Guitar Exercises For Dummies includes over 300 exercises along with lots of technique-building practice opportunities. It starts off with warm-up exercises (on and off-instrument) and then logically transitions to scales, scale sequences, arpeggios, arpeggio sequences, and chords, with a focus on building strength and consistency as well as refining technique.
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From the Back Cover
Train your fingers to become a lean, mean guitar-playing machine!
Want to sharpen your guitar-playing skills? This practice-oriented playbook is packed with hands-on technique builders, from warm-up exercises and scales to arpeggios, chords, and much more. You'll see how to apply your technique with performance pieces at the end of each chapter.
Review basic guitar fundamentals — posture, holding the guitar, sitting and standing with the guitar
Brush up on guitar notation — decoding tablature, comprehending chord diagrams, interpreting neck diagrams, recognizing rhythm slashes
Warm up away from the guitar — release tension, improve breathing, prepare your mind and body to play
Wake up those fingers — limber up your fingers by playing simple exercises
Develop strength, speed, and independence — play single-note patterns and chord progressions
Open the book and find:
More than 300 exercises in various keys, positions, and rhythms
Drills & tips to perfect your playing and maximize your practice time
Technique building opportunities
Scales, scale sequences, arpeggios, arpeggio sequences, and chords
Full-length pieces to play along with
Ways to improve your musicianship
Bonus CD Includes
Selected exercises from each chapter
Every performance piece
Open string tuning notes
Metronome tracks of different tempos
About the Author
Mark Phillips is a guitarist, arranger, author, and editor with more than 30 years in music publishing. Jon Chappell is a multi-style guitarist, arranger, author, and journalist, and former editor of Guitar magazine. Phillips and Chappell are bestselling authors of Guitar For Dummies, 2nd Edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Complete, Thorough, Well Thought-Out Addition to an Excellent Series,
By
This review is from: Guitar Exercises For Dummies (Paperback)
Guitar Exercises for Dummies is a great aid for developing technique. Its well-organized collection of scales, chords and arpeggios (in all different keys and patterns) provides a solid foundation for any player. Included are five patterns for the major scale, five patterns each for the three minor scales (natural, harmonic and melodic), and five patterns for arpeggios (major, minor and seventh chords). Thankfully, the book is well organized, so it's easy to find any scale in any pattern.
Once you learn how the authors name the five patterns (two start on the 6th string, two on the 5th string, and one on the 4th string), you can use the table of contents to quickly find any scale or arpeggio based on that pattern. Looking for a Bb minor 7th arpeggio starting on the 4th string? No problem. That's pattern #5 in 8th position (page 145). Also included are chord exercises, which is unusual in a typical "exercise book." As a bonus, each chapter include. You also get a CD--nice playing! It's not really necessary for the scales, but it's nice for the songs. You won't find modes, or chords beyond the 7th here, but for a comprehensive collection of major and minor studies in all positions and keys, this 200+ page book is hard to beat.
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally! the right exercising book,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Guitar Exercises For Dummies (Paperback)
After buying few books and one of the famous DVD full-guitar course I finally found what I needed and wanted in the first place.
