Apart from anything else, the narrative is often very funny.
Sorry about the fuzzy pic - reflects the way I'm feeling this morning......
Beginning guitar instruction book
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
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dragon1952
- New member
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- Joined: Fri Mar 10, 2006 5:29 am
Rob, Here's a couple of links that should help your brother immediately. Never be ashamed to ask for help to learn.
http://www.classbrain.com/artteensb/publish/article_266.shtml#
http://www.christianguitar.org/chord/132
http://www.classbrain.com/artteensb/publish/article_266.shtml#
http://www.christianguitar.org/chord/132
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dragon1952
- New member
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- Joined: Fri Mar 10, 2006 5:29 am
Rob, I find it quite amusing (and amazing) that two of the 'Mel Bay' songs you've mentioned are on the brand new Roger McGuinn "Folk Den Project" CD set. There might be a lot to be learned from "Shenandoah" to "Home On The Range". I've been playing guitar for nearly 40 years and popular music is popular music - always has been. I knew how to read music when I was 9 years old - and I've never used it for playing the guitar - except for the Tablature such as B B Kings "cords"
The Beatles' early tracks included "Till There Was You" and also a number of really off the wall tunes. I spent many happy hours learning all of the parts to that tune. I don't think it hurt my guitar playing development.
Basically, what I'm saying is that it doesn't make much difference if you're playing Dave Matthews and Keb' Mo', or the old Folk stuff - it's all in the way that you interpret it and find your own groove there. Most of all, have fun. Good Luck!
The Beatles' early tracks included "Till There Was You" and also a number of really off the wall tunes. I spent many happy hours learning all of the parts to that tune. I don't think it hurt my guitar playing development.
Basically, what I'm saying is that it doesn't make much difference if you're playing Dave Matthews and Keb' Mo', or the old Folk stuff - it's all in the way that you interpret it and find your own groove there. Most of all, have fun. Good Luck!
"Tom Dooley"?????......That little number had me so petrified at 10 years of age , i never went back for lessons ever again!
On a lighter note!.. I found out really early that no matter how hard i tried, i couldn't read music to save myself! Then i found TAB!!No dots or dashes etc., just numbers, which makes so much more sense to me!Aitch has a few of my Beatles books at present.Over to you Howard,are they working for ya?
On a lighter note!.. I found out really early that no matter how hard i tried, i couldn't read music to save myself! Then i found TAB!!No dots or dashes etc., just numbers, which makes so much more sense to me!Aitch has a few of my Beatles books at present.Over to you Howard,are they working for ya?
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firstbassman
- Advanced Member
- Posts: 1573
- Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 6:00 am
Here is a preview of my Top Ten, about the most recent topic. I know how to read sheet music but not well enough to sight-play. Heck, if one can see lines and spell up to 'G' then one can read music.
1. I find that being able to read the melody notes on sheetmusic helps me to know the harmony relationship between the vocals and the chords.
2. It's easier for me to follow the rhythm with standard notation than TAB.
3. Sometimes I use the sheet music to pull off the bass licks.
For instruction books, I prefer when they have the standard notation and the TAB. The two together helps a lot.
1. I find that being able to read the melody notes on sheetmusic helps me to know the harmony relationship between the vocals and the chords.
2. It's easier for me to follow the rhythm with standard notation than TAB.
3. Sometimes I use the sheet music to pull off the bass licks.
For instruction books, I prefer when they have the standard notation and the TAB. The two together helps a lot.
Mark, can you tell about the tips to learn the note grammar, at least to be able not to count up or down from A every time? Are there any tricks that'd help remember them? I mean, of course, i can count once, add lettering to the notes, and then just use the lettering, but...
I am serious!
I am serious!
Nothing will get you dead quicker than being deadly serious about yourself.
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firstbassman
- Advanced Member
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- Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 6:00 am
THE TOP TEN BOOKS - 1 Through 5
Disclaimer: I certainly have not read or even glanced at EVERY guitar instruction book. Amazon lists over 2,000 of them. The MelBay catalog is almost 300 pages! This list is just my favorites from the ones I have tried.
None of the books (except maybe one) are intended for real beginners. The books are for level 2 and 3 players.
Sorry, there are no jazz books listed. I’m not smart enough to play jazz guitar.
Criteria. Elements that I have found to be most helpful include:
Saddle-stitch (usually staples now) binding so the book can be held wide open and lay flat.
Includes CD to hear examples.
Lessons progress incrementally and don’t make a large leap from Lesson 1 to Lesson 2.
Complete song exercises and practice, not just four or eight bars.
Affordably priced. There are great books out there for $10 to $18. Don’t have to spend $35 to $40.
Liberal return policy.
One other note: I have excluded books geared to specific artists. So there are no “How to Play Like B.B. King” or “How to Play Like Eric Clapton” books in this list.
