How to Play Guitar: Everything You Need to Know to Play the Guitar

This book helped me out within five minutes of opening it. I have no time in my life for taking guitar lessons so I had been using the internet as a resource for learning to play as well as another book that I have. I had some basic skills, two scales, and a few chords in my arsenal but had been struggling mightily forming the C major chord. I was getting frustrated and thinking maybe my hands were too small and my fingers too fat to play this basic chord (and more complicated ones as well). One look at the drawing (from the player's perspective- rather than the front of the fretboard- of the left hand fingering of C major and I realized that I was going about it all wrong. My wrist angle was too perpendicular. I copied the drawing, and presto- C major. So I was quickly encouraged again. There is nothing flashy about this book, but I have been having FUN going through it- which is pretty important when practicing and the whole point of playing the guitar I think. Rather than just show you where the notes are on the fretboard (which it does in the back as a reference) you learn them by playing simple songs like Beethoven's Ode To Joy. Very cool and I'm already impressing my wife even though it is pretty easy. I also like that it teaches you to read sheet music which I can't wait to learn (once I master the skills deemed necessary to get to that point). So buy this cheap book and have fun!

I've been attempting to play the guitar on and off for the past five years. During which, I've received casual instruction from friends, and have taken expensive private lessons from guitar teachers. This book is better than them all! Yes, this book is basic. It teaches guitar as if you've never come across one before: from the parts of a guitar, to how to position your hands, to how to purchase your first guitar, and how to keep your nails before playing. It also teaches how to read sheet music and tabs, and offers advice on how to practice (a little each day, never in front of others). This might be a negative for those who already know these things (in which case, 20% of the book isn't useful to you), but I thought I knew these things only to discover my form was off (e.g. position the strumming hand slightly behind the sound hole) and that I should learn to play with my fingers before using a guitar pick. This book is incredibly comprehensive, with one lesson building on the next. You'll learn basic and barre chords, brush stroking, 3 types of finger picking, and a little bit about hammer ons, pull offs, note bends, and harmonics. What's more, you'll learn how to take care of your guitar (ex. what it means if there are buzzing noises; how to travel with your guitar). My only tiny complaint is that there are a few exercises with songs I've never heard of, so there was no way to know whether or not I was playing them correctly (ex. Tum Balalaika - Yiddish Folk Song, or Early One Morning- English Folk Song; Yankee Doodle I knew). If you're a beginner like me with minimal exposure to guitar playing and music theory, this book is for you. Certainly use this before taking lessons (which, from personal experience, is a waste of money until you can't go any further on your own). Thanks to this book, I am currently at the height of my guitar playing prowess. I will be going back to it for a long time.

Good, good book. So good I accidentally bought two copies. I think because I had one already sitting in my basket from a previous viewing. It ended up being a good thing because one of the copies got ruined. The only thing that would make it better would be a different binding, preferably spiral. It's tough to keep the book open on specific pages without using heavy objects to hold it open. Otherwise, no complaints. I was playing shredding like EVH in a matter of minutes. Okay, that's a lie, but it really is a good intro book.

I have been practicing the guitar for three days now and this book has been an absolute help. I had never picked up the guitar prior to this, but I already know how to play the first couple of lines to "Ode to Joy", "Skip to my Lou" and "Tell Aunt Rhody" (I know, lame songs, but starting with these basic tunes will probably lead to greater things later. Plus it teaches you to stay on beat and switch between chords more fluidly). I now know correct posture, thumb position, how to tune and clean my guitar and I'm already beginning to play chords; G7 and C to be precise. I would absolutely recommend this book to a beginner, such as myself, and I can say that it is positively worth every penny. An addition a fair time later (added 4-26-2015): I was looking at my Amazon reviews and decided to do some followup on this book. I've been practicing guitar for awhile now, and I'm now fairly competent! I stalled with this book when it started on the theory, but that's a character flaw more than anything. After using online resources primarily for some time I still reference this book on occasion to see what it has to say. It's still a really trusty reference for me, and I'm happy with the techniques that it introduced fairly early on. Starting with a 7 chord in the initial set that it teaches is very unconventional, but I can't disagree. 7 chords are versatile and play well in large progressions, especially when used accentually. You'll look cool to the other newbs if you know a 7 chord, though I suggest you look up the more traditional "beginner chords" as well, all of which this book eventually covers. The classical positioning that is suggests is great for lead guitar (though hardly used by modern rockers) because it allows for easier finger movement up and down the board. I now use more of a hybrid style, but if I were a dedicated lead, I'd definitely stay with the suggested classical positioning (minus the knee-up on the stool, I'm talking hands here). Overall, still a five star book and a great reference. It should be found in any guitarist's library!

I found this easy to read and understand but I don't like the way the book is set up. You learn a few notes and then move onto chords. I would have preferred to learn all the notes and then move onto chords because that seems much simpler to me. But you can skip through the book to find the other notes. I also thought there should be more songs to practice with when learning the notes, there were only rwo or three tiny little bits after learning the notes. All in all it was just adequate for me.

I received my first acoustic guitar for Christmas and had never played one before. I searched and read reviews for all of the "how to play the guitar" books on Amazon and finally went with this one. It arrived and I immediately started to read. WOW! This book is great because I started with no experience and after 1 month (2/3/11 today) I can: hold my guitar correctly, tune my guitar, read notes/music and play a few tunes. I've had it for a month and I'm halfway through the book. I think it's great for first time guitar players like me and I give it a 5. The author is very descriptive and also has visuals for people who don't fully get it after reading. It's up to you to practice regularly and before you know it you will be playing the guitar. 2 thumbs up!

I suppose teaching through a book or writing how to play guitar must be difficult as many books I have tried in the past are like algebra, several pages in they get real hard to understand. Well into this one and I have to say it is the clearest and best I have ever used and I finally am seeing it... how to read music, proper technique, and I feel I am learning properly and well. I do wish they had something other than old folk tunes to play in the book but why quibble - these are out of copyright and can be freely used - and if he had modern songs I am sure there would be no pleasing everyone. Excellent book, highly recommend it!

I found this book to be useful as I'm a beginner to playing guitar. Near the back of the book there are pages with all the chords, so I can print songs off the internet, and have the chords available in the book so I can teach myself to play. The only negative comment that I would make is that although there are many sample songs in the book to learn, I didn't know many of the songs so I wasn't sure how they were supposed to sound - a little frustrating, but a good book nonetheless.

I love the book, very helpful! The transaction was smooth very fast shipping, I was expecting it to be a lot longer. I recommend this seller to everyone and the book to anyone who wish to learn to play guitar from scratch!

I was very impressed with the simplicity of this book. Anything that I was having trouble with as a beginner is excellently explained with diagrams and common pitfalls. The only qualm I have is that some of the songs are slightly antiquated and obscure so it might not appeal greatly to younger students. All in all, this book definitely deserves the reputation it has as one of the best instructional guitar books out there!

Lo recomiendo encarecidamente para aquellos que quieran empezar a tocar la guitarra siguiendo un método sencillo y fácil de comprender. Eso sí, está en inglés!

nice

Everything a guitarist needs to know great book