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Guitar for Dummies (Paperback)

by Mark Phillips (Author), Jon Chappell (Author) "All guitars - whether painted purple with airbrushed skulls and lightning bolts or finished in a natural-wood pattern with a fine French lacquer - share..." (more)
4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
RRP: £15.99
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Guitar for Dummies + Jon Chappell - Learning Guitar For Dummies [DVD] + 6 Assorted Dunlop Tortex Plectrums
Price For All Three: £14.77

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Product details

  • Paperback: 408 pages
  • Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 2nd Edition edition (11 Oct 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0764599046
  • ISBN-13: 978-0764599040
  • Product Dimensions: 23 x 18.8 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 257 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #1 in  Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Learning to Play, Write & Record Music > Guitar
    #1 in  Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Scores, Songbooks & Lyrics
    #39 in  Books > Study Books

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  • See Complete Table of Contents

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Product Description

Review
“…offers everything the beginner to intermediate guitarist needs in an irreverent and accessible format…” (Harborough Mail, 17th November 2005)

Review
“Offers great guidance on everything from buying your first guitar to legends who can inspire you.”  Shortlist  Thursday 7 August 2008

See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
All guitars - whether painted purple with airbrushed skulls and lightning bolts or finished in a natural-wood pattern with a fine French lacquer - share certain physical characteristics that make them behave like guitars and not violins or tubas. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Guitar for Dummies
82% buy the item featured on this page:
Guitar for Dummies 4.7 out of 5 stars (35)
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8% buy
Jon Chappell - Learning Guitar For Dummies [DVD] 4.3 out of 5 stars (16)
£3.98
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4% buy
Korg GA-30 Digital Guitar Tuner 4.7 out of 5 stars (16)
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6 Assorted Dunlop Tortex Plectrums
3% buy
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Customer Reviews

35 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (35 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
106 of 106 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic for Beginners, 9 Jul 2006
What a wonderful book!
This book is very good for people like myself who have absolutely no experience playing guitar. After only a few days with the book I am already playing small tunes and feeling much more confident. It seems everything a beginner might wonder about has been covered, from purchasing a guitar, to the pains in your fingers as you start playing for the first time!

The key, as with all books is to take the time to read it thoroughly and be patient. Everything is explained well and the authors have included several bad jokes and puns along the way which are soo bad you have to laugh. It lightens the mood nicely, as learning to play can get very frustrating at times!!

Also included is an excellent CD so any sample music and practice pieces may be heard as they SHOULD sound. Also, the CD audio files have been split so that guitar only sound is heard on the left channel, whilst any backing music from other instruments is played through the right audio, allowing you to single out the guitar if necessary.

The book focusses on trying to get you to be able to play well as quick as possible - without having to learn musical notation. Learning musical notation can be quite boring, and there is a danger of loosing interest in learning to play. With this book, you don't have to do this (the author says that most guitar players learned to play before learning how to read music - only to learn afterwards as a matter of interest).
Instead a form of music notation called TAB is used, which is the most common guitar music available. It is very easy to understand and this is what the book mainly uses.

Have fun!
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146 of 147 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Another "...For Dummies" Triumph!, 28 Aug 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Guitar for Dummies (Paperback)
If you know nothing about guitars other than that you want to play one then this is the book for you.

Sure, it covers the usual ground of learning to play guitar that every guitar book out there does, but it does so in style that's so friendly it makes using other guitar books seem positively painful.

Plus, as well as those essentials it also tells you everything else you'll need to know, such as how to choose and buy a guitar, how to restring it, how to keep it in tune - all the basic stuff and some great tips that other books should tell you but suspciously never do.

It's designed so that you can easily "dip in" to sections, but because it's written in that wonderfully entertaining and humorous (and corny) ...For Dummies style you'll probably want to read the whole book anyway. Seriously!

I can't recommend it enough.

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90 of 91 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A concise and fun way to learn all the guitar stuff you need, 2 Feb 2004
By Jenny (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Guitar for Dummies (Paperback)
As with all the "Dummies" books, this one is simple and clear, giving detailed how-to information in plain-speak, with a large dash of humour. I hadn't picked up a guitar in anger in over twenty years, and this book instantly enabled me to get to grips with the essentials quickly once again. The suggested songs for playing practice, whilst corny in the extreme at first (Kumbaya??) give technique skills valuable exercise, without being too complicated for the absolute beginner.

The added bonus of the audio CD was most welcome, all the songs in the book being played correctly is a major boost to the learning curve, and the tuning track is a welcome relief.

Overall, you want to learn guitar but can't afford all those lessons? Buy this book.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars If only my fingers were as flexible as this book...
'Guitar for Dummies' was the second book that I used to take my first, tentative steps towards rock stardom. Read more
Published 1 day ago by GarethJ

4.0 out of 5 stars just starting
this product simply is great for anyone that has no idea how to use a guitar. it breaks everything down into easy english without it being boring and builds skills and knowledge... Read more
Published 12 days ago by S. Marshall

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty complete
As a beginner this book and CD contains all the information you need to know but it would be useful to have a few lessons just to kick start too.
Published 23 days ago by Lindessa

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for beginners like me
Well I was one of the many people in this world who always wanted to play the guitar ever since I was a kid. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Pete A

5.0 out of 5 stars guitar for over 50's dummies
I have been looking for a good teach yourself guitar book for years.Having tried to teach myself on to many occasions. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. C. Bennie

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely brilliant!
The book is absolutely brilliant, the instructions given are clear and easy to follow, and with a dash of humour when your fingers ache from playing! Read more
Published 3 months ago by J. Lawson

5.0 out of 5 stars 12 Months later and still a useful purchase
I really rate this book. I puchased this and the accompanying video when I first picked up the guitar and knew nothing at all. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. Philip Relph

4.0 out of 5 stars So far so good
I'm still in the process of working through this book. It is a great guide for those of us with very little or no playing experience. Read more
Published 4 months ago by C. Craig

5.0 out of 5 stars As a music teacher myself I think this book is excellent...
As someone who has had years of classical training on the piano as well as years of tuition on the drums (which I eventually taught lessons on myself for a year) I think this book... Read more
Published 5 months ago by A. K. Johnston

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for first time budding guitarists
I'd always wanted to play guitar but had never got round to it and was worried that I'd be no good. Having bought this book, I need not have worried. Read more
Published 7 months ago by P. M. Keogh

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