The Complete Scale Fluency Course Guide is in print

My proof copy of the printed Complete Scale Fluency Course Guide arrived, and it looks good. So a print edition is available now. If you have the course, you can order a spiral-bound copy from Lulu (the print-on-demand service that prints and ships it).

What it is

It's the same Course Guide you can read on the site: 120 pages, 330 fretboard diagrams, and a section for every lesson, printed in color at 8.5 × 11 inches. The spiral binding lets it lie flat on a music stand and stay open to the page you're working on.

The book won't teach you the course on its own. Each section is the written reference for one lesson, and it makes the most sense after you've watched that lesson's video. What paper gives you is a copy you can mark up. Circle the exercises you're working on this week, pencil your tempos into the margin, and leave it open on the stand where you practice.

Why it costs what it does

The book is $25 US plus shipping, which is close to what it costs to print. Printing it isn't cheap. The spiral binding, coated covers, heavy paper, and full-color pages all add to the bill, and they're also why the book holds up to daily use. I chose them so it would last, and I set the price to cover printing, with a little margin for future Lulu price increases.

Do you need a printed copy?

For this course, maybe not. The online guide does a lot more than a physical book can. Each lesson page carries its own section of the guide, so the reference is right there with the video. Many exercises come with a practice card: press play, and a drone and a click start at the settings that exercise calls for. Many also link to the practice tool that goes with them, such as the Scale Visualizer or the Melodic Sequence Explorer, and Add to practice puts an exercise in your Practice Planner. The diagrams switch to left-handed with one toggle. In the printed book, the links to the site become footnotes with the web address written out.

Still, it's nice to have paper sometimes. A book on the stand stays open where you left it, and it never interrupts you with a notification.

How to order

The order link sits under the Course Guide in the Resources box, on the course page and at the top of the online guide. You'll see it when you're signed in with access to the course, whether you bought it or have it through a Gold or Platinum membership on Patreon.

The print edition is right-handed only. If you play left-handed, the left-handed PDF is on the same row, and you're welcome to print it for your own use.

If you don't have the course yet, the first two modules are free to watch, and you don't need an account. Start with the first lesson.