Introduction... 1 Book I: Guitar

Transcription

1 Contents at a Glance Introduction... 1 Book I: Guitar Chapter 1: Guitar Anatomy and Tuning...9 Chapter 2: Developing Basic Playing Skills...23 Chapter 3: Buying and Stringing Guitars...35 Chapter 4: Deciphering Music Notation and Tablature...59 Book II: Sounds and Techniques Chapter 1: Basic Major and Minor Chords...77 Chapter 2: Adding Spice: Basic 7th Chords...95 Chapter 3: The Left Hand: Chord Techniques Chapter 4: The Right Hand: Rhythm Techniques Chapter 5: Playing Melodies in Position and in Double-Stops Book III: Rock Guitar Chapter 1: It s Only Rock Guitar, but I Like It Chapter 2: All about Amplifiers Chapter 3: Playing Lead Chapter 4: Groovin on Riffs Chapter 5: Playing Up the Neck Chapter 6: Rock Guitar Legends, Styles, and Genres Book IV: Blues Guitar Chapter 1: Blues Meets Guitar: A Match Made in Heaven Chapter 2: Playing Blues Rhythm Chapter 3: Blues Progressions, Song Forms, and Moves Chapter 4: Blues Riffs: The Bedrock of the Blues Chapter 5: Blues Genres: Acoustic, Electric, and Blues-Rock COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL Book V: Classical Guitar Chapter 1: Introducing the Classical Guitar Chapter 2: Playing Easy Pieces in Open Position Chapter 3: Combining Arpeggios and Melody Chapter 4: Classical Guitar Genres: The Renaissance to the 20th Century...429

2 Book VI: Exercises: Practice, Practice, Practice Chapter 1: Putting the Major Scales to Use in Your Playing Chapter 2: Adding Major Scale Sequences to Your Repertoire Chapter 3: Tackling the Three Minor Scales Chapter 4: Building Finger Independence with Chord Exercises Book VII: Writing Songs and Music Chapter 1: Everything You Need to Write a Song Chapter 2: Whipping Your Song into Shape: Song Forms Chapter 3: Scales and Modes, Moods and Melodies Chapter 4: Composing with Chords Book VIII: Appendixes Appendix A: The Mother of All Guitar Chord Charts Appendix B: How to Use the CD Index

3 Table of Contents lntroduction... 1 About This Book...1 Conventions Used in This Book...2 What You re Not to Read...2 Foolish Assumptions...3 How This Book Is Organized...3 Book I: Guitar Book II: Sounds and Techniques...3 Book III: Rock Guitar...4 Book IV: Blues Guitar...4 Book V: Classical Guitar...4 Book VI: Exercises: Practice, Practice, Practice...5 Book VII: Writing Songs and Music...5 Book VIII: Appendixes...5 Icons Used in This Book...5 Where to Go from Here...6 Book I: Guitar Chapter 1: Guitar Anatomy and Tuning The Anatomy of a Guitar...9 How Guitars Work...12 String vibration and string length...13 Using both hands to make a sound...13 Frets and half steps...14 Pickups...14 Counting Your Strings and Frets...15 Everything s Relative: Tuning the Guitar to Itself...16 In Deference to a Reference: Tuning to a Fixed Source...18 Taking a turn at the piano...18 Tuning your guitar with a pitch pipe...18 Sinking your teeth into the tuning fork...20 Experiencing the electronic tuner...20 Using your CD...21 Chapter 2: Developing Basic Playing Skills Hand Position and Posture...23 Settling in to a sitting position...24 Standing position...25 Left-hand position: Fretting made easy...26 Right-hand position...28

