...BR>If you don't really want to learn something, this will be useless to you. Mr. Arnold points out that this is hard. I've been working with the method for about 2 weeks now, and I'm here to tell you that it is DRIVING ME CRAZY. But the more I work with it, the more sense it makes, and the more it is rearranging my brain.
I have worked on eartraining for years, in college as a music major, and after college, ongoing for over 10 years. I could never get the traction I wanted, no matter how I worked. And really, I couldn't tell that anyone else had either.
Turns out that I had been trained in every counter-productive method Mr. Arnold mentions in his work. A lot of horrible habits, given to me by people I trusted...
Those habits are really, REALLY hard to break. But I now believe that it can be done. And after so much sweat over so much time, I'm now certain that the level of hearing I've wanted for so long really is possible. It's really HARD, and I expect to be working on this for years. But, hey... I also expect to be a musician until I die, so it's very much worth the work to do it right.
(One last note: when I first read Mr. Arnold's writing on this method I nearly cried. It was like he'd looked at everything I was doing wrong and all the time I'd wasted and said, very directly, "You should stop that. And you should grit your teeth and do this, if you really want to fix anything." Honestly, the man had my number. Maybe he has yours. You got the guts?)

Mr. Arnold offers practical advice and information to the contemporary music student. His several books present methods for learning music in an efficient and enjoyable manner. The methods were developed and refined during his many years of teaching, and are well informed by his professional associations with many of the world's finest musicians.

I have taught music theory and aural comprehension to well over 1000 music students at New York University. These future performers and composers hail from a wide variety of musical backgrounds - classical, jazz, rock, music technology, and music theater - and I have instructed them in ear-training techniques that are similar in methodology to Mr. Arnold's. These techniques have caused dramatic improvement in almost all students that have applied themselves and allotted sufficient time for practice.

In the 10 years of our acquaintance, Bruce Arnold has consistently impressed me with his abilities as a performer, composer, and educator. I share his philosophy of ear-training instruction and feel that he has realized it in a highly functional and useful manner with his books and CDs. For these reasons, I especially recommend his materials to my students, as I recommend them to anyone with the desire to expend effective hard work in the pursuit of their musical aspirations.

Klaus Sinfelt, Assistant Director of Music Theory, Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions, New York University

This approach is highly effective and quite enjoyable to work with. And make no mistake, the perceptual skills it cultivates are not optional: every musician needs them, they are elemental to the musical ear. Sooner or later, every truly able/aware musician will wend his way upward into this refined aspect of musical hearing, but why not get there sooner if you can by taking an approach that systematically goes right for the 'jugular'? You won't mamby-pamby around in abstractions or plodding repetitions with this approach. Instead, right off the bat you will engage in a very well thought out kind of aural Kung-Fu. But not for the mere excitement of mastering exercises. The strength you build here applies directly to musical playing and composition. Go for this one.

I bought this book about a year ago. I thought I should wait to review this until I had worked with the book/CD. Just a little background on me. I'm a college grad. music major piano player. The ear training I received in college is the interval based system which didn't help me to hear quite honestly. Mr. Arnold's method is quite different from the interval based ear training systems and it works! I find now when I'm in a musical situation I can identify notes based on the key I'm in. This is quite exciting for me and I would highly recommend you check this system out!

I have been one fustrated musician...I've bought a bunch of ear training books and nothing seemed to help me when I was playing with my friends. This new method is great and I can just carry around the CD and listen to it all the time. Thanks Again!!

