The first time Richard started learning guitar, he was just a teenager. It was love at first strum, and riding that initial wave of excitement, he learned a handful of chords and then a few songs to go with them. Sometimes friends would show him things too. 

The first few months were amazing - fuelled by dreams of being a creative, expressive musician one day, he pushed through the finger pain and practiced often. 

But that day he dreamed of never arrived.

Richard kept playing, but in time his expectations of himself grew less, and less... and less. 

A full two decades later, Richard could play a hundred songs, but he had a dark secret. 

Deep inside, he knew he was not creative on guitar, his confidence was around 1 out of 10, and most things he knew how to play were simply parroted from what other players had showed him. 

He felt like a jukebox, not a musician. 

Despite outward appearances, at his core Richard felt like a failure at guitar.

He constantly compared himself against other players... and didn't like what he saw. 

Sometimes Richard would play at his church, and occasionally with a group of friends at his local pub, and whenever other musicians tried to explain something in the music, he felt like running and hiding. 

He knew they were speaking English, but he just couldn't understand how it related to what they were playing! 

It's Embarrassing

One day somebody innocently asked Richard a horrible trap of a question - the question he had come to hate answering above all else:

"How long have you been playing?"

In Richard's mind, if he said the truth - he'd been playing for 20 years - then the person would laugh at him, thinking he ought to have been far better of a player than he clearly was. 

In his mind, Richard felt like his skill level was around the point it should be at if he had played for just one or two years. 

And so instead of answering in years, he simply said "It's embarrassing."

But The Dream Wouldn't Die

Deep inside, Richard still loved the guitar. 

He would spend hours learning about guitar-related things, like tone woods, new effects pedals, what kind of recording techniques artists were using these days... 

He loved listening to the classic rock songs of his youth, always admiring the guitar parts... 

But none of that brought him even one step closer to his dream. 

He wanted to be a "real" guitar player; someone who was creative, confident, and competent. Who knows? Maybe he could even write some of his own songs one day? 

Do You REALLY Want To Be A Guitar Player?

My friend, if you're still reading, my guess is that you can identify with at least some part of Richard's story. 

And if so, I am so thrilled to let you know that THERE IS HOPE!

The fact is, Richard turned his story around, realizing his dream, and we'll get to that in a moment. 

But first, we need to figure out what you're actually aiming at. Most people say - and mean it - that they want to be a guitar player. 

But what is a guitar player?

Just for kicks and giggles, I asked ChatGPT what a guitar player was, and you know what it told me? 

"A guitar player, also known as a guitarist, is a musician who plays the guitar."

WOW. 

ChatGPT told me in eight seconds what I think most guitar players completely miss. 

First and foremost, your goal should be to become a musician... who plays guitar!

Playing guitar is secondary to mastering the music! 

So What IS This Secret Then?

Actually, I think I've just about given it away already, but nonetheless here it is: 

The true secret to becoming a confident and creative guitar player is to understand how music truly works. When you add skill on the guitar on top of that foundation of understanding, you will get competence. 

You can't get what you want without BOTH skill and understanding. Most players put all of their time into working on their skills, and completely neglect developing their understanding. 

Can you imagine if a mechanic were to do the same thing? 

The Importance Of Knowing

Pretend for a moment you want to become a mechanic. 

So, you go out and buy yourself a beautiful chest of tools - all the best ones. A friend of yours is a great mechanic, so you invite him over one afternoon, and he shows you how to use some of the tools in your chest. 

Being completely new to the whole thing, at first you're tremendously pleased with learning how a crescent wrench works, and especially some of the more specialized tools! 

Over time, other friends show you how to use other tools in the toolbox, but pretty quickly, you're going to realize one very important thing. 

You don't UNDERSTAND how engines work! 

Knowing how tools work is great, it's useful, it's helpful, it can even help shape your sound. On the guitar, perhaps that looks like different strumming patterns or picking techniques, or even soloing styles. 

But at the end of the day, if you don't understand how the engine works, what is your confidence level going to look like when asked to do an engine overhaul? 

And if you don't know how engines work, how creative can you truly be in finding ways to improve or innovate? 

And no matter how many tools or techniques you've mastered, will you ever be truly competent to function on your own as a mechanic? 

The exact same story is true for the guitar player. 

As guitar players, we must take the time to understand how the music works (that's the engine!) and THEN, once we have the understanding in place, we'll know how to apply the various tools at our disposal creatively in a way that makes sense. 