4 xii Guitar All-in-One For Dummies Understanding Guitar Notation...30 Getting by with a little help from a chord diagram...30 Reading rhythm slashes...31 Taking a look at tablature...32 How to Play a Chord...33 Fingering a chord...33 Avoiding buzzes...34 Chapter 3: Buying and Stringing Guitars Before You Break Out Your Wallet...36 Beginner Guitars...37 Models for a Particular Style...38 Choosing a Good Guitar...40 Construction...41 Materials...42 Workmanship...44 Buying an Ax to Grind...44 Bringing along an expert...45 Meeting the salesperson...45 The art of the deal...46 Knowing When to Change the Strings...47 Off with the Old: Removing Stressed Strings...47 Stringing a Steel-String Acoustic Guitar...48 Changing strings step by step...48 Tuning up...51 Stringing Nylon-String Guitars...52 Changing strings step by step...52 Tuning up...54 Stringing an Electric Guitar...55 Changing strings step by step...55 The special case of the Floyd Rose bridge...57 Chapter 4: Deciphering Music Notation and Tablature Knowing the Ropes of Standard Music Notation...59 The composer s canvas: The staff, clef, measures, and bar lines...60 Pitch: The highs and lows of music...61 Duration: How long to hold a note and what determines rhythm...63 Expression, articulation, and other symbols...66 Relating the Notes on the Staff to the Fretboard...69 Guitar-Specific Notation...70 Fingering indications for the right and left hands...70 Stepping up to the barre...73 Taking on tablature, a nice complement to standard notation...73

5 Table of Contents xiii Book II: Sounds and Techniques Chapter 1: Basic Major and Minor Chords Playing Chords in the A Family...77 Fingering A-family chords...78 Strumming A-family chords...79 Playing Chords in the D Family...80 Fingering D-family chords...81 Strumming D-family chords...82 Playing Chords in the G Family...83 Fingering G-family chords...83 Strumming G-family chords...84 Playing Chords in the C Family...85 Fingering C-family chords...85 Strumming C-family chords...86 Playing Songs with Basic Major and Minor Chords...87 Strumming the Oldies Progression...93 Chapter 2: Adding Spice: Basic 7th Chords Dominant 7th Chords...95 D7, G7, and C E7 and A E7 (four-finger version) and B Minor 7th Chords: Dm7, Em7, and Am Major 7th Chords: Cmaj7, Fmaj7, Amaj7, and Dmaj Playing Songs with 7th Chords Chapter 3: The Left Hand: Chord Techniques Playing Open-Position Chords Putting Power Chords into Play Moving power chords Pulling the power together Getting Behind the Barre The Barre Chord Creed Playing E-based barre chords Moving the E-form barre chord around the neck Other E forms: Minor, dominant 7, minor 7, and 7sus Playing A-based barre chords Moving the A-form barre chord A forms: Minor, dominant 7th, minor 7, 7sus, and major Chapter 4: The Right Hand: Rhythm Techniques Strumming Along Downstrokes Upstrokes Combining downstrokes and upstrokes...124

6 xiv Guitar All-in-One For Dummies Mixing Single Notes and Strums The pick-strum The boom-chick The moving bass line Disrupting Your Sound: Syncopated Strumming Syncopated notation: Dots and ties Playing syncopated figures Giving Your Left Hand a Break Left-hand muting Implying syncopation Suppressing the Right Hand Left-Hand Movement within a Right-Hand Strum Giving Your Fingers Some Style Chapter 5: Playing Melodies in Position and in Double-Stops Playing in Position Playing in position versus playing with open strings Playing exercises in position Shifting positions Building strength and dexterity by playing in position Double-Stops Understanding double-stops Playing exercises in double-stops Playing Songs in Position and in Double-Stops Book III: Rock Guitar Chapter 1: It s Only Rock Guitar, but I Like It Differentiating Between Rock and Acoustic Guitar: It Ain t Just Volume Sound quality, or timbre Signal Distortion and sustain Oh yes, and volume Listening examples Guitar, Amp, and Effects: The Power Trio The electric guitar The amplifier Effects Accessorizing Your Guitar Picks Straps Cords Tuners Headphone and virtual amps...167

