitar are unique in that you write out your answers in both music notation and on a guitar fretboard diagram (which technically could be considered "guitar tablature"). The books will only require you to know the note names on a staff and to memorize the distances between notes. Grade school kids can do this so it's not exactly rocket science. I think if you give it a chance you will find that it's both easy and rewarding. I of course am here to help you if you don't understand something so you can't lose.

Q	I'm on p. 28 of Music Theory Volume 1, and something is unclear. I wonder what you would prefer my thought process to be when solving the problems on pp. 25-37. Do you want me building the chords, i.e. a G Dominant Seventh Sus 4 Chord would be G -> major 4th -> major 2nd -> minor 3rd? Or do you want me to memorize all major scales, first, and then when doing the exercises relate G Dominant Seventh Sus 4 to the structure 1, 4, 5, b7?
A	You can think of it either way. In the long run you should memorize all the scales in every key that go with the chords and relate the notes to it but that is asking quite a bit if you are just starting out. Some students already have a pretty good grasp of scales so they can relate the chord tones to the scale. Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two covers all the scales that go with every chord type.

Q	It may be a bit early but I want to say thank you. I feel as though I have hit on something very promising. For years, through books and some lessons (looking back, they were probably more fun than helpful. I learned some chords, played a couple of songs, and learned to read decently, but never did I feel as though I had an understanding of music or how my training fit into a whole), I've tried to become a competent guitarist. It's been my dream to play in a (good) band but what followed were large doses of either boredom or frustration. The commitment was always there but the method wasn't. Now your books have excited me beyond measure. I've been working with your books for about two weeks. I own 1st Steps, Music Theory Vol. 1 and 2, One Note Complete Method, and Chord Workbook Vol. 1, and I have some questions. I'd be thrilled if you can answer them. 1. I've taken up your suggestion to obtain and work through some sheet music. I purchased Hal Leonard's Classic Rock Fake Book. Before I encountered your books, I learned to read in first and fifth positions. Nowhere in your books so far (at all???) do I see mention of positional reading, and I'm wondering if a. you feel I need to unlearn my previous method of reading and b. if so, what should my approach to reading be? How should I find the notes in a piece of music? How should I think of the fretboard in relation to sheet music? 2. I've worked through 7 pages of Music Theory Workbook Vol. 1 and when I'm asked to apply the notes to the fretboard, I find myself leaning toward putting the notes in the first or fifth position, and it's becoming pretty clear that I'm really not furthering my knowledge of the fretboard. Is there any particular way you want me to approach these problems so that I learn as much as the fretboard as possible? Should I simply randomly skip around the fretboard ... what can you suggest? 3. An extension from my first question: I notice that when I play a song, something's a bit different from what I observe when I see others play solo (and I'm not even talking about great musicians here). I've learned to play the notes or to play the chords. In either case, something is left to be desired and I feel as though my renditions are banal in comparison. What I seem to notice (I'm probably lacking in the vocabulary here) is that other players play a combination of chords, notes, and maybe even what you call comps in one of your last videos for 1st Steps. How can I learn to do the same? Do you have any thoughts about how I can spice up my sheet music interpretation? Also, what is the best way to learn full songs? 4. I've worked through all 7 positions of the C Major Scale and in Cycle 5. Is it time to start recording vamps and soloing? If not, when? How? 5. on p. 113 of the answer section of Music Theory Workbook vol. 1 (second row, third & fourth example) you have what appears to be an x near one of the notes. What does that symbolize? Page 16: What is a tritone? p. 111 (5th row, 3rd example): Why in some cases do you double sharp or double flat? What purpose does that serve? 6. A regimen: in the last two weeks, I've completed First Steps, seven pages of Music Theory Workbook Vol. 1. I've also learned the C Major Scale thoroughly and listened to One Note 3-5 times a day for 15 minutes (to my surprise I'm getting about 50% of the first cd). What should I do next? I can practice 2 hours a day every day, and I can see myself often putting in more time (I have a naturally obsessive nature ... so who knows). I'm dying to improve and for the first time it seems as though I actually can. Could I play in a band in one year? What can be accomplished in a year at two+ hours a day?
A	1. I don't recommend reading in a position unless the music is mostly in one key center. Since most of the music I play is not in one key center very long I find that basing your position on the overall range of the music works better. There are a few things you can do to help yourself with this type of reading. I would get Single String Studies Volume One and read a page a day. 2. The first few pages will tend to have you working in the 1st five positions of the guitar. As you continue you will find the answers are all over the neck. You can also force yourself to put the answers as high up on the neck as possible. 3. Check out all the comping for the 1st steps book in the member's area and you will find many additions there you should copy. I also explain why I'm using certain notes so that will help you understand the theory behind the notes I choose. The best way to learn full songs is to play them either with a band or by yourself until you can remember the song. You can also play along with the record if you don't have a band. 4. I would prefer that you work with vamps as soon as you finish playing any scale. Divide your time 40% playing the scale thinking the notes or the degrees and 60% playing over vamps and improvising. I've got a lot of vamps on the muse-eek.com website in the member's area that you can use. Most are for the key of C major. (I'm working on other keys but it's going to be awhile). I would recommend you start making your own vamps too. A one chord vamp will work just fine. Use a looper, tape recorder or computer software to make loops to play over 5. "X" means that the string isn't played. I use double sharps and flats where the notes would theoritical be spell that way. You can use enharmonic spellings if you like i.e. Cb = B 6. If you have completed 1st steps then move on to Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume 1. Learn as many chords as you can by playing them cycle 5 each week. You may remember this cycle 5 process which was presented in the First Steps book. You should also start learning the chord progressions in the back of the book. I would start with either the Major or the Minor Blues and do one progression a week. Also read the section before the progressions begin so you understand the theory behind the chord progressions. You can see the exact way I played the progressions by looking in the back of the book where I list the notes played. The chord progressions are also available in MP3 format under the books title on the muse-eek.com website. Play along with these using the exact feel I have on the MP3s If you have finished the C major scale all positions then go to C Dorian and learn that in all positions. Watch the videos on the muse-eek.com member's area for pointers with each scale. Continue with all modes in C as listed in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. Do the exercises in the the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume 2 too. Continue listening to the CDs as much as possible each day. I would also recommend getting started with the Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training book to speed up your aural recognition. Watch the videos in the member's area and make sure you are using the proper technique. I don't want you working through all this stuff with the wrong technique. Also check out www.nyuguitar.com if you are free in the summer sounds like you could do this summer study either this year or next if you work hard.

