Rating: 
Summary: Best $20 I ever spent (twice)
Review: First off, I'm a Christian Guitarist and found nothing even remotely scary, evil, or even dark really about his symbols, fake fires and gargoyles. Lighten up people!!! Its tongue-in-cheek hokum, but the information presented is PURE GOLD.Like many other reviewers, this series has exposed me to Music Theory in a way that many hundreds of dollars in books and private lessons over 20 years couldn't. Intervalic relationships and Modes not only of scales but of Chords as well have opened up my eyes and increased my playing ability within the first few hours of viewing Adam's DVD's. He teaches you how to speak and understand musical shorthand, scale construction, related scales, substitution scales, polychords... basically de-mystifying things I have mis-understood for years (including his books which scared me off because of the amount of information). Something else, by gaining a greater understanding of Music Theory, you will open yourself up to playing other instruments. Adam... You the MAN! You've presented things in a way I can understand and I WILL be buying your books as companions for the DVDs. THANK YOU!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Weird, and not based on guitar
Review: For one thing, if your family is the kind that thinks satanistic rituals are strange, you might want to watch this one outside of their presence! He dresses up in a dark outfit with flames and strange symbols around him... and most of the DVD Is like this (not just the opener) Secondly, over half of the DVD is based on piano... I know this is really a music theory course on DVD, but the title is "guitar grimoire" so it might make sense to START OUT on guitar, not introduce it halfway through the disc - I know this would help me follow along a bit! Based on how this DVD turned out, I might watch it from time to time for some extra theory, but I certainly won't be buying #2 & #3! EDIT: After taking a number of lessons from an excellent guitar instructor, the best way to learn guitar scales and modes for me is simultaneously on the scale and fretboard. Even introducing the piano (whether you know any piano or not - I had some a number of years ago) complicates the matter and is actually detrimental to the learning process. I had to downgrade this to 1 star due to the incredible uselessness of the video (it's still not at all useful for me). Some DVDs may be a good replacement for a professional teacher (teachers are expensive), but this is not one of them.
Rating:
Summary: A WASTE DON'T BUY!!
Review: I bought this DVD because I didn't want to have to go through the book confused. I thought he would explain things and go through what is covered in the book. WRONG. He goes over some things and not everything in the book. Also he just plays through the scales without even showing examples or giving ideas of how to use or apply them. He even starts going through all these crazy exotic scales for "who knows what reason". After going through those scales he then tells you that you will find explanations in my book!! What the hell!!! Is the DVD supposed to be a companion while you go through the book?? He does not teach anything in the DVD, he just wants you to waste your money while he sells his book to you. This DVD sucked!!! I was really looking forward to expand my knowledge.
Rating: 
Summary: Very strange
Review: I figured that I'd try this since I have the book. Actually, if you spend time reading the book, which is very helpful, you'll learn volumes more about scales and chords. The narrator/player cruises though at such a high rate of speed through all sections that it almost requires you to know what he is doing before hand to understand. I'm not writing this from a beginners point of view but as a warning to those who think it may be a nice introduction; it really isn't. The reviews that gave it 5 stars puzzles me and I'm truly and honestly being sincere when I say this. Get the book before this video and you'll know what I mean. As an aside, to call the whole wizardry thing being cheesy is an understatement. I wouldn't call it satanic, just not necessary. If anyone's interested I'll sell you my copy.. It really is of no value..
Rating:
Summary: An investment in your future
Review: I have all the books and DVD's. They're brilliant. The pause,fast forward and rewind buttons are there to help you grasp the intense amount of info in these DVD's. Obviously some of you don't get it with the keyboard. It best demonstrate Harmony and theory. As for the Wizard thing, it's just his schtick. Nothing Satanic about it. In fact, he gives a little moral at the end of the DVD's like "music is power, don't abuse it." Which many today do. Evil is in the eye of the beholder. And maybe it's easier to critique or condemn something that is different. Adam, thanks for some excellent Books. The Wizard thing may have been over the top for some, but you had the guts to do it. More power to you. Not all of us are destined to go to Yale or Harvard or Berkely, some of us grow up on the streets and our only hope for that high a level of music education is you. Thank God for you. Looking forward to more of your stuff.
You get ten stars from me.
