Guitar Theory For Dummies

Serious about jamming, understanding, and creating guitar-driven music? Easy. With an approachable and engaging style, Guitar Theory For Dummies goes beyond guitar basics, presenting the guidance intermediate to advanced players need to improve their improvisational and compositional skills. Plus, with access to audio tracks and video instruction online you can master the concepts and techniques covered in the book. Key content coverage includes: pentatonic and major scale patterns; the CAGED chord system, chord progressions, and playing by numbers; roots, keys, and applying scales, plus modes and modal scales; intervals and chord extensions; popular song references and theory applications that help you understand how to play popular music and contemporary guitar styles, and create music of your own. This title also features companion audio tracks and video content hosted online at Dummies.com The expert instruction and easy-to-digest information provides comprehensive guidance on how to apply music theory concepts to fretted instruments If you already have a handle on the basics and want to know more about the building blocks and theory behind guitar music, Guitar Theory For Dummies has you covered.

Make your guitar sing with insight on music theory brings your instrument to life There’s a universe of incredible music living in your guitar. You just need to discover how to let it out. In Guitar Theory For Dummies, expert guitarist and instructor Desi Serna walks you through the music theory concepts you need to understand to expand your musical horizons. From deciphering the mysteries of the fretboard to adapting chord progressions to a song’s key, you’ll master techniques that will help you move past simple, three-chord songs to more complex and creative pieces. Build on your existing knowledge of open and barre chords and simple progressions with practical instruction that demystifies scales and chord voicings and shows you how to bring them together to create impressive music. You can also jump over to dummies.com to hear audio samples of the examples featured in the book. You’ll also learn: How chords, keys, and scales are built and how they interact with one another Powerful concepts, like intervals, chord extensions, modes and modal scales, that grant access to a world of musical possibilities How popular songs apply elements of guitar theory and how you can apply the same techniques Free yourself from the confines of tab sheets and simple chords and start enjoying all the musical potential of your guitar. Guitar Theory For Dummies is for anyone who wants to unlock the next stage of their musical journey.

Tune in to how music really works Whether you’re a student, a performer, or simply a fan, this book makes music theory easy, providing you with a friendly guide to the concepts, artistry, and technical mastery that underlie the production of great music. You’ll quickly become fluent in the fundamentals of knocking out beats, reading scores, and anticipating where a piece should go, giving you a deeper perspective on the works of others — and bringing an extra dimension to your own. Tracking to a typical college-level course, Music Theory For Dummies breaks difficult concepts down to manageable chunks and takes into account every aspect of musical production and appreciation — from the fundamentals of notes and scales to the complexities of expression and instrument tone color. It also examines the latest teaching techniques — all the more important as the study of music, now shown to provide cognitive and learning benefits for both children and adults, becomes more prevalent at all levels. Master major and minor scales, intervals, pitches, and clefs Understand basic notation, time signals, tempo, dynamics, and navigation Employ melodies, chords, progressions, and phrases to form music Compose harmonies and accompanying melodies for voice and instruments Wherever you want to go musically — as a writer or performer, or just as someone who wants to enjoy music to its fullest — this approachable guide gives you everything you need to hear!

Serious about jamming, understanding, and creating guitar-driven music? Easy. With an approachable and engaging style, Guitar Theory For Dummies goes beyond guitar basics, presenting the guidance intermediate to advanced players need to improve their improvisational and compositional skills. Plus, with access to audio tracks and video instruction online you can master the concepts and techniques covered in the book. Key content coverage includes: pentatonic and major scale patterns; the CAGED chord system, chord progressions, and playing by numbers; roots, keys, and applying scales, plus modes and modal scales; intervals and chord extensions; popular song references and theory applications that help you understand how to play popular music and contemporary guitar styles, and create music of your own. This title also features companion audio tracks and video content hosted online at Dummies.com The expert instruction and easy-to-digest information provides comprehensive guidance on how to apply music theory concepts to fretted instruments If you already have a handle on the basics and want to know more about the building blocks and theory behind guitar music, Guitar Theory For Dummies has you covered.

