The Guitar Simplified | Ebook
May 20, 2014
The Guitar Simplified | Hardcover
$29.97
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No matter what level guitarist you are, from beginner to accomplished master, The Guitar Simplified is the one essential book you need.
It delivers astounding knowledge with a simple and easy to follow format. From guitar basics, chord and scale foundations, to advanced theory, The Guitar Simplified has it all.
Everything you ever wanted to know about music theory and guitar but were afraid to ask.
Take a look inside >
If you’re anything like me learning to play guitar seemed very difficult. A big mystery guarded by this secret society of tight lipped guitarists who had already figured it all out. With a special language all their own they seemed to talk in circles about scales and harmony. Trying to decipher examples written in notation quickly gave me a headache. All of these complex approaches to describe music made learning guitar a slow process…but it doesn’t need to be.
How is The Guitar Simplified different?
I’m a visual learner and over the past 24 years as a guitarist I’ve always had the best luck learning with materials that were conveyed through simple infographics. So I’ve used all my training as a graphic designer, a Berklee graduate, and a guitar teacher with over a decade worth of experience to create a book that is useful and easy to understand.
Do I need to know how to read music?
We guitarists are a certain breed that would rather take action and think about it later, if at all. There’s an old joke that says, “How do you get a guitarist to play quietly? – Put sheet music in front of him.” That’s okay; you don’t need to know how to read music to be a great musician. Music was around long before music notation was. You will find no traditional notation in this book to cross your eyes at and put a barrier between you and the knowledge you seek. I would suggest learning it at some point because the more ways you can approach a topic the better you’ll be able to understand it.
What’s inside The Guitar Simplified?
I’ve included every topic related to the theory of music that I felt was useful and applied it to the guitar. This book progresses from the simplest beginner topics to complex harmony in a clear and organized manner. The information in the book is timeless but the approach used to teach it is new and clearly presented. It’s your musical journey, and I hope this book helps you on your way.
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What are customers saying about The Guitar Simplified?
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[lollum_dropcap]N[/lollum_dropcap]eil Santos has really created a wonderful resource for guitarists with “The Guitar Simplified.”
He breaks music theory down into easily digestible segments geared towards guitarists covering everything from rhythm to harmony in this all-inclusive guide. I personally am not a guitarist, but I learned a lot about the instrument and how to approach chords and harmony from a new perspective.
I definitely think this is a must have for any guitarist or singer-songwriter. Read the full review here.
Shannon Kennedy
[lollum_dropcap]N[/lollum_dropcap]eil Santos has taken guitar lessons to a new level!!!!
His book “The Guitar Simplified” takes you from learning the parts of the guitar to the ins and outs of music theory in a beautiful, colorful, easy to use guide. His informative and entertaining descriptions of often difficult to understand concepts are clear and simple.
Whether you are just starting your guitar lesson journey or you’ve been on the road a long time. The Guitar Simplified will change the way you think about the guitar and music theory. The concepts are accompanied by incredible graphics which aid in the learning process.
Neil’s book along with his blog at Scaletrainer.com gave me the knowledge I needed to obtain my songwriting and guitar playing goals. This book is a must have for all guitarists of all levels.
KS
[lollum_dropcap]I[/lollum_dropcap] think this is a great book to help anyone get started and help the experienced to reference. The author/teacher has a lot of experience and knowledge.
Linda L.
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[lollum_dropcap]T[/lollum_dropcap]his book is very well written. Right from the books opening introduction I knew this was going to be be an easy thing to read. Mr Santos has laid out the very best, fundamental instruction for learning the guitar, that I have ever encountered.
All the basics are there right at the beginning and they are written in a very affirming way for someone like myself, who already has a bit of experience playing guitar. Once I got to the parts that were more at the level I am at, I find that they are written and displayed in a very easy to understand way.
The layout of the information is phenomenal! Very good graphic to written instruction ratio. I am particularly impressed with the scale charts. The way they are displayed is perfect. Positions of certain scales that I already knew, are displayed in a way that makes me see and understand other positions of the scales, up and down the fret board. I love this book. Just an awesome way of displaying scales.
He also has a website full of amazing instruction as well. I find that the two work perfectly together.
Bravo Neil Santos, for sharing this invaluable information. And doing so, in a way that is easy to understand.
If you have any reservations about buying this, forget them. Buy it. You certainly will not be wasting your money. This book is almost unfair to anyone else trying to teach the guitar. It gets it right and it does not confuse you in any way, shape or form. Buy this.
[lollum_dropcap]Y[/lollum_dropcap]our book ‘The Guitar Simplified is so good it pisses me off! Queen Esther
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Mark (verified owner) –
The Guitar Simplified is a great book for any guitarist looking to dig deeper into music theory and develop more knowledge of their instrument as a whole. The book starts off at the very basics, covering different types of gear, the pieces of the guitar and even covers different types of woods and the tonal qualities of each. From there Neil gets right into the theory and technical mechanics of finding the notes on the guitar through his high quality images.
That was actually the key selling feature for me when I was previewing this book deciding if it was going to be a good bet. Neil’s background as a Graphic Designer really make this book readable. No more looking at boring black and white poorly drawn chord and scale diagrams, you won’t find those here! Each image is a high quality rendering of the guitar and clearly shows which strings, frets and notes are required for each piece.
Besides the quality visual aesthetics of the book, the material contained within is of top quality also. Having attended the Berklee College of Music, I was assured Neil knew his stuff and would deliver the material at a proficient and easy to digest level. Breaking down each piece of music theory and building on each step by step truly takes the mysteries out of learning music theory as it applies to the guitar. There isn’t any technical mumbo jumbo here to confuse readers, and being able to read music off the staff isn’t necessary to use this book.
I’m still working my way through the book and have referenced the guitar effects loop section many times while hooking up different pieces of gear, I even bought a copy to send to a friend to show him that learning music theory doesn’t need to be complicated and boring. The Guitar Simplified is that proof.