(Guitar Educational). Finally, a guitar method solely for south paws! This comprehensive book covers: chords, scales, riffs and strumming; rock, blues, fingerpicking and other styles; tuning, theory and other fundamentals; reading standard notation and tab; and lots more. Includes lots of photos, diagrams and grids designed especially for the left-handed player.
Contains chord forms for all of the most commonly used chords. Chords include major, minor, altered 7ths, diminished, augmented and many more. All forms are shown in picture and diagram form for the left-handed guitarist.
Perhaps the first book of its' kind to put you inside the mind of guitar players everywhere. Successful guitar players develop an ability to "see" the music they play on the fretboard of the instrument. They see the music they play as a simple relationship of shapes and relative positions. As easily as you already can distinguish a triangle from a square or circle, stringed instrumentalists see music on the fretboard of their instrument. Further, just as you could draw those basic shapes of triangle square or circle from memory, guitar players can visually "draw" chord shapes on their fingerboards and move those shapes around easily, creating new music.This is an inherently special gift those who play stringed instruments have been given. No other kind of instrument makes it so easy for the musician to have a visual roadmap of the music, making things like improvisation or transposing a song to another key so easy. Your fingers will follow these maps to get to the music. This book will show you how to see music as simple shapes and use these shapes to more quickly and proficiently play and create music.This book is for two kinds of students:1. The absolute beginner. Welcome.2. Those who have learned something about the guitar, maybe some chords, maybe even have a good bit of playing experience, but lack knowledge of the way music is built. They have a grip on how to play some music, but don't understand why they're playing these things. Why chords use particular notes. Why some chords in a song are major or minor. Without this knowledge of the "whys", it's difficult, if not impossible, for them to develop as a player. For them, the guitar becomes a giant, frustrating exercise in memorization. It shouldn't be.In this book, you'll see that there really is very little music theory to be memorized. You did a lot more memorizing in your first year of math class than you will here. There are literally thousands of chord voicings available to a guitarist, yet they can be boiled down to a few simple ideas that anyone can grasp. You'll see the simple relationship between chords and scales and you'll learn how to play any chord, even one you've never seen before. No knowledge of sheet music is necessary here. While reading music is great and certainly encouraged, this book doesn't use it. The approach here is to understand how music is constructed and 'looks' on the neck of the guitar. While we won't get into any particular musical style or specific techniques, the information here is common to all Western music: Rock, Folk, Country, Pop, Classical, Jazz.
Do you love sitting at home playing guitar, but find yourself playing the same old things over and over without making much progress? When other musicians invite you to jam, do you worry that you won’t be able to keep up? Are you a veteran guitarist who has played for years, but you’re embarrassed to admit you have no idea what you’re doing? If you want to take your guitar playing to the next level, compose songs like you hear on the radio, and improvise your own music, then you need Fretboard Theory. Fretboard Theory by Desi Serna teaches music theory for guitar including scales, chords, progressions, modes and more. The hands-on approach to theory shows you how music "works" on the guitar fretboard by visualizing shapes and patterns and how they connect to make music. Content includes: * Learn pentatonic and major scale patterns as used to play melodies, riffs, solos, and bass lines * Move beyond basic chords and common barre chords by playing the types of chord inversions and chord voicings used by music's most famous players * Chart guitar chord progressions and play by numbers like the pros * Identify correct scales to play over chords and progressions so you can improvise at will * Create new sounds with music modes and get to know Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian * Add variety to your playing by using intervals such as thirds, fourths, and sixths * Increase your chord vocabulary by using added chord tones and extensions to play chord types such as major 7, minor 7, sus2, sus4, add9, and more * Learn how all the different aspects of music fit together to make a great song * See how theory relates to popular styles of music and familiar songs Fretboard Theory will have you mastering music like a pro easier and faster than you ever thought possible. Plus, it's the ONLY GUITAR THEORY RESOURCE in the world that includes important details to hundreds of popular songs. You learn how to play in the style of pop, rock, acoustic, blues, and more! This guitar instruction is perfect whether you want to jam, compose or just understand the music you play better. The material is suitable for both acoustic and electric guitar, plus it features many references to bass. Level: Recommended for intermediate level players on up. Video Fretboard Theory is also available as a 21-hour video series that is sold separately on the author's GuitarMusicTheory.com website. Visit the website and sign up for email lessons to sample the footage. Fretboard Theory Volume II When you're ready to take your playing to the next level, get the second book in the series, Fretboard Theory Volume II, which is also available as a 12-hour video series.
