The Guitar Simplified
No matter what level of guitarist you are, from beginner to accomplished master, The Guitar Simplified is the one essential book you need.
It delivers astounding knowledge with a simple and easy-to-follow format. From guitar basics, chord and scale foundations, to advanced theory, The Guitar Simplified has it all.
Everything you ever wanted to know about music theory and guitar but were afraid to ask.
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From Confusion to Clarity: How I Simplified the Guitar
After years of frustration with traditional methods, I created a visual approach that makes learning guitar simple and intuitive.
If you’re anything like me, learning to play guitar seemed very difficult. It was a big mystery guarded by this secret society of tight-lipped guitarists who had already figured it out. With a unique language, they seemed to talk in circles about scales and harmony. Trying to decipher examples written in notation quickly gave me a headache. These complex approaches to describing music made learning guitar a slow process…but it doesn’t need to be.
How is The Guitar Simplified different?
I’m a visual learner, and over the past 24 years as a guitarist, I’ve always had the best luck learning with materials that were conveyed through simple infographics. So, I’ve used all my training as a graphic designer, a Berklee graduate, and a guitar teacher with over a decade’s worth of experience to create a book that is useful and easy to understand.
Do I need to know how to read music?
We guitarists are a certain breed that would rather take action and think about it later. There’s an old joke that says, “How do you get a guitarist to play quietly? – Put sheet music in front of him.” That’s okay; you don’t need to know how to read music to be a great musician. Music was around long before music notation was. In this book, you will find no traditional notation to cross your eyes and put a barrier between you and the knowledge you seek. I would suggest learning it at some point because the more ways you can approach a topic, the better you’ll be able to understand it.
What’s inside The Guitar Simplified?
I’ve included every topic related to the theory of music that I felt was useful and applied it to the guitar. This book progresses from the simplest beginner topics to complex harmony in a clear and organized manner. The information in the book is timeless, but the approach used to teach it is new and clearly presented. It’s your musical journey, and I hope this book helps you on your way.
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What are customers saying about The Guitar Simplified?
Neil Santos has really created a wonderful resource for guitarists with “The Guitar Simplified.”
He breaks music theory down into easily digestible segments geared towards guitarists covering everything from rhythm to harmony in this all-inclusive guide. I personally am not a guitarist, but I learned a lot about the instrument and how to approach chords and harmony from a new perspective.
I definitely think this is a must have for any guitarist or singer-songwriter. Read the full review here.
~ Shannon Kennedy
I think this is a great book to help anyone get started and help the experienced to reference.
The author/teacher has a lot of experience and knowledge.
~ Linda L.
Your book ‘The Guitar Simplified is so good it pisses me off!
~ Queen Esther
A absolute must read so all guitarists
I spoke to the author of this book before buying it, and when he showed me a small draft of the book, I just had to have it… It is without doubt one of the best guitar books. I have read for quite awhile, its simplicity and layout make it perfect for beginners, and for professionals who wish to learn something new. With that said I highly recommend buying this book as I myself. has been playing guitar. For many years, I was looking for new techniques and a different approach to the narrative of the fretboard
~ Kevin Johnson
Fine book, one of those I wish I had …
Fine book,one of those I wish I had years ago to clarify some of musics mysteries
~ Allan Makela
This is one of the very best books I have ever read for the guitarist it …
This is one of the very best books I have ever read for the guitarist it is so very helpful and use it all the time when I need to look something plus it is so very well illustrated and goes into detail on things like body shapes plectrum shapes and all about modes etc I thoroughly recommend this book and you will not be disappointed.
~ Mr. A. Wright
Neil Santos has taken guitar lessons to a new level!!!!
His book “The Guitar Simplified” takes you from learning the parts of the guitar to the ins and outs of music theory in a beautiful, colorful, easy to use guide. His informative and entertaining descriptions of often difficult to understand concepts are clear and simple.
Whether you are just starting your guitar lesson journey or you’ve been on the road a long time. The Guitar Simplified will change the way you think about the guitar and music theory. The concepts are accompanied by incredible graphics which aid in the learning process.
Neil’s book along with his blog at Scaletrainer.com gave me the knowledge I needed to obtain my songwriting and guitar playing goals. This book is a must have for all guitarists of all levels.
~ K.S.
This book is very well written.
Right from the books opening introduction, I knew this was going to be an easy thing to read. Mr Santos has laid out the very best, fundamental instruction for learning the guitar, that I have ever encountered.
All the basics are there right at the beginning and they are written in a very affirming way for someone like myself, who already has a bit of experience playing guitar. Once I got to the parts that were more at the level I am at, I find that they are written and displayed in a very easy to understand way.
The layout of the information is phenomenal! Very good graphic to written instruction ratio. I am particularly impressed with the scale charts. The way they are displayed is perfect. Positions of certain scales that I already knew, are displayed in a way that makes me see and understand other positions of the scales, up and down the fret board. I love this book. Just an awesome way of displaying scales.
He also has a website full of amazing instruction as well. I find that the two work perfectly together.
Bravo Neil Santos, for sharing this invaluable information. And doing so, in a way that is easy to understand.
If you have any reservations about buying this, forget them. Buy it. You certainly will not be wasting your money. This book is almost unfair to anyone else trying to teach the guitar. It gets it right and it does not confuse you in any way, shape or form. Buy this.
~ Koldgrin