Free Guitar Ebooks

Selections from Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Guitar Classics Volume 2: Classic Rock to Modern Rock (Easy Guitar TAB) (Rolling Stones Classic Guitar)

2011-12-02T10:56:00.002+08:00

Well done overall. I and my guitar students have enjoyed the tunes in this book. Unlike a lot of books, these songs are in the original key so that you can play along with the original recordings without changing keys. I have found the charts to be most accurate.

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Guitar All-in-One For Dummies By Jon Chappell

2011-12-02T10:54:00.002+08:00

This book is the bible for all things guitar related--and not just because it's so thick and heavy! Guitar All-In-One is a comprehensive (650+ pages), well-organized collection of choice material culled from the five guitar-based titles in the Dummies series--Guitar, Blues Guitar, Rock Guitar, Classical Guitar, and Guitar Exercises--plus related Dummies books on songwriting, composition, and theory. If you don't already own any guitar-based Dummies books, this is an excellent choice, as it introduces you to all eight books through some cherry-picked passages. If you see something in a particular section that really strikes a chord (no pun intended!), you can then acquire the full version for deeper study. Includes a 99-track CD with performances of the examples that appear in the book. Highly recommended!

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Learn to Play Guitar again the REAL Way! Lessons for the Intermediate Player Stuck in a Rut

2011-12-02T10:53:00.002+08:00

I have been playing the guitar on an off for 19 years since I was 12, but I have cerebral palsy and sometimes my fingers and/or my brain don't make the connections I want them to and I think this book will help me a lot. I plan on writing another review after I've had the book for a few months, but I say, GET THIS BOOK!

Star Guitars: 101 Guitars That Rocked the World

2011-12-02T10:41:00.000+08:00

If you're into guitar history, this book is great. From the title of the book, I thought it would be kind of a fluffy overview, a review of "guitar gods and their axes". Not so. Dave Hunter put a lot of thought into who he presents, and with which guitars, going all the way from Robert Johnson to the Carter Family to Van Halen. It's a heckuva tour. He even mentions amps where appropriate.
I bought this book used (and cheap) from Amazon Marketplace. My expectation was I'd read through it and then give it away. Nope. I'm keeping this one. After a prolonged residence on the coffee table, it's taking up permanent residence in my study.

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Yamaha Guitar Method, Book 1

2011-12-02T10:40:00.000+08:00

I'm a guitar teacher who has been teaching beginning guitar since 1983 to a multitude of young start-ups learning the instrument. This has always been the main book I use for beginners. This book's target audience is 12 to 19 year olds. Students 8 to 11 have used the book with me but struggled, as the note reading and strumming is a little difficult for them. Students under 12 need a book more dedicated to 3 and 4 string EZ chords played on the high strings (like Alfred's Kid's Guitar Course) as opposed to full 6 string chords. This book progresses into lengthly 7 and 8 line melodies pretty early on and children under 12 can't maintain a high level of concentration for that long without soon becoming frustrated and impatient. (Maybe Hal Leonard will release a "Guitar Primer" as a preliminary to this book someday).

But it's perfect, like I said, for the 12 to 80+ year olds. This age group has the maturity, finger strength, and the self-discipline to diligently practice the material slowly without giving up too soon. Dedicated practice time is the secret to success using this book or any other method book. The lessons are progressive, meaning each chord sequence you learn uses chords from the previous lessons and the notes you play for melodies contain sharps and flatted notes from previous lessons.

The song selection is nice because there are all styles, time periods, and ethnicities represented. There's rock songs, folk songs, Christmas songs, traditional African American spirituals, fiddle tunes, classical pieces, and what I really enjoy as a teacher - 2 part duets! Book one covers the rudimentary chords and 1st position note playing. Book 2 gets you into finger picking, Carter Style, and alternating bass notes with open string cowboy chords. Book 3 gets into rock playing and improvisation using pentatonic scales. There are also "jam sessions" in book 3 that give you, the student, the chance to sit in with the band and apply what you've learned.

The book is authored by Will Schmid, past president of MENC, a national music organization that sets the national K-12 standards for music education. The book's overall strength comes from Schmid's insight into professional guitar education. This is a method book with a curriculum and a design.

This book is a revision. The revisionist being rock star celebrity Greg Koch. Greg Koch, although a little wacky (but in an entertaining way) can cover any genre of music to stylistic perfection. His performances have been professionally recorded with a full band of studio musicians. The tracks have a slow version to practice along with and a up-to-tempo version to hear what it should sound like up-to-speed. The CDs will be very helpful for those without the benefit of a guitar teacher. The audio tracks will help facilitate your learning because you can pop the CD into your boombox and listen to the lesson material as if Greg Koch himself were giving you a private lesson. (wouldn't that be zany and fun!)

