#000496
Guitar Fretboard Workbook
Barrett Tagliarino
A genuinely useful workbook that tackles the problem every guitarist eventually hits: knowing the whole fretboard, not just a few familiar boxes. Part of the Musicians Institute "Essential Concepts" series, Barrett Tagliarino's book builds fretboard fluency the way a language course builds vocabulary—note names, intervals, triads, and scale construction laid out with diagrams and, crucially, written exercises the reader is meant to fill in. It is aimed at the player who can already make music but wants to understand what they're doing and navigate the neck with confidence. Clear, methodical, and free of filler, it has stayed in print for two decades as a staple recommendation from teachers, precisely because it asks the student to do the work rather than just watch.
more…less ▴
The author
Barrett Tagliarino is a guitarist, session player, and longtime instructor at the Musicians Institute (GIT) in Hollywood. He has written several respected method titles for Musicians Institute Press and Hal Leonard, known for their systematic, theory-grounded approach rather than quick tricks.
The book
The Guitar Fretboard Workbook is exactly what it says: a workbook. It walks through naming every note, understanding intervals, and constructing chords and scales anywhere on the neck, then hands the reader exercises to cement each idea. The goal is to replace memorized shapes with real understanding of how the fretboard is organized.
How it reads
It rewards discipline. Skimmed, it looks like any theory primer; actually worked through, it reliably delivers the fretboard fluency it promises, which is why teachers keep recommending it. The second edition tidied and expanded the original, and the material has aged well because fretboard theory doesn't go out of date.
For more context
A natural next step after a shapes-only booklet, and a companion to Tagliarino's other Musicians Institute titles on rhythm and technique.
Sources
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- Barrett Tagliarino
- Publisher
- Musicians Institute Press / Hal Leonard
- Place of publication
- Milwaukee, WI
- Year
- 2003
- ISBN
- None
- Shelf
- Music
- Location
- Colorado