Troy Nelson Guitar Aerobics (Book & Cd) Gtr Book/Cd [Paperback]

This book is well laid out, the explanations are mostly very clear and detailed, and it's useful to have exercises that cover a range of styles and genres which you might not ordinarily tackle if you just based your playing on learning tunes. It builds week on week, so there is progression in the complexity of the exercises over time, and this works well with the 'workout' idea of the title, pushing your limits just a little further each time.

However, this is not a book for beginners. You would need reasonable basic competence in playing scales and chords to get the best from this book. It's strengths lie in taking you from that status to the next level, advancing your picking techniques, building your fretboard knowledge, improving your left & right hand co-ordination and building strength and speed in your fingers.

I've been playing guitar on and off for many years, and am a competent enough strummer and finger picker but wanted to improve my plectrum use and take my technique to the next level, but even I found that I had to do week one of the exercises over 2 weeks due to the time it took to learn each exercise before I was able to perform it for the required duration and at the required tempo. This gets easier as the weeks go on due to the progressive nature of the exercises, but it's something to be aware of. This is not something you can just slot in as a small part of your daily practice right away. It's likely to take up much of your practice time for the first few weeks until you get into the swing of it. But focus on just the exercises for a while and stick at it and I definitely think it will be worth it.

One small criticism is that, of the 7 exercises per week, 2 are definitely best suited to an electric guitar and it's hard to reproduce the desired sound on an acoustic. It's still worth performing the exercises for the other benefits they bring, but can feel a little frustrating. Something acoustic or electro-acoustic players like myself should be aware of, but not a reason not to buy the book.

In summary, if you're already a reasonably competent player who wants to move to the next level, and if you're willing to put in the work, you will definitely reap the benefits of following this programme, but if you're a beginner you would be best to build up the basics before moving onto something like this. Overall, an excellent book for the right buyer.

Really useful - just a little bit - only two bars every day. Actually do-able exercises mapped out every day for a year. One of the best tutor books out there.

Ive been playing for over a year (not a long time in guitar years), but Ive learned a lot very quickly (e.g. megadeth soloing, ascending tapping runs, steve vaiand theory) And I have a hell of a lot of learning material (tab books, lick library dvds, guitar instructionals, chopbuilder, Music theory books etc) This book is set out so that no matter what, every day you play something new. Monday - Alt picking, tues - string skipping, wed - String bending, thurs - arppegios, fri - sweep picking, sat legato and sun - rhythm. It starts off from beginner progressing to very advanced at week 52. Even if you are an intermediate/advanced player and feel like skipping a few weeks and heading to e.g. week 18, youll miss a lot since it's always good to go back to basics and find weak points in your playing. Out of all the materials available, this one already ranks as one of the must haves if you are a dedicated player. Frank Gambale - chop builder on dvd, this book, Fretboard mastery by Troy Stetina, Metal lead and rhythm books by Troy Stetina, Mike clasaick's books (if you can ever find them) and the RGT books for learning through the grades set out by Registry of Guitar Tutors. Ive only had this book for a day but even still.... Very impressed. The licks are also very relevant and not just boring chromatic runs. From Week 1, you'll learn a few licks you can incorporate into your playing or use as bases. You'll enjoy playing these. Two cds come with it. 1 for the lick demos and the second disc has drum backing at various tempos and different styles. The licks each have a good explanation, tips and a particular style from funk, metal, blues, rock, country etc. It's set out very well. BUY BUY BUY!