Fretboard Logic SE: The Reasoning Behind the Guitar's Unique Tuning + Chords Scales and Arpeggios Complete (The Fretboard Logic Guitar Method Volumes I and II) (Fretboard Logic Guitar Method Ser) Reviews

• A must-own for every guitarist

  
  By A3OIMUR42XIOFQ on 2000-04-29
  Learning guitar is an odd process. You're supposed to practice, practice, practice. You learn chord shapes. You have lessons. You dissect solos note by note. There appears to be no master plan. Somehow, through a variety of methods, you're supposed to learn. Eventually, you're assured, by some means you're not aware of yet (osmosis?), you'll "get it."

  This book is the "it" you're supposed to get.

  Far too many books assume that the common methods work. Many an aspiring student has put the guitar in the closet in frustration at something that doesn't address the basic question - What note do I play next?

  Bill Edwards has taken the idea of positional relationships to its highest point. If I play a C chord with a barre at the eighth fret, where will I find a convenient F and G position? What shape will I need to play, and what fret should I start from?

  This seems to me to be a basic question yet it hardly gets a mention in most books. It seems that if you practice long enough and don't get bored to death, you'll know this.

  Bill Edwards shows that the five major chord shapes (C, A, G, E, and D) follow as you move up the fretboard, so you quickly learn that if you're playing a certain shape at a certain fret, the chords you're going to need will be in a specific other shape a specific number of frets away.

  This is independent of what key you're playing in, so if you start a 12-bar blues with a A-shape, you can drop down a couple of frets and play an E-shape for the next chord.

  I've made it sound far more complex than it is. You'll need the book - make no mistake - and in just a few hours you'll have learned a huge amount of useful stuff.

  But this is just the first seventeen of over a hundred pages. The idea of positional relationships is used to describe scales and then the pentatonic blues scale, so you can build solos and know immediately where the next notes are.

  Fretboard Logic pulls all the useful stuff from other learning methods together. It shows you *why* you play the notes you do.

  I was suspicious of the other reviews here (mainly reprinted from the book's cover), because they sounded so good they couldn't be true. Then I saw the book recommended on the Fender Forum, so I decided to take a chance.

  Yeah, you still have to practice. Your fingers won't get supple until you do. But imagine practicing where you're constantly trying something new, and where the musical inspiration flows. That's what you'll get if you study Fretboard Logic.
  
  

• Like a Rosetta stone for the guitar.

  
  By A46BMK0ZWSMSL on 2000-11-08
  Fretboard Logic SE is a great book that manages to distill a vast amount of information into a very concise and usable form. In a way, it's like a Rosetta Stone for the guitar. As I read the book, I "felt the light go on" over and over as bits and pieces I'd picked up over the years clicked into place and I began to understand how they related together.

  It covers a method called the CAGED system, which uses barre forms of the C, A, G, E, and D chords (thus the name). These chords are movable as a block to anywhere on the neck, the benefit being that you always know how to find a chord near where your hand is currently on the neck.

  Building on the CAGED system are various major and pentatonic scale forms, so that you can easily play runs - which are the basis for solo, riffs and improvising.

  It gives sensible explanations of music theory and how it pertains to playing the guitar. Building upon this he shows how to form the common chord types - (major, minor, sevenths, etc) in any key.

  It's opened up the guitar for me. I've only been playing my acoustic guitar a couple months, and I can sit and watch a guitarist on TV now and understand what I see him doing. I may see his hand on the fretboard and notice that his hand is making an E form, moved to the 8th fret. Sometimes I can make out that it's a 7th by hearing it. That's something I can reproduce immediately or later. Or I can (slowly) improvise along with a song I hear by using the pentatonic scales I've learned. I can hear and see the chord progressions from I to IV to V and back.

  You'll still need lots of practice to toughen and strengthen your fingers and hands and to make them quick and limber, but Fretboard Logic SE is a great book to start with or to brush up with if your more advanced. It will save you a great deal of frustration and make your learning quicker and more productive.
  
  

• Get This Great Book - Disregard the Detractors

  
  By A2GNDATNH4CF9L on 2004-02-23
  Let me start off by saying that this book is unique, and because of that, it will probably always have detractors. I am writing to advise you not to pay any attention to them. There are thousands of books out there which teach guitar as if it is no different from a piano and I've bought an awful lot of them and wasted a lot of time.

  The nay sayers seem to be attacking it in part because it gets rave reviews from readers. They seem to want to elevate themselves by putting down others, which is sad, but all too common. If I could, I'd ask them to produce credentials first, and then I'd ask how much effort they actually put into it. I'm pretty sure they are not household names in the field of guitar. A good example is the guy who felt slighted because Fretboard Logic didn't make him "master his guitar." Heh. That's funny and sad at the same time. To me that sounds like some kind of cart and horse situation where the horse is sitting back on his haunches waiting for a ride from the cart.

  Let ME be clear - Fretboard Logic is the first book I have read which treats this unique instrument with the respect and detailed analysis it deserves. I am eternally grateful to the guy for taking the time and effort to put it together for the people like me who always wondered if there wasn't something missing from what my own teachers were teaching. After reading the Special Edition, I bought the entire series including the videos, and I'm glad I did. I will admit to having had to reread certain things a few times before it sunk in, but I usually have to do that anyway with any new stuff I'm learning - like with my pilots license, for example. And a lot of those books weren't even as well-written as Fretboard Logic.

