Want to understand how music and your guitar work together? Fingerboard Theory for Guitar taught me that music is as much math and science as it is a kind of magic.
I have played guitar since I was in my early teens. I could always play a few songs, but I could not improvise. Music was a matter of memorization, not a means of self-expression. I had a few conversations with very good friend, composer and jazz pianist Fred Kaz, and became convinced I needed to understand music theory. Mike Christiansen's Fingerboard Theory for Guitar answered questions I never even knew I had.
I was so backwards that even after years of playing, I didn't understand how a fretboard works. I knew where notes were, but I did not know why. Full and half steps up and down the neck, scales, triads, chords and chord construction, and diatomic were just a few of the many mysteries this book either introduced to me or cleared up. Music is math! I really had no idea. All these years I thought it was magic I lacked.
If you are a guitarist and don't understand music theory, this book will help. I am still a mediocre guitarist, but I now I know why.
Mel Bay Fingerboard Theory for Guitar A Music Theory Text for Guitarists
