About the Zerofret method:

The objective of the Zerofret method is to teach the essential components of guitar playing, and the fundamentals of music theory as quickly and efficiently as possible. There are countless fine methods available for advanced students and accomplished players that focus on specific areas or styles of playing. What's missing from the world of guitar instruction is a method for beginner students or more advanced players wishing to tie up the loose ends in their playing.

How does the Zerofret method accomplish this?

Any serious guitar player must realize the essential components of guitar playing. Technique, Theory, Sight-reading, Scales, Chords, Aural Awareness, Repertoire and Improvising. Beginner books fall woefully short of providing a method for covering all of these areas. The problem that arises for so many students is that by the time he or she has the technical or theoretical ability to understand or benefit from any advanced methods or songbooks, their playing is rife with bad habits. The Zerofret methods provide a solid foundation for the student to build upon. What you won't find within my books is page after page of nursery rhymes and tired old folk songs. What you will find are original, enjoyable melodies and the theory and techniques to allow the student to play whatever he or she wants to play within a few grades.

Who can benefit?

Any serious student taking lessons from a qualified teacher. Although these methods attempt to be as clear as possible, no methods exist that would allow a student to "teach themselves". A teacher is still needed to explain all terms and notation and carefully demonstrate all lessons. An average student should with moderate practice be able to complete each grade in a little less than a year.It is my belief that the information contained in grade one is the bare minimum required before any student should attempt learning actual "rock" or popular songs from magazines, song books or internet "tabs". It is simply unrealistic to presume that one could in less than a year learn and play songs that have been written, performed and recorded by guitar players with five, ten or twenty years dedicated playing experience. To play some small part of a song without understanding anything about what you are playing is akin to teaching a parrot to mimic small bits of dialogue and then saying that your parrot speaks English. Understanding the basics of music theory and guitar playing will allow one to learn in five minutes what would take a "parrot" weeks or months. Students must be willing to invest the time needed to learn to play the guitar. The guitar is a diverse and ever changing instrument. A quick look around will reveal a multitude of styles and approaches to playing. This however does not mean that any way of teaching, learning, playing or practicing is acceptable. A teacher must have a definite curriculum. A student must for the time being focus their effort on learning to play the guitar. A question I often hear is, "how come so and so never took lessons and he's a great guitarist?" First of all, without exception most of the great self-taught guitarists played and practiced all-day everyday. When I say all-day I mean a minimum of five to ten hours a day, and when I say everyday I don't mean on the days that he wasn't playing baseball. Also, who knows the endless trial and error they must have gone through. Guitar lessons are in a lot of ways a time saver. A teacher can show a student in five minutes what might otherwise take days, weeks or months of trial and error. Finally, there is an element of comparison going on in such a statement. The student is comparing his potential to that of said guitarist. This is not necessarily a terrible thing, but one must be willing to back up such a bold statement with some pretty bold practicing.