Guitar for Dummies (Paperback)

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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.

Review

“…offers everything the beginner to intermediate guitarist needs in an irreverent and accessible format…” (Harborough Mail, 17^th November 2005) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 394 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (September 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076455106X
• ISBN-13: 978-0764551062
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (96 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #80,207 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

157 of 163 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

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.

95 of 97 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

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.

87 of 89 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

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.