7 Table of Contents xv Chapter 2: All about Amplifiers Following the Signal Chain Preamp Tone controls Effects Power amp Taking a Guided Tour of the Amp Boxing it in: The cabinet Taking control: The control panel Making a graceful exit Sounding out: The speaker Plugging In and Turning On Safety first The six-step program Getting a Sound Setting the controls Channel switching Making Do If You Don t Have an Amp Plugging into a home stereo or boombox Headphone amps Demystifying the Gizmology Chapter 3: Playing Lead Taking the Lead Holding the pick Attacking the problem The ups and downs of lead playing Playing Single Notes Single-note technique Alternate picking in down- and upstrokes Scales Skips Combining steps and skips Starting at the Bottom: Low-Note Melodies Going to the Top: High-Note Melodies Playing in Position Open position Movable, or closed, position Getting in Tune with Lower Register Riffs Making It Easy: The Pentatonic Scale Playing the Pentatonic Scale: Three Ways to Solo Pentatonics over a major key Pentatonics over a minor key Pentatonics over a blues progression Improvising Leads...211

8 xvi Guitar All-in-One For Dummies Chapter 4: Groovin on Riffs Getting Your Groove On: Basic Riffs Half- and whole-note riffs Eighth- and quarter-note riffs th-note riffs Eighth-note syncopation Playing Two Notes Can Be Better than One: Double-Stops Combining Single-Note Riffs and Chords Discovering Your Own Style Chapter 5: Playing Up the Neck Beyond Open Position: Going Up the Neck Choking up on the neck Playing double-stops on the move Playing Closed-Position Lead Patterns Playing in Position Positions defined A firm position Using the Movable Pentatonic Scale Staying at home position Going above home position Dropping below home position Moving between positions Seeking Out the Five Positions of the Pentatonic Scale Changing Your Position Licks that transport From the depths to the heights Knowing Where to Play Associating keys with positions Placing positions Putting the five positions into play Chapter 6: Rock Guitar Legends, Styles, and Genres Bo Diddley Buddy Holly Chuck Berry John Lennon and George Harrison Pete Townshend Keith Richards Eric Clapton Jimi Hendrix Jimmy Page Carlos Santana Stevie Ray Vaughan...258

9 Table of Contents xvii U2 s The Edge Tony Iommi Ritchie Blackmore Eddie Van Halen Angus Young David Gilmour Alex Lifeson Book IV: Blues Guitar Chapter 1: Blues Meets Guitar: A Match Made in Heaven Beyond the Delta: Defining the Blues Guitar Sound The method to the music: Chord progressions The guitarist s language of melody The expression that invokes your senses The groove that sets the pace Dissecting Acoustic and Electric Blues Guitars The foundation for all guitar playing: Acoustic guitars Shifting acoustic to overdrive: Electric guitars What Your Guitar Needs to Get Your Blues Groove On Chapter 2: Playing Blues Rhythm Strumming Along Stroking down And stroking up Combining down and up Striking to a beat Mixing Single Notes and Strumming Separating bass and treble: The pick-strum Playing common pick-strum patterns Shuffling the Beats with Syncopated Strumming A bit of notation: Dots that extend and ties that bind Syncopation: Playing with dots and ties Stopping the Strings from Ringing (Just for a Sec) Muting the sound between two chords (left hand) Simulating syncopation with left-hand muting Muting the sound of a note (right hand) Copying the Classics: Plucking Fingerstyle Blues Feels and Grooves: Different Rhythm Styles to Play The shuffle groove The driving straight-four The slow 12/8, with groups of three The slow and funky 16 feel...299