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KindleChords! For Guitar - 125 Essential Chords

2011-12-02T10:39:00.000+08:00

While the fingerboard charts are very clear and the contents make them easy to find, there is one glaring, obvious shortcoming, especially for beginners . . . the identity of which fingers to use in the chords is left out. That's ok for experienced players, but then they would not need this book. I am just glad it was only $ 0.99 . . . that is about what it is worth.

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The Hal Leonard Acoustic Guitar Method: A Complete Guide with Step-by-Step Lessons and 45 Great Acoustic Songs

2011-12-02T10:38:00.000+08:00

The title of this book is a bit misleading. This is not a method book with step-by-step lessons. This is a song book. It does tell how to finger most chords used, but that's the extent of the "lessons." This is not for beginners. This won't teach you how to play.

I purchased this book with the Complete Guitar Method series. This is an awesome supplement to that book. The included songs are fantastic, and the tab makes this very easy to use for those of you who don't read music. I've got mixed feelings as the title lead me to think this was something it was not. However, I am happy I have this book because I now have some great songs ready at hand when I need them.

I searched through OLGA and a few other tab sites for these songs, and the quality of the book shines. When you get tabs from the net you get someone's interpretation of a song. When you get this book, you actually get the song as it was actually written. Keep that in mind. I know it's not true of all tabs, but sometimes you should really consider a real book rather than what could possibly be a sloppy rendition from a tab site. Free tabs are great, but you can actually rely on this book to give the true song.

Buy this for the songs, not for the "lessons." It is worth the money just so long as you realize this isn't for the beginner.

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Guitar for the Absolute Beginner, Book 1 (Book and DVD)

2011-12-02T10:37:00.000+08:00

This is a nice book with a video guide that shows you, up close how each lesson is performed -- a great plus for someone who knows NOTHING about playing guitar. However, if you know anything at all about playing, you will find these lessons too elementary. The lessons teach everything from tuning the guitar, what are the different parts of the guitar, and on to putting the lessons taught all together to play a simple song. My only problem with the DVD is that sometimes I had a hard time seeing exactly where her fingers were on the strings (just follow along with the lessons in the book - as you're supposed to - and you'll know what she's performing. Don't try to use the video alone.)

Being married to a musician, I have always wanted to learn to play guitar. After the first day, my husband was amazed by how much I'd learned and said I had picked it up much faster than he, which made me so proud! If you're willing to dedicate some time, strengthen your fingers and get ready for the sore fingertips (your first initiations into guitar-playing!), this makes a great "newbie" package!

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Guitar Fretboard Workbook Guitar Fretboard Workbook

2011-12-02T10:27:00.002+08:00

I have read countless testimonials about guitar books that guarantee results I never was able to achieve. This book actually delivered for me, and it has done so in a big way. My ambition, which previously eluded me entirely, has been to become fluent on the fretboard--to be able to improvise, follow changes, structure complex chords on the fly and the like. I tried so long in vain I decided I must just lack the necessary ability.
This book changed all that for me. I am doing things now I only dreamed of before. I don't know how the author figured it out, but he has come up with a way to communicate an understanding of music and the fretboard to both your head and, probably more important, your hands. Simple things like combining diagram exercises and playing, reinforced by having you speak the information out loud, really work to imprint the material on your fingers. The book walks you one step at a time, fairly painlessly, from simple to very complex. This thing is a gold mine. No kidding.

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Daron's Guitar Chronicles: Volume One

2011-12-02T10:26:00.000+08:00

The strength of Cecilia Tan's fiction has always been her characters. She can write delightfully wicked villains that you can't help but love to hate. She can pen a cad with the best of them. But in my opinion, she shines the brightest when she writes a character who is simply heartwrenchingly sweet, especially when that character seems to hope beyond hope that this wasn't true of them.

The protagonist of this story is one of those characters. Rock guitarists are supposed to be thick-skinned and effortlessly charming cads. Daron isn't this at all: Daron is...well, he's real. It's 1986 and Daron isn't even 20 yet and he's already well on his way to being a future rock god. Unfortunately instead of being a womanizing sweet-talker he's an averagely awkward 19-year old who just happens to be gay (even though he can't even bring himself to say the word.) He doesn't know anything yet about who he really is, or what he needs in a partner, or even if he wants a partner at all. All he knows is that in his business "faggy," "queer," and "gay" are the most viciously insulting words there are.