Thankfully, learning how music works is not as difficult as many make it out to be! 

A Tested, Proven Path

Sheesh, where are my manners? 

Over the years, as I began playing with other guitar players, I realized how few had any idea how their guitars truly worked, and how music truly worked. 

So here and there, I'd point out something simple, like why don’t you try playing it this way instead, wouldn't it be much easier?

And they would be at a loss - a bar chord wasn't a moveable chord for them, it was just like any other fixed-in-place chord. And I realized that it was a complete lack of fretboard knowledge that held those chords captive and kept their usage so limited... 

Long story short, one day I put together a short course called Unlocking I IV V, and offered it online, and to me surprise, hundreds, and then thousands of people starting not only buying it…. but sending me their stories of how that simple music theory foundation was changing their lives! 

Not one, but TWO people even credited me with saving their marriages! Personally I think they might be getting a tad too generous there, but nonetheless, I’m talking about BIG changes in their understanding of guitar, which massively impacted their playing, which led to big changes in their LIVES. 

What's that saying... small levers turn big gears? 

That humble little course helped more than 10,000 guitar players understand how music truly works: how keys, scales, chords, progressions and all that fun stuff fits together like the pieces of a car engine and combines to create the beautiful music we know and love. 

And it did so without teaching any chords or songs or riffs!

Recently I found myself reviewing part that course, and while watching it, I had an epiphany: 

With the experience I have today, having answered hundreds of questions regarding the course material, and having grown much as a player and musician, I could produce a far better version of that course than I ever could have when I first released it. 

And so Guitar Theory Unlocked was born.

The new course has greatly expanded on what was taught in the original course, but I want to emphasize:

This is a tested and proven roadmap.

More than 10,000 guitar players have followed this path, and successfully used it to transform their playing. 

It worked for me, and it worked for them. And if it can work for them, I guarantee it can work for you too. 

The 80/20 Rule Applied To Music Theory

Have you ever heard of Pareto's Principle, or the 80/20 rule? It says that 80% of your results will come from 20% of your efforts. 

So if we can discern which 20% is producing the results... 

Well my friend, then we can become hyper-efficient in what we do - including learning guitar. 

I've applied that style of thinking to music theory. Plenty of folks spend years learning all kinds of music theory. And that's fine. If you want to be a professional musician, it's probably worth getting a professional musical education. 

But for the vast majority of guitar players I've come across, learning every last thing there is to know about music theory is a complete waste of time. 

Yup, I said it. 

Instead, I've identified the 20% that produces THE MOST RESULTS. I took the most practical and functional concepts of music theory for guitar players and poured that into... 

Guitar Theory Unlocked

What EXACTLY Is Inside?

I'm glad you asked. I've learned something funny about guitar players - they often think they know something but when pressed, they can't actually apply it. So when you read this list, ask yourself "Am I actively applying these principles to my playing on an everyday basis?" 

If they have not yet had a powerful influence on your playing, then.... well, THEN my friend, you have an opportunity to discover just how powerful a little theory can really be! 

Okay - let's take a look at the nuts and bolts!

Phew! So much good stuff in there! By this point in the course (we're still only halfway through) your entire perspective and understanding of music will be undergoing a tectonic shift. Concepts will still seem a bit new to you, but you'll have exercises to work on that will be reinforcing the principles you're learning every single day (or as often as you choose to practice!). 

It takes time to become truly fluent with musical terms and concepts, but you get exposed to the main principles over and over throughout the course, which has a compounding effect. 

And speaking of repetition, this might be a great time to mention a special bonus I created just for Guitar Theory Unlocked: 

How Richard Accomplished His Dream

I mentioned earlier we were only halfway through the course material... in just a moment we'll cover the rest of what's inside, but I bet you're still wondering whatever happened to our buddy Richard!

Well, he was 20 years into his guitar journey, and had very nearly given up entirely on several occasions. 

But then he met a friend who explained to him what we've been learning here - that understanding how music works is actually the key to unlocking musical creativity and confidence. 

At first, Richard didn't really want to hear it. 

To be honest, he had a bad taste in his mouth about music theory. One time he had started a book that tried to teach him some, but he only made it through a few pages before it started collecting dust. 

The few times well-meaning people had tried to teach him a little, it made zero sense and left him with more questions than before he'd started. He simply didn't see how it could be practical and how it could relate to his playing. 

Especially at his level. 

But his friend was wise, and understood these objections, and managed to give Richard enough hope to give it one more shot. 

