This book from Ben Eunson is something I purchased some time back & have recently started look back into. It’s a 67 page eBook and comes with a 32-minute instructional video demonstrating the musical examples in the book.
The exercises in this book are CHALLENGING. The good thing about it is that if you happen to play electric guitar and haven’t worked on high register lines, this book will give you the workout that you’ve been looking for.
The bad thing is if you’re like me and mostly play on an acoustic guitar, some of these warm ups might be difficult to play on the higher frets (depending whether you have a cutaway acoustic or not).
The warm ups themselves are based on three areas: arpeggios, scales and large intervals. The fingerings that Ben uses are unconventional and often go out of position. However, these fingerings open up different kinds of lines. Expect a lot of stretching in any of these exercises.
Ben emphasizes the musicality and practical aspect of warm ups too. This makes the material in the book potentially fuel for improvisation and composition. So, not only do you get chops, but you get ideas for your playing too.
That is a big difference of Ben’s approach for this book. Some other warm up books tend to be more of the physical and technical aspect…. but Ben makes sure that these are not out of context exercises.
In conclusion, if you like Ben Eunson’s playing style and want some of that kind of approach in your warm up and practice sessions, this book is a good resource. Personally, I’ve used these to fuel my own warm up ideas and lines too. So, it’s not just about imitating Ben but also using it as a starting point for your own personal approach.
Pros: Great musical warm ups that improve your technical skills.
Cons: None.
TLDR: If you’re looking for some interesting guitar warm ups that really double as a good technique practice, this book by Ben Eunson is one my favorites.
Get the book here: https://www.beneunson.com/store2/how-to-warm-up
Check out my other reviews of Ben’s educational releases here:
Book Review: 50 Modern Jazz Guitar Phrases by Ben Eunson
Course Review: How To Practice Bundle: Volumes 1, 2 & 3 By Ben Eunson
Mini-Lesson Review: 5 Improvised Lines Over Major Chords by Ben Eunson
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[Submissions for Review Consideration]
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