So, here we go. The Top Ten. In no special order:
1. EAR TRAINING
Some might not think that Ear Training belongs among Guitar Books but ear training is very important. This is the best book I’ve found so far. It has a nice logical progression. And it’s not just a series of notes played on a CD to identify.
“Ear Training For the Contemporary Musician.” [ISBN 0-7935-8193-1]
2. THEORY and HARMONY
Have not found a great theory book yet. I tried the “Idiot’s Guide to Music Theory” but it was geared for classical music and was not even good at that.
A pretty good one is “Music Theory Made Easy” by David Harp [ISBN 0-918321-99-9]
Same with Harmony. Have not found a very good one yet. If interested, the classic text still seems to be “Elementary Harmony” by Robert Ottman. [ISBN 13-257451-9] Very dry and geared for classical music and it’s the same one my wife used in college 20 years ago.
3. ACOUSTIC / FOLK GUITAR
“Modern Folk Guitar” by Terry Kuhn and Harvey Reid. [ISBN 0-07-554461-X] 337 pages of gold (Jerry). Only drawback is that it does not include any CDs. Originally written as a college course text book and may be hard to find. Believe me, it’s a lot more than just “Tom Dooley.”
4. FINGERSTYLE
“Contemporary Travis Picking” by Mark Hanson [ISBN 0-936799-00-5] This is the area that I have researched the most. And most books are guilty of jumping too quickly to very complicated stuff. This is the best one I’ve seen so far.
Note: Everyone on Amazon seems to love the “Basic Fingerstyle” book with the plain grey cover. I thought it became way too advanced after the third or fourth page.
5. ALTERNATE TUNINGS
Have not found a “perfect” book yet. The following are the two best I’ve seen so far. “The Complete Book of Alternate Tunings” again by Mark Hanson. [ISBN 0-936799-13-7] It is more of a resource than instructional book. Includes several tunings, chord shapes, playing examples and songs played in those tunings.
Another resource book is “Alternate Tunings Picture Chords” by ... guess who? Yup, Mark Hanson. [ISBN 0-936799-14-5] Over 1,200 chord shapes.
Disclaimer: I certainly have not read or even glanced at EVERY guitar instruction book. Amazon lists over 2,000 of them. The MelBay catalog is almost 300 pages! This list is just my favorites from the ones I have tried.
None of the books (except maybe one) are intended for real beginners. The books are for level 2 and 3 players.
Sorry, there are no jazz books listed. I’m not smart enough to play jazz guitar.
Criteria. Elements that I have found to be most helpful include:
Saddle-stitch (usually staples now) binding so the book can be held wide open and lay flat.
Includes CD to hear examples.
Lessons progress incrementally and don’t make a large leap from Lesson 1 to Lesson 2.
Complete song exercises and practice, not just four or eight bars.
Affordably priced. There are great books out there for $10 to $18. Don’t have to spend $35 to $40.
Liberal return policy.
One other note: I have excluded books geared to specific artists. So there are no “How to Play Like B.B. King” or “How to Play Like Eric Clapton” books in this list.
So, here we go. The Top Ten. In no special order:
1. EAR TRAINING
Some might not think that Ear Training belongs among Guitar Books but ear training is very important. This is the best book I’ve found so far. It has a nice logical progression. And it’s not just a series of notes played on a CD to identify.
“Ear Training For the Contemporary Musician.” [ISBN 0-7935-8193-1]
2. THEORY and HARMONY
Have not found a great theory book yet. I tried the “Idiot’s Guide to Music Theory” but it was geared for classical music and was not even good at that.
A pretty good one is “Music Theory Made Easy” by David Harp [ISBN 0-918321-99-9]
Same with Harmony. Have not found a very good one yet. If interested, the classic text still seems to be “Elementary Harmony” by Robert Ottman. [ISBN 13-257451-9] Very dry and geared for classical music and it’s the same one my wife used in college 20 years ago.
3. ACOUSTIC / FOLK GUITAR
“Modern Folk Guitar” by Terry Kuhn and Harvey Reid. [ISBN 0-07-554461-X] 337 pages of gold (Jerry). Only drawback is that it does not include any CDs. Originally written as a college course text book and may be hard to find. Believe me, it’s a lot more than just “Tom Dooley.”
4. FINGERSTYLE
“Contemporary Travis Picking” by Mark Hanson [ISBN 0-936799-00-5] This is the area that I have researched the most. And most books are guilty of jumping too quickly to very complicated stuff. This is the best one I’ve seen so far.
Note: Everyone on Amazon seems to love the “Basic Fingerstyle” book with the plain grey cover. I thought it became way too advanced after the third or fourth page.
