As seen in
Guitar Girl Magazine Issue 3 – Ladies Rock the Blues
A
uthor Steve Maase passed away before the printing of this book, Music Theory You Can Use: A Guitarist’s Handbook, and daughter Lily Maase loving writes the Dedication, which beautifully tells the story of her upbringing and her father’s love and passion for the guitar, which has been passed on to her.
As an outlet for female guitarists, I was especially moved by Lily’s Dedication as she reflected on the fact that she learned guitar at a time when it wasn’t common for young women to play guitar and the debt of gratitude that she owes to her father for making this possible.
The book is set out in ten chapters and starts at the very basics of what chords are and how to make them, and then on to building them, moving on scales, 7th chords, pentatonic scales, and more. There’s also a chapter on The Blues.
Music Theory You Can Use: A Guitarist’s Handbook is written in very easy-to-read terminology, with diagrams and worksheets along the way. One of the things I like about it is it’s almost as if you’re being taken along Maase’s personal journey, as it also has some historical photos included in some of the chapters to explain some of the reasoning behind the theory.
About the Author: Steve Maase was a legendary session guitarist in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who lived and breathed his instrument. During his long and illustrious performance career, he taught thousands of young people music in a way that reached them not only as musicians but as people. He passed this passion on to his daughter, Lily Maase, who is also a well-known guitarist based in New York. Steve died on September 30, 2016 — just after completing Music Theory You Can Use.
RELATED STORY: Guitarist, Teacher, Performer, and Managing Editor of Guitar Dad Publications, Lily Maase, on “Music Theory You Can Use”
~ Updated February 26, 2024