String Theories: Tips, Challenges, and Reflections for the Lifelong Guitarist

"Adam and Ethan have written an affable yet rigorous guitar guide filled with sage observations and suggestions for anyone who is super serious about guitar."
- Nels Cline, Lead guitarist of the band Wilco and Rolling Stone’s top 100 guitarists of all time

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String Theories is the book every modern guitarist needs for a lifetime of inspiration and musical growth.

Renowned guitarists Adam Levy and Ethan Sherman offer a comprehensive and practical guide to boundless musical growth for the dedicated guitarist, as well as on-the-job lessons learned from both of their many years of experience as working musicians and music teachers.

Originally adapted from Adam Levy’s popular YouTube series Guitar Tips, the essays and lessons in this book cover topics including:

• Effective practice strategies
• Fretboard technique
• Playing with other musicians
• Composition
• Improvisation
• Listening and reading recommendations
• And much more

Concepts are followed by practical music exercises and plans of action—things you can do today, throughout the week or month, or even all year. While written for guitar players, every musician can benefit from the lessons inside.

String Theories will offer something different yet equally useful to the music student, hobbyist musician, or pro musician—and everyone in between. Offering a framework for lifelong growth on the guitar, it’s a book you can return to year after year as you evolve as a musician.

Adam Levy is a storied guitarist, composer, and songwriter with several original albums to his credit. He has been featured on recordings by Norah Jones, Tracy Chapman, Joe Henry, Allen Toussaint, Vulfpeck, and other esteemed artists. He has taught at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles College of Music, and New York University. He is the author of Play the Right Stuff.

Ethan Sherman is a guitarist and composer known for moving between a wide variety of musical worlds with ease and a deeply personal sound. He's released numerous albums of original music, most recently Indoor Vistas. As a sideman, he's recorded and performed with artists as diverse as Nels Cline, Harrison Whitford, Patrick Shiroishi, Sean & Sara Watkins, Lou Roy, Johanna Samuels, and Ed Helms. He is currentlytouring with Michael Bublé.