Guitar: The Circle of Fifths for Guitarists: Learn and Apply Music Theory for Guitar (Learn Guitar Theory and Technique) Paperback – October 18, 2016

Very helpful book. What most instructors make complicated, this book goes step by step with examples to make much easier to digest.

Very informative and interesting. It filled in holes I had in understand the why and how of things on the guitar.

This is a great reference book to have especially when you are experimenting on writing your own music. The wheel is an excellent visual tool that helps you understand what works together and what doesn’t. It helps you find quickly the notes on every single key including the amount of accidents (b’s /#’s). The circle of fifth presents a lot of theory summarized in just one place. In this book the author goes step by step explaining in an easy format the concepts on how the Circle Of Fifth works. He includes exercises, audio, diagrams, chord charts, fretboard representations to share all this information. I enjoyed this book. Get yours.

I get lost sometimes trying to figure out music theory, this book broke it down to where even I could understand it. Well worth the money.

I have been studying music for quite some time and while this book was a great reminder for some things I had forgotten, it also introduced some new ways of thinking about it from a guitarist perspective. It was definitely worth the money spent.

I am new to guitar playing and all I really wanted to know was how a capo worked. I mean what was really going on from the standpoint of music theory. Yes, I did poke around on the internet and found many videos, blobs and web pages. I still couldn’t really understand it. Admittedly, I am slow. But while trying to figure this all out I kept coming across this thing called the circle of fifths. Researching that I came across this book. I thought what the heck, why recreate the wheel – somebody else wrote a book trying to explain the concept.Now I have nothing to compare it to from the standpoint of formal music education, but what I do know is this, if you spend the time to really follow the very systematic explanations you will understand how the circle of fifths is created and more importantly how it is used. In the process of learning that you will also learn how major and minor scales are created and if you really pay attention you can figure out how guitar chords are created off the major scales. I also took the concept and walked it over to the minor scales as well. All in all are there better books on this subject? I don’t know. Do I feel like I have a good grasp of this topic? Yes I do. Do I understand how a capo works now? Yes. Did this book teach me that – not directly but because it equipped me with an understanding of the guitar fret board and what is going on it indirectly did. The bonus to studying through all of the examples I also learned what transposition is all about. So Mr. Alexander well done and thank you for putting this information out there for budding guitarists learn a powerful conceptual tool.

As one who has attempted to play the guitar over the years, in fits and starts, I decided to take it up again. I always wanted to learn something about musical theory. I have found numerous books on guitar playing, music theory, and the like and most of them referred to the circle of fifths. I have a vague understanding of this concept (sharps clockwise, flats counter-clockwise, but really don't understand how to apply this to playing the guitar. The books I referenced only delve into minimal detail, however my goal is to understand how to actually apply the circle to guitar playing. Those books failed for the most part to do so. For a text to simply state "use the circle in your music playing" may be fine for those musically inclined or with musical training, but for 66 y.o. with minimal background of the subject, help is needed. Scanning through this book, the author starts off with notes, intervals, etc. then quickly delves into scales, keys, then into the prime topics concerning the circle. Therefore, I would suggest having read a book on basic music theory, e.g. Music theory for Dummies, prior to picking up this book to give you a better understanding of music theory. Having said that, prior knowledge is not necessary for understanding the concepts presented in this book. As stated, I have only started reading the first chapter, but a page by page scan indicates that I will be able to follow along and understand the circle without difficulty. As a bennie, their are audio samples on line for each of the examples provided in the book. For the money, well worth it!

OK, full disclosure: I'm writing this because the author promised me a free book if I wrote a review. But please believe me, if it sucked I would tell you. (Also why would I want another one of his books?) So three stars for not sucking.Another star for being written in a style that's easy and fun to read. You should know that this is a short book, so in terms of words per dollar it' no bargain, but in terms of what I learned in the time I invested it's a small miracle, and that's where it earns the fifth star.I've never studied music, but I did take 3 years of band and at one time could read music easily (it comes back quickly). Reading this book was like having the veil drawn. It explains so much of what I already knew. As I read I had many "so that's why...." moments.I suspect there are many explications of the circle of fifths out there, and I suppose a lot of them are just as concise and easy to follow. What makes this book so valuable is relating it to the guitar. Trying to understand the circle of fifths and its related concepts in the abstract is like studying physics or math (which it sorta is). Taking it in as you literally play it on your guitar makes it just seem like common sense. My guess is that if you are an experienced guitarists you already know the circle of fifths, you just may not know that you know it. This book will make you feel smarter. If you are an aspiring guitarists or singer/songwriter it will probably make you a better one.