Q	I realize this is a really long and detailed message. I appologize but hope that you can find time to read it and let me know if I am heading in the right direction. All I really want to know is if I am heading in the wrong direction with anything. Any constructive input would be greatly appreciated. I think I have a pretty good handle on what I need to do and am beginning to make small advances and feel good about the progress. I have not located an instructor and have not yet decided if taking music theory at the community college is doable. (available time) Right now I am just concentrating on getting a good practice routine going on my own. I promised you a list of books and a synopsis of my musical ambitions. Medical issues and work requirements have made practice/play difficult. I am trying to get back to it now. Obviously, I have not made the time to make a proper list of my books. I will at least get the message started now. I am not sure that it really makes sense to ask you to make a schedule for me in that my available time is so sporadic. Perhaps just a progression plan (suggested plan of attack). You already did this once and perhaps all I need is to know if I am heading for trouble anywhere. I will have to list the books from memory since I am at work. I have the following books from you: Guitar Techniques e-book 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Vol 1 Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Vol 2 (scales) Chord Workbook for Guitar Vol 1 Right Hand Technique for the Guitar Volume One A FANATIC'S GUIDE TO EAR TRAINING AND SIGHT SINGING Ear Training: One Note Complete Method The Essentials Single String Studies for Guitar Volume One I downloaded the videos and the sheet music for the C Major scale in 7 positions. Actually, I downloaded bunches of other videos, but don't have them listed. In addition to your material, I have software to learn the fretboard (actually, I think it is pretty good... boring but good). The software uses methods similar to Single Strings (if I recall correctly), but you don't have to read music. The software shows a dot on an animated keyboard and you have to respond by clicking the correct key on the onscreen piano keyboard (as well as a couple of other similar exercises). It is doubling as helping me to better memorize my piano keys... I have a book named: Fretboard Roadmaps (I also have Fretboard Logic, but it is rubbish, as you know). If you have not seen this one, Fretboard ROADMAPS seems to have SOME useful material for memorizing the fretboard, though it jumps around and touches on other topics. I also have one workbook on Fretboard memorization. So far the chromatic exercises and just paying A LOT of attention while playing scales seem to work best. I guess simple IS better. I also have fretboard paper on which I just write out ALL the notes on the fretboard, whenever I have a few minutes. I may do that 2 or 3 times a day, or NONE, depending on my schedule. The Roadmaps book helps to visualize the patterns, but I am trying to combine that with being sure that I know how to read the music and KNOW the notes on the fretboard. I know that playing guitar is not a visual art, but the patterns help to make the notes stick in my memory, if I use the exercises IN COMBINATION with just memorizing the major scale patterns, including degrees and note names. That is all that I can remember for now. I don't think it is all that important in that all that I think that I really need for the moment is probably 1st Steps, Theory Workbook 1, the C Major scales, and the two ear training units. What I am trying to accomplish right now is to not just know the C scale, but know the notes on the fretboard. I think that is time well spent. A long time ago I purchased the previously-mentioned software that provides a flashcard approach to fretboard memorization. I also just say the notes out loud as I play the scale and watch where the positions are. I also do chromatic exercises running up and down a single string. I am concentrating on the naturals for the moment, figuring that the accidentals can be sorted out later. It just feels easier to me this way for the moment. Still, I am surprised how difficult it is to concentrate and REALLY remember (with instant recall) notes on the fretboard. I guess it is just tedious. I am also working on crawling across the fretboard (finger exercises) where you move only the finger that is going to play next, thereby teaching your other fingers to stay low to the fretboard. It DOES move four fingers to four frets, which may contradict your more relaxed playing position for the left-hand fingers. However, it is just an exercise to learn not to let sympathetic tension raise your fingers away from the board. It is not recommended as a playing position. I have seen this exercise in several books and had several teachers recommend it. If it is a bad idea, let me know. In working with the scale patterns. I figured out what was "different" about the scales as presented on the fingerings on the web site. I was looking through the "Essentials" and realized that the fingerings in that book were the same as I was taught previously. For example, the C scale in Essentials that is similar to the online one "starting at F" leaves off the F on the 6th string and the B on the 1st string. This fingering is what I remember from private guitar lessons. That is why I move my hand up and down the neck much more than I remembered from my instructors directions to play the scale. I guess it should not matter. I can only assume that you are extending the scale as far as one can reach within an extended position. Am I correct in my memory that the scale pattern can move and it just becomes the scale for whatever note is now in the pattern position that the C was in? That is worded poorly, but hopefully you will understand. In other words, put the root where the C is in the forms and you have the scale for the new root. I also looked at the pentatonic scales. I have only learned what most people seem to call the first pattern. I know that these patterns share notes with each other, making them interlocked such that you can play all the way up and down the fretboard. I could not find any such interlocking patterns in the major scale positions. Am I missing something, or is that just the way it is? Which fingering should I be learning: the one in Essentials or the on on the web with added extensions? Theory Workbook 1... I need to read and start again. I have not been in it for a while. Ear Training... This has been hit and miss and I KNOW that I have to still figure out a way to fit it in more regularly. Chord Progressions in 1st Steps. I have worked on the chords and the 1st progression took me about 5 minutes to get down solid. I whipped through the first three or four but slowed down to try to clean them up. I am taking much more time with the chords, trying to remember the notes in the chords, and also learning to mute the unplayed strings with my fretting hand. I had only used my thumb to do that before. One must be much more observant of the finger positions to mute 1st or 5th strings, just as an example. I guess you would say I am backing up and regrouping again, trying to clean up my sloppy playing. I have read a bit in the Chord Workbook for Guitar Vol 1. I will check the help files online to see if I can answer this question, but at this point, it is unclear how I am to use this book. I understand how to use the Theory Workbook but the Chords one is less clear. Musical Ambitions... Boy, that is almost getting lost in the shuffle. Bruce, all I am able to make time to do is study/read or do exercises. I hope to soon begin working on developing a repetoir. This IS supposed to be about making music after all. Not just exercises and reading or working in workbooks. As I mentioned before, I want to eventually do an open mic every so often. I want to be able to read music (reasonably well), sit in on a jam and be able to keep up with average players, and I want a decent repetoir of both acoustic and electric songs. I am mostly interested in ballads, blues (electric AND acoustic), and country blues. However, I like all sorts of music and am open to lots of styles, from Beatles to Vince Gill. I LOVE Clapton stuff and for ballads I like Jewel for modern stuff and the older stuff from Van Morrison and just about anyone you name. I even like the course stuff like Neil Young or Bob Dylan. I like R&B, Jazz, Fusion, Alternative Country, and classic rock. I would not mind eventually being able to play just about anything. I like SOME classical and Spanish guitar as well. Short term ambitions.... I want to learn some fun songs that I can eventually get past just strumming the rhythm parts. It could be Dylan songs, Beatles songs, Jewel, J. J. Cale... Whatever, so long as it is not Aura Lee and the stuff that normally comes with method books. I just want a few WHOLE songs to play well, even if it is just strumming chords. Longer Term... While I am building this simpler repertoire, I want to be learning the theory and techniques to get well past sounding like a beginner and be able to converse intelligently with and perhaps jam with more advanced players. The good news is that the chords are cleaning up, barr chords are slowly beginning to actually sound like music (still have a lot of work there), I AM slowly progressing with remembering the notes on the fretboard, and a few of the basic concepts that had me stumped are beginning to click. I think that I am finally making progress with everything but the ear training and that is my fault for not putting in the time and effort. I am going to work on that. Scheduling is the issue. The single most frustrating thing at this moment is that I don't have ONE SINGLE SONG that I can play all the way through and I don't want to go back and learn the stupid folk songs that are in the Mel Bay books! I think that I need to work on one Jewel song that I have worked on for a while now and have a lot of it sorted out. I also have J. J. Cale song that I know most of that has a VERY simple chord progression. The lead part is not that simple. Maybe just learn the chords and learn to sing and play at the same time again. I used to be able to do that. I just have to keep the songs simple and pick only one or two to work on. There are also some simple Don Williams songs that I like and know bits and pieces of them. Okay, I think that about covers it all. I am sure that is way more detail than you wanted. However, I don't know how else to convey where I am trying to go with all this and where I feel that I am with my music studies at the moment.
A	A couple of recommendations from your email. 1. I'd pick one scale per day play it up and down in all positions thinking the note names or the degrees of the scale. If you can play these over a drone or vamp that's even better (use the Fanatic's Guide CD or vamps from the website). Use the 3 notes per string scale fingering found in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two folder in the member's area. Don't worry about finding the "PATTERN" of the scale just play it in one or all positions then I would spend a good amount of time just improvising with the scale over a vamp or even play along with a song that might use that scale. You can pick just one position of the scale or just a few notes to solo with or jump around but you want to get a feel musically for what it sounds like. Remember there are a ton of vamps in the member's area. I think that would be a better route than just looking a patterns to help memorize scale fingerings. BE MUSICAL WITH THE SCALES! 2. Sounds like you are past First Steps now and if you do chord work it should be out of the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One. Use the MP3 under the books title to hear how each progression should sound. Learn any chord that you don't know by looking it up in the book. Many times there is more than one possibility. I also have the progressions in the very back of the book with the actual voicings written out in notes if you want to play it exactly as I recommend. If you need some remedial work before starting these progressions I would recommend taking chords cycle 5 which is recommended on page 28. Take a new chord every day and play it cycle 5 (This will really help you memorize all the notes on the low E and A strings). 3. Crawling across the fretboard (finger exercises) doesn't sound good to me. If you want to train your hand and fingers to be relaxed put a piece of scotch tape around all your fingers (not your thumb) between the knuckles and the first joint. Before you tape your hand you want your fingers to be in the natural prone position that your hand is in when it is just relaxed. Play the scales in 7 positions this way using the proper fingering by sliding your hand around to get to each note and keep you thumb sliding as well as you move to each note. It will feel weird and look weird but it will teach your hand to be relaxed, your fingers to be close to the frets and there will be no stretching out of the fingers because they are taped. 4. Do at least a couple of the exercises from the Music Theory Book each day. Even if it's just one example on one page is better than none. 5. I would also pick a tune and work on the chords each day. Try to add one tune a week and review all tunes each week as you get more tunes. You don't have to perfect each tune before moving on but it should at least sound close to music before you move on. 6. Do a little listening from the One Note Ear Training CDs and sing a little from the Fanatic's Guide book each day. It will be slow going but over time will make a major difference.

