Guitar DVD: Total Scales Techniques And Applications is a DVD training system that is geared for a beginner to intermediate guitar player who is just starting out to learn how to play guitar, as well as for the experienced guitarist who is self-taught and has had little, if any, formal instruction. The disk is 240 minutes in length and is divided into 18 lessons and some bonus material.

After a brief introduction, lesson 1 is a "bonus" lesson that is provided for total beginners as it covers the parts of a guitar — the strings, the frets, and other layout features. Lesson 2, "Basic Guitar Fundamentals" covers the musical alphabet and gives you the basics in music theory which are translated to the notes on the guitar. You will also learn picking techniques and how to work with a metronome.

Lesson 3, "The Natural Scale" introduces you to what the notes of the natural scale are as well as how it relates to the major scale and the minor scale. This lesson sets you up with the exercises to work with these scales and provides a firm foundation. Lesson 4, "Intro To Soloing" begins to develop patterns for creating solos by using the scale notes that you have already learned.

Lesson 5, "Scale Notes as Chords" show that each scale note can be used as part of a chord and explains how these chords complement each other just as the individual scale notes complement each other. Here you will learn to develop chords from these scale notes. Lesson 6 "Applications" will teach you scale applications to be used with each scale position. These will give you different melody patterns which in turn will help you keep your playing fresh.

Lesson 7, "Techniques" explores how to manipulate notes and make them sound different than when you are just playing them; here you will learn how to give the notes life. Lesson 8, "Above the 12 Fret – The Octave Positions" now will teach you the octave positions for the scales that you have already learned, but here you work close to the body of the guitar. Many of these techniques are really more geared for an electric guitar, but with some experience and adeptness, one can also learn to make this work for an acoustic guitar as well.

Lesson 9, "More Techniques" here continues additional techniques such as pull offs, hammer pull/pull hammer, hammer pull with increment of III, slide with increment of III, as well as other techniques. Lesson 10, "Tapping" explores the technique of hammering or tapping a fret and pulling off to an open or fretted note. Here he also shows methods of holding a pick while tapping as well as how this technique can be just as effective on acoustic as it is on electric.

Lesson 11, "String Bending" shows how you can alter the pitch of a note by bending the string. This provides the ability to attain a note, not by moving to it, but rather by bending to it. Lesson 12, "Tremolo/Whammy Bar Techniques" describes the technique of using the whammy bar that is available on certain electric guitar models. While they can be used to raise the pitch of a note, the instructor prefers to only use them to lower the pitch.