In this review, we’ll go over some of the tactics I learned from Guitar Aerobics.
Most Importantly, you’ll find out how useful the book is for getting lightning fast chops (that don’t sound messy).
Note: After playing guitar for over 15 years now, I’ve played almost every style there is of music.
When I was younger, I was really into shredding and metal.
This book isn’t geared toward any particular style of music. If you’re into a certain style of music, I’d definitely suggest getting a book geared toward that style.
You’d be surprised at all the interesting (and kinda odd) tactics some of the pros are using to practice. For instance, Joe Satriani will actually go through and play every single chord he knows. I can’t imagine how long that takes.
He has a book about how he practices with really weird and genius tactics (that obviously work considering how good he is).
It’s called Joe Satriani’s Guitar Secrets. You can check it out on amazon here.
Want to Practice like the legends?
I’ll make a list of some more (slightly unknown) books at the end of this article in case you’re interested.
(It’s amazing how much faster you can improve with the right techniques. Some licks famous guitarists practiced are weird and feel kind of funky to play.)
Foreword: Who is Troy Nelson? (Author of Guitar Aerobics)
Troy Nelson is an obsessive guitar player who played hours and hours per day ever since a young age. He actually enjoyed two passions when he was younger, guitar and football and actually received a football scholarship, which he refused to go learn and play music.
He graduated from Milwaukee area technical college with a degree in music, and then went on to work for the Hal Leonard Corporation. An absolutely massive music publishing company.
From there, he went on to do many other highly successful endeavors, this book being one of them. With over 100,000 copies sold.
Tactics I learned from Guitar Aerobics, and how useful has it been?
I think the secret about this book, is that it was actually written not to only be a book just about guitar exercises that will make you a better player. This book was written by Troy as a book that would help not only with getting more precise and playing faster, but to actually have practice licks that you can use in playing every day.
The fact that he did that, is honestly my favorite thing about this book.
There are tons of books out there, that have great exercises that are simply boring to play and the licks (while I’m sure they do help you get better) are just plain boring.
The exercises in this book sound for very cool, and have definitely improved my playing. (Keep in mind I’ve only been using it for a few months).
Here’s some of the things you’ll get out of this book:
- Exercises good for all players, beginner or advanced
- Exercises that will push your playing ability
- Great sounding exercises
- Very interesting and unique ideas for licks
- Exercises for every type of music Genre (Blues,Metal,Country,Jazz,Funk,Rock)
- Exercises for arpeggios
- Exercises for string bending
- Exercises for rhythm
- Exercises for Sweep picking
- Exercises for String Skipping (my personal kryptonite)
And that’s not all…..there’s tons more with this book, and it just gets more and more interesting each time you turn the page. Every lick Troy thought of in this book is just super well thought out, you don’t find many licks you’ve heard something similar to. (Except for maybe in the beginning weeks when the licks are meant to be easier. The book is meant to progress and get harder as you go along.)
Now, there are some downfalls to this book as well. It’s not the perfect book, (that’s probably impossible to write anyways).
For starters, even though I think this is a great book for beginners………this book is technically not written for an absolute beginner. Since it doesn’t necessarily explain what some of the words mean in detail.
To me, that’s not a big deal, that’s what the internet is for right? Some of the words that most musicians know like arpeggios and bends are simply not words that everyone knows, so this book can be confusing to them. It’s not to big of a hurdle however.
You can’t buy this book used. Or well, you really shouldn’t. The problem is that the website that you can hear what the exercises are supposed to sound like isn’t currently available. (As of 12/12/2018)
Because of this you’ll need to buy your book new so you can get the CDs that come with it. Not to big a deal, but it is a few extra bucks.
Some of the licks in the book, are surprisingly hard. This is great for advanced guitar players, but I’m very serious when I say some are very hard and beginners and even intermediate players might feel it’s best to skip over these. Again, not really that big of a deal….but should be noted.
The Last thing I didn’t like, was that I kinda wish the author would dived in a little more as to why he choose each of these exercise. They’re all great exercises, just would’ve been interesting to know.
That’s all I have to say about the bad things about the book, so obviously not much. This guide is definitely a great option for anyone looking to become a better guitar player. It’s also stood the test of time in a way, considering it’s been out for more than 10 years now and sold over a hundred thousand copies (pretty insane to think about).
If you want to find out more details, you can check it out on Amazon.
Or, here’s a simple review I found that goes into some detail as well.
Other books with genius practice techniques –
“Play Like Stevie Ray Vaughn” –
This book has all the stuff that made Stevie Ray Vaughn a legend. Tons of different techniques that will 100% challenge your playing.
This book is basically just a focus on his style of playing and how you can incorporate his style into your music.
I use it more as a practice manual. A lot of Stevie Ray Vaughn’s playing style is extremely hard. You’ll find tons of licks in here (mostly pentatonic of course) that you wouldn’t think of playing.
I wouldn’t get this though if you don’t really like pentatonic style licks however. That’s pretty much 90% of the licks in there.
(You can get more details and pricing info on Amazon)
“Outliers” –
I debated wether or not to add this one, because this one isn’t exactly a guitar book. However, I did learn a lot that helped my guitar playing from it.
The book is about how people that are the best at what they do, become the best at what they do. Using specific people as examples (There’s a great analysis of The Beatles in there).
It’s all backed by scientific research, and shows you some of the ways you can position yourself for success as well. There’s a lot of genius in there.
The Most interesting part of the book for me, was that people that are successful usually find a deeper meaning in their work. People with passion will succeed over others almost always because they have the drive. They talk some about how you can find this passion inside yourself.
(You can get more details and pricing info on Amazon)
“Jimi Hendrix, Guitar Signature Licks – Step-by-Step Breakdown of His Guitar Styles and Techniques” –
This book really dives in to every little detail of Jimi Hendrix’s playing style. Tons of techniques you can practice with and become a better player no matter how long you’ve been playing.
A lot of unusual stuff in here, and not just leads. Some very interesting chord voicings and weird rhythm guitar playing as well.
Not really much downsides to this book, it’s very well written.
(You can get more details and pricing info on Amazon)