"Six-String Sleuth" is for guitar players who want to figure out song chords by ear. This book is not tedious--it is FUN! The fictional instructor, Benjamin Nightly, teaches music theory concepts by treating songs as crimes committed by groups of chords. Nightly teaches techniques for finding clues and then following the evidence until the crime is solved--and the song is learned! You will learn about how scales generate chords, common chord patterns, why you should love the circle of fift...

When amateur guitarist Michael Rays decided to learn one of his favorite guitar solos--from Deep Purple's "Highway Star"--he had no idea how long it would take. Months? Years?The answer ended up being two years. Michael would practice--usually 20-45 minutes on a given day--and then immediately slide over to his computer and write about what had just happened: what he had practiced, how things were going, how he was feeling and anything else that came to mind.The result is G...

The "Number One with an AXE!" series is a look at the guitar's role in America's #1 hit songs.

The "Number One with an AXE!" series is a look at the guitar's role in America's #1 hit songs.

The "Number One with an AXE!" series is a look at the guitar's role in America's #1 hit songs.

The "Number One with an AXE!" series is a look at the guitar's role in America's #1 hit songs.

Hip-hop and superstar woman vocalists reigned supreme in the late 90s. The guitar was still in use, but solos were few and far between. On top of that, synths became eerily good at creating guitar sounds, leading to the philosophical question: if a guitar wasn't used to create a guitar sound in a song, does that song feature a guitar? On a more basic level, there are LOTS of great and fun songs to hear from 95-99. Let's check 'em out!

Number One with an AXE! Volume 8 looks at the guitar work that peppered the #1 hits of the early 90s. The musical landscape started to shift during this era; the guitar took its lumps as synths and vocal harmonies took center stage, but our six-string friend still has a few nifty tricks up its sleeve!

Number One with an AXE! Volume 7 takes a look at America's #1 hits of 1985-89, focusing as always on what matters most: GUITAR! The riffs, the rhythm lines, the fills, the solos--Michael Rays rates them all on a scale of 0-10, with the ideal guitar song achieving a score of 40. Come take a ride with Whitesnake, U2, Bon Jovi, Richard Marx, Madonna, Gloria Estefan and Milli Vanilli. You might be surprised by some of the songs that feature great guitar work!

Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Brian May, David Gilmour, Prince, Neil Giraldo, Trevor Rabin, Steve Lukather: the early 80s boasted some massive guitar firepower on its #1 hits! Join Michael Rays as he rates the guitar work on each of the 82 Billboard #1 hits from 1980-84.

What role has the guitar played in America's #1 hit songs?Guitar gadfly/pop historian Michael Rays is back with the fourth volume of his ebook series, "Number One with an AXE!" This book covers the 122 #1 hits of the years 1970-74. It's a golden era for guitars: singer-songwriters, multi-track guitars and wah-wah pedals are everywhere! For each #1 hit, Rays gives:• The title, artist, date the song reached #1 and number of weeks spent at #1• Scores of 1-10 in four gui...

Disco Time! Guitar nut Michael Rays puts on his boogie shoes and chronicles the guitar's role in all 131 U.S. Billboard #1 hits from 1975-79, starting with "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by Elton John and ending with "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" by Rupert Holmes. There are a lot of surprisingly strong guitar tracks in these five years!Once again, Rays scores each song from 1-10 based on four guitar-centric criteria: Riffage, Rhythm Playing, Fills and Solos. He also writes brief...