Q	Thank you for the response. I will take all of it under advisement. I am sorry, but I think I did not convey my advancement very accurately. I am not as advanced in my practice as you seem to think. I wish that I were. I am making some progress and I guess that my excitement misled you. For example, I have worked on that one Jewel song (on and off) for months. I don't know how I would possibly learn a tune a week at this time. The JJ Cale song did not take as long because the chords were simpler. I am still working on SIMPLE stuff. Let me just address one issue at a time. I am sorry. That is what should have done the first time. How can I learn the scales (I don't yet know all the positions of even the C Maj) if I am not forming "patterns"? I would think that one either has to know the fretboard by NOTE all the way up and down the neck, for all six strings, OR see a pattern in the scale. Otherwise, ignoring patterns, I will be counting from the nut to find notes. I don't know how to be musical with the scale doing that. Or are you suggesting that I just count up from the nut over and over until I where that particular note is, ignoring the visual pattern? Again, I am not disagreeing. I honestly don't understand HOW to do what you ask. I will catch up to the point that you are suggesting in your response below, but I am not there yet. I think that my enthusiasm mislead you.
A	For Chords: Use easy cool songs (there are 10 of them in 1st steps and many more waiting for you) that will only take a week or two to learn. If as you say you can play all the chords in the 1st Steps book then there are 1000's of songs that only use those chords. For Scales 1. Take one position of one scale play it up and down while saying the notes or the degrees. 5 minutes 2. Put on a vamp and improvise with the notes you have just played. 15 minutes 3. Do this over and over again until you remember where those notes are and how they sound musically (a week of practice every day) 4. Repeat until you have learned both the notes and the musical sound of one position of one scale (more weeks if needed but commonly not if you practice) 5. Move on to the next position of the scale (go back to step one) 6. Repeat process until all positions are completed 7. Move on to the next scale I've taught 100's of students using the above process it works if you would just give it a chance. Good music is not created through patterns but through learning the sounds of notes over time and letting music patterns and sounds to organically emerge. In other words think about the notes and degrees as a 5 minute practice session then stop thinking and start playing (if you need to review the notes as you go then do it) over time you know the names of the notes and you know how they sound this is all you need. Now please Hal try this before you try and analyze it. Just follow the process laid out above. Use common sense and I think you will find you have a feeling of accomplishment and feel more musical if you do it everyday. If you only do it a couple of times in a week then obviously it's going to take a lot longer and you are going to feel scattered and not feel like you are accomplishing anything and then your back to looking for answers in books and other sources. This is approximately 15 minutes of looking a the chords to a tune and 20 minutes of playing and scale and improvising. If you have more time then do the other things I've recommended.

