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Rating: 
Summary: A good book but not what I expected
Review: Don't get me wrong, this book contains all the scales you want to know about. However, I was wanting to find a book with more excercises already written out. As a saxaphonist who switched to guitar, I am accustomed to studying scales by playing them using trios, appregios and the like. This book had very very little of those. It does provide good coverage of what scales are out there and how they are built.
Rating: 
Summary: Odd layout, lots of typos, but it does have everything.
Review: There are countless numbers of scale books out there, and some are much more informative than others. For example, a scale book might boast "Learn 36 scales" on the front cover, but when you open it, it's just the same major, minor or pentatonic scale pattern transcribed to each of the 12 keys! That's really only THREE scales, not 36. Ron Middlebrook's book, however, does in fact show you the patterns for many, many different scales. Additionally, it has sections on arpeggios and studying the fretboard. The book was written for guitar players, but as a bass player I still found it very informative. Three features I especially love, and which seem to set this book apart from the rest, are 1) the list of 12-bar blues progressions, listed in increasing complexity. These are excellent for improvised jamming, soloing, creating walking bass lines, or just coming up with better progression ideas 2) A handy table showing every type of chord, the chord's symbol, how it's constructed, and which scales "fit" 3) a listing of "Foreign and Exotic Scales" from all different cultures. I am not giving it a full 5 stars because some of the layout is just plain strange. There are a number of typos, fragmented sentences, randomly placed advice quotes, and poorly worded descriptions. I find it ridiculous that these were never corrected after so many editions. Never the less, scales are such a fundamental part of music theory and learning how to jam along with others. I'm a total scale enthusiast, and this is the most complete book of its kind that I've ever found.
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