Wiley.com

Guitar For Dummies, with DVD, 3rd Edition

ISBN: 978-1-118-11554-1
408 pages
September 2012

September 24, 2012
Hoboken, NJ

Guitar For Dummies Updated with New Musical Styles, Songs, Photos, and Buying Advice

Adapted Excerpt from Guitar For Dummies®, 3rd Edition:

The question isn't "Do you wanna play guitar?". It's "Why wouldn't you want to play guitar?". Most beginners need some expertly advice, but when you buy a book, you buy one that asks you to practice the guitar in the same way that you would practice the piano. First, you learn where the notes fall on the staff; then you learn about the length of time that you're supposed to hold the notes; then you move on to practicing scales; and the big payoff is to practice song after unrecognizable song that you probably don't care about playing anyway. If you're looking for that kind of ho-hum guitar book, you won't find it here!

The truth is that many great guitarists don't know how to read music, and many who can read music learned to do so after they learned to play the guiar. Repeat after us: You don't need to read music to play the guitar. Chant this mantra until you believe it.

Quick tips:

- Look at the photos. Just form your hands the way we show you in the photos

- Read guitar tablature. Tab goes a long way toward enabling you to play music without reading music.

- View videos on Dummies.com and listen to audio tracks from the DVD in the back of the book. More than 50 short videos enable you to see how key selected techniques are executed. Listen to all the songs and exercises in the book performed on nearly 100 audio tracks.

- Look at the music staff as you improve. The music for all the exercises and songs appears above the tab. So you get the best of both worlds: You can associate the music notation with the sound you're making after you already know how to make the sound.

Many would-be guitarists never really get into playing because they have the wrong guitar. Or maybe the strings are too difficult to push down. Guitar For Dummies doesn't assume that you already have the right guitar--or even any guitar at all. You'll find everything you need to know (from a buyer's guide to buying strategies, to guitars and accessories for particular styles) to match yourself with the guitar and equipment that fit your needs and budget.

A serious guitar is a serious investment, and, as with any other serious investment, you need to maintain it. The book provides the information you need to correctly store, maintain, and care for your six-string, including how to change strings and what little extras to keep stashed away in your guitar case.  

In short, Guitar For Dummies, 3rd Edition, delivers everything the beginning to intermediate guitarist needs--from buying a guitar to tuning the guitar, to playing the guitar, to caring for the guitar.

You'll also love the 'Part of Tens' in the back of the book, which lists ten guitarists you should know (Django Reinhardt, Chet Atkins, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Page, Hendrix, and more); the ten greatest guitar songs of all time ("Crossroads" by Cream, "Eruption" by Van Halen, "Texas Flood" by Stevie Ray Vaughan, among others).

Also, check out the Cheat Sheet on Dummies.com for common guitar chords and essential tools and accessories.