  Some of these Amazon flamers apparently don't understand what they are reading very well. One guy asks "How long can you fake being a musician without reading music?" Disregarding the tortured grammar, the implication is that Fretboard Logic is "anti-reading" or something. I guess maybe his copy was missing the introductions in the back, including "Introduction to Music Theory" where the author introduces various notation formats including -you guessed it - standard music notation which is continued in the next book.

  But aside from gross misrepresentation, there is an even more important issue at stake here, and that relates to personal choice. If I understand him correctly, Mr. Edwards is trying to let each player decide for themselves the direction in which to take their musical efforts after the basics are covered. Here is an example: say you want to learn to improvise blues - just to jam away to your hearts content and make it up as you go along. What does that have to do with reading music? Answer: NOTHING. Reading something previously written isn't relevant when you are improvising. Same goes for things like, say, using a pick. If you are studying classical music, it isn't likely that you will have much use for a flat pick - but you probably would if you chose to study bluegrass. Each player's choices create a range of relevant subject matter. To my knowledge Fretboard Logic is the only series to even attempt to give the student so much freedom of choice. Only when I got to the third book did I start to fully understand why he put things in the order he did. It's all about building on solid foundations and allowing us to make our own choices about what we want to play. In book III I found some of the material very useful, but frankly, some of it didn't pertain to me. Since the chapters on notation - including tab - were so helpful to me personally, it is ironic that the guy is getting slammed for not having it in the first two sections. The people criticizing Logic apparently have a form of tunnel vision and can only see things in terms of their own narrow field of experience.

  Bottom line - the author is trying to get us away from what he calls the "put this finger here, that finger there," type of thinking. Why? Because it creates a rote mindset that stifles creative thinking and keeps people stuck in the beginner stages of playing. (I'm just glad I don't have to have to carry around a giant chord book with me anymore.) To the guys who can only think in terms of one dot/note/finger at a time I would just remind them that when you arrange those dot/notes/fingers on the page into tonal groupings and meaningful wholes - what do you start to see on the fretboard? PATTERNS. It just takes a lot longer the old way.

  The problem these people are having with Fretboard Logic is not because of the material or the organization - it is too clearly written and illustrated. Some people just don't engage in things that are not terribly easy, and playing guitar is not an easy endeavor. Also, I suspect it has to do with something the author mentions in the end of the first book: resistance to learning. Bill says - I'm paraphrasing - that learning new things is somewhat akin to "breaking eggs to make an omelet" and that there will always be a natural resistance to changing the status quo in our brains. I guess the smart people out there who do learn new things easily get used to this, and those who don't, prefer not having new ideas disrupt their intellectual comfort zones. Since Fretboard Logic is so different, I guess it will always have its detractors. Not me. I wish I'd ignored them in the first place. I'd have bought it sooner and saved a lot of time and money. THANK YOU BILL EDWARDS.
  
  

• The best guitar book ever published.

  
  By A2LWVSG496DQCG on 2002-06-06
  I have been playing the guitar for two years now and thought I was making good progress until I tried to play with other experienced guitar players. I realized that I had a long way to go about mastering the guitar. Rather than really learning the guitar, I was just practicing songs and thinking real progress was being made. Promptly after my failed attempt of playing with my experienced friends, I bought this book and the light came on. I mean, it was like an explosion that lifted me to an entirely different level. I have never learned so much from any book Ive ever read - and Ive read a lot of books. All of the others are difficult to follow and assume that the reader is familiar with profound guitar theory knowledge. Edwards, on the other hand, takes all of the confusion and hones in on the most fundamental aspects of the guitar. The CAGED method is absolutely the best way to learn the guitar. If you follow this book from page one and really work on it, you will begin to notice drastic improvements and everything will begin to make sense - I mean, you will have an epiphany one day and say, "I've got it!" I have never written a review for a book until now - this is how strongly I feel about the knowledge you will take away from this book. Best guitar book ever published.
  
  

• A lot of good ideas but not for people with small hands

  
  By A12D1W27AMNG7O on 2004-03-27
  Fretboard Logic SE is a valuable book and you'll understand a great deal more about the logic of the guitar's tuning and fret system within the first few pages but if you have small hands and/or short fingers you may find some of the alternate fingerings and barres required in this system to literally be beyond your reach. People with long fingers and/or average to larger than average hands will no doubt have an easier time of it.

  Example: The standard way of learning an open G chord requires playing it with the index, middle and ring fingers (think 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers) with the fourth finger (pinkie) along for the ride and possibly available to change the voicing within the chord or to maybe add a ninth ("A" above G). In the Fretboard Logic way of doing things the standard open G chord is played with the middle, ring and pinkie fingers (2-3-4) so as to leave the index available to "barre" in the moveable form as you go up the fretboard. This requires spanning the space of a full open fret with your index finger at the same time you are using fingers 2-3-4 to fret the E, A and E strings. I can't draw a picture here so it's best to pick up a guitar if you have one or draw yourself a picture of a fretboard to help visualize. Basically, if you can make that reach back with your index finger across a full fret while fingering with 2, 3 and 4 then this system should be fully workable for you. If you can't do it (and I can only manage it with difficulty), you'll still get a lot out of the book and increase your knowledge but portions of the system may well be "literally out of reach".

  The CAGED system of moveable chords/positions really is rather brilliant. Even if you don't buy the book, borrow a copy from your local library or from a friend. There's nothing wrong with adding to your knowledge. If the system was totally workable for everyone I'd have rated it five stars. As it is, with limits on people (most women, children, young teens and some men) with smaller than average hands, I can only go three. (Too bad Amazon doesn't have a way to go three and half.)
  