There is a fantastic scene early on the in the book in which Daron is walking around the East Village in NYC with Carynne, a girl his age who is desperately trying to sleep with him while he is desperately trying to come up with excuses not to without confessing that he's gay:

***I kept my own eyes ahead, trying not to stare at the graffiti splashed across the steps ("Queer By Choice") trying not to hear the conversation of the two men coming the other way, trying to shut it all out. My hands felt damp as they brushed against my jeans. Everything here was a signal, a secret handshake, a subliminal image, and I wondered how long it would take Carynne to see right through me. What would I do that would give myself away? Even I had no way of knowing.***

The author does a fantastic job throughout the book of generating empathy for her lead character without provoking pity. We as readers can feel his hurt and his confusion, and share his victories and regrets. Being gay is an integral part of who Daron is, but Ms Tan doesn't fall into the trap of allowing his sexuality to become his identity entire. He is a well-rounded sympathetic and delightful character in a charming, at times poignantly sad but always engaging book. Rock on, Daron, rock on!

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Guitar For Dummies By Mark Phillips, Jon Chappell

2011-12-02T10:25:00.000+08:00

I recently purchased both Guitar for Dummies and 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist by Bruce Arnold. I thought I made a very wise choice for both texts. First let me say that Guitar for Dummies is a great reference text. It has information on so many aspects of playing the guitar like; changing strings, guitar accessories, basic maintenance, etc. All this information was very useful because I'm a total beginner. I felt that as a method to learn to play guitar Guitar for Dummies wasn't that great. Don't get me wrong there is a lot of information in this book about how to play the guitar. The problem for me is that much of this information is nothing I would ever consider playing for anyone. For example "Oh Susanna" and "On Top of Old Smoky" might be great songs for a camp counselor to learn but I'm more into rock and folk music from the 60's to the present and Guitar for Dummies does not contain any music like this. This is were the 1st Steps for a Beginning Guitarist by Mr. Arnold really helped. The chord progressions were challenging, gradually became more difficult and sounded like something I felt good about playing in front of somebody. Mr. Arnold's book also went into much more detail about many aspect of learning to play guitar and music in general. In my opinion these two books make a great combination for a beginner guitarist.

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The Ultimate Guitar Chord Chart The Ultimate Guitar Chord Chart

2011-12-02T10:20:00.000+08:00

I came across this book by accident at a local book store. I've seen many different guitar chord charts (and posters) both online and in print - but I bought this one because...

1 - I'm a beginner for the most part (I play rhythm guitar/chords mostly out of easy guitar or fake books, and I can transpose some of the music on the fly so that I can sing with it)
2 - The fingerings in this book are all for the first 4-5 frets (I'm not good at barre chords yet)
3 - It is thin enough to fit underneath my guitar in my case
4 - It was only $3 (retail)

I've only used it a little bit and I'm very pleased with it.

Please be advised - this is a BOOK and not a poster chart. It has all the keys (A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab) and traditional chords: major, minor, 7th, sus, major 7th, diminished 7th, (and a couple others I'll add later).

If you are playing easy guitar - then this is a good reference. I like it better than the Incredible Chord Finder (also by Hal Leonard) because the printing is black on white (no grey), the book lies flat when open, and the other reasons I mentioned above (no barre chords ... no really advanced fancy chords).

This book won't appeal to everyone, but I'm very pleased with it.

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Music Theory for Guitarists: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask (Guitar Method)

2011-12-02T10:19:00.000+08:00

There are many things to really like about this book. Music theory throughout the book is presented systematically from triads to seventh chords to altered chords and so forth. There are quizzes at the end of chapters to test yourself to make sure you really understand what was just presented in the chapter. There are ear training exercises in most chapters to develope your aural skills along the way. Graphics are professional and visually appealing. The diagrams really make the book easy to follow. Every critical chord group, scale, and mode is explained. The author gives advice on how the guitarist can apply scales over jazz changes and explains key centers and substitutions. Great book for beginning and intermediate level jazz guitarists.

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Fretboard Theory By Desi Serna

2011-12-02T10:16:00.000+08:00

This is my first guitar learning book besides a Mel Bay book that one of my friends gave me a while ago. I am pleased with this book and I do find it helpful. I certainly have no regrets from buying it. I also like how the author gives a personal touch by sending and replying to e-mails. He also sends links to some extra materials that compliment the material in the book.
I just want to add that I do know music theory from my years playing sax, if that weighs on my review at all.

I'm sure that anyone who wants to get a solid hold on the basics of playing guitar without learning music theory will benefit greatly from this book. It covers the pentatonic patterns, CAGED chord patterns, arpeggio patterns, interval patterns, major scale patterns, and a few other things, and relates them to each other very well. The visuals are used very effectively to teach the relations. You don't need to sight read to learn from this book and you will not learn how to sight read from it. The emphasis is on patterns and shapes and relating them to songs as well as to each other. This is a very effective and simple way to learn the fretboard and it is done very well in this book. The author is very descriptive of how to apply what he is teaching to playing songs, and the song references are great if you are able to play by ear (because the music is not written in the book, and it would cost a fortune to buy all of the sheet music). The author also encourages the reader to contact him at the end of each chapter so I don't think you will have any problem getting answers to any questions you have.