10 xviii Guitar All-in-One For Dummies Chapter 3: Blues Progressions, Song Forms, and Moves Blues by the Numbers Recognizing the Big Dogs: Primary Key Families and Their Chords The Structure of a Blues Song, Baby Playing the 12-bar blues Slow blues bar blues Straight-four (or rock blues) Applying Structures to Keys A move with many chords: The Jimmy Reed move The sound of sadness: Minor blues Accessorizing the 12-Bar Blues: Intros, Turnarounds, and Endings Intros Turnarounds Endings High Moves Chapter 4: Blues Riffs: The Bedrock of the Blues Basic Single-Note Riffs For the low-down bass notes: Quarter-note riffs The big daddy of riffs: Eighth-note riffs Adding a little funk: 16th-note riffs Throwing rhythm for a loop: Syncopated eighth-note riffs Double the Strings, Double the Fun: Double-Stops (Two-Note Riffs) Straight feel Shuffle, or swing, eighths High-Note Riffs: The Bridge to Lead Blues Guitar Keith Richards s borrowed trademark: Quick-four riffs Intro, turnaround, and ending riffs Mastering the Rhythm Figure Chapter 5: Blues Genres: Acoustic, Electric, and Blues-Rock Delta Blues: Where It All Began Understanding the Delta technique The king of the Delta blues: Robert Johnson The Piedmont Blues: Country Ragtime Country and Folk Blues Quintessential Blues: Slide Guitar The tools that let you slide The sliding technique Tuning for slide guitar The Birth of Classic Electric Blues The rise of the electric guitar in blues The earliest electric pioneer: T-Bone Walker...351

11 Table of Contents xix Electric Blues Sweet Home: Chicago Muddy Waters, leader of the pack Elmore James, slide guitarist extraordinaire Otis Rush: A soulful player with a flair for vibrato Buddy Guy, the father of blues-rock The Blues Sounds of Texas Johnny Winter, a Texas blues-rock titan Billy Gibbons and ZZ Top Stevie Ray Vaughan, the greatest modern bluesman of them all Four Blues Giants: Three Kings and a Collins Albert King, the upside-down string bender B.B. King, the blues king of kings Freddie King, a two-pick man Albert Collins, master of the Telecaster Blues-Rock and Southern Blues The Allman Brothers (especially Duane) Lynyrd Skynyrd Blues in the 21st Century John Mayer and other new kids on the blues block Allman Brothers redux: Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, keepers of the flame Book V: Classical Guitar Chapter 1: Introducing the Classical Guitar A Brief History of Classical Guitar How a Classical Guitar Is Different from Its Peers Beyond Physique: Other Unique Attributes of Classical Guitar Form and technique Musical knowledge and skills Situating Yourself to Play Taking your seat Supporting the guitar: Leg position Embracing the guitar: Arm support Placing your hands correctly Approaching the Strings with Your Hands Fretting the strings: Left-hand form Preparing to pluck: Right-hand form Stroking the strings: Basic right-hand technique Chapter 2: Playing Easy Pieces in Open Position Coordinating Contrapuntal Music: Layered Melodies Playing two melodies in sync rhythmically Opposing forces: Separating the thumb and fingers rhythmically...398

12 xx Guitar All-in-One For Dummies Thickening the upper part by adding double-stops Melody and Accompaniment: Using All of Your Fingers Matching rhythm between accompaniment and melody Getting creative with the flow: Two parts, two rhythms Playing Easy Pieces in Different Textural Styles Chapter 3: Combining Arpeggios and Melody Grasping the Combination in Context Going Downtown: Melody in the Bass Playing a melody within arpeggios in the bass Practicing making a bass melody stand out Moving Uptown: Melody in the Treble Playing a treble melody within arpeggios Practicing making a treble melody stand out Mixing Up Your Melodic Moves: The Thumb and Fingers Take Turns Playing a shifting treble-and-bass melody within arpeggios Practicing making a shifting melody stand out Playing Pieces that Combine Arpeggios and Melodies Chapter 4: Classical Guitar Genres: The Renaissance to the 20th Century The Renaissance Traditional 16th-century melodies by anonymous composers John Dowland and other great lutenists Going for Baroque Back to Bach Getting a handle on Handel The Classical Era: Mozart s Muse Beethoven, the Classical Hopeless Romantic Another Romantic: Brahms Debussy: Music Becomes Modern Book VI: Exercises: Practice, Practice, Practice Chapter 1: Putting the Major Scales to Use in Your Playing Practicing Five Major Scale Patterns Major scale pattern # Major scale pattern # Major scale pattern # Major scale pattern # Major scale pattern # Applying Your Scale Work to Actual Pieces of Music The First Noël Bach s Minuet in G Major...461