Q	I was running through the exercises in Theory Volume 1 on page 28 - Minor 7b5 Chords and had a question about the placement of these chords on the fretboard. On the last excersises on the second and third lines I have placed the chords differently from the answers in the back. The chord rooted in the high G# I placed the root on the 13th fret of the G string (you had 18th on D string). On the chord rooted in B, I placed the root on the 4th fret of the G string (you had 9th of D). Is there more than one correct answer here, or am I totally wrong? How do I know when to use which placement if there is only one answer. Also in some exercises, say the first exercise after the example on the same page, it could be possible to place the C on the B string instead of the G string. Is this wrong? Is there a way to know whether two notes should go on one string, or they should be seperate.
A	Your answers seem correct, at least for the 1st note. There are many correct answers for the exercises in the Music Theory book. I've created an alternate answer PDF which is in the Member's Area under Help Files for Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. This help file only covers about the 1st 10 pages. You will notice that there are many alternate answers and this is the reason I didn't include all these possibilities in the book. I calculated at one point and figured out the book would have been around 1600 pages if I included all possibilities. The best thing to do is just double check the notes to make sure you are correct if the alternate answer isn't in the PDF on-line. You can always use the note chart found in the back of the book. This is a good way to make sure you are correct.

Q	Thusfar I have been working through your Music Theory Vol.1 book by determining the distance between notes and marking them on the workbook. I usually do this without my guitar at hand and by counting from note to note. Is there a perferred or better way to work through the book? Should I be looking at my guitar the whole time? I have just reached the portion of the book dealing with Tensions, and have had little trouble completing the exercises by coutning from note to note. I want to make sure I am working the exercise in the right way as to make sure I am fully understanding everything I need as building blocks.
A	You can work with or without the guitar in the Music Theory Book. It is of course better if you can play the examples but the important thing is to work through the book and begin to understand how chords are build and where they are on the guitar. Starting off it's good to count all the half steps so that you learn reinforce how these chords are built and what their relationships look like on the guitar fretboard. Once you feel you understand this first step you can then start to do the exercises by thinking of the related scale and choosing the notes for the chords from that source. Just so you can understand this idea better there is a file in the "member's area" of the muse-eek.com website in the "Files for Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One Folder." The file is called "Music Theory Lesson File 1." Read this file and see if you can start to figure out the chord tones and tensions for chords based on this new method. If you have questions please send them to me. If you still feel you need work with the counting intervals method then please continue until you feel you are ready for this next step.

Q	I've fallen at the very first hurdle! I've been getting some of the basic interval questions incorrect since some of the answers require sharpened/flattened notes. It struck me that the only way to avoid this is to have an intimate knowledge of all the scales which, as a novice to music theory, is beyond me at present! Should I learn the key signatures at the bottom of page 5 verbatim or learn them by flicking back and forth between exercises and page 5?
A	While learning the key signatures would help fix your problem you could also use the following basic premise to help you know how to spell any note that you might need in the music theory work. Music theorists have set up a rule that any interval that you are trying to build must match the interval name you are using. I'll give you a few examples so you can see what I'm talking about. If you needed to build a fifth from C you would count up 5 letter names from C (but remember to include C): so a fifth above C would go like this: C, D, E, F, G If we had a flatted 5th then we first have to count up a fifth and then flat the fifth note. So it would be as follows: C, D, E, F, Gb Now as you may know an F# is the same note as a Gb but when you are talking about a flatted fifth above C you must say Gb not F#. Now let's look at a more complicated example If you have a Gb and you needed a flatted 3rd above that note you will need to do the following: First count up to a major 3rd: Gb, Ab, Bb Then you need to flat the major 3rd in order to get the flatted 3rd so Bb becomes B double flat because you need to keep the regular name of the 3rd but flat the note so it would look like this: Gb, Ab, Bbb Now Bbb is an A but in order to be correct you must call a flatted 3rd above Gb a Bbb.

Q	I followed your clear example and have no problem with it. BUT take the fourth example in the Basic interval exercises as an example of my difficulty: The root note given is E and the major third is asked for. So I count up three notes E, F, G and write down the note G as the major third above E. But as you know, it's actually G#! How can I know this is sharpened without prior knowledege of the scales?
A	In the case you are citing you need to always remember to count up half steps to check that the spelling is correct. So this is how I would approach each example. 1. Count up letter names so that you are sure to get the correct letter. i.e. A major 3rd above E is some kind of G: E, F, G 2. Then count up half steps to check E to F to F# to G to G# is 4 half steps so you know you have to sharp your G 3. Let's say you start counting using flats instead E to F to Gb to G to Ab Then you would realize that the Ab has to be a G# because of the 1st step you did in this process.