I recently purchased all 3 levels of the Ear Training One Note Series and thought I would share my experience. First lets look at the positive things. I think the most important thing to realize about this method is that if you have questions or concerns you can contact the author through the muse-eek website. I had quite a few questions, contacted Mr. Arnold and received quite in-depth responses to my questions. The author obviously is concerned for my development and this was clear from the multiple e-mails we exchanged. Mr. Arnold answered my questions about what I was suppose to be listening for and helped me set up a practice schedule. I should also point out that the FAQ questions are all listed on the website. I learned a lot from other people's questions and Mr. Arnold's answers. The website also has a member's section where you can download further information for free about this ear training method and also other pdf files to help in musical development (I particularly found the rhythm file to be helpful). On the negative side all three books in this series have the same text. I didn't realize this when I bought the series. As I came back to write this review I noticed that in the "Further information on this ear training series" article found under the "read more" link it does say "Essentially the speed at which you are required to answer doubles between each level; the techniques stay the same." It seems like it would be better if all three of these books were made into one. I asked Mr. Arnold about this in my e-mail and his response was as follows. "while Muse-eek is planning on releasing a compilation series of these books the main reason for the separate books is that many advanced music students do not need the beginning and intermediate levels so they shouldn't have to pay extra to get CDs they don't need. I'm not a beginning music student so I felt I really should have only purchase the intermediate and advanced levels. Once again I should have read the "Further information on this ear training series" article found by clicking the "read more" link. This article does say "total beginners at music should get the Beginning level, students with some musical background should purchase Intermediate, and students with a significant amount of training should start with Advanced." Overall I have to say I'm happy with these books. For me being able to contact the author and all the help files on the publisher's website shows that this is quite a unique method for teaching people music.

This is probably the best ear training material I've had in my experiance as a music student. If you are serious music student, this is THE book for you. The instructions on how to use the book and how this method works was very useful. I got two other books from this author.

I have searched on the net, read books, and practiced many different styles of picking. Once you begin on the path to 'correct picking technique' you will start to notice common threads. The information in this book is simple and straight-forward, it will save you a lot of time and give you what ultimately every guitarist wants- a fluid effortless technique free of injury and strain.

I cannot recommend this highly enough!!

I found this book to be very informative. Through the use of pictures
in the book and video files (on the website) I was able to get
a really clear idea of how I should play the guitar. The fact that with the
purchase of this e-book I can also email Mr. Arnold with questions made it a
unique experience for me--I never corresponded with the author of a book
before, but it worked out great. I emailed Mr. Arnold and he gave me
great suggestions on how I should proceed with my practicing and answered my
questions very thoroughly. What a deal!

As an amateur musician with limited time to practice and few opportunities to jam (which is probably how most music students improve their ear), Bruce Arnold's ear training CD's are especially welcome. I've used other ear training tapes that emphasize the sol-feg method (i.e. identifying the note in the context of a key center), but this series has major advantages. The biggest is the possibility of shuffle play, which prevents me from identifying pitches by (inadvertently) memorizing their order --- a problem that eventually made my ear training cassette tapes useless.

I've been working with this book and vol 1 of the two-note series, and am delighted with the results. When I started, I wondered if the key note exercises were redundant, since I could already identify all of the notes in the one-note advanced level CD. However, I could only get about half of the key-note exercises correct at first. Perhaps it is more difficult than the one-note series, because the key center changes with every track. I also like the author's emphasis on speed of recall. In real music, some notes are sounded or can be distinguished from other chord tones only for an instant. As a result of practicing with these CD's, I find that I'm able to identify notes in my favorite music that I wasn't previously aware of. (The presumed existence of other tones motivates me to continue practicing.) My only complaint is that my CD player (a 1996 IBM laptop) typically takes about 5 minutes before it can finally `latch on' and read the CD (although this is not a problem with the two-note vol 1 disk).

Finally, I'm grateful that the author emphasizes how difficult and time consuming ear training can be. I'm progressing with the two-note exercises more slowly, and his acknowledgment keeps me from getting discouraged. Again, I'm grateful for shuffle play on my CD player, which keeps rearranging the order of the exercises: I would have memorized the cassette tapes by now, effectively halting my progress. Because of my improved ear, I'm listening to music with greater awareness and appreciation. Thank you, Mr. Arnold!

I found this book to be very useful for helping me learn the sound of all pitchs in relationship to a key center. Mr. Arnold has refined this process into easy exercises that overtime helped me to improve my ear. I highly recommend this approach

This book gives the serious student a real workout in eighth note rhythms. Personally I haven't seen anything at this level, I congradulate Muse-eek Publishing Company for putting out a book which is obviously geared to the serious student and not the lowest common denominator like most music publishers. Keep up the excellent work

Just wanted to write in and tell everyone how much this book has help me. I've always had a problem reading and playing rhythms. Mr. Arnold's book has really helped. I went to the muse-eek website and got the audio examples and playing those with the exercises has really helped. I think I'll check out the other volumes soon.

