The uncompromising work of electric guitarist Allan Holdsworth is revered by some of the most accomplished musicians in rock, jazz, fusion and metal, including such ground-breaking artists as Steve Vai, John McLaughlin, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Lifeson, Frank Zappa, Joe Satriani, and countless others. Starting off his career with bands such as The Tony Williams New Lifetime, Bruford, U.K., and Soft Machine, in the early 1980s Holdsworth began releasing music under his own name, with bands comprised of some of the most creatively virtuosic players in rock and jazz. Aside from developing one of the most unique and recognizable styles in electric guitar, Holdsworth also pioneered the role of guitar synthesis in jazz composition and improvisation, and his work in the medium eventually gained the complexity and cinematic flavor of orchestral music (although achieved through electronic textures). This book (originally published in blog form as "A Thread of Lunacy: Appreciation and Analysis of the Otherworldly Music of Allan Holdsworth") traces the development of Holdsworth's musical works from 1969 to 2017 by examining more than 60 records which he led or recorded on. In addition to detailed musical explorations of these records, hundreds of published and unpublished interview fragments from print and online sources have been organized (by album) in order to give an idea of the circumstances behind each record and each stage of Holdsworth's career. Although this book is a perfect reference for Allan Holdsworth fans, another aim of this book is to help new listeners enter the frequently misunderstood universe of this "ahead-of-his-time" guitar genius. A full explanation of Holdsworth's approach to music composition and improvisation is presented, designed to be appreciated and understood by both casual music fans and advanced players.

Based on the Allan Holdsworth REH video. Allan discusses his unique approach to scales, chords and improvising. Beginning with a complete discussion of 15 different scales, Allan shows how he derives his extraordinary chord voicings from these scales. Includes five fully transcribed songs. In standard notation and tab.

Ever since my first guitar teacher introduced me to the music of Allan Holdsworth in the late 90s, it has been an ongoing apprenticeship. I became fascinated, not only with his music, but with his approach to music itself, and the way he thinks about chords, scales and improvisation. Allan’s REH video was a blessing for me as I was able to glean enough insight into his playing to understand the way the great man thinks, and more importantly to begin to apply those concepts to my own playing. I struggled with music theory and orthodox approaches, so when Allan’s beautifully simple way of thinking about chords and scales clicked for me, I knew I had found something that finally made sense. I must admit, I couldn’t play you a single Allan Holdsworth lick, and I wouldn’t want to as the thought of dissecting his music in that way was always unappealing to me. What I wanted to do was get inside his head, grasp his way of thinking about music, and find out exactly how he was able to come up with such intricate yet outrageous lines and compositions. And that is precisely what this book is about. Allan’s playing looks incredibly complicated, and then some, to the innocent bystander, but the approach behind it is incredibly simple and easy to grasp. It’s so straightforward in fact that most players who have attempted to describe what he does completely miss the point. Once you do understand his approach, however, you’ll have a new appreciation for how far he’s taken it, and how far it can go. This book is not for the faint-hearted, but you shouldn’t be put off by thinking that you’ll be getting to grips with a lot of tricky concepts, because you won’t; Allan’s way of thinking is almost childlike in its simplicity, and when you glimpse it I can assure you that you'll be intrigued.

(Guitar). Influential fusion player Allan Holdsworth provides guitarists with a simplified method of learning chords, in diagram form, for playing accompaniments and for playing popular melodies in chord-solo style. Covers: major, minor, altered, dominant and diminished scale notes in chord form, with lots of helpful reference tables and and diagrams.

This massive, 585 page grimoire begins with historical, mythological, authentic origins of the Gods & Demons of ancient Bronze Age/Iron Age Canaanite Pantheons throughout the Levant. The Gods are described as 'Deific Masks', representations of a type of energy/power which manifests in nature & in relation to the individual. -Descriptions, Cult 'Names of Power', locations of temples including authentic modern rituals and workings with realistic goals for material and spiritual development. -Maps, architecture examples of Baal, Chemosh, Dagan & Baal-Zebub temples, consecration rituals, sorcery, necromancy and demonology and the rites of divination including communion with Dagan and Baal-Zebub by dreams. -Ancient Magickial scripts using authentic Aramaic, Moab/Philistine & Ugaritic cuneiform to inscribe 'Words of Power' for spells.