He began to see that his entire system of understanding the guitar was flawed... it simply didn't work. 

It wasn't a system at all, it was a random collection of tidbits haphazardly thrown together into a grab bag which a feral squirrel called home.

He needed a SYSTEM. 

And so, 20 years after first starting the guitar, Richard finally started learning how music truly worked. 

His friend led him to my old music theory course, Unlocking I IV V. And yes, Richard's story is adapted from the story of one of my students. 

The Light Bulb Moment

In just a single evening, Richard went through half of the Unlocking I IV V course for the first time. As he went to bed that night, his mind was buzzing with new information - questions were being answered that he had wondered for years, but never had the words to express. 

He felt his passion for the guitar beginning to return; as he learned what it was that he had been doing all those years, things started falling in place and finally making sense. 

I remember getting my first email from him, as he explained a massive light bulb moment he had. Frankly, I was amazed, because the part of the course he said gave him the breakthrough was one of the more basic portions. And yet, because his previous grab-bag of guitar knowledge was so scattered, this foundational piece was precisely what he needed for his breakthrough. 

As the weeks went by, his new way of thinking about music solidified and became part of him. 

After some time, he wrote me again - he had written his first song! Hard proof that he was now truly creative in his own right. He was doing all kinds of things he'd never dreamed possible; while driving to work, he now enjoyed listening to the radio, trying to figure out the chord changes in his head! 

His confidence was through the roof, even though his actual skill had not improved a huge amount. But that was fine, because as it turned out, he already had enough skill to play confidently, all he had been lacking was the mental component (that's what confidence is, anyhow). 

Richard's story is one of hundreds who have followed a similar path, and achieved similar results. 

Going Deeper...

Alright, I said I was going to tell you what's inside the second half of Guitar Theory Unlocked, so let's get down to business! 

How Is The Course Delivered?

As soon as you purchase the Guitar Theory Unlocked, you will be given a username and password for our member's area. If you are a returning customer, the course will be added to your existing account. Once you login, you will see the Member Dashboard, where all our courses can be found. 

From here it is just one click to the Guitar Theory Unlocked homepage, where you will see the full course outline. Every section has a video and a written component that goes with it. The PDF of the course book is provided, so if you wish to print this out to work through as you watch the video, you can do that. 

As you complete sections, you can mark them complete and the system will track your progress, making it easy to come back exactly where you left off. You can ask questions directly on the same page as well - in fact, I encourage you to ask as many as you want! 

The course is nearly six and a half hours in total, but is strategically broken into 28 bite-sized pieces, making it very easy to take at your own pace. In face, the average video length is just 13 minutes, making it very easy to watch a chunk, then practice it right after. 

And that doesn't count the bonus material!

What Devices Does It Work With?

You can access the course with anything that has an internet connection and allows you to login to our website. Phones, tables, computers, laptop - even smart TV's that allow surfing the web will work just fine. Where it's relevant, tab and even chord diagrams have been added on-screen, and there are three camera angles to ensure that you'll always have a good view of the action!

Is This Course Too Advanced FOR ME?

I've bought plenty of courses online, so I'm well familiar with the question of "is this going to be too advanced for me?" or "Is it too basic and below where I'm at?"

Guitar Theory Unlocked is really focused on your understanding of music, far more than it is focused on your playing ability. Trust me, I literally guarantee that when your musical understanding improves, your playing will follow very quickly. 

That said, this is not a "how to play guitar" course. If you don't currently play ANY guitar, then you would be better suited with a proper beginner course. 

However, if you are familiar with basic chords, you're probably at a good place to start learning how music works. 

Guitar Theory Unlocked does not assume you have any prior music theory, so regardless of where you're at, you can jump in and start making progress. 

Is This Course Too Basic FOR ME?

It's actually pretty hard to pin a course or a guitar player down to a specific skill level, like beginner, intermediate, or advanced. The reason is that those terms carry different meanings to different people. 

That said, here's an easy litmus test for you: Do you understand how keys work, how scales work, how chords work, how progressions and the number system work, how to transpose music, and how to build chords? If you can confidently answer yes to the above, then you, my friend, do not need this course. 

Become the Creative, Confident Guitar-Playing MUSICIAN Of Your Dreams

Guitar Theory Unlocked will give you the skills to make music make sense.

You will discover how keys, scales, chords and progressions all work together, and gain the skills to be musically creative in your own right. You will learn how to communicate effectively in musical terms and discover the source of your confidence - regardless of your skill level!