Q	I have been learning the major, major pentatonic and minor pentatonic scales and am trying to use them to improvise. However, I'm not sure how to switch between the different positions in a given scale. For example, if I'm playing a major pentatonic in the position that starts on the 6th degree of the scale on the sixth string, I would easily get lost if I tried to move to a different position like up one position to the position starting with the root. Or even worse, sliding up or down a step in the middle of a position. Is the only solution to keep track in your mind at all times what position you're in? Or am I supposed to know what note/degree of the scale I am playing at all times? Also, do the lead positions come into play in linking the different scale positions? I'm guessing musicians can also know where they are in a scale by ear and that must help tremendously in playing but I do not have that ability right now. There must be some kind of method to this. I only ask because when I study solos written by other artists, I can recognize the notes and position of the scale they are using, but then they start switching/linking positions and I wonder how they know how to do that (other than having it pre-written before playing). I imagine that eventually I would think of the whole scale at one time on the fret board and just selecting to the play the available notes, but it is too early for that.
A	This is a common problem that students have. In general you should think of your knowledge of music and the guitar fretboard as if it was a language like english. If you don't know all the words and you need to make a coherent statement then you aren't going to be understood. So the next question is how do you get fluent with a language like music so that you can just play and not have to think about (or think very little about) what you are doing. The answer is you need to know three things: 1. Music Theory so that you understand the structure of let's say the pentatonic scale. By this I don't mean you can kinda say the notes of the scale if given a minute or so I mean you say the notes quickly of any scale in any key and find those notes of the guitar in any position either across the neck or up and down each string quickly. 2. Aural recognition by working with an ear training method that will teach you how to hear notes against a chord progression so that you not only know what notes you are playing but know what they sound like. 3. Technique so that you can easily express yourself on your instrument without your hands hindering your progress. So how do you go about doing this? I've written 3 books that will help you with gaining this ability. Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One for chords and Volume Two for Scales Ear Training One Note Complete Guitar Technique (an ebook see: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/guitartech/lower.html Basically these books give you 100's of exercises to ingrain the aforementioned information into your brain so that it becomes second nature. You may ask "well I'm sure many guitarists haven't used your books and they seem to be able to play OK" This is true and it's because they spent many years working through the same information on their fretboard until they knew how to play. I'm just trying to speed up your ability by giving you concentrated exercises. So this is what I see as your problem and the above books are what I recommend. Most of this work is not fun but it will give you the ability you seek. If you end up getting the books write back and I'll give you a practice schedule.

Q	I'm an intermediate classical guitar hobbyist who needs to seriously bone up on his music theory. I'm considering buying both volumes of your Music Theory Workbook for Guitar. Are they useful for the classical guitarist? I notice that, for example, the exercises involve 24 frets.
A	I think both volumes would be excellent resources for you to work through. Some examples do go above the 12th fret but the vast majority don't. These two books will really help you to see scales and chords on the guitar. I would also recommend Single String Studies for Classical Guitar http://www.muse-eek.com/books/class_sst1/lower.html This will really help with note identification, knowing the fret-board without looking, sight reading and ear training all wrapped up in exercises that go through all keys all strings.

Q	I'm an absolute beginner at playing guitar. I'm learnig with an electric guitar and I am following along with your book 1st Steps For a Beginning Guitarist. I am having lots of trouble just playing the basic chords starting on page 20. When I play the chords sometimes one of the fingers is nudging one of the other strings and usually one of the three fingers is not applying enough pressure on the string than the other two so I get that thump sound on that particular string. How could I prevent this from happening? When you play the chords you play all the fretted and open strings from top to bottom except for the string marked with an X, would that be right? Also, I tried reading the music theory section but got very lost trying to understand it after about two or three pages. So I purchased Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. I need something that is much slower paced and thorough at explaining the subject, and hopefully the exercises you have in the book will help me to understand.
A	Many of the problems you are having are common. Really it just takes time to adjust your fingers correctly for each chord. I have created a bunch of videos to help you see some of these problems for each chord. These files are located in the members area which you can join for free at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/members/members1.html When you get your Username and Password go to Help Files for Chords and scroll to bottom of page and you will see the Video Chord Files. Check these out they might help you. By the way yes the X is for the strings that you do not play. Have you watched the videos for the Music Theory pages either in the Help files for 1st Steps or the Help files for Music Theory Volume One in the members area? If not that might help. If you are still having problems then you need to ask me specific questions so that I can help you understand the things that aren't making sense to you. Remember it only takes misunderstanding one or two things and then everything will not make sense.

Q	I've been in love with guitar for so long, and in ignorant isolation learned to play some classical guitar on my own, and then with some private instruction. While I can play some pretty sounding things, I feel I am an imposter when it comes to really playing the instrument. I never developed myself as a real musician. I discovered your site a while back but didn't think I could do what you recommended. But my desire to become a real musician will not go away, so here I am trying again. I want to come out of this limited little closet I've been stuck in and interact with others. I want to be able to play in any key, to do interesting strums with interesting progressions, to really know chords and scales and to improvise. I've been doing your recommended ear training and the singing (Ear Training One Note and A Fanatic's Guide to Ear Training), and working my way through the first theory book and the 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist to fill in the huge gaps I have. The first questions I am discovering have to do with improvising with scales: 1. Should I really concentrate on knowing which note I am actually playing, or can I just play around in the scale pattern? Sort of let my fingers randomly come up with something. 2. When I hear where I want to go in my head with a melody, should I know which note it is by ear? Shoujld I first hear and know what I am going to play? I hope these questions make sense to you. I am so appreciative of what you are offering with your books and website. Also, I saw that you have a book called Comping Styles for Guitar Vol. 2 and I was wondering if there was a Volume 1?
A	You should concentrate on which note you are playing when you are practicing the scales. I would do this in two ways. First I'd play the scales saying the note names (A, Bb, C etc...). Second I would play the scales saying the note degrees (7, 1, 2 etc...). You could alternate these methods every other day. Each day after you have finished playing the scales like this I would then just improvise with them over some sort of chord vamp that you make up or one that I recommend in Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. There are also many vamps that you can use in the member's area of the muse-eek.com website under the Help files for Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two. In the long run you will find that the ear training (specifically the Fanatic's Guide work) will help you to identify what notes you are hearing when you improvise or compose. This usually takes of few years or more so you should just do your best in the meantime as your ear improves. There is no Volume One in the comping series. Maybe in the future but it would be awhile because I'm in the middle of some other projects. Volume Two is really useful for learning how to play funky rhythms and develop a pick/finger style of playing chords. I think you are on the right track. If you learn all the theory presented in the books you have and improve your ear you will be among a the select few musicians that really know what they are doing and are able to communicate effectively with other musicians.

