Sensible Guitar: faq

How come I've never heard of the book Sensible Guitar?
Sensible Guitar is newly published, and the promotion of the book has only recently begun. The book is self published, and only a few dedicated, friendly individuals handle all aspects of sales and promotion.

How can I get a copy of Sensible Guitar?
For info on ordering Sensible Guitar, click here. The book is mainly available at music stores that deal in lessons, sheet music, and method books. The suggested retail price is $19.95 US (includes audio CD).

What's in the book?
To view the table of contents, click here.
Sensible Guitar introduces chords, rhythms, and scales for the guitar, as well as other information and exercises. The material is arranged from easiest to more advanced. It starts by presenting basic chords (A, D, E), and simple rhythms (whole, half, and quarter notes), and progresses to more advanced material.
The book introduces scales (numerous fingerings for major, various minors, and pentatonics), barre chords, music theory, and progressions such as blues (with numerous chord substitutions) and "rhythm changes". The "table of contents" page posted here lists the specific material as presented page by page.

Teachers: For years, guitar instructors have had many fine method books to choose from for the purpose of teaching note reading. But for a comprehensive approach to teaching chords, scales, and strumming rhythms, teachers have had to utilize bits and pieces of multiple books, or simply write things out by hand into their students' manuscript books. Simply put, Sensible Guitar compiles all that "other" information into one well organized, easily managed 73-page book. Sensible Guitar is an excellent companion volume to any of the fine method books dedicated to note reading, as it contains the critical material not typically presented in those books.

How is the material presented?
The material is arranged progressively from easiest to more advanced. Chords and scales are presented in diagrams. This commonly used "picture method" does not require the ability to read music. Strumming patterns are introduced using rhythmic notation only (no pitches), so while you don't have to be able to read music, the presentation is traditional and widely accepted.

As noted above, material in Sensible Guitar is arranged in order of difficulty. However, the book is easy to navigate should one choose to "jump around" to address specific skills.

Who is Sensible Guitar intended for?
Sensible Guitar starts with the most basic chords and rhythms, and progresses to advanced scale patterns, complex chords, and contemporary rhythms in various styles. It is usable from the very first lesson and appropriate for students of any age. More advanced students may begin study a bit further into the book, and almost always benefit from reviewing the "earlier" material. It is suitable for private or group instruction, and is invaluable to students working without the benefit of lessons.

Teachers: Many instructors like to develop single-string playing before introducing chords. Others introduce chords from the start. Sensible Guitar is an ideal book to use as soon as a student is working on chords. (Sensible Guitar starts with the most standard open-position voicings and fingerings; it does not include the "oversimplified" chords, like G played with just one finger using only the top 4 strings.)

What musical styles does Sensible Guitar include?
Sensible Guitar presents material used in all styles of popular music: Rock, and all the various sub-genres of rock music, blues, country, jazz, funk, reggae, and more. It is not for classical guitar. Sensible Guitar assumes that you will be playing with a pick.
The book aims to prepare guitarists for anything they might typically have to play in a professional "gigging" environment. Many of the chord progressions are time-honored classics used in countless songs. Standard forms such as the 12-bar blues and 32-bar AABA are introduced.
Except in a few special cases where it is practically unavoidable, Sensible Guitar avoids identifying any material as associated with a specific style of music. For example, on page 33, rhythm #10 is a staple for all reggae rhythm guitarists, but it is not identified as such. Why? Because this rhythm may be used in other contexts as well, in most any musical style. This book presents a strong curriculum; it is left up to the teacher to explain the material and connect the dots of style and usage as appropriate for each individual student. This approach makes Sensible Guitar more universally applicable.

What songs are in Sensible Guitar?
Sensible Guitar presents chord progressions, not songs. Which also means that Sensible Guitar presents lots and lots of "songs". For beginners/non-musicians: When guitarists play to accompany singing, they are generally playing chords. Often, a given set of chords will be used as the basis for numerous songs. For instance, the songs "Wild Thing", "Twist and Shout", "La Bamba", and many other popular "classics" are all played using the same chord pattern. Sensible Guitar presents these commonly used patterns, without listing song titles. Why? Because the tastes and interests of students change and vary. If a student doesn't like "La Bamba", she may be less apt to practice that chord pattern. Experienced teachers can easily spot what songs the chords are used for, and may present titles that appeal to an individual student. And (just in case), applicable songs titles are offered on the corresponding pages here online.