  

• A twist in the right direction
  By AM6F1CZQL7TWX on 2004-05-25
  There are a lot of positive reviews for this book. Here's another one.
  I've been playing on and off for 16 years. Took lessons a long time ago and have read countless books on the subject. Nothing comes close to accomplishing what this book did for me in 2 days.

  I am familiar with music theory but on a very basic level. I never commmited certain things to memory (modes, circle of 5ths) but I can name the notes on the fretboard.

  I had never heard of the CAGED method but was quite used to viewing chords as patterns on the neck as opposed to individual notes. This book took that fact and explained it in a way that had me playing all over the neck after ONE night studying it.

  It will show you how there are only a few basic chord SHAPES that when played in a certain order will repeat themselves moving up the neck. For me, seeing this fact instantly opened my eyes to the layout of the fretboard and has given me the knowledge to greatly improve my playing because I can now move all over the neck and hit the right chords in ways that allow for easier soloing around them.

  Some comment that this book is no substitute for conventional theory education. I'll agree to that (especially if you will be playing with assorted musicians) but firmly believe that there is also no substitute to this book and the method it lays out.

  Everyone learns at a different pace and some things 'click' better for some people. For me, the CAGED method in two nights completely changed how I view the instrument, and has allowed my playing to open up considerably.
  
  

• The most important guitar book I've EVER read!
  By on 2003-09-13
  If your attempts at learning the guitar have been frustrating and you always thought, "there has to be a better way," then this is your book. Most books treat the guitar like it's no different than a keyboard...and never unlock the basic secret every guitarist must understand: the brilliant organization behind the guitar's tuning. Bill Edwards changes all of that. He shows it doesn't have to be that hard to understand the guitar. Fretboard Logic doesn't try to teach standard music theory, per se. You can learn that anywhere (and you should). Instead, it teaches you how to use that theory and apply it to the guitar and its unique tuning. It's not the "only" guitar or music book you'll ever need. It's just the most important! And yes, you will still have to practice. But it's a lot easier when you can see what you're doing, rather than just using what the author calls the "bootstrap" method (rote memorization of scales & chords) or the "academic" method (trying to understand the guitar using basic building blocks of music theory without ever seeing the "big picture"). I can't recommend it highly enough.
  
  
• Aptly Titled, Unreservedly Recommended.
  By A1F9FU8Y3TQOT6 on 2002-07-30
  I came to this book as a 20-something with her first guitar as a recent birthday gift. I had experience playing the piano, but nothing too impressive, got into some intermediate theory. My experience with the violin was equally unimpressive (and far more punishing for anyone in earshot). After a while of playing around, and after the fun of songbooks by my favourite artists had worn off, I wanted to get started for real. My main problem was that I was sure the guitar must make *sense* somehow--I'm no good at math or physics, but even I knew the spacing of the strings had to lead to a system. But what was it?

  Thank goodness I found this book before things got so infuriating I quit. I wonder for how many people that's happened. Bill Edwards presents the fretboard as something that, purposely or miraculously, makes sense. Understanding the system prevents you from getting lost or feeling that everything you do right is luck; it allows you to manipulate the guitar. I bought the Special Edition (Fretboard Logic SE), and I would definitely recommend anyone else doing the same. The first book is good, but you'll want more, and I think that on it's own its not enough. I am now on the third book, which is also very helpful.

  Make no mistakes, this book isn't a gimmick. You won't be a singer/songwriter by the end, you won't have a catalogue of songs, you won't speak french in 30 days, shed 90% of your body fat, lose 10 years of wrinkles and blemishes... This book just shows you how to make sense of the fretboard, and it is the most effective way I've experienced or heard of (I had two other popular guitar books, and have put up with endless stories of friends' failed guitar lessons). It will help you in leaps and bounds, but nothing can *make* you a guitar player.

  The book is surprisingly user-friendly, though I did have to go back and re-read things, or give it a day and try again later. I do have issues with how he presented augmented forms and some of the sevenths in Book Two (I've noticed misprints and he could've been clearer about where the point of reference--not always the barre--is located in relation to the "full forms"). Don't get too discouraged if it gets laborious or temporarily beyond you. It's a lot to absorb and understand! It does take work, but you'll be rewarded infinitely, because the guitar begins to open up instead of being a sterile tool upon which you can whip out some memorised cords or riffs. I wholeheartedly recommend this book, and maybe some songbooks so you can experience the pleasure of playing "actual songs" that you will recognise and enjoy.

  Before you can do anything you dream of, or anything meaningful at all, you have to understand the guitar. This helps. Now go practise.
  
  

• If you're learning guitar, you have to have this book...
  By A32DYG4KRLYC3M on 2002-09-04
  I found out about this instructional book ... I learned this book was a top selling instruction book at www.amazon.com. After reading all the reviews and the Authors interview ... I was compelled to buy this book. ... This book provides the learning environment that works for me. You start by learning about the CAGED system, which I think is absolutely necessary for learning guitar chords and scales. I can honestly say that I'm a much better player and knowledgeable player because of this book and I reference it everyday to review how well I know my chord and scale names at any position along the fretboard. The book is presented in a manner for left and right brain folk. Theory and verbage on one half of the page and illustrations and pictures/finger locations on the other half of the page. This simple and effective presentation and the way in which the author progressively moves a student forward in the process of learning guitar is absolutely the best aspect of this book. I've only gone thru part I of the book, and the only negative thing I can think of about this book is this. Now that I learned chords and scales all the way up and down the fretboard, where's the songs for me to learn and apply my new found knowledge. You will not find songs to learn in this book. This book teachs how to play guitar, not play songs. The authors reasoning for this is due to the many different tastes a student has for music. This book is only intended to help prepare a student to learn songs on their own. The only other thing I would recommend w/ this book as I would w/ anything is make your learning fun and enjoyable. Supplement what you learn in this book by taking what you know and finding your favorite easy songs and/or exercises to learn to play as well. Develop yourself a practice routine that includes chords, scales, lead patterns, and modes, from this book and allow time to learn new songs/exercises (finger picking/alternate picking exercises)and/or review songs already learned. I state that this book is for beginners only because I'm a beginner myself, but others ... have rated this book as suitable for any level of play.
  
  
• No nonsense!
  By A23IHL2NFNYTPL on 2001-08-20
  Just a quick note. I have been playing the guitar 15 odd years on a casual level and was getting frustrated that no bigger picture was coming to me about where what notes were and so forth. I was consistently scared of any fret higher than the 5th and when I tried to practice scales in an attempt to get to play more advanced stuff I always gave it up. The task just seemed too big. The result was that I never really practiced as such, I just played what I knew.

  I have owned Mr. Edwards' book for a little over a year now and my life has changed. I now practice every day and have a renewed interest in the instrument which I have come to realize is really very logical after all. I can actually play a solo now, something that was unthinkable before! I had bought a number of books before that but either they were too simple or boring or I didn't have the basics down so I couldn't benefit from them. That, too, has changed. If the description above fits you and especially if the CAGED system is foreign to you then give it a try and, if you can, cancel all appointments a week ahead. You'll be glad you did! Peace,

  Casper
  
  

• Great instructional text for the guitar
  By A3MZKU3Q5QK3I0 on 2003-05-19
  I am writing this because the reviews listed for the book are the reason I decided to buy it, and I feel obligated to help other guitarists. The reviews about this book are correct--this is a great instructional text. This book will change the way you look at the guitar and the way you play it. I have been playing for 10 years and was fortunate enough to have a few great teachers in the past that all hinted on what this book explains in plain text. The ONLY weakness of the this book, and only a serious guitarist would call this a weakness, is the fact that there is little discussion about learning the notes on the entire fretboard--which I think is very important in order to completely know and understand the fretboard. If you used this book as a learning tool and worked through it completely, then learned all the notes on the fretboard and how they related to keys, scales, modes, etc. you would be a great guitarist and understand why this book is so good. If you are a beginner, work through this book with an teacher, and if your teacher doesn't think it is a great book, find another one (teacher, that is). If an you are an intermediate player, you can probably work through it by yourself. If you are an advanced player, you will easily be able to work through it on your own. Great book and I feel fortunate that Mr. Edwards took the time to write it.
  
  
• A bit repetitive, but incredibly useful
  By AU7RPN3V80T8S on 2002-12-01
  Bill Edwards had me impressed very much with his philosophical thought before I ever read any of his Fretboard Logic series. His approach of appealing to both sides of the brain, as well as the study of human intelligence, learning, and everything else involved in the developing stages of one's guitar playing, plays into this series very well.

  When I finally decided to give this book a shot, I was still quite skeptical. The reviews seemed impossible, and the elusive yet highly praised simplicity of approach was, at the very least, dubitable. However, I was not disappointed in the end.

  FL is not a book, unlike the title might suggest, with enourmous amounts of text in really fine print, explaining Platonic origins of music and guitar. Rather, it is an approach to the system around which all of guitar is organized. It made me wonder, in the same way I wonder about chess, whether, whoever it was that invented the now-standard tuning for the guitar, planned out all of the possibilities that guitarists have explored over the years and still continue to explore.

  The approach of the first two volumes, surprisingly enough, is not very musical. It focuses strictly on the guitar, and the elements which the guitar tuning produces. A patient individual willing to learn the guitar, with no musical background, would benefit the most from this section. It asks you to let go of all preconceptions of what music is, of what guitar playing is, and instead, to focus on the instrument itself, and the possibilities that its uniqueness creates.

  The second part (volume II) builds on the information acquired in the first part, and re-invents basic musical elements, but approaches them from the standpoint of playing them on guitar! A good analogy of this would be learning language before ever discovering a need to speak it: wouldn't it be great not to have to learn it while having to use it, but rather to have learned it beforehand? Guitar is no more than a tool for music expression, and a very well designed one at that - so let us learn the tool first, and then use the tool to create music, without having to think how to apply the tool for the music itself. I find it brilliant.

  Be forewarned, however: this approach is only for the patient. It is holistic, not reductionist. It's not something that will happen overnight, it is something that needs constant work and dedication. On the bright side of that, very little memorization is required, once some essential elements of music are understood - Mr. Edwards goes through these at the beginning of part II.

  I also stated that the book is a little repetitive. Perhaps it only seemed that way to me, since I had very significant musical background before taking on this method. It works well to reinforce what has already been shown, and to make sure that the reader understands how what he read before ties into what he will be reading next. It works, and everything is there for a reason.

  In short, buy this book, learn, and enjoy.
  
  

• Don't buy this book
  By A1SWBGL7QAMJUI on 2002-09-03
  I have been playing guitar for 20 years. This book does not follow standard music theory, deciding instead to use nonstandard terms that the author invented. This book will not help you become a better musician, and will not help you understand your finderboard. It will help you memorize some patterns that you probably won't know the name for, or the application of.
  
  
• Finally someone made sense of the guitar tuning/fretboard
  By A1W0GFD21WAEB4 on 2000-08-29
  I only regret I didn't run across this book a decade or two ago.

  I bought multiple scale books and they all boil down to the usual "dots-on-the-fretboard" kind of thing, with the more adventurous throwing in some greek names for erudition.

  None ever said why or how they fit together!!!

  Finally Bill Edwards unlocked the mistery with his books. I have only read Volume I so far, but I know I will re-read both volumes over and over.

  I can finally traverse the whole fingerboard without going out of scale, which is what I wanted to do all along and nobody could tell me. With Edwards' method I can visualize and understand what I am doing, and project where I want to go.

  Nobody ever did that for me. Long live Bill Ewards!
  
  

• The Simple Truth
  By A1W5U6443BKM84 on 2002-11-02
  I'll make this short, sweet and to the point. B.B. King said that the blues is about telling the truth. I am a player (40 years and counting), a teacher (20 years and counting), and a performer (30 years and counting) and opening this book was one of the smartest things I ever did. Bill breaks things down to their simplest component form...the truth. I am now going to incorporate the CAGED method in my teaching, playing and performing. It takes everything I know and makes it new again and I'm having a blast! And that's the simple truth.
  
  
• Very Practical Information--Excellent SUPPLEMENTAL Info
  By A2C5HXLHW6WB5Q on 2006-12-31
  Being a player for longer than I care to admit, I can only say that I wish this book was around when I began playing guitar all those years ago. Were I to be elitist about it, I could say that Fretboard Logic does have many holes in the information presented (as some of the other reviews have pointed out). That is a valid comment, but not really a fair one. What book or series of books truly DOES cover everything that you need to know to learn an instrument? Conversely, the truly casual player wanting to simply learn a few chords and strum simple, open chords may actually find that this series is more information than they need.
  
  Fretboard Logic is a very pragmatic method of thinking about the fretboard, scales, and chords. It does NOT teach theory in much detail (nor does it profess to do so).
  
  If you are looking for information to help you communicate with other musicians in a theoretical sense, this is NOT the book for you. There are countless books out there for music theory...My favorite is "Edly's Music Theory for Practical People" by Ed Roseman.
  
  What the Fretboard Logic series of books will provide is very pragmatic information that you can use to get a fast grip on the layout of the guitar fretboard (pun not intended). It could be described as a wide-angle view of the fretboard. Using several simple patterns, aptly called the "CAGED" system, you can find useful chord voicings all over the fretboard and get a handle on scales and lead patterns. It pulls together a lot of little bits of information that you probably already have floating about in your head, if you have been playing for any length of time. That was the case for me, at any rate.
  
  I gave this a five-star rating for what it IS, not for what it isn't. Unfortunately, the name is a bit misleading in that it is called a "Method" series. It actually would be best described a supplemental information that works well in conjunction with most any method series. My personal recomendations for method books would be the "Hal Leonard Guitar Method" for true beginners or "A Modern Method for Guitar" by William Leavitt, for the more advanced player.
  
  The bottom line is that in order to be a truly proficient musician, in addition to Fretboard Logic, you will need to learn:
  The notes on the fretboard... yes all of them
  Music theory
  Site Reading (yes, standard notation, not just TAB)
  Develop good relative pitch (ear training)
  Scale and chord construction
  Harmony
  How to work WITH a band (very important) instead of being a lose cannon
  Guitar technique
  LEARN THE STANDARDS in whatever genre you chose
  Improvisation
  
  The list could go on and on, but my point is that this book is not a silver bullet but rather is a goldmine of pragmatic information, if taken in the correct context. There is a very good reason that many professional instructors teach the CAGED system in private lesson. It is the quickest way I have found to begin learning your way around a guitar fretboard.
  
  It is also important to keep your ultimate musical goal in mind. If music will be a hobby and not a profession (or "semi-profession"), the Logic series may take you as far as you need to go, especially if you don't intend to play along with others very much. There is nothing wrong with that. It just means that things like theory and site reading (for example) will not be as important to you as they would to a session player or gigging musician.
  
  If you keep all this in mind, you will NOT be sorry you bought this series of books. I have never found a better roadmap of the fretboard (in a broad view) than Fretboard Logic. There simply is no better way to pull together all the little pieces than studying these books. They simply are not THE only books you will need, if you want to be truly proficient.
  
  RHB
  
  
  
• Not that interesting
  By AX51LGKAPPJ70 on 2004-12-02
  If you are learning the guitar, there is no silver bullet. Do yourself a favor, avoid this book and buy a copy of Leavitt's Modern Method for Guitar 1-3 and all three volumes of Praxis and study them for a few years. I've bought and read a lot of different guitar books, and this is one of the few that I've felt totally ripped off on.
  
  This book doesn't really contain all that is new or not found in much better books that are out there. Probably the only interesting thing in the book is the discussion on the placement of the major third interval among the strings reducing the number of non-chord tones, which is on a single page.
  
  The only other thing that it tries to contribute is information on how various chordal shapes interrelate to each other, but if you learn all of the triads and seventh chords in all inversions on all sets of strings and how to arpeggiate them into each other (which any good guitarist must do sooner or later), you'll implicitly get this information.
  
  
  
• Limited practical usefullness
  By A38YTCO1NPC1JY on 2004-01-04
  I've been playing guitar for 7 years now and I've bought this book some years ago, thinking it would make me master my guitar, based on other reviews I've seen. Well... it has not.

  It teaches you a myriad of fingering patterns to play chords, scales, arpegios and scale runs, without needing to know the single notes on you fretboard. And that's also the problem: there are too much patterns! I remember that I worked my way to the 3/4th of the book, then... well I lost interest. Now I've almost forgotten them all...[...]