13 Table of Contents xxi Chapter 2: Adding Major Scale Sequences to Your Repertoire Practicing Major Scale Sequences Major scale sequences using pattern # Major scale sequences using pattern # Major scale sequences using pattern # Major scale sequences using pattern # Major scale sequences using pattern # Putting Your Sequence Skills to Work with a Few Songs Oh, Them Golden Slippers We Wish You a Merry Christmas Chapter 3: Tackling the Three Minor Scales Familiarizing Yourself with Natural Minor Scales Natural minor scale pattern # Natural minor scale pattern # Natural minor scale pattern # Natural minor scale pattern # Natural minor scale pattern # Raising the Bar with Melodic Minor Scales Melodic minor scale pattern # Melodic minor scale pattern # Melodic minor scale pattern # Melodic minor scale pattern # Melodic minor scale pattern # Harmonizing with Harmonic Minor Scales Harmonic minor scale pattern # Harmonic minor scale pattern # Harmonic minor scale pattern # Harmonic minor scale pattern # Harmonic minor scale pattern # Playing Pieces Using the Three Minor Scales God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen Handel s Allegro The Three Ravens Chapter 4: Building Finger Independence with Chord Exercises Practicing Inversion Patterns Patterns using outside chords Patterns using inside chords Playing Chord Progressions Progressions using outside chords Progressions using inside chords Practicing Pieces that Use Chord Progressions Putting outside chords to use with Danny Boy Playing inside chords in Look for the Silver Lining...534

14 xxii Guitar All-in-One For Dummies Book VII: Writing Songs and Music Chapter 1: Everything You Need to Write a Song Understanding Why People Write Songs Finding the Songwriter in You Being aware of your personal connection to songs Taking a look at your instincts Starting at the Beginning Before You Write a Song Is formal music training a must? Being prepared when inspiration strikes Finding inspiration within yourself Creating the mood Six Steps to Writing Your First Song Chapter 2: Whipping Your Song into Shape: Song Forms Talking the Talk Dealing with Verses The verse form: AAA The two-verse form: AA The AABA Form The basics of the AABA form The extended AABA form: AABABA The Verse-Chorus Form: ABAB The basic version The verse-chorus form with a pre-chorus: ABC The verse-chorus form with a bridge: ABABC The verse-chorus form with a pre-chorus and a bridge: ABCABCD Practice Makes Perfect Chapter 3: Scales and Modes, Moods and Melodies Major and Minor Modes and the Circle of Fifths Moods à la Modes Ionian (the major scale) Dorian Phrygian Lydian Mixolydian Aeolian (the natural minor scale) Locrian The Pentatonic Scale The Harmonic Minor and Melodic Minor Scales Melody Writing Exercises...580

15 Table of Contents xxiii Chapter 4: Composing with Chords Chords and Their Moods Major Minor Major 7th Minor 7th Dominant 7th Major 6th Minor 6th Suspended 4th th Minor 9th Diminished Augmented Minor 7th, flat 5th (also known as half-diminished) Putting Chords Together Creating Rhythmic Movement Rules for Major and Minor Chord Progressions Coming Home with Cadences Authentic cadences Plagal cadences Deceptive or interrupted cadences Half-cadences Fitting Chords and Melodies Together Extracting harmony from melody Using chord changes Exercises for Composing with Chords Book VIII: Appendixes Appendix A: The Mother of All Guitar Chord Charts Appendix B: How to Use the CD Relating the Text to the CD System Requirements Audio CD player Computer CD-ROM drive Tracks on the CD Troubleshooting Index

16 xxiv Guitar All-in-One For Dummies