Hal Leonard Corporation - Guitar for Dummies: 2nd Edition

Guitar All-In-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2021 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020944896

ISBN 978-1-119-73141-2 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-73405-5 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-119-73142-9 (ePDF)

1. Book 1 Chapter 4
2. Book 2 Chapter 4
3. Book 3 Chapter 4
4. Book 3 Chapter 5
5. Book 4 Chapter 5
6. Book 6 Chapter 1
7. Book 6 Chapter 2
8. Appendix B

1. Book 1 Chapter 1
2. Book 1 Chapter 2
3. Book 1 Chapter 3
4. Book 1 Chapter 4
5. Book 2 Chapter 1
6. Book 2 Chapter 2
7. Book 2 Chapter 3
8. Book 2 Chapter 4
9. Book 2 Chapter 5
10. Book 3 Chapter 1
11. Book 3 Chapter 2
12. Book 3 Chapter 3
13. Book 3 Chapter 4
14. Book 3 Chapter 5
15. Book 3 Chapter 6
16. Book 4 Chapter 1
17. Book 4 Chapter 2
18. Book 4 Chapter 3
19. Book 4 Chapter 4
20. Book 4 Chapter 5
21. Book 5 Chapter 1
22. Book 5 Chapter 2
23. Book 5 Chapter 3
24. Book 6 Chapter 1
25. Book 6 Chapter 2
26. Book 6 Chapter 3
27. Book 7 Chapter 1
28. Book 7 Chapter 2
29. Book 7 Chapter 3
30. Book 7 Chapter 4

So, you want to play guitar, eh? No one can blame you. The guitar isnt just a beautiful, soulful, and versatile instrument. For about 80 years now, it has also set the standard for coolness in the music world. Not a bad combination.

Though the guitar as we know it is only about a century and a half old, its roots as a plucked stringed instrument go back deep into history. Many ancient folk instruments have followed the basic strings-stretched-over-fretboard-and-played-with-fingers design for thousands of years, and the guitar is in some ways the culmination of that legacy. It seems humans have always had something like the guitar in mind.

After the guitar was electrified in the 1930s that is, when it went from soft backup instrument to a forceful and expressive vehicle for soloing its popularity skyrocketed, and its intrinsic qualities and sound changed popular music forever. But its softer side didnt go away. When Bob Dylan famously plugged in at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival and was booed by outraged folk fans, it became clear that the electric guitar had entered its own universe.

Guitar All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition covers both the acoustic and the electric universes as well as the older classical guitar one, which has its own language, techniques, and musical pedigree.

First, heres what this book is not: Its not a textbook, nor a long-winded history, nor a rote learning tool. Lots of those kinds of books are on the market, if thats what youre looking for but beware, theyre often dry and assume underlying knowledge.

Guitar All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition is a generous conglomeration of material from several For Dummies guitar and music books. It aims to cover the guitar gamut, from what those thingies are called that wind the strings (tuning machines) to how Stevie Ray Vaughan got his incredible sound (by tuning lower, among other tricks) to how to employ the insights of guitar theory in your playing.

Much of the material is relevant to any style of guitar playing. But three popular guitar genres each get their own sections, called books: rock guitar, blues guitar, and classical guitar. Youll also find chapters on learning to read music, on building your chord repertoire, on practicing, scales, riffs, and how to play the fancy stuff lets just say theres a lot here. And dont forget, the book is accompanied by 30 video clips and more than 120 audio tracks that can help you on your way to sounding just like the pros.

In this book, important words are defined in italics. Key words in lists that bring important ideas to your attention are in bold. And Web addresses are in monofont to set them apart.

Here are a few other conventions to help you navigate this book: