Rock Guitar for Dummies (Paperback)

by Jon Chappell (Author), Carl Verheyen (Foreword) "It's time to start your engines . . . your rock guitar engines, that is!..." (more)
Key Phrases: micro tuner, rock guitar playing, playing rock guitar, Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Face it, being a rock guitarist is just about the coolest thing you can be – next to a secret agent with a black belt in karate. But even if you were a butt-kicking international person of mystery, playing rock guitar would still be cooler because it involves art, passion, power, poetry, and the ability to move an audience of listeners. Whether "moving your listeners" means mowing down crowd surfers with your power chords or making the audience cry with your sensitive melodies, no other musical instrument allows you so much versatility. 

Whatever rocks your world, Rock Guitar For Dummies can help you bring that message out through your fingers and onto that electric guitar that's slung over your shoulder. If you're a beginner, you'll discover what you need to know to start playing immediately, without drowning in complicated music theory. If you've been playing for a while, you can pick up some tips to help improve your playing and move to the next level.

Here's a sampling of the topics covered in Rock Guitar For Dummies:

How electric guitars and amplifiers work

Choosing the right guitar and amp for you, and how to care for them

Left-hand and right-hand guitar techniques

The different styles of rock guitar playing

Creating great riffs

The history of rock guitar

Buying accessories for your new toy

Top Ten lists of the guitarists you should listen to, the rock albums you must have, and the classic guitars you should know about

Rock Guitar For Dummies also comes with a CD that includes audio of every example shown in the book, plus play-along tracks with a band.

So, if you consider yourself an air guitar virtuoso and would like to try the real thing, Rock Guitar For Dummies can help you on your way to becoming an accomplished guitarist.

From the Back Cover
"Have a blast learning the guitar!" —Michael Molenda, Guitar Palyer magazine

Includes rock, metal, hip-hop, and more!

Your ultimate guide to playing rock guitar — get ready to rock and roll!
Whether you're contemplating a career as a heavy metal superstar or you just want to jam with friends, this friendly book-and-CD package make it easy to master the fundamentals of rock guitar.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (October 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764553569
• ISBN-13: 978-0764553561
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #56,343 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but not for beginners, July 27, 2005

By	vjz (Irving, TX United States) - See all my reviews

If you want to learn Rock guitar, without going to an instructor, here is what I think is the best way:

1) Buy MelBay's 'Modern Guitar Method', Grade 1. Work on it for 6 months. Everyday. It gonna get boring and frustrating sometimes, but stick with it.

2) Buy this book. The book is very fast paced, and without a foundation, you'll throw it in the trash. Use the musical notation in the book, not the tab notation.

The book covers everything you'll want to know about rock guitar; different styles, chords, lead and rhythm guitar, etc. Very comprehensive, but extremely fast paced.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very useful reference, lacks a bit in the lessons..., January 18, 2002

By	Spencer Cross (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Being VERY new to the guitar, I found this book to be a very useful reference. However, I think if you are starting from scratch it may be more useful to start with Guitar for Dummies. The author assumes you have at least a bit of knowledge about the very basics of music theory that are more completely covered there. Also, this is NOT a method book. While it covers a lot of useful ground, it's not exactly chock full of extended lessons. Instead, the author tends to touch on a subject and provide a short example before moving on. On the plus side, there are lots of tips and tricks that I haven't seen in method books and they can be very helpful if you are learning without a teacher. Likewise, it's full of useful information about the mechanics of your guitar, amps, effects, maintenance, etc. The CD is also a great bonus as it's really nice (and sometimes surprising) to hear what it is you're supposed to be playing. I think it would go hand in hand with a good method book (perhaps Chris Lopez's First Stage book?).

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what it says, for the dummies!, March 6, 2004

By	Mike Sr. "Mike Sr." (East Coast) - See all my reviews

Well, not really dummies, but the very beginner. When you're putting your rig together to get a certain sound and want to know what's out there. The type of guitars, amps, all the pedals. It reviews the sounds that many great past and present players have and what they use to get it. It cuts down on a lot of guess work and the waste of money in buying pedals you don't need or gear you end up never using. It gives many short riff's to give you a taste of the many differnt styles and how to play them. Granted this is not a teach all or tell all book. The hard work is up to you. It's give a great illustration of the pentatonic scale, explaining how it links in the first 12 frets, and if you've been doing any work at all you know that the fret board basically starts over at the 12th fret only an octave higher. Anyway, if you already have your rig, and have knowledge of today's gear and bands, then this book isn't for your.