Has anyone tried the Total Scales Technique and Applications book/DVD package and if so is it any good? I would appreciate anyone's assessment of the package for learning scales. Thanks in advance for your help.....

Tony

IMHO..."THE" best book on theory and instructions is "fretboard logic" by Edwards. Shows you the CAGED system which is so much easier to understand the whole fingerboard of the guitar in a logical way and extremely easy to follow. Check it out.



http://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-C ... =pd_cp_d_1

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http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

ive heard this was a great and easy system to learn.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Yes, it is. I suggest you pick up a copy......its only $14.00 for the special edition containing book 1 and 2. Better understanding of the fretboard.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

well post us a link as to where we can get it at this price.
im sure theres stuff in there that i dont know.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

I have it and consider it to be an encyclopedia more than a learning tool. However, since it is the natural (real musical scale), I now know every note on the fret board! This can be applied to any instrument. It is difficult, not easy like pentatonic or caged $@!&, but after I got over the shock and awe, I decided I love it! It is lacking on how to apply this stuff though-John wants to sell his other books!

I'll like to also recommend Fretboard Logic as a wonderful learning approach to the guitar. The book(s) are very well written with lots of relatively easy diagrams to help understand both the CAGED and lead patterns. I loved the books so much I even bought the DVD but don't bother, it is very dry and somewhat outdated. Fretboard Logic is the way to go.

Check out Amazon for good prices.

Thanks to everyone who posted. I purchased both the Fretboard Logic DVDs and the Total Scales and Techniques DVDs and I am watching them both this weekend to see which one makes the most sense to me.

keep us posted on this.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Amazon has the fretboard logic SE for less than $14.00

http://www.amazon.com/Fretboard-Logic-S ... 304&sr=8-1

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http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

picked me up a copy just yesterday.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

I watched both the Total Scales Techniques and Applications DVD and the Fretboard Logic DVD this weekend. I decided to work on the Total Scales course first, and then the Fretboard Logic next. I get the feeling that this is going to take me quite a while to learn because they do cover a LOT of territory.

The Total Scales Techniques and Applications course spends the first half of the book (thru page 88 ) on the Natural Scale. After showing how to play the Natural Scales from the open position up through the 17th fret, the author spends quite a LOT of time showing you how to use the scales with various techniques (Increments of II, increments of III, palm muting, etc) along with a good dose of rhythm experimentation/examples. It eventually covers the pentatonic scale, keys and modes but not in the depth of the natural scale.

Additionally, it presents a large number of OTHER scales such as the Arabian scale, Hungarian Scale, etc. that I just don't see me ever using (at least not at my current level of understanding). The course kind of reminds my of the Guitar Aerobics book by Troy Nelson in that it seems intent on greatly increasing your finger dexterity and control. Although I have already learned the pentatonic scales and the C Major scale, this DVD/book has shown me that 1. I have a lot to learn and 2. memorization is useless with a good understanding of how to implement/use the scales learned.

The Fretboard Logic DVD/book, to me, seems much more focused on chords and the caged system, with a secondary focus on scales. Additionaly, I hate to admit it, but it was also quite a bit OVERWHELMING. This reason alone is the reason that I have decided to use it AFTER completing the Total Scales course. For me it was just too encyclopedic in nature.

A lot of material was presented but I just did not get it. I think that his DVD/books would be a lot better if he would spend a lot more time showing how to incorporate the material into a practice routine (pepper it with exercises). One thing that I did take away from my cursory viewing of the the DVD, is a renewed understanding of the fingering that I use for my chords. I have always used a 2-1-3 fingering for my A Major chord. I have now switched to the 2-3-4 fingering in order to make the moveable A major shape more intuitive. Additionally I have started incorporating the alternate fingering for the E major chord for the same obvious reason.

I hope that after completing the Total Scales course that the Fretboard Logic course will make more sense. With the number of recommendations that I got for the Fretboard Logic course, it is obvious that it is highly desirable to incorporate the material into my musical understanding.

Neither of the two courses, in my opinion was perfect. The Total Scales didn't spent what I feel was enough time on the pentatonic scales, modes and keys but the abundance of technique exercises was where it truly shined. The Fretboard Logic course definitely presents a LOT of well thought out material but it is lacking in presenting the material in a systematic learning approach in that it could use a lot of practice exercises. If these two guys would get together and combine their approaches, I would love to get my hand on THAT course.

Sorry for the longwinded posting. I just wanted to lay out my initial impression of the two DVD/book courses as saw them.

Tony

truebluefliplover wrote:
I have always used a 2-1-3 fingering for my A Major chord. I have now switched to the 2-3-4 fingering in order to make the moveable A major shape more intuitive.

Suggestion: For A, try using only the 3rd finger. It's much faster once you get used to it and not as difficult as it seems the first time you do it. Or when moving quickly, sliding without a slide, and other times when a 3 string chord is sufficient, use only the 1st finger and strum only the dgb strings of course when moved beyond A.

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this book is pretty good. though i havent found much i didnt know i have found a different way to approach what i did know.
2 thumbs ups.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Thanks for the help. I will try those versions out too!

Tony