Chop Builder, Frank Gambale

I have always been a great fan of Frank Gambale. His technical abilities are amazing, and so are his teaching abilities. This is not the video for you if you want to learn theory, but if you want to get better at playing guitar, you must own a copy of this video! As the title clearly states, this is a guitarists 'workout' video. It is not a technical, theoretical, or a licks n tricks video. There are so many good and not so good theory videos out there if that is your purpose, however, don't forget that theory is a small part of playing guitar! So don't be fooled, there are no magic pills that you can take to be a better player, it takes practice, dedication, and boring exercises. Frank's humor turns the most mundane guitar task (exercising) in to a fun and enjoyable workout. Expect to build your chops if you faithfully follow his routines. This video comes with a 74 page booklet that has all of the exercises in tab and standard notation, and I may add that the booklet is one of the better ones I have seen compared to the cheesy ones that usually accompany instructional videos.Frank covers many types of exercises in his regiment of exercises: Alternate picking triplets, Alternate picking sixteenth notes, Combination triplets and sixteenth notes, Major scales and their modes, Melodic minor modes, Harmonic minor modes, Diminished and whole tone scales, Interval scales and patterns, Chromatic exercises, String skipping, Sweep picking triad arpeggios, Hammer-ons and Pull-offs, Stretch voicings, Blues progressions, and much more.This video delivers what it claims to: An unbeatable chops workout. No matter if you have just started playing guitar, or have been playing for 25 years as I have, you will benefit from using Frank's chop building routines.

I pretty much agree with the other reviewers here - it's not meant for a beginner although a beginner with an immense amount of patience and practice could go from newbie to advanced technique-wise once all of the rounds are mastered. The VLC player which is freely available for Windows users is something you can use to slow down the speed of the video without changing the pitch of the music. There is also a free Guitar Pro tab somewhere out there on the internet that you could also use as well to supplement your learning of this material. I have had this DVD for over 1 1/2 years and have used it off an on and haven't even mastered Round 3 yet even though my teachers (a couple of well-known players) consider me an advanced player! This DVD is meant to build up endurance through repetition of technique over and over. I would also warn people to take frequent breaks or not spend too many hours on the same round, I got a RSI in my left forearm from doing Round 2 repetitively for 4 hours straight.

This video I borrowed extensively from a friend of mine. At first I watched it and was impressed by the technical prowess, as usual from such an instructional video but quickly logged it off as another guitarist shred manifesto that I would never take time to learn but alas here I am writing a five star review for it. It, for me, is the perfect instructional vid. It's a well laid out, steady one hour guitar workout that is definantely a workout! I haven't achieved that yet in a single guitar instructional video I own. Not a lot of in between riff jibber-jaber but it is well explained instruction and the tab/notation book included, outlining each passage and excersise makes it "NOT EASY" by any stretch as Frank Gambale is one of the true masters and makes no bones about how remidial this is to him as us meir mortals may sweat it. So, yeah, you should get it, if you want my opinion, it is the most optimized instructional DVD, for me.

I expected this to be more technique based instruction on Frank's style. Instead it is more like a work out video to stay in shape. This is not for a beginner guitarist make no mistake. It covers exercises that you can apply to get better at endurance and dexterity, but you need to understand that it's a work out video designed to keep your chops in shape. If you don't already have the chops then this is not the video you want. It also contains three performances that are worth watching especially if you enjoy fusion style guitar.

...I've been playing guitar for 6 years now and I've decided to take a dive into the technical aspects of the guitar and this DVD did not help me at all.This DVD is more or less just an hour long jam along with Frank, with sprinkles of..women and 2...students playing with Frank behind him. Frank does not play his exercises at slow pace, nor does he talk about alternate picking and the D-U-D-U (down, up, etc) or U-D-U-D approach. He just starts jamming and yells during the jam "OK! We're going onto exercise 2!".He doesn't break anything up until the camera pans off to a women holding a card that says "Round 9" or whatever (horrible boxing pun). Only then are you taken back to him where he just starts jamming once again. I had no problem learning his exercises and playing along with him and his crew, but I was looking for more technical information rather than a play-along DVD....If you're a huge fan of Frank Gambal you may find this DVD to your liking. If you've read magazines about him and checked out a few of his tutorials in them and found them insightful - you will most likely be disappointed in this. I see that he has a couple other DVDs out, but I think for now I'm going to have to pass with this sour experience.I give it 2 stars because at least it does build up stamina and strength (which he notes will do). It's also good to get a brief lesson on certain scales and modes, but he doesn't give any insight to what you're playing...

This DVD will help you get your chops in shape! Increase guitar fitness, strengthen hands and increase speed and dexterity while improving music theory and fretboard knowledge. It is indeed a workout! This DVD is not for beginners.. It is really geared at increasing your endurance. DVD is a bit old fashioned, and dated.. but.. hey.. your arpeggios will never be the same after this DVD!

ギャンバレならではの高難易度エコノミーではなく、とにかく基礎練習にフォーカスした内容。良い点として、同じフレーズを何回も繰り返すところが挙げられます。ギターを弾き続ける持久力、何回も弾いてもミスしない安定感が養われる為です。リズム的に同じリズムばかりで弾き続けるのではなく、3連と16分などが混合しているところも練習になります。本格的な練習をする気が起きない時にとりあえず弾いてみる…というまさにエクササイズ感覚での使用などにも良い内容です。

Mr. Gambale recommends to plays this exercises 3 times a week. In the beginning it takes long , maybe I will never do that... but the exercises cover almost everything about technique you ever need in just 60 minutes. I have been practicing in blocks separately but my playing is improving hugely in a couple of weeks. Even if you have a good level of technique is mandatory keep you chops in shape, otherwise you lose you ability. During three weeks I left my weekly routine away and I felt rusted again. The exercises will also help you on your improvisation approach. Highly recommended. This version is of course a DVD one , not available before in UK.

I have been using for less than a month and already my chops have skyrocketed! A must buy, each exercise is musical. If you can't play them full speed, use the slower feature in your player and play the lot until you build up.Honestly, this book will improve your chops.

あのギャンバレ様がこんなことを(笑)YouTubeで紹介されているのを見て、購入しました。ビリーズブートキャンプのような様子で（本ビデオの方が発売されたのは先ですが）、一昔前のダンス系（？）BGMにのせて、ギャンバレ先生とともにノンストップでひたすらエクササイズをこなしていきます。単調になりがちなフィジカルエクササイズはこう楽しむべき！というメッセージにも見えます。ただし内容は過酷です。全モードを駆け上るエクササイズでは、私の場合左手の腱が途中で悲鳴をあげて中断せざるを得ません。腱鞘炎に注意しながら、自分のペースで取り組むことをオススメします。とにかく最高です！

A must have for any guitarist wishing to improve their chops. Easy to follow with the instruction booklet and Frank's humorous and easy going teaching style. This was once THE go to guitar instructional video for shredders in the 1980s.