Allan Holdsworth bibliography

From Allan Holdsworth Information Center

This is an attempt to make a Allan Holdsworth bibliography. I haven't decided on the best way to present this information. For now, it is simply a list in chronological order of noteworthy books with Allan as the prime subject matter. In some cases, Allan wrote or co-wrote the book himself, while in other cases the book was written without his participation. All the books since 2017 are works of independent authors who in some way analyze Allan's music.

Reaching For The Uncommon Chord (1985). This book contains biographical text credited to Chris Hoard and Allan Holdsworth, as well as transcriptions of several Holdsworth compositions by Fred Amendola.

Allan Holdsworth: Super Guitarist (1994). This book was published by Shinko Music Publishing in Japan, and contains complete transcriptions of several Holdsworth compositions. This book was not authorised by Allan himself. Whether it was withdrawn from the market, or is simply out of print is not known.

Just For The Curious (1994). The book goes into detail on material from Allan's REH video. The book includes a CD with most of the soundtrack from the REH video.

Melody Chords For Guitar (1997). To quote Hal Leonard, "Influential fusion player Allan Holdsworth provides guitarists with a simplified method of learning chords, in diagram form, for playing accompaniments and for playing popular melodies in “chord-solo” style. Covers: major, minor, altered, dominant and diminished scale notes in chord form, with lots of helpful reference tables and and diagrams."

Ed Chang: Devil Take The Hindmost (2020). "Devil Take The Hindmost. The otherworldy music of Allan Holdsworth" is a musical biography of Allan, and a guide to his recorded works.

John Vullo: Secrets: The Chords of Allan Holdsworth (2020). "Secrets: The Chords of Allan Holdsworth" is a collection of chords used in over 45 Allan Holdsworth tunes, organized and categorized, according to the author.

Timothy Pedone: Allan Holdsworth - A Method To The Madness (2021). "Allan Holdsworth - A Method To The Madness" is presented as a course and not a book, but included here. The author states: "Learn advanced harmonic concepts and create your own style through detailed analyses of one of the greatest guitarists ever to have lived."

John Vullo: Looking Glass. (2023). "Looking Glass - A comprehensive study of Allan Holdsworth’s improvisational ideas, patterns, scales, charts & tunings" is a 2023 ebook by John Vullo, based on his five hour video of 2022.

Brett Stine: In The Mystery (2023). In March 2023, Brett Stine released his book “In The Mystery”, with the subtitle “A Deconstruction of the Harmony, Melody, and Improvisation of Allan Holdsworth”.

Also have a look at Allan Holdsworth academic theses.