Make your music come alive with this indispensable guitar guide There's no denying that guitar players have cachet. The guitar is an ever-present part of our collective musical heritage, and the sound can be sensual, aggressive, or a million things in between. Whether you're hoping to conquer Free Bird, Bouree, or Bolero Mallorquin, you need to learn to walk before you can run. Even once you can run, you need something to help you clear hurdles along the way. That's where Guitar All-In-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition, comes in. It's your complete compendium of guitar instruction, written in clear, concise For Dummies style. It covers everything from positioning and basic chords to guitar theory and playing styles, and even includes maintenance advice to keep your instrument sounding great. It's an amazing resource for newbies and veterans alike, and offers you the opportunity to stretch beyond your usual genre. Forge the sound of rock, blues, classical, and more Understand the music theory behind guitar mastery Express yourself through your own compositions Perform practice exercises for muscle memory and dexterity Guitar All-In-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition, includes access to audio tracks and instructional videos to guide you through the lessons and inspire you to play often, which is the number-one key to success. You get advice and instruction from some of the most respected guitar teachers in the business, plus online resources, for less than the cost of a single lesson. Guitar All-In-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is the key to bringing your music to life.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1 Book I: Guitar 101 5 Chapter 1: Guitar Anatomy and Tuning 7 Chapter 2: Get ting Ready to Play 21 Chapter 3: Buying and Stringing a Guitar 33 Chapter 4: Deciphering Music Notation and Tablature 59 Book II: Sounds and Techniques 75 Chapter 1: Basic Major and Minor Chords 77 Chapter 2: Adding Spice: Basic 7th Chords 95 Chapter 3: Power Chords and Barre Chords 109 Chapter 4: Right-Hand Rhy thm Guitar Techniques 123 Chapter 5: Playing Melodies in Position and in Double-Stops 147 Book III: Getting to Know Guitar Theory 163 Chapter 1: Navigating the Fretboard and Building Triads 165 Chapter 2: Getting to Know the CAGED System 189 Chapter 3: Playing Snazzier Chords with Chord Tones and Extensions 211 Chapter 4: Playing Chord Progressions by Numbers 229 Chapter 5: Identifying Tonics, Keys, and Modes 241 Chapter 6: Dominant Function and Voice Leading 271 Book IV: Rock Guitar 283 Chapter 1: I Know, It's Only Rock Guitar, but I Like It 285 Chapter 2: Playing Lead 301 Chapter 3: Groovin' on Rif fs 323 Chapter 4: Going Up the Neck and Playing the Fancy Stuff 333 Chapter 5: The Care and Feeding of Your Electric Guitar 355 Book V: Blues Guitar 377 Chapter 1: Introducing the Blues and Playing Blues Rhythm 379 Chapter 2: Blues Progressions, Song Forms, and Moves 405 Chapter 3: Musical Rif fs: Bedrock of the Blues427 Book VI: Classical Guitar 443 Chapter 1: Introducing the Classical Guitar 445 Chapter 2: Playing Easy Pieces in Open Position 467 Chapter 3: Combining Arpeggios and Melody 481 Book VII: Exercises: Practice, Practice, Practice 501 Chapter 1: Putting the Major Scales to Use in Your Playing 503 Chapter 2: Adding Major Scale Sequences to Your Repertoire 517 Chapter 3: Tackling the Three Minor Scales 531 Chapter 4: Building Finger Independence with Chord Exercises 561 Appendix A: 96 Common Chords 587 Appendix B: Accessing the Video Clips and Audio Tracks 591 Index 599