Product Description

Have you always wanted to play guitar? Who wouldn′t? Think of Jimi Hendrix wailing away on his Stratocaster. . . Chuck Berry duck–walking across the stage to "Johnny B. Goode". . .B.B. King making his "Lucille" cry the blues. No doubt about it—guitars are cool.

Guitar For Dummies 2nd Edition tells you everything a beginning or intermediate guitarist needs to know: from buying a guitar to tuning it, playing it, and caring for it, this book has it all—and you don′t even need to know how to read music. Full of photo–illustrated exercises and songs you can play to practice the techniques discussed in each section, this step–by–step guide will take you through the basics and beyond before you can say "Eric Clapton." You′ll learn how to:

• Match yourself with the guitar and equipment that fits your needs and budget
• Select the right accessories: amps, picks, pedals, capos, cases, and other goodies
• Pick and strum to produce a clean, clear, buzz–free tone
• Know whether you′re really in tune
• Play melodies without reading music
• Perform basic guitar maintenance and repairs
• Build strength and dexterity while playing
• Play in different styles, including rock, blues, folk, jazz, and classical
• Make your guitar talk with bends and slides!

Fully revised and updated, with an all new interactive CD that allows readers to listen, learn, tune, and play along, Guitar For Dummies 2nd Edition is the perfect introductory guide for any novice acoustic or electric guitar player. 

Note: CD–ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #584 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 408 pages

Review
“…offers everything the beginner to intermediate guitarist needs in an irreverent and accessible format…” (Harborough Mail, 17^th November 2005)

Review
“Offers great guidance on everything from buying your first guitar to legends who can inspire you.”  Shortlist  Thursday 7 August 2008

From the Back Cover
Features an all–new, interactive audio CD with MP3 files

The latest tips and techniques for playing beautiful tunes — without reading music!

Gearing up to play the guitar? Whether you′re a new or seasoned guitarist, this updated guide makes it easy with step–by–step instruction on everything from simple chord progressions to smokin′ blues licks. You get expanded coverage of musical styles ranging from rock and jazz to folk and classical.

Discover how to

• Select the right guitar and accessories
• Develop correct hand position and posture
• Strum basic chords and simple melodies
• Tune, change strings, and make simple repairs
• Expand your range with advanced techniques

Customer Reviews

Fantastic for Beginners
What a wonderful book!
This book is very good for people like myself who have absolutely no experience playing guitar. After only a few days with the book I am already playing small tunes and feeling much more confident. It seems everything a beginner might wonder about has been covered, from purchasing a guitar, to the pains in your fingers as you start playing for the first time!

The key, as with all books is to take the time to read it thoroughly and be patient. Everything is explained well and the authors have included several bad jokes and puns along the way which are soo bad you have to laugh. It lightens the mood nicely, as learning to play can get very frustrating at times!!

Also included is an excellent CD so any sample music and practice pieces may be heard as they SHOULD sound. Also, the CD audio files have been split so that guitar only sound is heard on the left channel, whilst any backing music from other instruments is played through the right audio, allowing you to single out the guitar if necessary.

The book focusses on trying to get you to be able to play well as quick as possible - without having to learn musical notation. Learning musical notation can be quite boring, and there is a danger of loosing interest in learning to play. With this book, you don't have to do this (the author says that most guitar players learned to play before learning how to read music - only to learn afterwards as a matter of interest).
Instead a form of music notation called TAB is used, which is the most common guitar music available. It is very easy to understand and this is what the book mainly uses.

Have fun!

Another "...For Dummies" Triumph!
If you know nothing about guitars other than that you want to play one then this is the book for you.

Sure, it covers the usual ground of learning to play guitar that every guitar book out there does, but it does so in style that's so friendly it makes using other guitar books seem positively painful.

Plus, as well as those essentials it also tells you everything else you'll need to know, such as how to choose and buy a guitar, how to restring it, how to keep it in tune - all the basic stuff and some great tips that other books should tell you but suspciously never do.

It's designed so that you can easily "dip in" to sections, but because it's written in that wonderfully entertaining and humorous (and corny) ...For Dummies style you'll probably want to read the whole book anyway. Seriously!

I can't recommend it enough.

A concise and fun way to learn all the guitar stuff you need
As with all the "Dummies" books, this one is simple and clear, giving detailed how-to information in plain-speak, with a large dash of humour. I hadn't picked up a guitar in anger in over twenty years, and this book instantly enabled me to get to grips with the essentials quickly once again. The suggested songs for playing practice, whilst corny in the extreme at first (Kumbaya??) give technique skills valuable exercise, without being too complicated for the absolute beginner.

The added bonus of the audio CD was most welcome, all the songs in the book being played correctly is a major boost to the learning curve, and the tuning track is a welcome relief.

Overall, you want to learn guitar but can't afford all those lessons? Buy this book.