Rating:
Summary: Exceptionally Cheesy And Not A Good Learning Tool
Review: I was very excited about getting the Guitar Grimoire Scales & Modes DVD. I had been told that it was tantamount to a month's worth of guitar lessons with a top-notch instructor. Unfortunately, I found this DVD to be exceptionally cheesy with a pedagogical style that is both tedious and repetitive. As an intermediate guitar player, I bought this DVD to improve my knowledge of the way scales and modes can be used harmonically with chords. I had already bought the Grimoire scales and modes book and found it to be a decent reference tool, though only for someone who already understands the basics of guitar and music theory. The DVD disappointed me in every way. It added nothing to the book. Moreover, it is incredibly boring. To his credit, the instructor attempts to liven up the video by dressing in a wizard's costume. In addition, when the instructor talks, he does so while sitting atop a thrown surrounded by gargoyles. His voice is digitized so that it sounds only partly human. Lightning bolts shoot out of his guitar between segments. To me, this was an attempt to make an otherwise boring video into something a bit more entertaining. But the attempt failed. The result is a DVD that is more adolescent than professional, more cheesy than instructional. I would recommend that guitar players (especially beginners) stay away from this DVD. It is far too complicated for someone with no previous understanding of music theory. Furthermore, many guitar buffs might be turned off by the fact that most of the DVD's lessons are based on the piano, not the guitar. This DVD might as well be titled the "Piano Grimoire" because it focuses almost exclusively on the piano. If you want to learn more about scales and modes, you might want to try Joe Satriani's lessons on this topic in Guitar World magazine. You can find these online at www.guitarworld.com. For a really great book about the guitar and music theory try Fretboard Logic by Bill Edwards. I am sorry that I bought the Grimoire DVD and cannot recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Exceptionally Cheesy And Not A Good Learning Tool
Review: I was very excited about getting the Guitar Grimoire Scales & Modes DVD. I had been told that it was tantamount to a month's worth of guitar lessons with a top-notch instructor. Unfortunately, I found this DVD to be exceptionally cheesy with a pedagogical style that is both tedious and repetitive. As an intermediate guitar player, I bought this DVD to improve my knowledge of the way scales and modes can be used harmonically with chords. I had already bought the Grimoire scales and modes book and found it to be a decent reference tool, though only for someone who already understands the basics of guitar and music theory. The DVD disappointed me in every way. It added nothing to the book. Moreover, it is incredibly boring. To his credit, the instructor attempts to liven up the video by dressing in a wizard's costume. In addition, when the instructor talks, he does so while sitting atop a thrown surrounded by gargoyles. His voice is digitized so that it sounds only partly human. Lightning bolts shoot out of his guitar between segments. To me, this was an attempt to make an otherwise boring video into something a bit more entertaining. But the attempt failed. The result is a DVD that is more adolescent than professional, more cheesy than instructional. I would recommend that guitar players (especially beginners) stay away from this DVD. It is far too complicated for someone with no previous understanding of music theory. Furthermore, many guitar buffs might be turned off by the fact that most of the DVD's lessons are based on the piano, not the guitar. This DVD might as well be titled the "Piano Grimoire" because it focuses almost exclusively on the piano. If you want to learn more about scales and modes, you might want to try Joe Satriani's lessons on this topic in Guitar World magazine. You can find these online at www.guitarworld.com. For a really great book about the guitar and music theory try Fretboard Logic by Bill Edwards. I am sorry that I bought the Grimoire DVD and cannot recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Good theory lesson
Review: Ok first off the guy in the cloak is a bit over the top, but if you can get over it this DVD is packed with a considerable ammount of knowlege about music theory. He is only onscreen in cloaked form durring segways between lessons, most of the time you are watching his fingers. Any music DVD/VHS/Book can spoon feed you scales, this disk is actually more about theory. Most DVD's are more about watching the "star" shred and if you happen to learn something great, but that's not really the intention. You will learn something here. It starts by explaining the scales and intervals on a piano keyboard. The keyboard is utilized in many scale theory books and videos because it is the easiest way to visualize the relationship between the notes. For example why are there two frets between a G and an A but only 1 between a B and a C? Well if your familiar with the piano layout it's alot easier to figure out why (there isn't a semi-tone between a B and a C note). I was really suprised by the breadth of the information on this disk, I expected just a very cursory introduction to scale construction, but there is much more. He doesn't just stick to the standard "Western" scales, but goes on to some of the more exotic. He then goes on to show the basic patterns of the western scales on a fretboard and explains how to transpose them to any key. Once you grasp the concept of where the intervals are on the neck it's a good excersise to figure out the exotic scales. The bottom line: if you want to be spoon-feed western scales, or a guy in a cloak offends you look elsewhere. If you want a very good introduction to music theory and actually want to learn something about scale construction, intervals and start a good music theory foundation then pick up this disk.
Rating:
Summary: Very annoying
Review: The presentation of the DVD turned me off right from the beginning, why all this nonsense? Doesn't really add anything to the learning process.
Better get the book!
Rating:
Summary: Well worth the money
Review: This DVD IS NOT satanic at all. The instructor on the video is dressed as a Wizard. So what? They used a theme (wizard on a throne) as a teaching platform, not to recruit "devil Worshipers". The information on this DVD is well worth the money. It shows music theory in easy to understand lessons. Well Worth the price.
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