Fundamentals of Guitar - A Workbook

Publisher : Mel Bay
Binding: Spiral
A Workbook for Beginning, Intermediate or Advanced Students


This book is designed to be useful for guitarists at any skill level. Beginners can use it as an introduction to the foundational concepts of the instrument, intermediate players can use it for training and theoretical work, and advanced players can explore the sections on advanced theory, extended technique and the exhaustive tables of melodic and rhythmic possibilities.

It is divided into two parts: pitch and rhythm.

Part I Pitch:

• The String 1
• Harmonics 1
• Stopped Pitches 6
• Just Intonation and Equal Temperament 8
• Tuning 10
• Monads 14
• All locations of any single pitch 14
• The Pentatonic 16
• The Diatonic 19
• Diatonic Patterns 22
• Modulation 32
• Other Scales 36
• Symmetry 40
• Dyads 49
• All locations of any two pitches 49
• Intervals 56
• Triads 59
• Constructing three-note structures 59
• All locations of any three pitches 60
• Voice leading 80
• Triadic space 85
• Tetrads and beyond 89
• Constructing four-note structures 89
• All tetrads of the four Heptatonic scales 90
• Dominant progressions 97
• All-Interval Tetrads 101
• All remaining pitch structures 106

Part II Rhythm:

• One String, One Pitch 110
• Time 110
• Symmetrical Picking 111
• Diatonic scales with Symmetrical Picking 113
• Pick Control 114
• Dynamics 122
• Endurance 123
• Rhythmic Pentatonics and Diatonics 124
• Reduction 126
• One String, Multiple Pitches 128
• Diatonic scales with Legato phrasing 128
• Diatonic ornaments 129
• Chromatic ornaments 130
• Slides 132
• Multiple Strings 134
• Polypulse 134
• Creating rhythms 140
• Rhythmic Dyads, Triads, and Tetrads 142
• Polyrhythm 145
• Rhythmic tiling 150
• Infinite growth 152