Alchemical Guitarist: Music Theory Endorsement

And now, for something completely different.....
One of my summer projects was to start my 12 year old on the guitar. He picked the Ibanez (mini) over the Strat (mini), so apparently the shred will be strong with this one.

I taught myself how to play guitar, which was a bad decision because I didn't know how to play it. So I was a shitty teacher. I would have never had went to me.

In any event, trying my best not to screw this up and make it as engaging as it wasn't for me when I first started learning, I have been trying to keep it simple and let him master the basics to get him beyond the Mel Bay rote lessons of my youth.



My brother supplied us with a full collection of Guitar World DVDs, which my son actually watches (!). Though Andy Aledort can be rather dry and almost douche-baggish in his presentations, he does provide a wealth of information and covers a broad subject matter, spanning various music genres.

Of these videos, I have to highly recommend this Richard Lloyd instructional series based off his Guitar World monthly article. The first 'chapter', if you will, covers music theory and the benefits and simplicity of learning it on the guitar (as opposed to the piano) and fully explains chord progressions and modes in a concise and clearly understandable method like I've never experienced before. I'm still trying to digest it all, but if you want the most bang for your buck in a manner and style that is conducive to learning, THIS DVD is the be-all-end-all for any guitarist (this is the Andrew Coverdale for guitarists).

to get your hands on this instructional bible;

http://www.guitarworld.com/richard_lloyd_039alchemical_guitarist039_dvd