Hal Leonard Fretboard Mastery Book Survey For starters, let me assure you, there is NO ONE out there more musically hopeless than me! I used to think some of those method books were just B-grade rejects from the science fiction section. (A Dominat 7th chord? Man, you're just makin' up chords now!) I bought tons of books on scales, licks, methods, theory . . . you name it. I tried to work through them, but they just never made any sense. But when I stumbled onto Fretboard Mastery, I finally had that "A-ha!" moment. (By that, I meant to evoke the image of the lightbulb clicking on. My apologies to those upon whom I inflicted flashbacks of that vile eighties band. ) I think the truth with most teachers is that teaching is not their passion. They know the subject matter already, and they want to get right to the more nuanced material, the things that are still interesting to THEM. While that is great for advanced students, the rookies get left behind because the teacher doesn't want to be held back to the student's level. And I think that is the key to Troy's success - he is able to relate to the new student. It's like he has never forgotten what it was like when he was still learning the basics. All of the illustrations in the book are accompanied by explanations that are precise and well-expressed. Chord diagrams that I always mistook for Egyptian Hieroglyphics, actually make sense. I can finally see how the pieces fit together. And while I am still a long way from true fretboard mastery, I can at least see the big picture from where I am now, and I finally have a roadmap to the destination. For the first time, I can see real progress. In short, buy this book! And anything else that Troy Stetina writes (I have them all, and there isn't a bad one in the bunch). He is a truly gifted musician and teacher. You will find the presentation thorough, well-explained and digestable. In my opinion, no one does it better. This book has made a HUGE difference in my playing. And if it worked for me, it can't NOT work for you! Thanks a million Troy! Now if I could just convince you to write one of these for the BLUES . . . Having had the pleasure of recently meeting Troy and assisting with a clinic/performance of his, I picked up a copy of this book (autographed, of course!) to help kick start me back into playing. This book is filled with material that will help any guitar player to further hone their chops. It is plausible that anyone buying an instructional book will likely have several different books in their library, and ultimately the one that they connect with is the one that they will praise the most. Having used various books over the years to continue my musical experience, I can say that this book is one that you will want to keep for a long time. It is not a book you can move quickly through. This is a book for someone with an interest in music, not just in learning to play a few fast scales or chops. That should not be daunting, as we should always be challenged and encouraged to further enhance our abilities. This book will keep most players busy for a long time, thus yielding an immense value for the purchase cost. It is approachable to anyone with a basic understanding of the guitar, yet flexible for players of almost any ability level. All of Troy's work has exceptional value, and this book is one that maintains that standard. Any serious guitar player should have in their musical library the Guitar Handbook by Ralph Denyer, a simple book of chords and scales, and select works by Doug Marks and of course Troy Stetina. There are many other inclusions that could be mentioned, but those are the big 4 that cover about any type of guitar related interest. Fretboard Mastery by Troy Stetina is a strong contender for inclusion as one of those select choices. If your looking for book that is going to keep you busy for a long time, you wont be disappointed. This book has tons of info. WOW! This is a tome. Thick, almost intimidating in the amount of material this covers. Since I have only barely started with this book, it will probably takes years to absorb it all. If I can get down 1/10 of this information, I should be able to expand my knowledge immensely. One note of warning about Try Stetina books, they start off fast. I consider myself to be an intermediate guitarist (advanced beginner?), his books are not for the non-dedicated. Be prepared to work for your gains.
I'm overall pleased with the book. I wish it was a little more detailed in areas. You have to figure some things out for yourself that were covered in previous lessons but maybe thats the intent of the author. I've learned a lot from the book and would recommend.
http://gradebit.com/21144