Foreword to online version

George Arvola (1948-2016) was a guitarist and music teacher. He created his own series of guitar method books entitled Guitar Fundamentals. Volumes 2-5 of this series are based on approximately 600 pages of music manuscript by Tony Bradan (1913-1999) entitled A Learning Process for Playing the Guitar, which Tony entrusted to George.

These books outline a process by which serious, dedicated students can gain:

• the ability to read standard notation for guitar (Guitar Fundamentals Primer and Book 1)
• skill in applying efficient pick control and left hand fingering (Learning Process for Playing the Guitar Book 1)
• an intimate knowledge of the guitar fretboard and flexibility in finding efficient fingerings for melodies, scales, triads, arpeggios and 3- and 4-part chords in real time (Guitar Fundamentals Books 2, 3 and 4)
• the ability to play accompaniment (Rhythm Guitar Studies supplement)
• the ability to play 4-part harmony, chord resolutions and voice movement (Guitar Fundamentals Book 5)
• the basics of improvisation (Guitar Fundamentals Book 6)

We are preserving this guitar method online in the hope that present and future generations of guitarists will benefit from the innovative approaches within. Please visit the links below to view the available volumes in the series.

• Guitar Fundamentals Primer by George Arvola
• Guitar Fundamentals Book 1 by George Arvola
• Learning Process for Playing the Guitar Book 1 by Tony Bradan
• Guitar Fundamentals (Learning Process for Playing the Guitar) Book 2 by George Arvola and Tony Bradan
• Guitar Fundamentals (Learning Process for Playing the Guitar) Book 3 by George Arvola and Tony Bradan
• Guitar Fundamentals (Learning Process for Playing the Guitar) Book 4 by George Arvola and Tony Bradan
• Rhythm Guitar Studies: Guitar Accompaniment and Chord Reading Studies (supplement to Guitar Fundamentals Books 1 to 4) by George Arvola
• Guitar Fundamentals (Learning Process for Playing the Guitar) Book 5 by George Arvola and Tony Bradan
• Guitar Fundamentals (Learning Process for Playing the Guitar) Book 6 by George Arvola

If you have gotten any value out of a book in this series, or would like to download an entire book as a single PDF, please consider purchasing the book via Etsy. All proceeds go to George’s family.

Thank you,

Dan Sich, George’s student and friend
Bruce Arbuckle, George’s student, bandmate and friend

Questions? Contact dansich@gmail.com