Do you love sitting at home playing guitar, but find yourself playing the same old things over and over without making much progress? When other musicians invite you to jam, do you worry that you won’t be able to keep up? Are you a veteran guitarist who has played for years, but you’re embarrassed to admit you have no idea what you’re doing? If you want to take your guitar playing to the next level, compose songs like you hear on the radio, and improvise your own music, then you need Fretboard Theory. Fretboard Theory by Desi Serna teaches music theory for guitar including scales, chords, progressions, modes and more. The hands-on approach to theory shows you how music "works" on the guitar fretboard by visualizing shapes and patterns and how they connect to make music. Content includes: * Learn pentatonic and major scale patterns as used to play melodies, riffs, solos, and bass lines * Move beyond basic chords and common barre chords by playing the types of chord inversions and chord voicings used by music's most famous players * Chart guitar chord progressions and play by numbers like the pros * Identify correct scales to play over chords and progressions so you can improvise at will * Create new sounds with music modes and get to know Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian * Add variety to your playing by using intervals such as thirds, fourths, and sixths * Increase your chord vocabulary by using added chord tones and extensions to play chord types such as major 7, minor 7, sus2, sus4, add9, and more * Learn how all the different aspects of music fit together to make a great song * See how theory relates to popular styles of music and familiar songs Fretboard Theory will have you mastering music like a pro easier and faster than you ever thought possible. Plus, it's the ONLY GUITAR THEORY RESOURCE in the world that includes important details to hundreds of popular songs. You learn how to play in the style of pop, rock, acoustic, blues, and more! This guitar instruction is perfect whether you want to jam, compose or just understand the music you play better. The material is suitable for both acoustic and electric guitar, plus it features many references to bass. Level: Recommended for intermediate level players on up. Video Fretboard Theory is also available as a 21-hour video series that is sold separately on the author's GuitarMusicTheory.com website. Visit the website and sign up for email lessons to sample the footage. Fretboard Theory Volume II When you're ready to take your playing to the next level, get the second book in the series, Fretboard Theory Volume II, which is also available as a 12-hour video series.

A one-stop resource to the essentials of owning and playing the guitar If you’ve just bought a guitar, or you’ve had one for a while, you probably know it takes some time and effort to learn how to play the popular instrument. There’s so much to know about owning, maintaining, and playing a guitar. Where do you even begin? In Guitar All-in-One For Dummies, a team of expert guitarists and music teachers shows you the essentials you need to know about owning and playing a guitar. From picking your first notes to exploring music theory and composition, maintaining your gear, and diving into the specifics of genres like blues and rock, this book is a comprehensive and practical goldmine of indispensable info. Created for the budding guitarist who wants all their lessons and advice in one place, the book will show you how to: Maintain, tune, and string your guitar, as well as decipher music notation and guitar tablature Understand guitar theory, sounds and techniques to help you learn new songs and add your style to classic tunes Practice several popular genres of guitar music, including blues, rock, and classical Access accompanying online video and audio instructional resources that demonstrate the lessons you find in the book Perfect for guitar players at any skill level, Guitar All-in-One For Dummies is a must-have resource for anyone who wants to get the most out of their own guitar and make great music.

Whether you're playing blues, rock, classical, or folk-all the chords you'll need are here Even Eric Clapton started with a few basic chords. And Guitar Chords For Dummies offers guitarists of every ambition, skill level, and musical genre a key to the simplest and most complex guitar chords-over 600 in all. Illustrated with a grid showing the position of the fingers on a string, a photograph of the chord being played, and a brief comment on the chord and how to play it, this handy, portable reference offers musicians, whether experimenting at home or playing in a coffee house, instant access to the full range of chords that can be played on a guitar. Covers the theory and techniques of guitar chords Features a handy, portable design, which can fit into a guitar case Includes a convenient lay-flat (wire bound) format, allowing users to easily try out new chords An ideal resource for broadening musical technique and getting new ideas, Guitar Chords For Dummies will help you, whether you're just picking up the guitar or a seasoned musician, add sparkle and range to your musical repertoire.

(Guitar Educational). Experience must-know music knowledge and wisdom through the highly focused lens of legendary guitar virtuoso Steve Vai. This full-color instructional book written by Vai himself features in-depth discussions of the music theory fundamentals that every aspiring (and veteran) guitar player should know, packed with practical exercises, diagrams, tips, inspiring ideas and concepts, practice methods, and ways of looking at music that you may have never considered. Topics covered include: academic vs. experiential learning * reading and writing music * key signatures * chord scales * rhythm basics * guitar harmonics * modes * and much more.