This book is intended to give the reader a no-filler, rock solid understanding of the theories required in day-to-day music making. This is not a method for those who wish to sit 'pen and paper' exams (although it certainly wouldn't be a bad place to start!) and it is intended for serious players who want to take their musicianship to the next level by understanding the theories and musical language used by professional players.
 
Laurence and Charles Harrison are both classically trained players who felt that their classical theory training wasn't cutting it when it came to developing improvised rock and jazz chops on the guitar. This course is their response to this and contains only the skills which we believe to be essential for playing modern guitar styles. Once this content is internalised, new theories which the player encounters will be easily understood and absorbed.
 
We hope that teachers will find the presentation and structure of this book a useful curriculum to work through with their students, as we do with ours.
 
Best of luck in your studies and thank you very much for your support.
 
Topics covered include:
 
Reading notation
Tones and semitones
Wholetone scale
Chromatic scale
Rhythm and counting
Major intervals
Power chords
Perfect intervals
Major scale
Triads
CAGED System
Chord scales
Seventh chords
Melodic minor scale
Harmonic minor scale
Key signatures
Cycle of 5ths
Labelling chords
Relative minor
Modes
Assigning scales to chords
Score reading and phrasing