When I first started playing the guitar 2 decades ago, a friend had a copy of an earlier edition of this guide and he gave me the book to use while I was getting started. Using the book, and I mean really reading the book thru thoroughly, I learned a whole lot about the instrument itself and the music that could be produced from the guitar and that really helped my performance as I developed on the instrument. The book begins with guitar innovators, those guitar players who have had a serious impact on the way the instrument is played, etc. This section was actually fun to read and was quite informative about several guitar players who had influenced my own playing. The following two sections of the book cover acoustic and electric guitars. These sections detail how each instrument (acoustic and electric) are put together, how to set the action, the various types of each style of guitar, how pick-ups are put together, etc. This is a helpful and technical section which instructs the reader on the ins and outs of the make-up of his instrument. From here, the book moves into actually playing the instrument. It begins with the beginner, teaching good practicing habits, what to practice, improving fingering, chord progressions, reading tablature, tuning, action, right and left-handed techniques, etc. Then this section moves into chords (with photos), three-chord theory, flatpicking and strumming and other various fingerstyles, barre chords, and even how to transpose songs. Inside this section there is also a sub-section on rhythm guitar, setting tempo, time signatures, using chord charts, time values, etc. Essentially everything you would need to know to be a well rounded guitar player is included (including slide guitar). The final section deals with the maintenance of the guitar. This section teaches the reader/player all the things that are needed to know about the most difficult maintenance aspects such as how to customize an instrument, to the easiest such as changing your strings. For the electric guitarist, there is a guide to guitar electronics which includes pictures and lists of all the tools you will need, instructions on reading wiring diagrams, actual charts and photos of how an electric guitar is wired, pick-up circuits, etc. Finally, at the back of the book is a fairly extensive chord dictionary with pictures of how each chord is fingered. This dictionary is very helpful to the player when trying to find the same chord but to know where it is elsewhere on the fret board. Overall, what can I say but that no guitar player, regardless of your experience should be without this definitive guidebook.Read full review
This book was highly recommended by my guitar teacher. It’s the book he learned from. It cover players, guitar types, how the guitar works, how to play, music theory, thousands of chords, and even how to build a guitar. This book is like drinking from the guitar fire hose. I will be using and referring to it for years
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
A borrowed copy sent me looking for my own. Hard to describe, the book is a warehouse of information. Topics include: Guitar Innovators - Profiles of 24 musicians Acoustic Guitars - Anatomy, construction, and models. Electric guitars - Pickups and controls, anatomy, makes and models. Playing the Guitar - Music theory, tuning, techniques. Guitar Maintenance and Customizing - adjustments, electronics, repairs. Performance Technology - amps, mixers, microphones.synthesizers. Chord Dictionary - 23 chords in each of the 12 keys. The "Playing the Guitar" chapter is nearly 100 pages. Sections include: The Beginner - tuning, left & right hand techniques,open chords, chord progression, picking and strumming, bare chords, analyzing/transposing. The Rhythm Guitarist - tempo/timing, time signatures,chord charts, time values, rhythm charts, rhythm styles. The Melodic Guitarist - major/minor scales, Key signatures, scales/modes The Harmonic Guitarist - harmonics, intervals, inversions, triads, sevenths, added ninths/sixths/suspended fourths, extended and poly- chords, synonyms, modulation. The Advanced Guitarist - single string lead, blues/rock licks, chord substitution, power chords and fret tapping, alternate tunings, bottleneck and slide guitar. Too bad the formatting got converted into a wall of text.Read full review
I bought this book after I've checked its reviews and what other buyers had to say. Just scanning the book will leave you with so much astonishment that you start to wonder, how could they have been so detailed and yet not cumbersome. It covers all the major aspect of the Guitar from the history to the actual playing method. They really did a good overall job on this book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, professionals and amateur to at least have a copy of this wonder book. You can get a really good deal here on Ebay if you're looking at the cost...but in reality I believe it is worth even much more than the list price.
I've had this book for years & use it often. My son plays guitar now & asked to see me copy. Unfortunately, I stored it in a box somewhere. So...I decided to get him his own copy.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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