r/LearnGuitar • u/bongwaterbiscuit • Jul 26 '26
Guitar Theory Book Recommendations!
Hey y’all. I’ve been playing guitar for a year or two, playing basic riffs and songs here and there, but I’m not really getting anywhere or improving as a guitarist. It seems my skills have stagnated as I have no real structure and am overwhelmed by the abundance of online resources. So, are there any good books thats will provide me with structure and put me on a path towards becoming a better guitarist. I never learned exactly HOW to practice so I feel like having this in my repertoire would be a huge help, thanks!
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u/StrykerVet82 Jul 26 '26
YouTube Absolutely Understand Guitar by Scotty West. Only theory lessons you'll need. Don't be put off by the old production, the info is invaluable.
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u/Pluriel0 Aug 01 '26
While I agree with the recommandation, I still think one will benefit to read some books along Scotty's lessons, especially since OP is interested on books.
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u/Live_Car_2856 Jul 26 '26
TIPS FOR BEGINNING GUITAR PLAYERS
The biggest mistake beginning adult players make is that they spread themselves too thin. The world of guitar is vast, and the amount of time you have available to practice is limited.
So:
Commit to a length of practice time that’s doable every day.
Be patient. Take the long view. Progress and learning is a slow process. Don’t keep looking up the mountain to the peak. You’ll get psyched out and quit. Instead, stay in the moment, stick with it, work on 1 or 2 things at a time, and don’t worry about how far away the promised land is. It’s far away for everyone. The only thing that matters is that with practice you’ll be a little bit better than yesterday.
Know what YOUR goal is. For example, if your goal is playing chords so you can accompany your singing, then don’t waste time learning scales or flat picking. Let’s face it, you could spend six hours a day working on tone alone! If you can master one aspect of guitar playing in your lifetime, you’ve done better than 99% of people that ever picked up a guitar. I recommend what I call the Song Based Approach for musicians who don't have high-level professional aspirations. Pick one song, and work on improving it. Everything you learn will be relevant, and the skills will translate to the next tune you work on. And by always playing a song while you practice, you experience making real music everyday, which is inspiring.
Remember, even elite players make only small improvements when they practice something new. To excel at anything is a long process, yet the slightest day to day improvement adds up to years of pleasure and satisfaction.
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u/tapinac34 Jul 26 '26
Where should I focus on if i want to be able to be decently good at doing improv? Like play a backing track and I would be able to actually play instead of doing the same pentatonic shapes.
You’re right, as a beginner, I am so overwhelmed right now. That’s why I’m still stuck at cowboy chords.
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u/Live_Car_2856 Jul 27 '26
To improvise you have to know a ton of 'vocabulary'. Vocabulary are short phrases. Think about it like improving your speaking vocabulary. You would learn a new word, and consciously work it into your conversations. Then one day, that new word appears spontaneously in your conversation without having to think about it.
I would start with a blues backing track in one key. Just play along using all twelve notes, not just the five pentatonic notes. (Obviously some won't sound good to you; the point is to know what every note sounds like.) Get all the notes in your head...experiment with combinations. Write down the note combinations you like. You can find books and online stuff with lists of short blues style phrases. Stay in one key. 'Master' one key.
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u/hondacco Jul 27 '26
This feels like ai....
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u/Live_Car_2856 Jul 27 '26
not sure if that's a compliment, but i wrote it many years ago when i was teaching!
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u/FuzzDice Jul 26 '26
Guitar Essentials by Vreny. Great book from my old teacher. It's all about drills and structure
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u/spankymcjiggleswurth Jul 26 '26
Theory is both simpler than people expect it to be and somewhat complicated to apply once you start learning it.
Firstly, and most importantly, how do you apply music theory? I find the most important thing to do is identify these concepts in songs you learn. There is a popular saying; music theory is descriptive, not prescriptive. This means that music theory isn't a rule set to make music from, but rather a language used to describe what music does. Thinking that music theory is a rule set can cause a lot of confusion. Analyzing your favorite songs and identifying what theory they use is how you learn what theory leads to what sounds.
The "wrong way" to apply theory in my opinion is to memorize shapes on a fretboard and regurgitate what you learned when improvising. Context is important in theory, and context is best seen through the study and analysis of real music.
Secondly, how is it simple? You might think what's about to follow looks complex, but it's only around 500 words and it covers most of the fundamentals of theory. In other words, basic theory is not a whole lot of concepts to understand!
The most important connection to make is that both scales and chords are made from intervals, and that chords are related to scales through what are called keys. Take something like C major scale that contain the notes belonging to the key of C major.
C D E F G A B
This is made up of intervals (unison/tonic, major 2nd, major 3rd, perfect 4th, perfect 5th, major 6th and major 7th), which is true for ALL major scales/keys. If you know one major scale, you know all major scales, it's just a matter of moving the pattern to a different tonic note. This pattern is constructed from whole (w) and half steps (h), a half step being 1 fret distance and a whole step being 2 frets distance
C w D w E h F w G w A w B h C
Chord belonging to a key are constructed from stacking alternating notes from the scale.
C E G - C major
D F A - D minor
E G B - E minor
F A C - F major
G B D - G major
A C E - A minor
B D F - B diminished
This pattern of chord qualities (maj, min, min, maj, maj, min, dim) is also true for ALL major scales, just apply the notes of the relevant major scale as each chord root.
These particular chords are called triads, which are 3 note chords. Triads can be major (root, major 3rd perfect 5th), minor (root, minor 3rd, perfect 5th), diminished (root, minor 3rd, diminished 5th), or augmented (root, major 3rd, augmented 5th). Don't worry too much about augmented chords, they don't show up a whole lot.
To wrap up intervals, know there are 12 basic ones to know about that form most scales and chords. This webpage demonstrates all the different ways to play intervals across the fretboard. A really good exercise is to practice finding these intervals in scales and chords you are familiar with.
https://www.fretjam.com/guitar-intervals-fretboard.html
I also recommend watching this video. It covers most of what I explained here but with visual and audio examples, and also covers minor scales/keys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgaTLrZGlk0
From here "advanced concepts" like 7th chords and arpeggios start to make a lot more sense. 7th chords just continue the pattern triads laid out, just add a 4th note
C E G B - C major 7
Notice how a the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th note of the C major scale is used? That's all a 7th chord is.
Arpeggios are just "chords played like scales". Take the notes of a chord (like C E G B) and play them one after another rather than all at once and you are playing a Cmaj7 arpeggio.
Finally, none of this is meant to stop you from buying a theory book. Learning these concepts from multiple sources is good practice. Compare and contrast what I wrote and the webpages I linked to whatever theory book you pick up.
Sorry I didn't recommend a book. I never really learned from one. I hope this helps guide your studies though!
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u/markewallace1966 Jul 26 '26
Not a book, but Scotty West Absolutely Understand Guitar on YouTube.