This very sophisticated book is far more than the accompanying catalogue for a travelling exhibition by Irish artists that took place in 1998 -1999. Ireland is a country steeped in artistic tradition though most of us know that tradition in the guise of literature, poetry, and drama instead of painting. James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, J.M. Synge, O'Casey, Seamus Heaney, and the McCourts to just tickle the surface. The wise editor Steward opens this volume with a thoroughly entertaining and informing essay 'The Irishness of Irish Painting' and then has the good graces to turn over the remainder of the written half of this book to fine essayists who write about 'Politics', 'Jack Yeats and the Making of Irish Art in the Twentieth Century', 'Irish Women Painters and the Introduction of Modernism', and 'Madonna and Maiden, Mistress and Mother: Woman as Symbol of Ireland and Spirit of the Nation'. All of these ( and there are more!) add a variety of style and perspective to the impressive pictorial catalogue which follows in the second half of this book. Thus prepared solidly we are free to bask in the beauty of the works by Sir William Orpen, Willaim Leech, Sir John Lavery, Paul Henry, Roderic O'Conor, Jack B. Yeats, Sean Keating, Dermot Seymour, Patrick Graham, Christopher Campbell - the list is very large. So many of these fine painters are instantly recognizable to the inveterate museum goer, but many do not enjoy the world fame of their contemporaries. After spending time with this book I think you will wonder why....... A very fine collecton and well conceived and produced book.

This is an amazing book from an amazing art exhibit. Since all the artwork has returned to it's original collections, all that remains is this book. It illustrates the intense passion and political ideology of Ireland over the past 100 years. Many artist rarely mentioned are included in this vast work, artists whose work powerful, humourous, beautiful - art that enriches the human experience. If you have any interest in Irish art, be you an Irish-American or an international art enthusiast, purchase this book to open a new world of art for you and to enjoy for many years to come.

I've been searching for this information for years! If you are a budding
jazz guitarist like me you will find this book extremely valuable. Bass and
chord playing is one of the coolest things about jazz
guitar playing and this book tells you everything you need to get
started. I found the section on advanced chord playing applications to be
really rewarding; I can see using this e-book for years to come.

Compared to most guitar instruction books for beginners, this one is easily five stars, but against the bar it sets for itself, it's a four star book: well-done and quite helpful, yet flawed enough to be a little irritating.

Three-quarters of the book is basically an encyclopedia of chords, but not in the useless manner of so many "chord dictionaries". Arnold presents chord forms that can be played anywhere along the lowest 2 strings of the guitar. All chords are in their root position. A wonderful surprise is that he includes not only illustrations of the chords but also their notation in written music, so from the beginning, you are exposed to proper notation--whether you use it right away or not is up to you. I have no complaints about the amount of chord forms he includes--often several options for each chord. He has you practice them "cycle five," a good way to learn the chords and the fretboard for 3 of the strings. Arnold includes small essays on how chords are formed, how to read music, and, later, on reharmonization theory, but I don't imagine these essays would neccessarily be clear to every reader. They are better than usual, though.

While there is a mass of information in the book and the suggested exercises are helpful, I do wish he would have included something about the "system" of chord formations. I shouldn't have put that in quotes--there actually is a system to it. If he would have explained some of what is explored in Bill Edwards' (highly recommended) Fretboard Logic, the chord formations would not have a tendency to seem random and overwhelming. I found myself going through the book thinking "ok that's a C form, an E form..." and so on (you'll understand that if you read Edwards' book; furthermore, the Volume 2 of Arnold's Chord Workbook series might be rendered uneccessary, as the inverted chords are merely all or part of the "next" chord form in line. Anyway.) An explicit mention of what notes are represented in each chord form--like if it is the 1, 3, or b7--would have been helpful, too.