Q	I've been skimming through the FAQs and the Music Theory 2 book to try to find the answers, but haven't seen them yet. I have a huge gap in what must be some very basic understanding that most guitarists have, that of having to do with the relationship of all these scales to keys. I'm literally confused as to the reason for the use of all these modes when playing in a key. If a piece of music is in C major, why would we need to think in terms of dorian and lydian, etc.? Wouldn't we just need to know the notes and play what sounds good? Is this something specific or unique to guitar, this way of thinking? I genuinely want to understand something here and will put in all the time necessary once I do, so please bear with me. Also, here's another very basic question. When improvising, which is very new to me, so I'm starting with the very first C major scale starting on G with the vamp on your website, should I make sure the fingering I use is exactly that of the one learned with the scale, even if it's a little awkward? For instance, if I want to go back and forth quickly between the E on the second string (played with 3), to the C on the fourth string (played with 4), it can feel tangled.
A	All the scales you find in the Music Theory book can be key centers. So you could have a C major key center but you also could have a C dorian key center etc.... You will also have situations where there are a few chords being played in a progression and all those chords will be heard in one key. For instance a chord progression which is moving by fairly fast with the following chord changes C, A-7, D-7 and G7. You would probably hear all those chords in the key of C so you would just play those notes and "think" those notes in the key of C major. But you could have a progression that was moving really really slow with those same chords and you might modulate on each chord so then you would have C major scale for the 1st chord, an A Aeolian scale for the 2nd chord, a D Dorian Scale for the 3rd chord and a G mixolydian scale for the 4th chord. Yes all of those modes/scales really just contain the notes in C major BUT you should think of the notes like you hear them and when you modulate in the slow example above you should also think of each scale in it's own key. How do you know if you have modulated or not? Well that's where the ear training books come in so if you don't have the Ear Training One Note Complete Book you should get that and getting working on improving your ear so you can hear as well as you can play. When improving with these scales you can use any fingering that you want.

Q	I've been skimming through the FAQs and the Music Theory 2 book to try to find the answers, but haven't seen them yet. I have a huge gap in what must be some very basic understanding that most guitarists have, that of having to do with the relationship of all these scales to keys. I'm literally confused as to the reason for the use of all these modes when playing in a key. If a piece of music is in C major, why would we need to think in terms of dorian and lydian, etc.? Wouldn't we just need to know the notes and play what sounds good? Is this something specific or unique to guitar, this way of thinking? I genuinely want to understand something here and will put in all the time necessary once I do, so please bear with me. Also, here's another very basic question. When improvising, which is very new to me, so I'm starting with the very first C major scale starting on G with the vamp on your website, should I make sure the fingering I use is exactly that of the one learned with the scale, even if it's a little awkward? For instance, if I want to go back and forth quickly between the E on the second string (played with 3), to the C on the fourth string (played with 4), it can feel tangled.
A	All the scales you find in the Music Theory book can be key centers. So you could have a C major key center but you also could have a C dorian key center etc.... You will also have situations where there are a few chords being played in a progression and all those chords will be heard in one key. For instance a chord progression which is moving by fairly fast with the following chord changes C, A-7, D-7 and G7. You would probably hear all those chords in the key of C so you would just play those notes and "think" those notes in the key of C major. But you could have a progression that was moving really really slow with those same chords and you might modulate on each chord so then you would have C major scale for the 1st chord, an A Aeolian scale for the 2nd chord, a D Dorian Scale for the 3rd chord and a G mixolydian scale for the 4th chord. Yes all of those modes/scales really just contain the notes in C major BUT you should think of the notes like you hear them and when you modulate in the slow example above you should also think of each scale in it's own key. How do you know if you have modulated or not? Well that's where the ear training books come in so if you don't have the Ear Training One Note Complete Book you should get that and getting working on improving your ear so you can hear as well as you can play. When improving with these scales you can use any fingering that you want.

Q	It's still hard for me to put my finger on what's gone askew in my thinking. I've had a couple of years of college-level music theory, so I do understand about modes and scales being the same thing and about modulation, usually with various modes of major and minor (ionian and aeolian). And when I said an acknowledged key center within a key center, I was trying to make sense of analyzing a piece that was in the key of C with the changes you mentioned: C A-7 D-7 G7, and depending on the speed of the changes, whether you hear it in changing modes or the overall C. It sounds like there's something really basic I'm not getting, some simple duh moment. Perhaps you could recommend two pieces to listen to that you hear the difference in. Maybe it's that in all the pieces I've analyzed I haven't come across all these modes being used, perhaps because I've studied Western classical music? Or again, maybe this is specific to the way a guitarist thinks in order to hear and efficiently use patterns of scales with improvisation? Like I said, I'm new to improvisation, and maybe my classical background is tripping me up and blinding me unnecessarily to the use of these modes.
A	Well I think we are getting closer. Here is a couple of more things to think about: Just because a chord, group of chords or notes can be intellectually analyzed and determined that they all exist in a key center doesn't mean that they in-fact do exist in that key center. Theory and ear training courses tend to use intellectual analysis to determine key center rather than teaching students how to hear key centers and determine for themselves how they hear a passage of music. This is mostly because any two students could hear a passage differently based on their ear training skills, past listening experience and cultural upbringing. On top of this tempo, range, and even melodic contour can effect perceived key center. This usually doesn't make that much difference unless you want to improvise over a piece of music then the key center considerations become extremely important because you want to think and hear the appropriate scales the same way. In other-words if the musical passage is heard by you in C major then you want to think C major so that when you hear a melody in your mind that you want to play you hear it in the proper key and can then find it on your instrument. If we go back and look at our example of C A-7 D-7 G7 C this progression could be analyzed as a progression in C major. If it was moving at an extremely slow tempo each chord would become a new key. This does not mean that these new key centers are key centers within a key center it means that you are modulating to a new key center on each chord. Intellectually you could say that all the chords are derived from the diatonic chords of the key of C major but that doesn't mean once again that you are hearing a key center within a key center.

