ISBN 9781609747855.

This approach really works. It holds my student's interest. These are typical comments on the effectiveness of William Bay's Guitar Class Method. As no other instrument lends itself to so many moods and styles of music (blues, folk, rock, country, classical, flamenco, jazz, etc.), playing the guitar as a popular mode of expression and the instrument itself have become an integral part of American life. The Guitar Class Method was written with the hope it would expand the range of people of all ages who would be exposed to the guitar through a meaningful, authoritative method that is easy to follow. Online audio available for download.Volume 1 of this method for individual or group study offers an overview of the various styles of guitars and playing techniques with advice on purchasing and caring for the instrument, selecting guitar strings, and playing positions. Includes special sections devoted specifically to chord strumming, blues structure and style, fingerstyle technique, note reading, and music theory. The individual sections can be used simultaneously in any order to take the class in any direction it wants. Written in standard notation and tablature with chords presented in both diagram and photo format. Lyrics are included for many songs and a few melodies are presented as duet arrangements. Access to audio download available online.

ISBN 9781619117280.

For most of the recorded history of jazz, the piano has been the main, and usually the only, comping instrument. This text will help guitarists get a handle on the most important job they have when playing in a small group: comping. This book can be used as a progressive study of comping or simply a source of ideas. Although rhythms and voice leading are found throughout the book, they are isolated for study in particular sections. The book and accompanying audio cover voice leading, multi-use voicings, voicing variations, passing chords, harmonized scales, intervallic comping, rhythm and studies (blues, standard, modern and modal). Includes access to online audio.

ISBN 9781609743000.

A price-conscious Qwikguide edition of Mike Christiansen's definitive book on guitar scales. Includes all variants of major and minor scales plus pentatonic and blues scales, modes, symmetrical/altered scales, exotic scales, and Japanese scales. All scales are shown in standard notation and tab plus grid and fretboard diagrams. Includes tips on scale construction and use with appropriate chords.

ISBN 9781610659413. This in-depth scale and arpeggio text is core curriculum at the University of Southern California's Studio Guitar Department, which is part of the prestigious Flora L. Thornton School of Music, located in Los Angeles, California. Using a comprehensive approach that includes three different organizational systems, it covers the technical foundation that is necessary for playing any style of music. The CAGED system (five positions), the Finger Stretch system (all twelve keys in one position) and the Three-Note Per String system (seven patterns) are examined. Although each of these three systems is examined, the CAGED system serves as the basis for much of the material covered in this book.Instead of traditional musical notation, the book uses fingerboard diagrams to focus on the visual aspect of the patterns. The goal is to present an approach to understanding and mastering the fingerboard by outlining the best and most practical elements of these different systems. Book One presents patterns for the major scale and its relative modes, the major pentatonic scale, the minor pentatonic scale, and the blues scale. Along with these scale forms, patterns for arpeggios that are for the most part diatonic to (in the key of) the major scale are presented. These include major, minor, diminished and augmented triads, and also major 7, dominant 7, minor 7 , and diminished 7 chords.