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Fretboard Roadmaps dvd and book/cd by Sokolov


bigbike4

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Fred Sokolov is a very good musician, he has written a lot of books to teach music theory on a variety of instruments as well as playing styles. I recently bought the Fretboard roadmaps dvd for guitar and the Fretboard Roadmaps for acoustic guitar book with the play along cd. Here are my comments

 

The DVD runs about 1 hour in length and is PACKED full of months of study material. Obviously it is NOT meant to be digested in one sitting. He totally demonstrates various technics to use on guitar (he is using an electric, but the technics will transfer over to acoustic). My biggest complaint with the dvd is that it does not cover most of the stuff that the book with the play along cd covers. I bought it with the hope of seeing demonstrated or having him illustrate various technics especially the first couple of chapters in the book. He does not. While the dvd DOES come with a paper tab book- folded inside the front cover, it is not the same material-even the tunes while they may carry the same titles as in the book/cd version-are not written in the same keys. I would have loved it more if he would have stuck to the material covered in the book.

 

The Book/cd version-is a comprehensive item that brings a lot of meat to the table. But sadly, again the companion cd does not cover the first couple of chapters, and what it does contain is Fred playing the tunes in the remaining chapters so you hear what he is doing, even if he is not explaining it. There are items written in the book I need further clairification on-but can't afford a teacher-so I will have to research and hope someone else can make me understand it. The Book DOES cover how chords are constructed-what makes a 7th major, minor, 5th, etc. it does NOT cover basic stuff like tempo and rythmic strumming or picking.

 

If you want, and I hope that most of us beginning guitarist do-want to understand what makes a chord, how to change certain things in a chord and what that now makes the basic shape, or how to get certain tones all over the fretboard in different keys and how to use a capo and what a capo does or does not do, then the book is for you. If you need to see the stuff illustrated, he does cover some of it in the video so in that reguard the video is worth it, but probably only after you are half way thru the book.

 

just my .02 cents

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  • 3 months later...

Thanks for the review.

 

I live "on the road", and work overseas a lot. I carry a Traveler Speedster guitar and mini-amp with me when I'm working away from home.

 

I don't spend enough time at home to take face to face lessons, so I depend on DVD instructional videos and books.

 

I find that I learn something new from every one of them, even though a lot of the material is covered in all of them, and some of the material is covered in very few.

 

I know a lot of chords and a few scales. I learned how chords are constructed from Dan Denley, who goes into great detail in his video different video series.

 

Right now, I'm about to pop in a DVD from his Chord Mastery series, called "Intervals: The Ultimate Secret to Mastering Chords". I hope to learn more from this one.

 

I also just ordered a DVD set from Easy Music Lessons dot com. Only $40, and the videos are available online right away, so I was able to check out some of the instruction. I'm working on honing some very basic technique with those videos, as I've been too sloppy with the few leads that I can play.

 

I'm always looking for new instructional material, even if I only get a little from it. It still comes out a lot less expensive than private lessons, though it does take more time and dedication.

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