What Happened to the Guitar Conspiracy and All Other eBooks?
When Spytunes first launched in 2007, one of the initial offerings was an eBook called The Guitar Conspiracy.
This book explained the chords, chord progressions, arpeggios, pentatonic, and modal concepts that form the foundation of Spytunes.
Alongside the book, I included DIY TABs — structured but empty TAB sheets for students to fill in for each song. Only the Roman numerals were displayed, guiding students to transcribe the songs using the YouTube videos as a reference.
The Work Book, Acoustic Fingerstyle Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, and Music Theory
Along with The Guitar Conspiracy, I also released the SEPR Work Book, which included TABs for all the chords, arpeggios, and modal exercises. The first batch of printed copies sold out quickly, but some students preferred the PDF version, which I made available at a lower cost. However, I soon realised the limitations of printed books. Once they were printed, I couldn’t add new songs or exercises. Since my goal was to eliminate the constraints of time and location while providing seamless updates, it made sense to shift to a fully digital approach.
This led to the creation of several other eBooks over the following years, each designed to complement my teaching. These included free updates as I continued to refine my lessons. Some of the key eBooks included:
- Acoustic Fingerstyle Guitar: A collection of fingerstyle exercises and a practice version of each song.
- Rhythm Guitar: Two core concepts—saying rhythms using syllables and then playing them, as well as a simplified loop version of each song played with a pick.
- Music Theory: A comprehensive guide to reading and writing music on the stave.
Each of these eBooks contributed to my mission to provide effective, accessible guitar education for students, while continually improving and evolving with digital flexibility.
Backing tracks and improvisation
To help you learn how to improvise, I created two eBooks, each offering hundreds of backing tracks designed to support your development as a guitarist.
The first was Blues Jam Tracks, which included two hundred backing tracks. It also featured videos demonstrating how to move licks from one shape to another, as well as numerous ideas to get you started. The concept behind this eBook was simple: new chord = new scale.
The second eBook, 2 Chord Loops, was based on a similar idea to Blues Jam Tracks, but with different chord progressions and a focus on more modal scales. These backing tracks were intended to encourage exploration of improvisation across various musical styles and chord structures.
At this point, I had created so many eBooks that I decided to bundle them together in a comprehensive offer. The most popular package was The Spytunes Method, which included all my eBooks in one collection.
This offer was a hit with many of my students. All the eBooks for $79 was an attractive deal, and some students were ecstatic, finding the answers they needed. However, a growing number of students began feeling frustrated. While they had access to a wealth of resources, they weren’t sure where to start or how to best progress.
The turning point came when one of my students suggested transforming my eBook approach into step-by-step instructions. He referenced an exercise app that would tell him, “Now do 20 push-ups, now do 40 crunches, etc.” This resonated with me. Having experience in writing step-by-step instructions for guitar magazines, music colleges, and an online college in the U.S., I realised that this approach would be a game-changer. Instead of leaving students to plan their own learning, I needed to create a more guided, structured path.
Writing the First Step-by-Step Guitar Courses
The first step-by-step guitar course I wrote was for beginners. I took the beginner material from my eBooks, added all the exercises and acoustic songs, and shaped it into a structured course. It launched in 2012 and took six months to complete.
This course was an immediate success and made me realise that the eBook format would soon become obsolete. Encouraged by the response, I started writing the intermediate guitar course. That took a full year and was released in late 2013, receiving just as much positive feedback.
In February 2014, I began working on the advanced guitar course. Over the following two years, I carefully planned and wrote it, revisiting everything from The Guitar Conspiracy and all other eBooks. Based on the feedback from a test group, I tweaked and improved all the original material.
It became clear that the eBooks were now redundant. I didn’t miss the practice songs from Rhythm Guitar or Acoustic Finger Style Guitar, as the actual TAB for each song was now included in the courses—note for note. Nor did I miss the concepts from Blues Jam Tracks and 2 Chord Loops. Instead of practising licks to a backing track, the courses now focus on vocal melodies and second guitar parts that are moved around the fretboard.
This new approach worked far better. It was easier, more enjoyable, and—most importantly—it had context. Practising within the framework of a real song is essential for becoming musical. Isolated scales and theory can lead to you playing theory, not music.
That has been my biggest realisation after observing my students since 2007.
You shouldn’t practise soloing over a II – V – I in general—you should practise soloing over a song with a II – V – I. Develop the melody, change the key, and explore further. Then find another song with the same progression, examine how its melody works both rhythmically and harmonically, and learn that too. This is how you become musical.
When working with an artist, and they ask for a solo, they want something that fits the song, not your favourite lick—and so does the audience.
The step-by-step method had clearly won, both for me and my students. So in 2016, I retired all the eBooks and began offering step-by-step courses exclusively.
Since then, the courses have been refined further. I’ve re-recorded the songs, now including second guitar parts so we can play together, and you can learn how to design parts as well as play them.
In 2019, I also launched the Intermediate Electric Guitar Course. Here, you play with a real band I recorded live in the studio. This Motown/Soul course focuses on crafting rhythm parts, licks, and solos—mainly using the pentatonic scale.
Now that the courses have found their final format, and nearly all songs have been re-recorded, I feel the only thing missing is a general overview of the entire Spytunes Method.
Spytunes Method Returns
By 2022, after years of refinement, the step-by-step courses were finally close to completing what I first set out to do back in 2007.
It’s been quite a journey—much more complex than I could have imagined when I started—but in the end, it led to a surprisingly simple solution for you.
What you really need is a book you can read over a weekend to understand the method, and then the guidance to actually apply it.
So, I’ve taken the full eBook bundle I once sold for $79 and distilled it into one comprehensive eBook, which you’ll receive as soon as you sign up for my guitar courses.
And to make it even easier, you can try all the step-by-step guitar courses for a week at no cost!
Cancel anytime, and the eBook is yours to keep forever.
I hope to see you inside the courses soon—I’m sure you’ll love it!
P.S. As you’ve probably gathered by now, I enjoy working out songs and learning from them. So, after finishing the courses, I set to work on creating simpler, one-lesson-per-song guitar tutorials. I got a bit carried away and ended up making several hundred—last count was over 400!
These lessons are available for free with chords, lyrics, and a chart. For members, I’ve also included full TAB.
More recently, I’ve started developing backing tracks for these songs. Using AI, I can now remove the guitar part from the original recording, pair it with a chord chart, and provide you with a high-quality backing track.
Moving forward, I’ll offer this for the bonus lessons, along with TAB, and even record the TAB performance. This way, you can continue learning how to play the guitar while building your repertoire.
Guitar Conspiracy | Related Pages
Songbook A-Z
As a guitarist, your greatest asset is your repertoire—it’s your ticket to playing with other musicians.
To help you build one, I’ve gathered all the tunes into a comprehensive Songbook.
Here, you’ll find songs you can play with acoustic duos, jazz trios, indie/rock/pop bands, and funk/soul/Motown ensembles.