Publications
More than a dozen books, a couple of video courses, and a pile of articles add up to one thing: teaching.
The writing started by accident. A literary agent called not long after I finished music school, asked if I'd write a guitar book, and even though I'd never written anything longer than a term paper, I said yes. That first one led to another, and another, and it turned into something I've done ever since. When I look at all of them together, they're all one thing: taking a subject that feels overwhelming and making it into something you can actually learn.
The one closest to me
The Efficient Guitarist, Volume I
It's where I tried to put down everything I've figured out about how the guitar works: not shapes and licks to memorize, but the system underneath that ties it all together. It lays out the entire fretboard in five movable shapes, so you can play in any key, anywhere on the neck. If you only look at one thing here, make it this one.
Books
Guitar
Theory & reading music
Recording & music technology
Video courses
Articles
- Premier GuitarLast Dance with DorianPutting the Dorian mode to work: how a simple minor sound opens up more expressive solos and progressions.Visit
- Premier GuitarMake Moves Like MethenyPractice like a jazz legend: Pat Metheny's approach to the instrument, even if jazz isn't your goal.Visit
- Premier GuitarThe Secret to Connecting ChordsUsing a little music theory to make sense of why chord progressions move the way they do.Visit
- Premier GuitarStyle Guide: All About ArpeggiosPlay more melodic (and more meaningful) solos by exploiting the sound of arpeggios.Visit
- Premier GuitarStyle Guide: Left-Hand TechniquesExercises to build fretting-hand dexterity, finger independence, and smoother legato.Visit
- Premier GuitarFretboard Workshop: Avoiding PracticeTurning otherwise boring exercises into real, musical phrases.Visit
- Premier GuitarFretboard Workshop: Pentatonic Box BreakoutBreaking out of the pentatonic box and connecting scale shapes across the neck.Visit
- Premier GuitarKick Out the Jams: One-Chord MonteMaking one-chord soloing a freeing experience instead of a terrifying one.Visit
- Premier GuitarMore articles at Premier GuitarBrowse the full collection of my columns and lessons on my contributor page.Visit
- Riff JournalLessons from Pinball Every Guitar Player Should LearnWhat a pinball machine can teach guitarists about how we actually learn, and keep learning.Visit
- Riff JournalThinking About Getting BetterFor adult students, time is the real enemy: reflections on how to keep improving anyway.Visit
- Featured in Acoustic GuitarReignite Your Love for Guitar: 6 Ways to Bust Out of Your RutAn Acoustic Guitar feature by Pauline France on beating burnout. Marc weighs in on the value of a deliberate playing sabbatical.Visit
- Profile · SUNY PotsdamThe Musical Might of Marc SchonbrunA profile from the Crane School of Music, my alma mater, on the path from student to guitarist, author, and teacher.Visit