  And in fact learning the notes on the fretboard and learning the notes in the most common scales (and chords) is less overhead and more usefull than learning all these patterns.

  So, you understood it, today I very rarely refer to this book anymore
  
  

• It helped me - it will help you too
  By A19FE8BVV3HJ73 on 2005-08-24
  I have followed the usual path many guitar players have gone down. However, like most, I came to a dead end. I would get bored, frustrated, and confused with the rote style of trying to learn this wonderful instrument.
  I would let my acoustic guitar sit in its case for months, and sometimes years. On occasion I would take it out now and then only to play for a few months only to repeat the madness of this continuing cycle.
  I started with all the usual method books with which I am sure you are all familiar, took lessons for a few years with such books only to be playing Red River Valley, Michael Row the Boat Ashore, etc. In my case these were not exactly the kind of songs I was looking to play to amaze my friends. Yes, they taught me some music theory and I learned to read music, but it was all based around the piano without specifically applying it to the distinctive patterns of the guitar's fretboard layout. I managed to figure out a few licks note by note, the hard way with guess work, or the usual put your first finger here, second finger there mentality, but I still could not figure how to improvise and know where I could go to next without being limited inside some so-called box. As your typical acoustic player my range was limited to the open position and was lucky if I could do anything past the fifth fret. How many of you fellow acoustic players know exactly what I mean?
  I looked into the so-called "Rock Methods" out there along with the so-called learn these hot licks books. The books were solely based on one scale form in one box and maybe a blues box. Geesh, for crying out loud I wanted out of the box. I wanted to be able to play starting in the open position, from the 1st fret to beyond the 12th, and most importantly understand the logic and reasoning behind knowing how to do just that. I spent a lot of my hard earned cash on methods and chord catalogs that are now collecting dust in my closet. I even had many chord books given to me by friends who were overwhelmed by trying learn from chord books thicker than the phone book.
  Since I came across Fretboard Logic I can honestly say I now have a solid foundation with my guitar. I can play the length of the entire fretboard, I can improvise, build chords without referring to that book with hundreds of pictures, and I am able to start learning some of the riffs and songs that before were really out of my reach. I would highly recommend getting the videos to compliment the book for they are the icing on the cake. It is like having Mr. Edwards teaching you at home at your own pace and gives reinforcement. His website also has listings of teachers who use Fretboard Logic exclusively with their students if you are interested in finding one in your area.
  Read the reviews PRAISING the book. This is not the best selling guitar book on Amazon because he was pulling the wool over people's eyes. The positive reviews far outweigh those from detractors. Apparently the negative reviewers did not understand what they were learning or else were angry because one part of this six-part series did not contain the contents of another. Because of the harshness of this minority of detractors, one might logically begin to wonder why they are posing as authoritative on these subjects with absolutely no credentials. I am particularly annoyed with the comment "it will set you at odds with how everyone else plays music." I find this to be just the opposite. We are not reinventing the wheel here, I am now able to understand what the heck is going on and can communicate music-wise and understand what other players are doing and apply it to the guitar with complete confidence. The individual who quotes ""people should get this information from the Internet instead" particularly rankles. I really have a problem with that statement. Those Internet sites will show you one or maybe two scale forms. However, they also want you sign up for a fee to get the rest of the information in detail which are nothing but copying or should I really say "stealing" the intellectual property rights and taking credit for it. Plus they want you to buy their CD of jam tracks. Jam tracks are included in the Fretboard Logic videos. Check out for yourself the copyright dates (early 80s, meaning before the WWW), and you'll understand whose intellectual property rights all those internet me-toos and wannabes are violating. I don't know about you but I prefer to turn to the original source. I really had to shake my head at the websites selling how you can play like the guitar gods in a matter of weeks not years and then emphasize "this is not the CAGED system." It reminded me of the dream away diet advertised on TV years back. A few detractors have mentioned it teaches no theory. I strongly disagree; he introduces the student to music theory beginning in Volume I with naming chords, scales, and the lead patterns, going into more depth in Volumes II and III. After laying a solid foundation with the guitar, as the student progresses, more theory is introduced that can then be built upon according to each student's interest and direction. You are not limited to any one music style or guitar type in this series. I am sorry, but those who say you need to teach reading music or deep theory first are not thinking outside of the box. You do not have to be a great note reader to play guitar or music in general. Look at Jose Feliciano, or Ray Charles or even the Beatles, for example. It is up the student to decide how far into theory he or she wishes to explore. This is surely the best guitar book I have ever owned. Fretboard Logic was the key that made the door of understanding the guitar open wide for me. It is now up to me, and hopefully you, when you make the right decision to use this book, where you want to go from there.
  It is true, no one book or teacher can make you a great guitarist. It takes self-motivation, plenty of practice, and most importantly, a strong desire in your heart. I urge you, especially the beginner guitarist and advanced, do not, let me repeat that, DO NOT, let the small minority scare you off from this book. The road to success is always under construction. If you want the proper tools to reach your guitar goals, with a keep it simple approach, I wholeheartedly recommend Fretboard Logic to have inside your guitarist tool chest. You won't be sorry.
  