This is the companion to the Instructional DVD, and includes a corresponding audio CD. The Guitarist's Lick Book is the most useful guitar licks course available. A collection of powerful, widely used licks by famous guitar players. Included are the scales and techniques that will enable you to create your own guitar licks. Each lick is played slow and fast and along with a Let's Jam track. Develop your own unique style by playing in different keys and using the included tips. The companion audio CD contains all of the music in the book played at two speeds (slow for practice and up tempo for performing) and all solos are played along with a full band (drums, bass, keyboard, and rhythm guitar). This book contains all you need to learn how to get that legendary rock and roll guitar sound. All music is written in both standard music notation and tablature. Includes lyrics and melody lines.
For a quarter of a century Jean-Pierre Jumez has performed on all of the world's prestigious stages: from Carnegie to the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, from NHK in Tokyo to Cecilia Mereiles in Rio, from the Capetown Opera House to the Mozartsaal in Vienna... The Guinness Book of Records credits this eclectic guitarist with having played in the largest number of countries in the world. His adventures in 170 countries are related here. A rhapsody of sounds, hilarious episodes and exotic perfumes that leaves the reader breathless. His adventures in 170 countries are related here. A rhapsody of sounds, hilarious episodes and exotic perfumes that leaves the reader breathless. His adventures in 170 countries are related here. A rhapsody of sounds, hilarious episodes and exotic perfumes that leaves the reader breathless.
The guitar is more than a musical instrument. It is an archetype. In homage, Light Strings brings together two masters of their craft: photographer Ralph Gibson and former guitarist for the Police, Andy Summers. Gibson's enigmatic and sensuously elegant photographs are the visual counterpart to Summers' lyrical history and thoughtful exploration of the instrument's features. Together they create a unique poetic meditation on the guitar. Both artists pay attention to the form of the guitar and its relationship to the body; its curves echo the human figure, not only requiring it to be cradled to play it, but inviting a study of its own sumptuous anatomy. With over one hundred alluring images that capture the graceful details of the instrument, Light Strings is the book for every guitar player.
This book is designed to be useful for guitarists at any skill level. Beginners can use it as an introduction to the foundational concepts of the instrument, intermediate players can use it for training and theoretical work, and advanced players can explore the sections on advanced theory, extended technique and the exhaustive tables of melodic and rhythmic possibilities. It is divided into two parts: pitch and rhythm. Part 1 (pitch) begins with the properties of string, harmonics, and tuning systems. It then moves methodically through pitch information, beginning with locating all versions of a single pitch, building pentatonic, heptatonic, and all possible symmetrical scales. This is followed by a study of intervals, with all possible locations of every two pitches, and a long study that moves through every possible fingering of three pitches, with a series of exercises to master triadic syntax. Part 1 closes with a study of four-pitch structures and complete tables that show all possible pitch sets in circular visual notation. Part 2 (rhythm) begins with a complete course in "Symmetrical Picking," a method based on drum rudiments that builds control in the picking hand through an exhaustive variety of movements. The focus of this section is building a strong rhythmic foundation, with a focus on efficiency, accuracy, speed, dynamics, and groove. It is followed by a study of legato playing, working with ornaments and slides. The study of playing with fingers on multiple strings takes up the remainder of the book. This begins with the study of pulse against pulse, playing two simultaneous tempos. The book concludes with a study of polyrhythm, playing one rhythm against another. Plain English is used as much as possible to describe theoretical concepts, and hundreds of illustrations were made for the book as an aid to those who either don't speak English or prefer to think visually. This approach is designed to be inclusive and to promote creative practice. The main idea of the book is described in this passage (page 154): "Even in this small area there is a lot of material, potentially a lifetime of study. The amount of information can feel overwhelming to students at any level. For this reason, the book is designed for self-directed practice, with an emphasis on what the player "could" do, rather than what the player "should" do. The principle is to develop your own learning process, rather than following someone else's. The ability to make choices is essential in finding a personal approach to the instrument. Pick and choose the studies that seem interesting - there should be enough variety to accommodate a wide range of personalities. If any particular concept or exercise has been useful as the starting point for a new creative direction, then the book has done its job. Its purpose is not to push any dogma, method, or style, but to open the door to options for guitarists of any background that are looking for new perspectives.
As the cornerstone for the innovative band Dream Theater, John Petrucci has rapidly become one of the most respected and talked about guitarists of the '90's. He has been featured in virtually every major guitar publication worldwide and was voted "Best Guitarist for 1994" in "Guitar" magazine and "Break Through Guitarist of the Year (1993)" in "Guitar For the Practicing Musician" magazine. This powerful and all encompassing book starts with a valuable segment on warm-ups followed by up-to-date practice concepts that address dealing with today's information explosion. John has provided detailed lessons concerning speed and accuracy using rhythmic subdivisions, chromatic exercises, dynamics and scale fragments. Other topics include picking through arpeggios, string skipping, sweep picking, legato technique and how to expand the color and texture of basic "power chords." Also included are detailed transcriptions and demonstrations of dozens of exercises, examples and special etudes ranging from easy-to-master to very challenging. All music examples are contained on the included recording and written in both standard notation and tablature. Book jacket.
