Ever wanted to play like a guitar great? Now’s your chance! From basic techniques to the most advanced chords and structures, The Guitar Book takes you through each step with clear diagrams, photographs and easy-to-follow notation. Arranged in three parts, the first covers 39 practice sessions, ranging from the more basic first notes and chords to advanced sessions on playing solos or five-fret stretches. The second part is an essential reference section covering all the chord shapes that you’re going to need to know. The final part includes mini biographies of major blues, folk, gypsy jazz, rock and pop guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Robert Johnson and Kurt Cobain, followed by features on how to play in their signature styles. Whether you’re a complete beginner or a more experienced musician, The Guitar Book is designed to teach you the essentials of acoustic and electric guitar technique, including notation, rhythm, chord structure, picking, chord shifts, strumming styles, barring, fretting, riffing, tuning, and time signatures. It includes troubleshooting tips to avoid common problems, such as muffled notes and an incorrect arm position. The Guitar Book contains more than 1000 step-by-step photographs and diagrams showing musical notation and chord charts. Follow each session’s practice pieces and soon you will be jamming along with the guitar greats.

Table of Contents:
6 General Introduction 8 First notes and chords 14 Notes, rhythms and chords 20 Alternate picking and power chords 26 Chord shifting and the upstrum 32 Arpeggios, bends and slides 38 A new strum and the hammer-on 44 The bass-strum style 50 Strumming power chords and riffs 56 An outstanding riff and mighty solo 62 Arpeggios and the new F chord 68 Three-string power chords 74 Three-string barring 80 A fresh approach to rhythm playing 85 The D major 7 chord 90 Harmonics and dynamics 95 Left thumb fretting 100 Finger picking and the barre chord 105 The reggae style 110 The A shape barre chord 115 New rhythm guitar techniques 120 The classic rock’n’roll style 125 Polishing your lead and rhythm skills 130 Open G tuning 135 Expanding your rhythm guitar skills 140 Strengthening the finger barre 145 The influential style of Buddy Holly 150 Riffing and strumming 155 Double string bends 160 Shaping a solo 165 De-tuning every string 170 A new time signature 175 Flatpicking 180 Total lead 185 Tidy plectrum work 190 Five-fret stretches 195 Alternative tuning 200 Fast soloing 205 Relentless riffing 210 Refining your rhythm skills 214 Play like the guitar greats 218 Rock and pop guitarists 224 Bo Diddley 228 Keith Richards – The Rolling Stones 238 Dave Davies – The Kinks 246 Jimi Hendrix 252 Jimmy Page – Led Zeppelin 262 The Allman Brothers 266 Pete Townshend – The Who 270 Jerry Garcia – Grateful Dead 276 Jeff Beck 282 Marc Bolan – T Rex 288 James Taylor 294 Carlos Santana 300 Ritchie Blackmore – Deep Purple 308 Tony Iommi – Black Sabbath 314 Mick Ronson 320 David Gilmour – Pink Floyd 328 Brian May – Queen 336 Nile Rodgers – Chic 340 Prince 348 Slash – Guns N’ Roses 352 Jack White – The White Stripes 356 Blues guitarists 362 Robert Johnson 368 T-Bone Walker 372 B.B. King 380 Albert King 384 Eric Clapton 392 Stevie Ray Vaughan 398 Jazz guitarists 404 Charlie Christian 408 Django Reinhardt 412 Pat Metheny 418 Country guitarists 424 Maybelle Carter – The Carter Family 428 Chet Atkins 432 Scotty Moore 438 Folk Guitarists 444 John Fahey 448 Nick Drake 452 Chord Charts 496 Music credits