  
  
  
• Beyond Great - I'd give it ten stars if I could.
  By A1CVQE5W9XNG5K on 2005-10-17
  After wrestling with the concepts and philosophies presented by Mr. Bill Edwards in Fretboard Logic SE, I am confident, as a guitar player of 15 years, that Fretboard Logic SE (in conjunction with Fretboard Logic Volume III) has provided me with more useful guitar knowledge than any other product on the market that I've tried. Believe me, there have been a lot of products. I'm a guy that likes to understand "Why." This book not only answers that question, but it also gives answers to all the fundamental "How" questions about the guitar. Unlike other so-called "methods" advertised in guitar magazines, this work actually provides a methodology for understanding the nature of the guitar's tuning, fretboard organization, and the physical requirements of playing tones with a guitar. Presented here is the "framework" of the instrument as opposed to techniques built upon that framework. This knowledge is indespensible for learning to be a practical guitarist, and it transcends the meager boundaries of style books and videos in order to make the reader a source of knowledge regarding the guitar.
  
  It is correct that Mr. Edwards did not reinvent the wheel with this book. All of these concepts have been floating around since the guitar or any of its cousins have graced the world of music. Nevertheless, the clarity and concise nature in which Mr. Edwards presents the information has not yet been replicated or improved on successfully.
  
  It is also correct that this book does not teach "Music theory" in the conventional sense. This book teaches "guitar theory," and it teaches that theory very well. Upon reading the reviews of Fretboard Logic SE, I was amused consistently by the the comments made by the method's detractors that "it dosen't teach music theory," etc. Well, yes, Mr. and Mrs. Uniformed Critic, you're right. It teaches only enough music theory as to explain the organization of the fretboard matrix. I suggest to you detractors that you examine Mr. Edwards' third volume of the Fretboard Logic series prior to engaging in further pointless criticism.
  
  I suppose Mr. Edwards could have presented all of the information in the series as one volume in order to pass savings onto the consumer. On the other hand, for those that wish to save money, he does offer the course in one package deal. So, really, the whole "we need to buy more books" argument is kind of fallacious. Moreover, even if we assume, in arguendo, that the argument is true, the guitar is an expensive hobby, and if you're using it to make money, there's a lot of overhead involved. So, suck it up and get over it; educational expenditures for a professional are tax deductible.
  
  Will Fretboard Logic make you a guitar legend? Perhaps it can lead you in that direction, but the perseverance necessary to achieve that goal lies only within the student. Will you play well enough to impress your friends and get girls (or boys)? Maybe, but there again, its all in your level of devotion to the instrument. Doing something worthwhile takes effort, and if you love it, the effort will be worth it. In that same vein, learning all the facets of something you love gives you perspective and more than a passing degree of humility regarding your own abilities. I thank Bill Edwards for helping me along that road of learning.
  
  
  
  
  
• Fretboard Logic - Not for the Casual Guitarist
  By A29BJX8V8UJV0W on 2006-04-01
  I have been a casual guitarist for 40 years. Recently, as one of those late-life crisis things, I decided to seriously study guitar again. I bought Fretboard Logic for that study.
  Fretboard Logic contains a massive amount of information to help someone learn his way around a guitar fretboard and understand why he is playing what he plays. This is not easy stuff to digest, though. It takes serious practice and contemplation to learn and be able to apply all the concepts presented in the book. If you do master all this material, you are loaded with tools to make you an outstanding guitarist.
  What you will need, that the book doesn't cover, is tips on technique and how to apply your extensive knowledge.
  If you are a serious student, give this book some consideration. If you aren't, don't bother. You will be overwhelmed with the massive amount of information.
  
  
  
  
• Not good enough
  By A2SPMRCT3FAG31 on 2003-12-01
  What is new in this book? Unfortunately, not much. I bought this book from the recommendations on Amazon.com. What I was looking for is a fretboard trainer type of book, which would allow me to learn my fretboard thoroughly (as a type of exercise}. This book does not teach that. From my point of view, it would teach the reader to navigate the fretboard, but without improving your ability to read music and play it on the fretboard (How long can you fake being a musician without reading music?) ...
  
  
• If You Play Guitar, Get This Book!
  By A19EMDEA775KPS on 2005-08-26
  I am a guitar newbie; I've only been playing about three weeks. However, in the week and a half or so since I got this book, it has vastly accelerated the pace of my learning. See, most books and videos (and teachers and friends) tell you to learn specific chords, then play them. Over and over. Then learn more chords and play them. Over and over. That common method - play this, play that - is like Ralph Macchio waxing the car in "The Karate Kid", except at the end of the day, instead of subliminally learning karate defenses, it turns out he just learned to wax a car really well.
  
  Fretboard Logic cures this disease, explaining quite literally HOW TO PLAY THE GUITAR. That means you learn why the open position chords are where they are, where they are further up the neck, how all these chords up and down the neck relate, and how scales relate to all these patterns. Though it's allot to digest, there is virtually nothing in Bill Edwards teaching that has to be learned by rote. There are only a few key seeds, and the world of guitar playing blossoms from there.
  
  So Fretboard Logic cures the syndrome of learning to play by playing this here and that there. You can learn to play up and down the neck. Naturally, now that I have a majority of the concept down, I still have to practice, but at least I'm not practicing blind. I now know where I'm going, and I'm moving along at a pace that baffles many self-taught guitarists that I know. They simply went the long way around.
  
  Some reviewers seem to be suggesting that Fretboard Logic teaches Bill Edwards's way of playing. This is not true. Fretboard Logic isn't about how Bill Edwards sees the guitar; it's about how the guitar is actually, factually organized. So the reader can feel safe that he is not joining some kind of cult when learning these concepts.
  
  A word of warning. I would recommend at least a basic knowledge of theory before picking up this book. At the very least, pick up "The Complete Idiot's Guide" on the subject and give it a read. Additionally, learning all the notes on the fretboard really seems necessary now that I've gotten into Fretboard Logic.
  