I'm a self teaching guitar-lover. --- About my research --- I was looking for material to start from scratch and slowly build up some good technique. Some of the books I bought start with "easy-songs" that you can play right-away but after a while there is no overall real improvement in your technique. They get you accustomed to certain hands-movements and it gets boring very quickly. The Full-course (Guitar Method by eMedia) is a "fun to play course" and overall interesting but after a while again I noticed no significant improvement about my technique/speed/strength especially in my "left-fingers-action". I was playing "happy and sloppy". In the end I wanted much more.. I looked on-line where you can find every kind of information, Tabs, Chords, free stuff and of course I got lost in that ocean of knowledge. All I wanted was a "DAY TO DAY EXERCISING ROUTINE" that will bring me up to serious playing. --- About this book --- If you know the very basics: -How to correctly sit and hold a guitar. -Which guitar will do for you (there are lots of free info on Internet about how to choose your first guitar). -The knowledge of the various guitar-parts, the neck, the nut, the frets, etc. -Basic knowledge of the music-terminology. -How to strum and how to use a pick. (all stuff that you can find free of charge on internet) This book will boost you into learning solid technique. It starts with the "famous-boring" exercises but guess what? they work! you will need to build some confidence and strength in your fingers before playing songs. This book teach you exactly that. Step by Step with discipline and patience this book will bring your concentration-mind-fingers-muscles-speed up to a ready-to-perform status. MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL I EXACTLY KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO DO WHEN EVERY DAY I PICK MY GUITAR UP. No trying new ways, Not trying new books, No trying the "fast-lane" to learn how to play. No bad feelings and discouragement. Simple as it sounds "my day to day routine" 1/2 hour or more when have the time. Patiently going "up the stairs" one step at the time and feeling great. Sooner than later I'll be able to play with confidence and challenge myself with complicate songs. - A great easy-book for the serious beginner who wants to learn from scratch with scales, arpeggios, chords and more. It will bring you up from beginner to intermediate and you'll be able to tackle pretty much everything you want afterwords. That's the beauty of it. Want to learn flamenco? you'll have a good base to start from. Feeling like playing Heavy metal? guess what, you'll have a good starting point. Fingerstyle? again you'll be able to learn it. - Also a book for intermediate who want to reinforce overall skills such as strength/speed/accuracy and have a ready-to-go routine to follow. Buy it and practice every day with discipline. It is a "guitar-gym". This book has so many exercises to keep you busy for quite a long time and you won't be disappointed.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exercises for Your Fingers and Your Brain,
By
This review is from: Guitar Exercises For Dummies (Paperback)
Drill, baby, drill! That's what this book is about, with its scales, scale sequences (patterns), arpeggios, and chords numbering in the hundreds. The exercises here are organized by patterns, and each pattern is presented as a neck diagram (complete with fingering) and in music & tab at the beginning of each section. I particularly liked the arpeggio and chord sections, as that's what most scale books don't deal with. Authors Mark Phillips and Jon Chappell include some interesting songs (Mozart, Irish songs, Christmas carols, etc.) that apply the material taught in the chapters. The book includes some speed drills in the back, and the CD is helpful, especially for hearing the songs at the end of each chapter, and for "keeping you honest" when trying to keep up with those seventh chord arpeggios. Nice work, Mark & Jon!
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Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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chord arpeggio sequences, major arpeggio sequences, major arpeggio pattern, sequences using pattern, melodic minor scale pattern, seventh arpeggio pattern, chord arpeggio pattern, sequence using pattern, harmonic minor scale pattern, minor scale sequences, natural minor scale pattern, neck diagram, check out the following figure, ascending version, major scale sequences, corresponding music, three minor scales, major scale pattern, different starting note, starting tempo, practice this pattern, descending versions, partial barre, starting finger, finger independence Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Enhancing Your Playing, Tackling the Three Minor Scales, Building Finger Independence, Cheat Sheet, Guitar Exercises For Dummies, Examining Minor Scale Sequences, Ave Maria, Trying Your Hand, Putting the Major Scales, Chord Exercises, Adding Major Scale Sequences, Breaking Out, Them Golden Slippers, Playing Single-Note Exercises, Minor Arpeggio Sequences, Know Minor Arpeggios, Play Major Arpeggio Sequences, The Part of Tens, Guitar For Dummies, Merry Christmas, Wolfgang's Whistle, Danny Boy, Amadeus's Air, Moderately Minor, The Full Little Jug Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
chord arpeggio sequences, major arpeggio sequences, major arpeggio pattern, sequences using pattern, melodic minor scale pattern, seventh arpeggio pattern, chord arpeggio pattern, sequence using pattern, harmonic minor scale pattern, minor scale sequences, natural minor scale pattern, neck diagram, check out the following figure, ascending version, major scale sequences, corresponding music, three minor scales, major scale pattern, different starting note, starting tempo, practice this pattern, descending versions, partial barre, starting finger, finger independence Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Enhancing Your Playing, Tackling the Three Minor Scales, Building Finger Independence, Cheat Sheet, Guitar Exercises For Dummies, Examining Minor Scale Sequences, Ave Maria, Trying Your Hand, Putting the Major Scales, Chord Exercises, Adding Major Scale Sequences, Breaking Out, Them Golden Slippers, Playing Single-Note Exercises, Minor Arpeggio Sequences, Know Minor Arpeggios, Play Major Arpeggio Sequences, The Part of Tens, Guitar For Dummies, Merry Christmas, Wolfgang's Whistle, Danny Boy, Amadeus's Air, Moderately Minor, The Full Little Jug Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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