Fretboard Knowledge for the Contemporary Guitarist: The Ultimate Guide to Music for Blues, Rock, and Jazz Guitarists

I've been trying to learn the fretboard (to be able to jam or improvise)for years (scales, keys, notes), but I HATE rote memorization, and so many approaches require LOTS of memorization. This book shows you a VERY simple way, first, to find specific notes on the fretboard (using a "W" formation that locates notes by octaves). Then it shows you how to play the most-used scales (major and minor pentatonic) in the most efficient, easily-remembered way I have ever seen. (It also covers other scales.) I've struggled with the CAGED system using "boxes." Call me slow or stupid, but it never made sense to me, and there was SO much to remember with that approach. With this approach, I find my fingers flying up and down the fretboard, starting with any note, playing in any key. I can go, for example, from the first fret of the 6th string to the 16th fret of the first sting, and back down again, and play around in between, and not take the same "route," with NO problem. It's just plain FUN. And it's easy. In my opinion, pages 14 and 15 alone are worth the price of entry. I highly recommend this book.

This book is a real find. It shows some of the patterns on the guitar neck that make playing infinitely more enjoyable and easy. Why every guitar teacher doesn't use this book is beyond me. Its like the difference between an analog watch (one with hands) and a digital. With the analog a glance will show the pattern of the time; a digital actually has to be read and interpreted. Same thing with the guitar neck. Know the patterns and start creating your music.