IS THE GUITAR FRETBOARD A MYSTERY TO YOU?
I can help.
My name is Jay EuDaly and I've been a professional, full-time guitarist for over 50 years. I've played approximately 10,000 shows since 1969 and taught thousands of students since the mid-eighties. (Bio)
I teach a method that can remove the mystery.
What makes this method any different from the plethora of guitar education websites out there peddling guitar lessons?
The short answer is that this method takes you step-by-step through about 1,000 years of music theory evolution and APPLIES IT TO THE GUITAR.
In 1999 I published the method in book form as, Vertical Truth: Chordal Mechanisms for the Guitar. If you want my history with this method, read A Little Story.
In 2014 I decided to make the move into an online-based teaching business model. Since the book was designed for one-on-one instruction and requires a qualified instructor, it is not sufficient to just reformat it as a PDF and throw it out there – it was never designed for that.
To adapt the method to the online environment requires a complete overhaul. In other words, I've got to rewrite and reformat the book as a self-contained, self-teaching digital product.
Thus the regular product launches from MasterGuitarSchool.com.
As each Unit is completed, I first launch to Site Members for a one-time special low price and then the Unit gets put in the Store at retail price with Site Member discounts available.
The rewrite includes greatly expanded explanatory text, fretboard diagrams and demonstration videos, as well as the music notation taken from the original books.
Vertical Truth is the Theory of Harmony. That is, the study of chord construction and function.
From this knowledge comes a plethora of applications for soloing, including scales, modes and arpeggios.
To get the optimum benefit from the method, one must recognize the value of a systematic approach and commit to the process of working through it, in order.
That right there is the antithesis of the self-directed, learn-by-rote, random acquisition “method” by which most guitarists teach themselves and which is the most inefficient way to learn that exists.
Statistically, the "50 Licks"-type videos are what sell the best. You know, "50 Essential Licks for Classic Rock" or, "50 Essential Country Licks" etc...
If I was in it for the money, that's what I'd do. But that's not me - I know myself and I know I wouldn't be happy churning out a bunch of stuff by rote. You want that? Just google. There are plenty of guys doing it.
I want to teach what I want, how I want. I want to present a method that works.
The method I teach worked for me! It caused a quantum leap in my guitar playing in a short period of time. It was a huge part of what enabled me to actually make a living with the guitar, and for that, I'm eternally grateful.
So I want to to do for you what was done for me - paying forward, plain and simple. Leaving a legacy. Creating value in people's lives is the best kind of job in the world, don't you think?
So...what I want to teach and how I want to teach it requires from the student a commitment to, and trust in, the process. It's not just me, it's the method.
It's a common occurrence that a student will ask a question and I'll say,
"That's a good question but you wouldn't understand the answer at this time. Just do what I say and trust me; you'll see."
After many episodes like that, where I told him to trust the process instead of answering his questions, and then he discovered the answer, and understood the answer, as a result of the process, one of my students took a screenshot of an outtake from one of my videos, cropped it, and completely out of context, created this meme:
Anyone who has studied with me for any length of time will get this!
Well-done; lesson learned, Grasshopper!
It's not me; it's the method!
I wasn’t giving the finger. I was holding a pick between my thumb and forefinger and was pointing to a fretboard diagram. After seeing the image that was created, the shot was edited out of the video. Not the first time I’ve pointed at someone or something like that because of holding a pick.
So I have fewer subscribers and make less money than I could be doing otherwise, but I am a happier person, because I believe in what I'm doing, and I do what I believe in. The money, though necessary, is secondary to me.
So...if you want to make the most amount of progress in the least amount of time, teaching yourself through random acquisition is the worst way to go about it. You need a systematic approach, and I've got one for you!
