HAL LEONARD GUITAR METHOD MUSIC THEORY GTR BOOK/CD [Paperback]

This is a really good book and I have learnt a lot from it. It is exactly what is was looking for as it covers all the basics you will need to understand music theory and all though it does explain musical notation and incorporates it into quite a few of the exercises, it doesn't concentrate too much on this, which is good because quite frankly it's not really needed to play the guitar (there's a difference between understanding music theory and being able to sight-read musical notation). The only complaint I have is that it is just full of small and annoying sloppy litle errors which could have easily been picked up if it had been properly proof-read. I'll list a few of the errors I've encountered (so far, that is, as I'm only half way through it):

Page 35, Fig. 1B = It states that the major scale harmonised in 3rds is Major-Minor-Minor-Major--MINOR--Minor-Minor-Major, when in fact it should be Major-Minor-Minor-Major--MAJOR--Minor-Minor-Major (don't worry you will learn what I am talking about from the book).

Page 51, just above Fig. 7 it explains that the formula for the minor scale harmonised in sevenths is i7-iim7b5-etc. when in fact it should be i7-ii7b5-etc. It may seem like I'm splitting hairs somewhat but it becomes confusing especially if you are learning and especially since in the section on harmonising the major scale the formula includes ii7b5 and you could fail to see that the major and minor scales harmonised in sevenths both contain ii7b5 as opposed to ii7b5 and iim7b5 as it actually states.

Page 59, Fig. 14 it states that Am7 is the iv7 chord of C major, which is wrong, it should have been vi7.

Like I said it may seem as though I'm splitting hairs a bit but when you're learning you need all the information contained in the study material to be 100% correct as you obviously aren't in a position (knowledge-wise) to judge whether or not it is. Discovering inconsistencies also undermines your belief that what you are reading is true.

However, it is still a good book. The publishers just need to get their act together, stop being so lazy and get someone to proof read it! Maybe for the next edition.

This book is a really useful, comprehensive and easy way of learning music theory. It is based around guitar with all the theory and exercises specifically guitar based, so for a guitar player such as myself, it is a lot more useful than a standard theory guide. All basic and more complex aspects of theory are explained, including reading music, chord formations and scale theory. There are also useful quizzes at the end of each section to test your knowledge.

The book is ideal for anyone who wants to learn a bit of theory. Unlike some books, it doesn't assume you already know anything or use terms without explaining them. It can also be used by more experienced guitarists as it covers most common aspects of theory, so you can either learn from scratch or just improve your knowledge. It also comes with a CD which means you can check that you are playing the exercises (scales etc) correctly. My only one complaint is the diagrams that are supposed to "explain" major scales, as I really didn't understand them, although the explanation of how they are formed is useful. I would recommend this to most guitarists, although if you are a beginner you may want to learn the basics of playing first.

This books focus is primarily on how music theory relates to guitar and does the job really well. As a starting guitarist I have been using tabs to learn songs for my first year of guitar and thought it would be nice to venture into that scary land of musical notation. This book took me from start to finish and taught me from the bare basics how musical notation works and how it can be applied to guitar.

If you've just started playing and have no musical theory knowledge watsoever, but are sick of tabs, then this book is a must as it explores the topic in a detailed but non-patronizing way. I don't think there is anything better on the market for this purpose.