# What instructional/theory/tab book changed your approach to guitar?



## chopeth (Oct 31, 2014)

Essential books for me:

Guitar Instructional:
Guthrie Govan's Creative guitar (Cutting-edge techniques and advanced)
John Petrucci's Rock Discipline

Theory:
Pocket Music Theory from Hal Leonard
Music Theory for musicians and normal people

Best Tab book:
Ihsahn's Scattered Ashes


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## Dusty Chalk (Oct 31, 2014)

*Guitar Fitness* and *Bass Fitness*, both by Josquin des Pres.


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## Solodini (Oct 31, 2014)

This doesn't really answer your question but studying composition changed my approach and made it much more objective, made me much more aware of timbres and trying to achieve toward the bigger picture, musically.


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## Lokasenna (Oct 31, 2014)

The Guitar Cookbook by... Jesse Gress, I think? looked pretty damn good for the couple of weeks that I had it. A friend gave me his used copy for Christmas and then "borrowed" it back - that was eight years ago.


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## chopeth (Oct 31, 2014)

Lokasenna said:


> The Guitar Cookbook by... Jesse Gress, I think? looked pretty damn good for the couple of weeks that I had it. A friend gave me his used copy for Christmas and then "borrowed" it back - that was eight years ago.



I haven't heard about it, looks interesting.


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## Pilate (Nov 1, 2014)

Chordwise: definitely *Scott Henderson's "Jazz Guitar Chord System"*. A 16-page booklet that requires a lifetime to master .


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## Kittenflower (Nov 1, 2014)

Jeff Loomis' Extreme Lead Guitar


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## CudBucket (Nov 2, 2014)

For me it was Frank Gambale's "Modes: A Mystery No More" or something like that. It finally tied together, the relationship between the shapes, the scales and the modes.


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## chopeth (Nov 2, 2014)

Great advice here, thanks!


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## Varcolac (Nov 2, 2014)

Victor Wooten's _The Music Lesson_. It's a bit out-there and hippy (some weird spirit-guide music teacher) but it's full of profound insights about music, and it's very readable.


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## Gothic Headhunter (Nov 2, 2014)

Ihsahn has a tab book? Why am I just now finding out about this?


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## Dusty Chalk (Nov 2, 2014)

A friend of mine recommended I pick up Steve Khan's two KHANcepts books, *Pentatonic KHANcepts *and *Contemporary Chord KHANcepts*.


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## ang3 (Nov 3, 2014)

troy stetina speed mechanics and fretboard mastery


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## chopeth (Nov 3, 2014)

Gothic Headhunter said:


> Ihsahn has a tab book? Why am I just now finding out about this?



Yeah, pretty cheap, pure gold songs.


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## chopeth (Nov 3, 2014)

Varcolac said:


> Victor Wooten's _The Music Lesson_. It's a bit out-there and hippy (some weird spirit-guide music teacher) but it's full of profound insights about music, and it's very readable.



I already read that, agree about the hippy lessons, too spiritual for me.


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## meteor685 (Nov 4, 2014)

recently Allan Holdsworths booklet of his REH video, has been helping a ton in the last week.


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## MrPepperoniNipples (Nov 10, 2014)

Rusty Cooley's Fretboard Autopsy I and II


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## Rizzo (Nov 11, 2014)

Dusty Chalk said:


> A friend of mine recommended I pick up Steve Khan's two KHANcepts books, *Pentatonic KHANcepts *and *Contemporary Chord KHANcepts*.


I think it's really advanced stuff, that being said many recommend them as pure gold  go on!


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## Dusty Chalk (Nov 12, 2014)

Oh, I picked them up alright, my friend has given me some really good advice. My music theory foundation is fairly strong, it's only my guitar playing that's noob. Ish. whatever the adjective form is.


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## jbailes (Nov 22, 2014)

As far as instructional, I'd go with:

Vinnie Moore - speed accuracy and articulation & advanced lead guitar
John Petrucci - rock discipline
Steve Morse - southern steel tab book
Shawn Lane - power licks and power solos
Al Di Meola - REH video
Frank Gambale - modes: no more mystery
Eric Johnson - total electric guitar


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Nov 23, 2014)

Maybe not the most whatever, but whatever.

William Leavitt - Melodic Rhythms for Guitar

It's basically a crash course in jazz syncopation. Swing 8ths, plz.


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## Gothic Headhunter (Nov 23, 2014)

Dusty Chalk said:


> *Guitar Fitness* and *Bass Fitness*, both by Josquin des Pres.



I tried looking at these on amazon, but it looks like it's basically just variations on really basic chromatic exercises. Is that the case? Or is there more variety in it?


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## viesczy (Nov 25, 2014)

Playing piece of music not written for guitar is the greatest challenge for me. I love hitting the public domain sites for challenging classical pieces.

Another thing that really helped me was writing music w/o an instrument. You grab the paper, lay down the progression and build the lines.

Another thing that really helped me was taking an existing melody/song and creating another chord progression for it w/o changing the melody and the progression being "right".

Derek


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## redstone (Nov 25, 2014)

What Derek said.


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## Dusty Chalk (Nov 26, 2014)

Gothic Headhunter said:


> I tried looking at these on amazon, but it looks like it's basically just variations on really basic chromatic exercises. Is that the case? Or is there more variety in it?


To be honest, nope, that's pretty much it in a nutshell. I am liking it so far, because it's well set up in terms of the order of the exercises. "Sequencing" as it were.

Now I need the equivalent for chords...or at least, more than one note at a time.


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## Santuzzo (Nov 27, 2014)

The Advancing Guitarist by Mick Goodrick


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## sonofabias (Dec 3, 2014)

Dusty Chalk said:


> *Guitar Fitness* and *Bass Fitness*, both by Josquin des Pres.



Guitar fitness was killer for me , I discovered it when I was 16 !


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## sonofabias (Dec 3, 2014)

Santuzzo said:


> The Advancing Guitarist by Mick Goodrick



Micks book was amazing as well as a revelation in thought process and technik , I saw Mick and Pat Matheny play with Gary Burton at a local college , this was a Berklee lecture / concert . I was 16 , it blew me away !


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