Mike Perlowin is one of those people with one foot in the world of classical music and the other in that
of popular and folk music. A music major in college, Mike studied harmony and theory for three years but
dropped out after a teacher said that the Beatles didn’t have any talent (her theory being that nobody with
real talent would play rock).
After Mike left school he went to work playing the guitar in various bands throughout the Los Angeles
area. As a working guitarist he played rock, blues, country, R&B, reggae, bluegrass, and even disco. During
the late ‘70s he took up the pedal steel guitar, and recently recorded a CD of classical music transcribed for
that instrument (Firebird Suite, Newport Classic NPD 85583).
Thus in a real sense he combines the practical experience of being a working musician with the theoretical
knowledge of years of academic study.
In this book, he has taken that knowledge and put it in terms any moderately accomplished musician
can understand. Starting with the most basic of lessons, he has explained, very clearly and concisely, the
mathematical relationships between notes and how they form different types of scales and chords.