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.
What are customers saying about The Guitar Simplified?
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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
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
Linda L.
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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.
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