Guitar Rut Busters: Essential Theory
Transform your playing and skyrocket your confidence with my step-by-step guide.
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Does any of this sound familiar?
Playing the same things over and over - Every time you grab your guitar you play the same chord progressions and licks that you’ve had on loop for the last 6 months (or more!)
Losing your motivation - You’re a self-taught guitarist without the help of a teacher to guide you in the right direction
Getting lost at the first mention of a minor 3rd(?) - Flinching at the first sign of any technical terminology, thinking "it’s not for me”.
Paralysis at the prospect of jamming with friends - Unable to come up with an interesting chord progression or anything resembling a guitar solo.
Frustrated by all the conflicting information - Wasting time in a YouTube black hole watching lesson after lesson, thinking you’re progressing but not actually applying any of it in your own playing.
Sound like you? Then you've come to the right place!
"This course has helped tremendously with my fretboard knowledge by challenging me to apply musical concepts to the fingerboard from a different perspective.
The fundamentals are essential, and that's what you get in Essential Theory.
Ry is easy on the ears and his course makes it really easy to build your own practice routine. By the end, you will have a clear direction and plenty of material to work on.
I am now able to create quality parts faster in the studio and explore a wider variety of alternatives because I have improved so much at visualizing these concepts with the help of this course."
- Hank Stone, USA
Imagine if you could do the following:
- Master the fretboard and have the notes down cold
- Break free of the same old box patterns and licks
- Create melodies that sound awesome because you know exactly which notes will work over any chord or progression
- Know instinctively which chords work well together (and why) to begin creating your own progressions and songs
- Learn songs by ear with a solid understanding of what chords and notes you can expect to find in any given piece of music
- Feel confident in your playing and jam sessions and be able to communicate your ideas to other musicians
- Recognize why a piece of music makes you feel a certain way
"My music knowledge has improved significantly since purchasing Essential Theory. I’ve been able to directly apply Ry’s concepts to my lessons and practice. I’ve even managed to impress my teacher with how much I’ve learned.
Essential Theory has saved me so much time. It would have taken a lot longer to learn the concepts in my weekly lessons or surfing the net for the same information.
I love that it’s self-paced, easy to follow, has video clips to help reinforce the lessons and that Ry is available when I need clarification."
- Karen Woods, Australia
But do you need music theory?
Simply put, yes you do! Music theory is not about learning rules or restricting yourself creatively. Music theory is about figuring out what makes music work.
You need to know the "rules" before you can break them!
Your Instructor
Guitar instructor, content creator, professional transcriber, and all-around guitar theory geek.
My mission is to help YOU grow as a guitarist by giving you a deeper understanding of how the guitar fretboard and guitar theory work.
I am passionate about sharing my love of music and the value of guitar music theory. You might call me the visual learner’s guitar instructor.
My teaching approach is all about presenting concepts in concise, intuitive ways using high-quality graphics and animation.
I’ve always loved designing things. Becoming a content creator is like my dream job combining the two things I love - guitar and design.
“I’ve been playing guitar for almost thirty-five years and it probably took twenty to memorize and connect all the “boxes” to confidently play the blues and pentatonic scale positions up and down the fretboard.
Within two weeks of studying Guitar Rut Busters: Essential Theory I was playing the major scale and identifying notes up and down the fretboard without even thinking about it.
Ry breaks up the lessons into easy-to-understand and follow segments that achieve immediate results with minimal effort.
This program has opened up an entirely new musical vocabulary for my lead and rhythm playing.”
- Rob Noonan, USA
"Ry has a very relaxed, yet thorough teaching manner/skill and his lessons are set at a pace that allows you to fully absorb their extremely accurate content.
I am confident that anyone taking this course will definitely, and comfortably further their own level of guitar knowledge and ability, and will reap dividends from its content … I certainly did"
- Phil James, UK
What’s included in the course?
- Immediate, lifetime access to over 3 hours of in-depth video lessons with accompanying tab and on-screen fretboard diagrams
- 123-page PDF workbook covering all the content found in the course
- BONUS 30-page 'Scale Book' PDF with fretboard charts for all the lead guitar content in the course
Course Curriculum
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StartWelcome! (Download your PDF manual)
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StartBONUS: Get your Scale Book
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StartIntroduction (0:11)
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PreviewThe Guitar Pitch Axes (2:37)
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StartDefining 'Pitch' and 'Notes' (1:00)
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StartThe Language of Music - Learning its Alphabet (2:32)
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StartInsight Into The Tuning of the Guitar Strings (1:21)
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StartMapping out the Musical Alphabet Across The Fretboard (2:32)
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StartDefining The Distances 1 - The Whole Step (or Tone) (1:28)
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StartDefining The Distances 2 - The Half Step (or Semitone) (0:57)
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StartEXERCISE - Visualizing the Musical Alphabet all over the fretboard (1:45)
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StartQUIZ - Test your new knowledge
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StartIntroduction (0:12)
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StartFilling The Gaps 1 - Sharp Notes (2:01)
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StartFilling The Gaps 2 - Flat Notes (1:43)
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StartAren't They The Same Note? Defining Enharmonics (1:04)
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PreviewHow All The Notes Fit Together - The Note Clock (1:01)
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StartPlaying The Chromatic Scale (3:42)
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StartQUIZ - Test your new knowledge
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StartIntroduction (0:08)
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PreviewOverlapping Strings and Moving Notes (3:05)
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StartFinding Notes Using Octave Shapes 1 (2:23)
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StartFinding Notes Using Octave Shapes 2 (1:34)
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StartLinking the Octave Shapes For Fretboard Domination (2:47)
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StartEXERCISE - Visualizing the Octave Shapes (0:13)
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StartHorizontal Note Finding for Fretboard Memorization (2:00)
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StartThe ULTIMATE Exercise For Fretboard Memorization (2:40)
Sign up now for instant access!
"I started with Ry’s fretboard knowledge eBook which he offered for free, and decided to sign up for ‘Guitar Rut Busters: Essential Theory’. What I found was a great course that teaches you the absolute basics of music theory, building a solid foundation for further learning.
Ry is not like other music teachers, he presents all the information in a clear and approachable manner. The interface is very clean and user-friendly.
You can tell Ry wants everyone to be able to make music."
- Claudio Luis Vergara, Australia
Who is Essential Theory for?
- Late beginner/early intermediate players with limited understanding of music theory
- Players who are keen to get under the hood and figure out the inner workings of music
- Players who want to grow as musicians
Who is Essential Theory NOT for?
- Intermediate to advanced players who have their fretboard memorized and can reel off the intervals of the Phrygian dominant
- Hobbying guitarists that aren’t interested in taking their playing to the next level