Q	I just purchased your beginning book on guitar and have been practicing the chords and trying to get some sort of a grip on music theory. I am 59 years old and have wanted to learn to play the guitar since I was a small boy please don't ask me why it has taken me this long to get around to it because I don't really have a good answer. I am a blank slate where music is concerned I can't read a note. I have a couple of questions, on page 9 of your book it refers to the staff and the lines and spaces as being different pitches then further down it refers to them as notes I know this is probably a dumb question but can I assume that they are the same thing? I have to admit right now this is absolutely Greek to me, my second question is in your book Music Theory Vol.1 are there explanations in there that would help me overcome my ignorance. I am somewhat frustrated because I don't seem to be able to understand what I should be playing. I downloaded the scales from your website but I don't understand what the staff is telling me to play. Do I need to learn to read music before I try and learn the guitar? I really don't know which way to go here. I have to admit I might just be a hopeless case, please let me know what you think, if you need more detail I will try but I have explained this the best that I can. I did read one of your statements to one of the questions that was asked, you said that the journey is more important than the destination I totally agree with you, man is very linear in his thinking and goal oriented, (I 'am at A and I am going to C. Don't bother me with B ) I want to enjoy the journey I just need to get started. I will appreciate any advice that you are able to give me.
A	It may take us awhile to sort out your various problems so be patient. First when you mentioned the "beginning book on guitar" I'm assuming you are talking about 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist. Make sure when you refer to a book with me that you mention the title. I think a good place to start with the theory in both the 1st steps book and the Music Theory Volume One book is to join the member's area at http://www.muse-eek.com/books/members/members1.html After you receive your username and password go into the member's area and click on the link for "Help files for Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One". Watch the movies which can be found by clicking on the link for "Music Theory Video Files" which is down towards the bottom of the page. This will give you another perceptive on the music theory which may help. To answer your question. The staff showing the lines and spaces is indeed giving you the names of the notes which are found in music. If you want to see the correlation between the notes on the staff and the notes on the guitar I suggest you look at the final pages of Music Theory Workbook which will give you the notes on the staff and the corresponding note on the guitar. Hopefully that will help you see how they are related. The Music Theory book is a workbook to help you see music theory relationships on the guitar. You can play each example on the guitar if you want to but really you just need to fill in the exercises starting on page 16. Remember the answers are in the back of the book so this may help you get started. You only need to read pages 1 to 7 in the music theory book in order to do the first two pages of exercises. When you start the exercises on page 18 you will need to look at the theory information on page 8. The scale page that you downloaded is showing you the notes on the staff and which strings, fingers and fret to use to play each note. You will see this information listed on the left side of the page. String 6 means you lowest in pitch string (the big fat string) Fingering for the first note is "1" which is your index finger and fret is "1" so it's the 1st fret on the low E string. Again if you refer to the diagrams in the back of the Music Theory Book you can quickly see where each note on the staff is located. Make sure to look at the pictures in the 1st steps book and watch the videos found in the Help files for 1st Steps folder in the member's area. I would also look at the videos in the Help files for Guitar Technique folder. You will also find videos of the above mentioned scale page in the Help files for 1st Steps. Look for page 11 in this folder it should look like the following: Page 11 - Music Theory Continued Video Files Example 8 Example 9 Example 10 C Major Scale Video Files Open the C major Scale video called "C Major From F Slow" and you will see me playing the 1st scale listed on the page you downloaded.

Q	In working thru the the workbook, I noticed that there is a key signature for a Cb. I was under the impression that there is a natural step between B/C and E/F notes. Have I missed something? Or does this key signature belong to a different scale?
A	Cb and B are the same notes. But you will find Cb used in music. They call Cb and B enharmonic because they are both the same notes but spelled differently. Many scales have these enharmonic spellings and are used occasionally by composers for various reasons. For instance the key of Cb Major would be spelled: Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb Some other common enharmonic spellings are: G# for Ab Fb for E F# for Gb A# for Bb Db for C# D# for Eb but anything is possible key of Bbb is really A (bb is called a double flat) key of CX is D major (X means double sharp)

Q	I have a question about chords. Who came up with these chord structures and what are they based on? For example, are all the chords using C as the root somebody's determination of what notes would sound good with C as the root or are they simply every possible combination of note within the C major key signature? Also, is it neccessary to memorize every note in every chord, or in volume one of the music theory work book is it sufficient to familiarize myself with the chord structures. How will the knowledge of these structures help when playing?
A	The chords that you are learning are the chords that have developed through the history of music. They are the chords used in most every type of music therefore important information to know. It is important to know every note in every chord just as it is important to know every letter in the alphabet. Knowing this information will help you: 1. Realize what scales to play over chords when you are improvising. 2. In finding chord voicings on your instrument 3. Realize other notes that you can use when playing chords 4. Realize what is theoretically going on when analysising chord progressions 5. Realize what chords can be used as reharmonizations 6. Understand how music is organized.

Q	I recently bought your books One Note Complete and Fanatic's Guide. I have been using them for a few days . It seem to me that i have already made some progress . As you know guitar players have certain keys they prefer( c-a g-e-d) .Given that this is so would it be ok to just concentrate on these keys when using the Fanatic's Guide (tracks 1,9,10,11,12)
A	It would be better if you worked in all keys. This is the way I set up the book so that each exercises you sing has a different relationship to the drone. Also remember that you will need knowledge of all keys for identifying notes when you get to "Key Note Recognition" and the "2 Note Ear Training" books. Remember that if you get a singer in your band they may need to sing in non-guitar keys. If you have problems thinking the notes in these keys then I would suggest working from the Music Theory Workbooks for Guitar Volumes One and Two to improve your theory knowledge.