  In closing, I think Bill Edward's way, which is less an invention and more a startling observation about the instrument in question, is the way everyone should learn to play guitar. This way provides structure from the beginning that one can see and start forming a mental picture of the guitar immediately rather than after years of random practice. There's no need to wallow in ignorance when you can just read this book and know.
  
  
• The Speed Reading Method for Learning Guitar
  By AKIRNM0P3TO8G on 2006-01-12
  And as Woody Allen said, "I took a speed-reading course and read 'War and Peace' in 20 minutes. It involves Russia."
  
  This book is fine if you want to play alone or with the very small percentage of *guitarists* who've adopted Edward's method. In terms of learning a language that will help you to interact with other musicians, his nomenclature might as well be Latin.
  
  For better results, get Ed Roseman's "Music Theory for Practical People" and pony up for a few lessons.
  
  
• for beginners only
  By A30FUTKOJRLATJ on 2002-06-12
  I bought this book hoping to get some more insight into soloing and solo theory, however this book is very formulaic. The material is geared toward those who don't know music theory and don't want to learn. It takes that approach that theory is unimportant to guitar players. As a musician for over 10 years I can say that that is completely untrue.
  I wouldn't reccomend this book to anyone who wants to be a serious musician. Learning your scales and the chords that they go with is like learning your multiplication tables, it is something that you just have to do.
  
  
• BILL EDWARDS FOR PRESIDENT!!
  By AF0JV9PZL0D2N on 2003-10-15
  I've played the guitar (all styles from classical to heavy metal) for 16 years and I've never come across a more practical and concise learning tool than Fretboard Logic SE. To some of the naysayers who've disparaged Mr. Edwards' use of his own semantics for decoding the recognizable patterns of the fretboard, I can only wonder if they can read English or if so whether they were reading the same book. I've taken several years of personal lessons as well as university courses(for which I received good grades) that I did not gain as much insight as I did in the time I spent reading and practicing with the Fretboard Logic books. It's true that these books are intended for serious musicians only, but since when has truly learning an instrument NOT required serious effort? In my years of experience, these books are a serious bargain!
  
  
• Learn to 'see' the guitar the way it's played
  By A1JLDSUH44CQ3R on 2004-03-22
  Most music is taught from a piano mentality... a long string of notes stretching from too low to sing to too high to sing. Edwards maps out music on the guitar the way notes are found on it, by strings, shapes, and relationships. His method allows you to move from tons of rote memorization to knowing a few things which apply to the whole fretboard.

  You'll learn the elementary chord shapes which will allow you to play any major chord in at least five different voicings. You'll be able to take what you already know and translate it into what you need. (How do you play an E flat minor?).

  You'll also learn the five pentatonic scale shapes and to see the relationship between them.

  In the second half of the book, he takes the fundamentals and translates them into making music in various styles.
  
  

• fretboard demystified
  By A37KK1CLMULHE4 on 2004-09-15
  As others have mentioned, this is a book unlike others. There are books on music theory, books on riffs and chords, books on technique etc, but this is probably the only good book on the fretboard itself.
  
  The CAGED system introduced here is very useful for moving chord shapes around and more importantly, to move all around the fretboard while soloing.
  What more, this CAGED approach can be used for any other scales that you can think of and not just for the ones shown in the book.
  All other concepts such as modes etc are introduced with this system. This is unlike other books, where such concepts are usually presented in an abstract and not specifically for guitar.
  
  A highly recommended book for a beginner or an intermediate player or anyone who gets bogged down with all those "helpful" dots on the fretboard. This book can be used for whatever style of music you are interested in as long as its on the guitar ! .
  
  
• So many wasted years
  By A23QRNRNTJO1YL on 2002-03-23
  First off let me say that I have played guitar for about 10 years off and on. There were things I just didn't understand. In fact I was just about convinced that you did have to be born with musical talent to improvise to music, either that or I believed that people were actually lying about it. One week with this book and I had far more knowledge than I had with ten years of playing. I didn't become technically better or know more songs, but I had an understanding. A clear consice understanding of what the guitar is. If you are series about playing, and you feel that there is just something that you don't know then this book is for you. I was un-fortunate in running into guitarists who tried to keep what they knew a secret. Trying to make it more complicated than it really was. Now I have the knowledge to realize that in fact what they do is not complicated, and I am sure that those people would feel extrememly embarassed if they were ever in the company of really good musicians. A must buy. The best guitar book I ever bought. Hands down.
  
  
• Having trouble? Here's your answer...
  By AXJZKRCUCI1FP on 2002-11-01
  I've been playing for 15 years. Thats a long time to not really know anything about my instrument. Well, the Major and natural minor scales, pentatonics, and a few positional arpeggios, but its sad how little I know about the Fretboard.
  Enter this book. It takes the guitar, sectiosn it off in bite-sized chunks and then reassembles the whole thing into a tastier morsel. It views things in terms of 5 movable chords. There are scales and arpeggios associated with these scales. Learn them. Then it tells shows you how they are connected.
  This is not a lesson book. It just gives you some patterns and suggeswted fingerings for the major scale, its modes, harmonic minor, melodic minor, chords and arpeggios. Its good if you feel like you were weak in this department and it opened up doors for me again.
  I'm very glad I got it.
  
  

• Guitar Fretboard Workbook
• Music Theory for Guitarists: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask (Guitar Method)
• Fretboard Logic III Applications: Creative and Analytical
• The Ultimate Scale Book
• Fretboard Logic Combo DVD - Videos I and II