This is a novelty type book that sets out the major rock scales for the beginning guitar player.

Book Layout

This book isn't really a "book" per se, it is a set of thick stock pages shaped like the first five frets and head stocks of a guitar. The pages that are connected by one corner by the fifth fret. You swivel each "page" out to look at it. The pages of the book remind me of the thick stock pages of a young children's book that are designed to avoid pages being torn. However, it has a certain charm to it, and when you are studying a particular scale, it stays put, unlike some sheet music that curl, bend or simply fall off your music stand as you study it. It comes packaged in a clear plastic box, and is well suited as a gift for a new guitar player. (In fact, I purchased this as a Christmas gift for my son as a stocking stuffer).

What Can You Learn?

For those who've played guitar for ever and those just beginning, you know that scales are right up there with chords for guitar playing basics. This book contains the major rock scales. Since we are talking about a MUSIC book, Major is a bit of a pun as well. The book includes the major (ie most popular rock scales) as well as the MAJOR scales and MINOR scales.

By the way, even if you think you don't know what a scale is, YOU DO! do ray me fa so la te do! That is a SCALE!

Specifically, the book includes Scales in the Key of C, G, D, A and E! The C scales for example are C major, C natural minor, C jazz minor, C harmonic minor, C jazz minor, C major pentatonic, C minor pentatonic and C blues scale. After going through the same scales for each Key, the scales deck concludes with moveable scales.

How are the Lessons Arranged?

I will use C Major as an example of layout. On the front of the page, is the image of a guitar with the first five frets and headstock. At the nut or zero fret are X's and O's to indicate which strings are played and not played. X means not played. It then shows with small circles containing numbers where your fingers will be for the scale. This scale starts with your third finger on the third fret on the A string. Since the page looks like a guitar, it doesn't matter if you know what the third fret is, or even which string the "A" string is, just look at the diagram, and do the same on your guitar!

On the back of the page is an explanation of the C Major scale. It is represented in both Musical notation and TAB notation. You even get the breakdown of WWHWWWH, which means whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. A half step is a note one fret different, and a whole step is two frets different. The back also shows the C Major chord, also both in music and tab notation and finally a C arpeggio in music and tab notation. An arpeggio is simply playing the individual notes in a chord.

Each page of the book has this same basic layout, so by the end of practicing these, you should have learned not only the scales but the chords and notes that they are formed around.

If you are looking for a more complete and thorough examination of scales, you may want a book like Guitar Total Scales Technique which includes exotic scales like the Balinese Scale and the Japanese scale, however, if you are looking for a scale guide for a guitar beginner who doesn't want to be overwhelmed, this Guitar Deck may be just what is needed.

Price / Other info

The Rock Guitar Scale Deck was made by Amsco Publications, copyright 2003, and retails for $9.95. I found it in a large bookstore, Borders.

Summary

This is a basic introduction to guitar scales presented in a way that is not overwhelming. The way the scales are arranged makes playing scales easy to practice and understand. My only complaint is that it might have been easier to have the book formatted in a way in which you could see the finger instructions at the same time as the practice instructions. However, I thought overall this was very good.

Recommended: Yes