The book sits very easily on my music stand thanks to the spiral binding, and the material is presented extremely well. I get the impression that the author put a lot of love into this creation.

This book is marketed very well here on Amazon because, as you can see, no reviewer has anything bad to say about it. However, I was a little mislead by the statement in the description "The ONLY BOOK IN THE WORLD that includes important details to hundreds of popular songs." The author does explain how to relate the material from the book to the songs listed (by title and artist) in the book, but I think the description goes a little overboard.

Overall - This is a keeper and a great resource for learning to use the fretboard in an effective and simple way. I wouldn't say it's going to make you a great player because only practice and constant learning can do that, but it's a good starting place and a good guide to the basics of the fretboard. I was looking for a guide to learning my way around the fretboard and this book put it together in a way I could see it, know it and use it.

For more in depth study I plan on getting a different book (maybe the Berklee Method) to learn the more complete and technical theory and practice of the guitar, but I also enjoy learning that type of stuff.

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Kid's Guitar Course, Book 1 (Book and Enhanced CD) (Kid's Courses!)

2011-12-02T10:15:00.000+08:00

I am a guitar teacher with a degree in jazz guitar. I teach 30 kids a week in age ranges from 1st grade through senior citizen. I am also an early childhood music teacher who teaches general music classes and percussion in pre-school through 5th grade.

I have tried several other books to various degrees of success using other materials and my knowledge of children of this age. This book is an effortless teach to children this age. I am convinced you don't even need to know how to play guitar to teach your own child with this book.

Teachers...if you have kids this age its a great find. Starts with chords and easy songs. Not too many pictures to cause distractions. Later it gets into reading on the first three strings with ease. I finished the book in something like 10 weeks with 4 students in 1st-3rd grades. All of them are playing beyond my expectations. I can't wait for another one from these people. Heard its coming out end of Jan. 05.

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Guitar Aerobics: A 52-Week, One-lick-per-day Workout Program for Developing, Improving and Maintaining Guitar Technique

2011-12-02T10:12:00.001+08:00

The author spotlights 7 important techniques (alternate picking, arpeggios, sweep picking, string skipping, legato, string bending, and rhythm guitar) one for each day of the week, and builds on each every week. So every Monday is alternate picking day, and builds on the lesson of the Monday before. It's a great idea. The author says that an intermediate player can skip to around week 17 and an advanced player can probably go to week 36. I'd say I'm lower intermediate, after some 10 years of playing both steel-string acoustic and electric. I've worked my way through the first 10 weeks of lessons in 4 or 5 days. I find some of the skills like string bending, arpeggios, legato, and rhythm to be very easy, but I've never done sweep picking and found it to be a challenge. And the string skipping is something I've never done much concentrated work on, so it's great. I'm sure that when I get up to week 17 the other skills will get more challenging for me.

JR has a good point that there's not as much guidance on technique as I'd like on a couple of things. I think he was overly critical though. There are short notes on each day's lesson about technique. One was to keep the fretting pinky in place on the G while you shift from a G to an E chord - it helped me to stop fumbling around for the E shape. Another that I have not mastered, is in sweep arpeggios, to mute each note after you play it by slightly releasing the pressure on the fretting finger. That's one that I would like more details on, because I find it hard to do, especially if I'm barring the 1st and second string with my index finger on say the 3rd fret while catching the 3rd string with my middle finger. Do I roll them off, or do I ease up on all strings between each pick?

Anyhow, I like the breakdown into small bite-size daily chunks that I can spend 10 or 15 minutes on a day, as part of my regular practice.

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Total Guitar - "The Ultimate Scale Book" eBook

2011-12-02T10:10:00.000+08:00

This is a great scale book for guitarist and one that I refer to often. I still haven't found the ONE perfect scale book (hence only four stars), but this one comes close. It is one of three scale books that I use, and because of its compact size, it is usually the one that I have handy when I need it. Troy does a great job of explaining the scales and giving some exercises for practice. What I like best about this book is that it shows the scales in all positions across 22 frets with the root notes highlighted. Also, many scale books only show fretboard diagrams of the scales in one key, usually C or E and then explain how to move them around. This book includes diagrams of several keys (including G and A, which are favorites of mine). The only other thing I wish about this book is that it was spiral bound so it would lay flat when open, but I would rather have this book than any of the other gig bag sized ones that are spiral bound. All in all a great little scale reference and cheap too!

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