A Guitarist's Guide to Theory: What You Need to Know to Become a Better Musician

This book is about the "whys," "whats," and "hows" in music. These questions are answered in easy concepts by using charts to compare notes with chords, scales with chords, scales with other scales, and other foundational ideas. Answer the "Where can I use this awesome scale?," "How do I use a diminished chord in a song?," "What am I playing?," "What is a chord progression?," "What scale goes with which chord?..". questions in an easy to read, yet complex format. The guitar is an instrument that is commonly picked up and learned by ear or by a friend; however, without any formal understanding of music, much of what is played becomes guesswork. A Guitarist's Guide to Theory takes the guesswork out of music allowing you to understand where to use scales, how to incorporate modes, utilize extended chords, etc. Each chapter builds on the previous one, allowing for an easy and progressive learning experience. All concepts are carried forward with memorization tips, visualization tools, charts, examples and more. The core structure of this book is built on breaking down music theory and making it easy and enjoyable to learn. The topics include intervals, major scale theory, chord theory, seventh chord theory, altered chords, extended chords, substitution chords, modes, arpeggios, minor scales, and much more! All which are defined and elaborated on, where you can add them to your repertoire. This is also a good book for music teachers or people interested in teaching guitar. My original intent for this book was to use as a handout for students.

About the Author :
Bryan DeLauney has been a music instructor for nearly two decades. His main musical interest lie in the theory of music and how things are arranged. When taking his own guitar lessons, Bryan couldn't get many of the answers, as a student, that he was looking for. He always wanted to know why he was playing something, rather than knowing how to play it. The mechanics are the easy parts. It's knowing where to use it, and use it correctly that's the secret. Interestingly enough, Bryan's college interests were not in music, but in chemistry. Even after working in interesting positions, i.e., environmental oversight for a chemical weapons demilitarization facility, his heart was still in music theory. The intent of his book, "A Guitarist's Guide to Theory," was initially to be used as a teaching tool, as a student reference book, and as an aid for other aspiring teachers. Bryan wanted to put his teaching ideas and learning tools in the hands of others. After giving copies away for free for three years, he decided to make it available to others, for the edification of the musical arts. Bryan is dedicated to teaching music and helping others learn that there is much more to playing the guitar than an A minor pentatonic scale. His future writing plans are to take many of the chapters of this book expand them into individual books, with greater detail. Thanks, for your time... Keep asking questions... and God bless!!