Advanced Guitar Theory and Technique Applied to the Metal and Shred Genres

The major goal of this book is to explain modal theory and then how to apply it to sweep picking and speed picking. There is an emphasis on metal/shred guitar and some musical conventions are eschewed ostensibly for this reason. There are pros and cons to this book, and I thought hard about what rating to assign it.What I like: I knew my way around a major or minor scale, but had the typical understanding of modal theory of someone that really cannot apply most of it in a real world setting. The approach to modal theory here is a bit unusual. But it really worked for me. This book really emphasizes breaking scales into a series of small simple patterns or steps. In hindsight, this seems so obvious, but I didn’t look at it this way before. Once you do, everything gets a whole lot easier. Coupled with reasonable knowledge of what notes are where and interval shapes across the strings, it really opens doors and gives one awesome command of the fret board and scales. In addition the book was replete with practical advice that I found useful.What I don’t like: There are an above average number of typos in both the text and the tab. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know, but still… needs some editing. The text builds modal theory around the minor scale rather than major. This is not really a criticism, and actually made more sense in the context of this book and the companion technique book by the same author, but I note it because it’s unconventional. There are a few dubious/confusing musical issues throughout however, such as the examples that support the explanation of arpeggio inversions. Speaking of the companion volume (Advanced Guitar Diatonic Exercises – truly excellent), there is some overlap between the brief technique sections in this book and the more extensive treatment in the other. Overlap may be too strong a word… they are different and they are complementary… but the technique volume is obviously more complete and better on the technical side. This book does emphasize the theory better.Which I suppose raises a larger point: this book is very much complementary with the technique focused companion volume. Each book contains different but equally useful tips and instruction. One book gives theory an excellent treatment, the other does the same for technique. 30% could be trimmed from each book if they were combined into a single super volume that would likely be an instant classic (sans typos). But both books are outstanding and even if you pursue both, one will spend so much time on the exercises and conceptualization of the material that a little repetition is welcome and only serves to reinforce.Final analysis: There are some limitations, and the typos stand out. But, when all is said and done, this book was still certainly in the top 20% of guitar instruction guides that I have seen. The 30 pages on modal theory were extremely practical and the best that I have encountered. The other sections build on this. This book feels a little less edited and well put together than the companion volume, but I found both of them to be highly effective resources that improved my playing and musicianship and I would recommend them quite highly.

This book gives a great explanation of modal application, and does a good job helping you to visualize all of the notes you have available across the fretboard for any key. There are many practice exercises to help you find the same arpeggios (and their inversions) in different locations.There is a lot of theory throughout, but don't let the title fool you, if you can play a simple pentatonic scale, you are already advanced enough for this book. Even if you don't understand the theory portion, there are more than enough exercises to send you on your way.*One thing of note, there are a few typos in the chapter where major modes are introduced. In at least one table, the term Lydian was replaced by Locrian, making the Locrian appear as both the 4th and 7th modes.

Advanced Guitar Theory and Technique Applied to the Metal and Shred Genres is a great book. It has a lot of information, and it isn't one you can finish over a weekend. It has about twice as many pages as most of my other guitar books. The theory section really opened my eyes, and I didn't realize how much theory I already knew. I just wasn't using it, and Advanced Guitar Theory and Technique Applied to the Metal and Shred Genres showed me how. It really took the confusion out of it for me. It has some great scales for us metal players...lots of exercises and licks, too. I also really like the arpeggios. Some of the advanced ones will take me a while to play, but I'll get there. I would recommend Advanced Guitar Theory and Technique Applied to the Metal and Shred Genres to any guitar player who want to play solos.

If you are into rock/metal, you really need to buy this book plus the other book by this author, "Advanced Guitar Diatonic Exercises."Very clear explanations of the scary realms of music like modal theory, sweep picking, etc..There are great pieces of advice regarding the practice and routines you need to include in your daily playing.The print and design of the book is amazing too. I am very impressed with both the content and design of the book.UPDATE 8/1/2017: One of the bad things about this product is that it does not come with a CD. Really annoying at times.Another thing I have found out about this book is that, it is helpful and gives you insight but NO WAY will it be sufficient for learning modes.There is far more to modes than a few pages you see in this book.For this reason, I am changing my review from 5 to 4 stars.

Advanced Guitar Theory and Technique Applied to the Metal and Shred Genres explains theory well in an easy and entertaining way. I thought I had to memorize hundreds of scales to understand theory but you really only have to memorize one. I love the Phrygian and Harmonic minor modes. I'm going to use them alot in the songs that my band is working on. I also really liked all of the practice tips. They help me to play much cleaner and the speed is comming along too. There are alot of TABs in this book that make for great practice exercises and also gave me terrific ideas for future solos. I haven't tried any of the sweep picking stuff yet but there is alot of information and examples on that too. I would reccomend this book.Advanced Guitar Theory and Technique Applied to the Metal and Shred Genres