5. ALTERNATE TUNINGS
Have not found a “perfect” book yet. The following are the two best I’ve seen so far. “The Complete Book of Alternate Tunings” again by Mark Hanson. [ISBN 0-936799-13-7] It is more of a resource than instructional book. Includes several tunings, chord shapes, playing examples and songs played in those tunings.
Another resource book is “Alternate Tunings Picture Chords” by ... guess who? Yup, Mark Hanson. [ISBN 0-936799-14-5] Over 1,200 chord shapes.
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firstbassman
- Advanced Member
- Posts: 1573
- Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 6:00 am
THE TOP TEN BOOKS - 6 Through 10
6. BARRE CHORDS
“Barre Chord Basics” by Aaron Stang [ISBN 54979-00249] At only 20 pages (plus CD) and only $9.95 is gets straight to the point.
7. PENTATONIC SCALES
“Pentatonic Scales for Guitar – The Essential Guide” by Chad Johnson. Not a lot of theory. Just small, quick and to the point. See below.
8. BLUES GUITAR “FORMS” (and TECHNIQUES)
If you really want a book that shows all of the Blues “Box” Forms for lead playing, you could do a lot worse than getting Peter Gelling’s “Progressive Blues Lead Guitar Method” [ISBN 1-875726-45-4] and “Progressive Blues Lead Guitar Technique [ISBN 1-875726-46-2] They overlap a lot and really good have just been one book. But if you want to study all the “box shapes” up and down the neck, these are the ones.
Gelling’s Blues Rhythm Guitar book [ISBN 1-8755690-59-X] is also very good.
Speaking of Blues books, a lot of people on Amazon seem to like “Blues You Can Use” by John Ganapes [ISBN 0-7935-4205-7] I was not too happy with it. Seems kind of disorganized to me.
9. TWELVE-STRING
This is a Rickenbacker forum after all. There really are not any instructional 12-string books that I have found. DVDs yes. Books no. A nice little book is Mark Hanson’s (him again) “The Twelve-String Guitar Guide.” [ISBN 0-8256-1244-6]
10. BEST SERIES OF BOOKS
I really like Bruce Emery’s “Skeptical Guitarist” series. He covers a lot of ground in a neat, orderly fashion. The content is neat and orderly, but the page layouts are horrible. Way too crowded and disorganized. Clean it up! Here is his web site: http://www.skepticalguitarist.com/
Bonus Pick: The "CAGED" System. I am not going to argue the merits of this theory. But if you're interested in it, the bible is "Fretboard Logic" by Bill Edwards. He also has out a 2nd book and also a book and DVD combination.
Whew, that’s it. What do you think? Maybe I should do one for bass some day.
6. BARRE CHORDS
“Barre Chord Basics” by Aaron Stang [ISBN 54979-00249] At only 20 pages (plus CD) and only $9.95 is gets straight to the point.
7. PENTATONIC SCALES
“Pentatonic Scales for Guitar – The Essential Guide” by Chad Johnson. Not a lot of theory. Just small, quick and to the point. See below.
8. BLUES GUITAR “FORMS” (and TECHNIQUES)
If you really want a book that shows all of the Blues “Box” Forms for lead playing, you could do a lot worse than getting Peter Gelling’s “Progressive Blues Lead Guitar Method” [ISBN 1-875726-45-4] and “Progressive Blues Lead Guitar Technique [ISBN 1-875726-46-2] They overlap a lot and really good have just been one book. But if you want to study all the “box shapes” up and down the neck, these are the ones.
Gelling’s Blues Rhythm Guitar book [ISBN 1-8755690-59-X] is also very good.
Speaking of Blues books, a lot of people on Amazon seem to like “Blues You Can Use” by John Ganapes [ISBN 0-7935-4205-7] I was not too happy with it. Seems kind of disorganized to me.
9. TWELVE-STRING
This is a Rickenbacker forum after all. There really are not any instructional 12-string books that I have found. DVDs yes. Books no. A nice little book is Mark Hanson’s (him again) “The Twelve-String Guitar Guide.” [ISBN 0-8256-1244-6]
10. BEST SERIES OF BOOKS
I really like Bruce Emery’s “Skeptical Guitarist” series. He covers a lot of ground in a neat, orderly fashion. The content is neat and orderly, but the page layouts are horrible. Way too crowded and disorganized. Clean it up! Here is his web site: http://www.skepticalguitarist.com/
Bonus Pick: The "CAGED" System. I am not going to argue the merits of this theory. But if you're interested in it, the bible is "Fretboard Logic" by Bill Edwards. He also has out a 2nd book and also a book and DVD combination.
Whew, that’s it. What do you think? Maybe I should do one for bass some day.
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dragon1952
- New member
- Posts: 96
- Joined: Fri Mar 10, 2006 5:29 am