Not only is Jay EuDaly one of the greatest guitar players I have ever heard period, but he is also one of the most knowledgeable guitarists out there. Very few know the neck up and down as well as EuDaly. I call his Vertical Truth my guitar bible. Studying with Jay is the most complete guitar/advanced music education one can find anywhere. - Evan Dease
I've been teaching guitar online since 2004 and I can tell you from a LIFETIME of experience that you won't find anyone with a Better Guitar Method than Jay EuDaly! He's my personal guitar coach and I highly recommend anyone from total beginner to experienced pros to spend some time with Jay, you'll be glad you did! - Kenny Salter
I have been puzzled about the fretboard for decades! Thank you for the most intelligent approach to teaching guitar I have ever encountered! I was astounded to follow your lessons and reasoning, and find that all of a sudden I could see the fretboard as something intelligible and not as a jumbled mess! - Vickie Bliss
For four years I breezed my way through my college music curriculum and grew, but felt something was still lacking in my practical understanding of music. In the last two years of studying guitar with Jay, I have learned more about how to apply music theory and the interconnectedness of harmony than I ever did in school! - Samuel Akers
It has been 10 months and now I CAN play guitar. I know where all the notes are on the fretboard. I am playing chords like Abdim9. And I can play that chord in every key! It is absolutely amazing that I could ever learn how to play this music. I never would have moved past the basics with any of my previous instructors or on my own. If you want to really play guitar, you must seek out Jay. Learn from Jay and know that in less than a year you will understand and play music you never could have dreamed of. Jay, THANK YOU! - Arthur Bernier
Master Guitar School has been the best learning experience for guitar I have encountered, Jay is very much a patient master for guitar students. Thanks, Jay - as always your material and teaching is like parts of the Bible, it's just there in simplest form, beautiful and revelatory, good stuff happens when going from there to other things with it in hand...Thanks again for your materials and putting your creativity out to students in a form that is a blessing. - Daniel Green
Jay's teaching techniques have populated the professional guitar player ranks more than any other method I know. - Mark Valentine
Jay has a defined, proven process for teaching the guitar, applicable to any genre. And, he has the flexibility to customize the instruction to the age, needs or interest of the student. This guy's the real deal, a pros pro. - Brian Manning
As a former student of Jay, I can honestly say his method is the most comprehensive and logical I've ever seen. While teaching different styles and techniques, Jay teaches foundational concepts that work consistently. No matter what style, genre, or level of competency, the Vertical Truth will give you not only the thrill of learning quickly but will give you an unshakeable foundation from which to grow and master the guitar. - Sam Mier
Studying with Jay, for a few years, was the single most important, applicable and useful thing I have ever done, in regards to my guitar endeavors. - Jeff Wall
If you only want to learn songs by rote I'm not your guy. If you just want to learn a lick here and there by rote I'm not your guy. If you want me to transcribe a solo so you can learn it by rote I'm not your guy. I could do those things; I have done them, but I wasn't happy.
Besides, all these things can be found all over the internet for FREE; why pay a guy like me to show them to you?
Notice the common thread among all these, "I'm not your guy" statements? It's "by rote." I'm not interested in teaching "by rote."
On the other hand, does the idea of a systematic approach, as opposed to a self-directed, random acquisition approach, seem reasonable when it comes to getting you farther, quicker?
If so, you are the kind of guitarist I like to teach! You can sign up as a Master Guitar School Site Member right here to begin the process:
Want more info before deciding? Read, Why Become a Site Member?
Still skeptical? Ok, you can see for yourself. I'm going to give you a series of lessons, for free! It's called the 5-Lesson Foundational Series and, as the name implies, it is the foundation of the method.
This series of lessons teaches the Circle of Keys applied to the guitar as an organizational mechanism by which you ensure that whatever you learn is drilled in every key in all possible positions. It also gives you a method to find any note, anywhere and everywhere, without memorizing note names on every string. That is a beautiful thing!
Every lesson I teach presupposes these 5 lessons.
I know the circle of fifths because of piano but had never looked at the other way as a circle of fourths and how to apply that to the fretboard! Who teaches that??? Only you! - Vickie Bliss
...the way you lay out the circle of 4ths on the guitar neck is a new revelation to me and I've been searching for this sort of stuff for four years online! I've spent the last 2 weeks practicing the stuff in the free lessons and have enjoyed it on a daily basis. - Frank DiNuzzo
I’ve taken 3 of your 5 free online lessons and plan on taking the other two...I’ve learned more in those 3 lessons than many hours on YouTube. They’re really good. - Bill Foster
You can download the 5-Lesson Foundational Series right here for free - with no further obligation or commitment:
So don't just take my word for it, go ahead and take these 5 lessons for free and see for yourself how the process begins.
Then, if you want, sign up as a MasterGuitarSchool.com Site Member and continue to make the most amount of progress in the least amount of time!
You are not on your own;
If you commit to the process,
I commit to lead you through it.
Contact me with any questions, let's talk: jay@masterguitarschool.com
Sign up as a Master Guitar School site member - it's free! - and get access to dozens of free site-based lessons, a monthly newsletter that contains a brand-new free lesson, and DEEP discounts on lesson series downloads - plus more!
For more information on site membership see Why Become A Site Member?
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