Teach Yourself to Play Guitar

Synopsis

(Guitar Educational). If you've been wanting to learn how to play guitar, here's your chance to make those goals become a reality! Published by Hal Leonard, the most trusted name in music education, Teach Yourself to Play Guitar has been carefully created specifically for the student with no music-reading background. With lesson examples presented in today's popular tab format, which also incorporates simple beat notation for accurate rhythm execution, Teach Yourself to Play Guitar offers the beginning guitarist not only a comprehensive introduction to essential guitar-playing fundamentals, but a quick, effective, uncomplicated and practical alternative to the multitude of traditional self-instructional method books. You'll learn: tuning; basic hand and finger positions; open chords, power chords, and barre chords; strumming and picking; single-note melodies and riffs; patterns and fills; and more. This comprehensive book includes lesson examples and song excerpts in a variety of musical styles rock, folk, classical, country and more. Students will also learn to understand fretboard organization, chord patterns, and guitar anatomy by way of easy-to-interpret diagrams, photos and illustrations. Teach Yourself to Play Guitar provides complete, concise explanations while keeping text to a minimum and prepares the student to take their guitar journey in all the directions they're interested in!

Summary

Chapter 1: Getting Started

* Introduction to the guitar and its parts
* Holding the guitar and pick correctly
* Tuning the guitar using a tuner or an app
* Example: Tuning to standard E (EADGBE) using a guitar tuner

Chapter 2: Basic Chords and Strumming

* Introduction to open chords (C, Am, F, G)
* Fingering positions and strumming patterns
* Example: Practicing the C chord and strumming down and up the strings

Chapter 3: Scales and Finger exercises

* Introduction to scales (major and minor)
* Scale fingering patterns
* Finger exercises to improve dexterity and coordination
* Example: Practicing the C major scale up and down the neck

Chapter 4: Reading Guitar Tablature

* Understanding guitar tablature (TAB)
* Notation for notes, strings, and frets
* Reading and playing simple TAB songs
* Example: Playing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" from TAB

Chapter 5: Basic Rhythm and Timing

* Introduction to rhythm and tempo
* Counting beats and subdivisions
* Using a metronome to practice timing
* Example: Playing a simple rhythm pattern with a metronome

Chapter 6: Power Chords and Riffs

* Introduction to power chords (5th and 7th intervals)
* Common power chord shapes
* Playing riffs and short guitar licks
* Example: Playing the power chord shape of the G power chord

Chapter 7: Fingerpicking and Arpeggios

* Introduction to fingerpicking patterns
* Fingering patterns and arpeggiated chords
* Playing melodies using fingerpicking
* Example: Fingerpicking the arpeggio of the C major chord

Chapter 8: Improvisation and Soloing

* Introduction to improvisation
* Scales and modes for soloing
* Creating simple solos over chord progressions
* Example: Soloing over a C major chord using the C major scale

Chapter 9: Music Theory for Guitar

* Basic music theory for guitarists
* Understanding notes, intervals, and chords
* Chord progressions and harmony
* Example: Analyzing the chord progression of "Smoke on the Water"

Chapter 10: Advanced Techniques

* Introduction to advanced guitar techniques
* String bending, slide guitar, and vibrato
* Using pedals and effects
* Example: Bending a string to play a bluesy note