Guitar For Dummies [Paperback]

Mark Phillips (Author), Jon Chappell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 2005

Have you always wanted to play guitar? Who wouldn't? Think of Jimi Hendrix wailing away on his Stratocaster. . . Chuck Berry duck-walking across the stage to "Johnny B. Goode". . .B.B. King making his "Lucille" cry the blues. No doubt about it—guitars are cool.

Guitar For Dummies 2nd Edition tells you everything a beginning or intermediate guitarist needs to know: from buying a guitar to tuning it, playing it, and caring for it, this book has it all—and you don't even need to know how to read music. Full of photo-illustrated exercises and songs you can play to practice the techniques discussed in each section, this step-by-step guide will take you through the basics and beyond before you can say "Eric Clapton." You'll learn how to:

• Match yourself with the guitar and equipment that fits your needs and budget
• Select the right accessories: amps, picks, pedals, capos, cases, and other goodies
• Pick and strum to produce a clean, clear, buzz-free tone
• Know whether you're really in tune
• Play melodies without reading music
• Perform basic guitar maintenance and repairs
• Build strength and dexterity while playing
• Play in different styles, including rock, blues, folk, jazz, and classical
• Make your guitar talk with bends and slides!

Fully revised and updated, with an all new interactive CD that allows readers to listen, learn, tune, and play along, Guitar For Dummies 2nd Edition is the perfect introductory guide for any novice acoustic or electric guitar player. 

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The "For Dummies" series has moved far from its humble beginnings as an auto repair manual in the late 1970s. This latest hefty offering suffers from trying to be too many things to too many readers. Certainly, the introductory chapters are clear and concise, with enough information to get the beginner started. But it's not clear whether the book is geared toward electric or acoustic guitar?the photo illustrations show chords played on an electric guitar while the reader is learning campfire songs. Acoustic guitars don't make an appearance until Chapter 12. Four additional chapters are devoted to guitar selection, maintenance, and accessories, items beyond the immediate interest of most beginning players. Libraries are already likely to have any number of beginning guitar books, and these need not be displaced. (CD not available for review.)?Eric C. Shoaf, Brown Univ. Lib., Providence
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“…offers everything the beginner to intermediate guitarist needs in an irreverent and accessible format…” (Harborough Mail, 17^th November 2005)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 2 edition (October 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764599046
• ISBN-13: 978-0764599040
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #27 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Instruments & Performers
  • #51 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

195 of 201 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent starting point, December 20, 1999

By 

Jay (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guitar for Dummies (Paperback)

I will have to disagree with the negative reviews posted about "Dummies". I started learning guitar with no prior knowledge of anything musical. I could not play any musical instrument, I knew absolutely nothing about the world of music theory, notation, nothing. This book explains concepts very well; the lessons are easy to follow. And, I made it past part 1 chapter 3 just just fine, thanks. You won't get stuck, unless you are illiterate. IF you want to study theory, notation and scales (which I suggest you do after this book) then start here. Dummies will introduce to PLAYING, and that is the central thesis to this book. Not too much too soon, I found too little, I understood the music theory concepts perfectly, and found myself looking to the net for further explanations. Just remember that this book is meant only as an introduction, and a brilliant job it does of it.

121 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for overview of guitar but..., September 22, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Guitar for Dummies (Paperback)

I recently purchased both Guitar for Dummies and 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist by Bruce Arnold. I thought I made a very wise choice for both texts. First let me say that Guitar for Dummies is a great reference text. It has information on so many aspects of playing the guitar like; changing strings, guitar accessories, basic maintenance, etc. All this information was very useful because I'm a total beginner. I felt that as a method to learn to play guitar Guitar for Dummies wasn't that great. Don't get me wrong there is a lot of information in this book about how to play the guitar. The problem for me is that much of this information is nothing I would ever consider playing for anyone. For example "Oh Susanna" and "On Top of Old Smoky" might be great songs for a camp counselor to learn but I'm more into rock and folk music from the 60's to the present and Guitar for Dummies does not contain any music like this. This is were the 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist by Mr. Arnold really helped. The chord progressions were challenging, gradually became more difficult and sounded like something I felt good about playing in front of somebody. Mr. Arnold's book also went into much more detail about many aspect of learning to play guitar and music in general. In my opinion these two books make a great combination for a beginner guitarist.

110 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, great beginner's reference!, December 16, 2000

By 

"sitebriteowner" (Boise, Idaho) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guitar for Dummies (Paperback)

Guitar for Dummies is the epitome of learning tools for the guitar. This is the undisputed king of all guitar books.

If you're anything like me, you've given up the guitar multiple times because learning it has always been so boring. Most lame books always start you off with notation reading. Those books teach to read music. Not PLAY music. That's what makes this book so great. You'll be playing Kumbaya within minutes. Not Mary Had a Little Lamb after 4 hours.

The CD that accompanies the book is invaluable. It gives you the ability to track your progress against a recorded version of the song. It's simple and easy to use.

The best part of the book to me is the section on barre chords and power chords. If you have the patience to make it to this section, you will never put the guitar down again. That's because all of a sudden you can play nearly every song you've ever heard.

I highly recommend this book to anybody who wants to learn how to play guitar. Once you've studied the book for awhile, the rest gets easier and easier.