Fretboard Theory

I'm a 60-year-old with 40 years playing cowboy chords, and some knowledge of how to play "the scale" (index finger on the tonic of the sixth string).An 80 yo friend gave me a bass guitar Thanksgiving, and I have been having a ball. I asked another another friend for lessons, and got a Hal Leonard book.By week 3, I had jumped WAY ahead of myself and was trying to read about modes, asking why the harmony in 30's country was a given interval apart, whether you play a major or minor scale with the blues, and getting answers that I was unable to understand. I was very frustrated.After all, I still had never heard of pentatonic patterns, intervals, flat vs major 7ths... and when I did hear about something like a "perfect fifth", my brain would get stuck in why it's called a fifth, and what makes it perfect. (I found myself trying to read about Pythagoras late one night...)My wife found these podcasts and they were everything I needed:- A fundamental approach to the Theory of music, rather than a sheet of chords- Well paced- An Intellectually curious approach- Accurate and solid and deep- Serna tells what he's going to demonstrate, demonstrates it succinctly, then reviews what he just demonstrated- I know most of the songs he references well2 weeks in, I've purchased both Fretboard Theory books, one in paper and one on Kindle. I'm on podcast 12. And I'm boring everyone at parties telling them excitedly about all the magical things I've learned.Every day now I play my lovely bass and my new semi hollow body and my acoustic. But I can hardly hear the wonderful new sounds I'm making, for all the clicking in my head as everything falls into place.I've been a teacher all my life, so I can see appreciate Desi Serna's gifts as a teacher. Praise and thanks for this amazing guidebook into music theory.I just wish I lived in Nashville so I could come take lessons.

There is a reason why this book by Desi Serna gets a 4.8 rating. It is an excellent learning tool. Just like any other tool, the materials Desi presents so well are not made for every job. I'm not sure why the very few people who rated the book a 1, 2 or 3 star failed to find high value in Desi's materials, but the vast majority of reviewers obviously did appreciate the book and got a lot out of it. I'm one of them. I don't know Desi, he didn't give me a special deal on the book, and I am only rating the book based on what I really think of it. The folks who think that hundreds of reviewers who gave the book 5 stars are friends of Desi's or were bought off need help with something other than playing their guitars.I bought the first Fretboard Theory book in spiral bound format and liked it so much that I recommended it to my brother. He bought the first book and the DVD set that accompanies it. I then bought the second book in spiral bound format, both books in electronic format, and all the DVDs for both books. I'm definitely in the student phase and am struggling to make my way through the books and learn the huge quantity of information presented. For those who have taken lessons for years or learned through playing with others, this study course may be too easy, but that's not my situation. I needed help downloading the videos, and Desi traded half a dozen emails with me that got me through the process.Desi also has a number of free lessons on YouTube and some on shows that stream live. There are very few people who help as many guitar students as Desi and seem to be more concerned about his students learning than making money. I doubt he's making nearly as much money as guitarists of his talent do performing, but that's the life of a teacher.I'm thrilled to have Desi's books and DVDs to help me be a better guitar player. I have a long way to go.

There is a websire to go with the book so if you check out You Tube you will find some videos related to the book which are excellent. I have read most of the book in two hours and while I would say this is similar to the Dummies book (also a superb purchase) he has kept the best here and ensured that this is for the bit more serious player.Why do I value the book. Well, the CAGED system is made very simple but the key for me was his approch to chords and songs. I felt that the book gave me an insight into how to visually recognise chord progressions. I suddenly noticed the logical patterns behind what I saw when watching vidoes of guitar players and I really do feel that he has opened up the guitar neck with the Cage approach. Now I understand the guitar and how songs are played on it. As a beginner I could not see beyond open chords but now I see how many chords are available when you start mastering barre chords and looking at fragments of them in songs which are played live. After 6 months of really putting time into learning guitar I now have a good grasp of what is going on. Before that I spent a year learning chords and mucking about with techniques/scales which did help but I learnt no real songs. I was very stuck and this book has been the second beakthrough for me (which I purchased after the Dummies book he wrote dug me out of my frustrations).I am a beginner but moving very fast and learning songs will be my mission this year. This book is great if you are serious. There is no quick fix with learning guitar. However, any player who can't use this book in some way needs to question what they are up to. Many thanks to the author for being pedagogically superb and supplying quality videos. Would love to see a guitar for kids version.

I like this book. Clear and easy to understand and follow. No gaps in the explanations assuming the reader already knows something.