Bruce Arnold has authored a rather large series of books that might make you think he's in it for the money. But I think he's sincere, and a good teacher. He's got a website where you can download helpful video and audio files, and even ask him questions! Those are points in his favour, but this book is still lacking. The "Music Theory Workbook" that goes with this is helpful, but not as helpful as combining this with Edwards' Fretboard Logic SE: Vol. 1 and 2. If I hadn't have worked my way through the Edwards book, I would have found this book a little overwhelming--but take note that Fretboard Logic is incomplete without a book like this just as much!

Bruce Arnold is an accomplished jazz guitarist and educator. I reviewed three of his instruction books: 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist; Chord Workbook for Guitar; and Music Theory Workbook for Guitar.

I also listened to an incredible jazz music album he provided for my listening pleasure. As a player, he is awesome. As a writer of instruction manuals, he is very good for the more advanced student. I compared his books with the Mel Bay series, which I use for my students (and on which I learned). His go into much more depth than those I'm accustomed to. Ideally, I would introduce his material after a couple of months.

I am eager to see some of the other books he has in his series of over thirty instructional manuals. I believe depth is the best term to describe what this educator has to offer. He takes on some of the more difficult aspects for guitarists and digs deeply into the subject material. I would have killed to have manuals like these when I was in college.

Ive been playing guitar for two years now, with no lessons but flexible fingers and a love of music. I recently (like a week ago) purchased this book and found it immediately helpful. One of the better routes a beginner should take to becoming a good guitarist is learning the basic chords that most songs imploy. This book does that using "cycle 5" which is an ingenius way to teach chords. I've learned tons of ways to play all 12 chromatic notes in 3 days! The progressions of chords at the end of the book are great also, they help you to get a feel for what notes work with what notes etc... I had no musical "insight" before this book (probably like most of you out there) but this book really walks you through the basics of music on the guitar. Be patience and practice, practice, practice! For more info check just out Mr. Arnold's websites: "muse-eek.com & arnoldjazz.com" peace!

I bought a guitar about year ago because I found myself playing "air guitar." Everyone who loves the sound of guitar has done it! :) I didn't know where to begin, and lessons were too expensive. This book was a breath of fresh air for how to learn the basics of the guitar. The only thing that was killing me was that I had experience playing the alto saxophone and reading music previously. Once I was able to play chords and scales fairly well, I had trouble focusing on the exercises, because I just wanted to dive right into my favorite songs. If you have never played a musical instrument before, this is a great place to start. Like any other skill, you need to be patient and take plenty of time to practice. The beginning is the toughest, but the learning curve is fairly steep once you learn control. I love music, and this book is a great beginning to learn how to make it.

I've been using this book with my students for about six months and I would like to say that Mr. Arnold's method makes my job so much easier. You can tell that this guy is an experienced teacher. Any guitar teacher knows that for beginners, changing from one chord to another in time is a big problem . Mr. Arnold's 3-step etude process is clever and great for students with coordination hassles. I used to have to record my own progressions for students to play along with between lessons, but "1st Steps" already has them on-line.. These are not boring "Michael Row Your Boat Ashore" tunes - when we play them, you should see my students' faces light up..... they really want to learn them! The website also has midifiles which are great for people who need to take their chords more slowly. The progressions get a little bit harder for right and left hand playing each time so students can gradually get more coordinated on their own. the "music theory" and "how to read rhythm" sections really helped my students learn basic theory and how to read music. I appreciated the pro tips section too. I recommend this book for other teachers but its also perfect for people who just got a guitar and are not sure what to do next.

I purchased this book after buying a couple of the "best sellers." I have to say the first thing that struck me about this method book is the depth that Mr. Arnold goes into about each aspect of playing the guitar for a beginning student. For instance the other books I purchased spent one page on how to hold the guitar, pick the strings, and the placement of my hands on the guitar, they also had very few pictures or visual aids. 1st Steps gave me a detailed explanation of each aspect of physically playing the guitar along with pictures, videos, and a host of audio files (mp3 and midi) to help me learn correctly. I even can e-mail Mr. Arnold through the FAQ page at their website if I can't figure something out. So far the book is so well put together that I haven't needed to. If you are a beginner like me this book is the ticket.