Book Reviews and Testimonials

"WOWWWW!!!!, I got home from work and tried out your theories on my guitar and I think I created my first chord-melody on my own. I saw that you did a video on Youtube on Rudolph so I decided to use that as my song (but I never watched your video yet). I hummed out the song Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer and hummed out the melody in my head and worked it out on the guitar in the key of G on the top two strings pretty much between the third fret and tenth frets. Then every time I felt like harmonizing a melody note I would experiment using the root, third, or fifth of a chord until it sounded like it fit and before I knew it I was combining single note lines with three to four note chords and it sounded great. It even sounded jazzy with the use of that diminished chord or when I landed on that jazzy dominant 7th chord.
   "I feel like a new door in my playing has definitely been open. I hope my little Rudolph experiment wasn't a fluke though. There are a few milestones in a guitarists experience when they see the light or when a new door is opened up for them and they advance. Your videos and advice have definitely had that impact on me. Thank you again!"
M. Bartgen

"I just bought your DVD and book related to chord harmony.  I was looking for this for sometime.  I play in open D and re-started all over playing guitar about 6 years ago in that format...and started also studing harmony and music theory.
   "I like Kelly Joe phelps Style and melody folk type guitar sound.  I like to make my own arrangements to play my personal stuff.  I enjoy guitar very much.  Anyway, your approuch gives me an important key tool to write and arrange my music based on the melody line.  Simplicity is sometime the best in music theory.
   "Thanks for sharing this with poeple I wish I had read about you long time ago....
Stephane Roy, Canada

"I'm finding your books very stimulating. I want to focus solely on Chord Melody playing and I'm finding that your Seedega framework is much more coherent then many other methods for beginning to put together a chord melody arrangement!... The method you illustrate in your works is exactly what I've been looking for for a LONG TIME. Playing the guitar 'cogently'."
R. Esquivel

I received the "SeeDEGA Method" book and it is just what I was looking for as a foundation for arranging chord melodies. The SeeDEGA Method goes way beyond the CAGED system in understanding the guitar fretboard.
M. Setunsky, VA

"Thank you very much sir! ... I've been playing guitar for a year and a half, but unlike most people that pick up a guitar I've always been interested in learning why things sound good, why musicians chose a certain chord or scale, and I found your lesson very helpful. I've learned lots of blues, pop and rock music but Christmas music almost has to be in jazzy chords to sound good. So after watching your video I sat there and tabbed out silent night in the key of D, then used your method to place a chord melody over it and it sounded great!  Anyways, long story short your method works really well!"
M. Bergie, Canada

"Who's a genius? You are sir. I've been getting chordally better thanks to your system. You're Jason Statham on guitar. You transport people to places beyond CAGED. The open chord thing is so beautiful up and down the fret board...  If people don't see how amazing your system is they eventually will I promise you."
G. Tucker, Tulsa OK

This method is very useful and does answer my question of chord families. I like the thought put into the method. C A G E D is very useful, but you're correct it does not take the next step into chord progressions and voice leading. SeeDEGA makes so much sense (how chords relate to each other)... Thanks Joe. This is some great stuff you have here. It has answered a lot of questions that I have had for a long time.
G. Clarke, Woodbridge, NJ

"I have begun to read and practice what is in your book and must admit it's a real eye opener.  It's fun to see how easily I can move around the neck..."
Y. Caron, Quebec Canada

"Thank you a lot for your guitar book.  It helped me a lot.  I use it all the time and I love playing now..."
D. Smith, Highland NY

"I received the SeeDEGA DVD today and got a chance to look through it.  It clears up some questions about chord shapes and forms and how many variations there are...  Overall, I think it is a very good DVD for instruction.  Thanks again!"
S. McMillan, Salisbury CT

"You've gained a new fan! I was led to your SeeDEGA site via your YouTube chord-melody videos. Thank you!
J. Alcruz

"You're awesome... I really appreciate your help and insight. I get so much out of each viewing session. I play them over and over and over and ...Thanks for all your help. Please keep me on your mailing label for new insights and any direction. I am a returning player and have been getting so much more enjoyment and insight out of the guitar now than in years past."
M. Valbusa, San Francisco, CA

From Review Article in TACONIC NEWSPAPERS, March 19 2004
"As a kid, I was the world's greatest guitar player...in my mind...  Finally, in college, I broke down and purchased my very own guitar.  It was built for left-handed players and I was determined to finally learn how to play (I was schooled in piano in my youth, so I already knew how to read music).  But after a few months of attempting to teach myself, the most I could play was a below average version of Bob Dylan's "Shelter from the Storm," a disgusting rendition of "Barracuda" and my own comic attempt at original songs...

"So why am I telling you this?  Because last week, I discovered something that might give me a second chance at superstardom.  Joe Doran sent me a copy of his new book, 'C' Double Excellent Guitar Arranging: The SeeDEGA! Method, which he claims is a revolutionary method for simplifying things on the fret board...

"I opened the book, started to read and it instantly made me want to go pull my guitar out of its dusty case that it has been locked in for a few years and give it the old college try one more time...  I spent some of my weekend with my trusty, out-of-tune acoustic guitar and Doran's book, and I will tell you that I actually made some progress.  I can't get into specifics as I plan on studying hard and learning fast so I will hopefully be ready to go on tour sometime in the next couple of years (oops, there goes that imagination again)...
John Nelson, Editor-in-Chief, THE TACONIC WEEKEND, March 19 2004

From Review Article in THE POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL, March 19, 2004
"In his search for sound, guitarist Joe Doran of Rhinebeck discovered a technique--that he believes is new and original--for making music out of six strings and a fret board...  While playing one morning last summer, Doran was experimenting on the guitar.  'I was trying a simple exercise to find all the chords for a major scale--the basic [chord] scale of most popular songs,' Doran said.  'That exercise blossomed into a concept of playing in all keys all over the fret board, using a few simple memory tools...'  You can learn more about Doran's system of guitar study, whether a beginner or virtuoso, at Oblong Books [in Rhinebeck]..."
John Barry, Columnist, The Poughkeepsie Journal, March 19, 2004

as seen in Acoustic Guitar Magazine

SeeDega! guitar instruction  and guitar learning products are patent-pending and copyrighted by Joe Doran. SeeDEGA guitar learning products, including guitar learning software, guitar lesson books, and guitar instruction DVDs are available for individuals, independent teachers, schools and other groups. Use of the SeeDEGA system must comply with the SeeDEGA License.

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