Q	My question is on Music theory for Guitar Vol. 1 and here it goes on pg. 16 of basic intervals, number 8, for augmented 2 with the note at g#, I get b by the count of 3 half-steps. it says A with what looks like to be a flag notation. I am not sure what the notation means and I know the answer I come up with is not the answer in the book. And I would like to know where to count from. Is it at the g# note or one half-step forward. I have seen two different answers in the book and I am new to music theory.
A	Here is the deal, the note "b" is the right answer BUT music theory using a convention in that if you are asked for an augmented 2nd above G# then the note has to be some sort of "A" because G# was thought of as "1" then some type of "A" would be your "2nd". If for instance the question was what is a Major 2nd above G# we would count up two half steps and get "A#". In this case it's asking for an Augmented 2nd so we have to make it an "AX" The "X" means double sharp. So to review when ever the exercises ask you for some interval be sure to first count up the alphabet for the correct number of letters. Here are some examples: A Major 3rd above C has to some sort of E because we count up the alphabet 3 time C,D,E A Perfect 4th above G has to some sort of C because we count up the alphabet 4 times G,A,B,C Let me know if this makes sense to you. Also join the member's area and go to the Help files for music theory folder. There is a help file in there with all the possible answers for the first few pages of the exercises and also there are videos talking about the music theory information. Join the member's area at: http://www.muse-eek.com/books/members/members1.html

Q	My Music Theory Workbook for All Instruments refers to a small booklet that can be downloaded from the member's page. I'll be darned if I can find it. I'm a trumpet player. Can you direct me to where this can be downloaded?
A	Yes I could see how you might have that problem. The files are in the "Help Files for Music Theory Workbook for Guitar" Folder. Some of these files are specifically for guitarists but some would pertain to you. I would start with these files and I'm sure you will find some good stuff. Music Theory Additional Lesson Applying Music Theory to Your Instrument Music Theory Video Files Music Theory Interval Lesson

Q	Working out of Music Theory for Guitar Volume 1. On page 16, 2nd exercise, perfect 4, G to C. According to the alternate answers, the correct answers are fret 5, fret 10, and fret 15 1) Is this because they are 5 frets (half steps) apart? 2) Why is the GC on the 3rd fret and 8th fret not correct? They are also 5 half steps apart. 3) Does any type of whole or half step movement occur when you move from string to string?
A	You are correct that the examples are right because they are 5 frets apart because each fret is a half step and there are 5 half steps in a perfect 4th. You wouldn't use G to C on the 3rd fret low E string to the 3rd fret of the A string. While that is a 4th (5 half steps) it would be down an octave and therefore the wrong answer. Different types of movement occur when you change strings depending on what strings you are talking about. The guitar is mostly tuned in 4ths so when you move to the next string same fret you will be moving 5 half steps or a Perfect 4th. The B String on the guitar is tuned differently so when you move from the G string to the B string from the same fret you are moving a Major 3rd (4 half steps). Keep up the good work soon all this will be second nature to you and you will have a much easier time playing the guitar.

Q	What is the x symbol that appears on the staff for some of the answers on page 16? Page 16, bottom left tritone example. Why is the answer Eb and not D#?
A	The X symbol means double sharp so the note is raised two half steps. Therefore a GX is the note A. A double flat would be the note name followed by two flats i.e. Abb. Abb is the note G. The tritone can be spelled either as an augmented 4th or a diminished 5th so either answer would be correct.

Q	Would you be willing to explain a couple of answers from your workbook. I am challenged when it comes to music, engineer by profession. I was working the 1st lesson basic intervals on pg 16. MInor 6th: Starting note G, 8 1/2 steps I said D#, your answer Eb. Because it is a minor I would use the flat not the sharp? Augmented 6th: Starting note A, 10 1/2 steps I said G, your answer Fx?? Tritone: starting note A 6 1/2 steps, I said D#, your answer Eb
A	Music theory has a few little rules it follows which can be confusing at first. If you need a Minor 6th above the note G it's going to have to be some sort of E because E is the 6th degree above G: G=1 A=2 B=3 C=4 D=5 E=6 So you always need to count up the letter names of the alphabet to first get the right letter name and then you alter it to make your interval. Let's look at another one. An Augmented 6th above A A=1 B=2 C=3 D=4 E=5 F=6 An F is 8 half steps above A An F# is 9 half steps above A An FX (double Sharp) is 10 half steps above A or an Augmented 6th One more example: A tritone can be either an augmented 4th or a diminished 5th. So a tritone above A equals could be either a D# or and Eb Historically a tritone meant 3 whole steps above a note A to B to C# to D# so it should be a D#. But some will argue that It is common practice among musicians to call either a D# or an Eb a tritone. So you can go either way with that one. But that is the only exception.

Q	How do I know that G to C on the 3rd fret low E string to the 3rd fret of the A string is an octave apart? I always get the staff notation correct but I can't seem to go from the staff to the fretboard without a mistake. There must be a piece of information that I have missed along the way.
A	G to C on the 3rd fret low E string to the 3rd fret of the A string is not an octave apart it is a 4th. I suggest you look in the very back of the book for the diagrams of where each note is on the guitar fretboard and it's corresponding note on the staff that should clear up your problem. Also if you look in near the back of the book you will find the answers to each example which will further help you. You can also find alternate answers on-line in the member's area.

Q	In Music Theory Vol 1, page 17, last question in 3rd row. The answer is given as B to E#. I didn't think there was an E#. Should it be F?
A	Yes you can sharp or flat any note. You can even double flat (bb) or double sharp (X) and note. This may seem crazy but it's the rules they have set down for writing notes and intervals. As a guide just remember if an exercise asked for an interval let's say a 4th it has to be the letter name from the alphabet that is 4 letters away from the note (so a fourth above B is E and if it's augmented it would be an E#).

Q	On your website, the alternate answers end at diminished triads. Should there be alternate answers for the remaining lessons in the book?
A	After diminished there are not any alternate answers. The alternate answers were posted to help a student get started with the book. It is assumed that after you have done a few pages in the book you will realize that more than one answer is possible and if your answer doesn't agree with the book you will at that point have enough fretboard and theory knowledge to figure out whether your answer is correct or not. By the way we calculated to size of a book containing all answers to all exercises in the music theory book. 1600 pages!

Q	Question about D major chord construction. If a major chord is a minor 3rd on top of a major 3rd, why does the D major chord have a minor 3rd on top of a perfect 4th?
A	You are looking at an inversion of the chord. If we had: D F# A that would be D to F# (4 half steps), F# to A (3 half steps). If you were to spell or play the chord: A D F# that would be the 2nd inversion (5th in the bass i.e. "A") of the chord. This is the common way that you play it in open position on the guitar if you only play the top three strings. By the way the 1st inversion of a D major chord would be: F# A D which would be a minor 3rd on the bottom and a perfect fourth on the top. Check some of the chord progressions for 1st steps in the member's area. Many of the advanced examples of the chord progression use the 1st inversion as an alternate way of playing a chord. Using the 1st inversion of a chord was/is a popular inversion which has been used by Jimi Hendrix and a lot of others.