We should always seek to learn and improve our knowledge of music and playing technique, and there are many ways to do it. You can study with a professional teacher; learn from people you meet at jam sessions; or exchange knowledge with a friend who has more or different experience than you. Another way to do this is through music books. From theory to playing techniques, you have so many to choose from that it is hard to know which are useful in today's market.
In this post, I will talk about some of the books I have learned from or have taught with, that worth your time and money.
Note that, although these books are for the beginner guitar player, you still need to know how to read basic music notation. If you are a complete beginner, you should finish this following book before attempting the others on this list.
Hal Leonard Guitar Method Book 1 (Will Schmid and Greg Koch): A Book For The Complete Beginner
This book will teach you the basic of guitar playing and music notation. It covers subjects such as different guitars, sitting correctly with the instrument, holding and using a pick, reading rhythm and music notation, and playing some basic chords.
It is a perfect book for a total beginner and the more technically advanced guitar player who wants to learn how to read and play standard music notation.
Get the book from Amazon here
Berklee Guitar Method 1-3 (William Leavitt): Play, Play And Then Play Some More
In these three books series, you will learn the basics of scale, chords, basic rhythm, solo playing and rhythm accompaniment. The books are all about playing as much as you can. Most of the content in the books is about scales, chords, solo guitar and duet studies. Going through them will be demanding and challenging due to the time you have to put into practice all the different exercises; however, the outcome will undoubtedly be a guitar player who profoundly knows the instrument. This series can easily take you from being a beginner to an advanced guitar player.
Get the book from Amazon here
Rhythm For All (Rony Holan): It's All About The Rhythm
Rhythm For All, by Rony Holan, is a book that focuses solely on the study of rhythm - and that is all you will find here: from the basic understanding of quarters and eights to the more advanced sixth-teens (CHECK THE SPELL) and triplets. The book does not offer many explanations, and it has a steep learning curve that will require you to be determined. But even if you could only get through half of the book, you would much improve your rhythm, reading and playing techniques.
Reading Studies For Guitar – Positions 1 through 7 and Multi-Position Studies in All Keys (William Leavitt): Mastering The Scales
If there is something that every guitar player should know well, that is scales. Scales are the foundation of almost all the music we listen to these days, once the melody and the harmony are built around them. So naturally, you should know your scales by heart and all across the neck of the guitar - and this is precisely what this book can teach you. It follows a specific method to learn and play scales using 12 different positions for each one; you will find endless etudes to practice all the scales in the first 7 positions. Again, I must warn you that this is not an easy book to go through and it will take you time and patience - just like all things worth doing.
Once you finish this book you can continue to next book: Advanced Reading Studies For Guitar – Positions 8 through 12 and Multi-Position Studies in All Keys, by the same author mentioned above.
Get the book from Amazon here
Melodic Rhythms For Guitar (William Leavitt): Combining Rhythm And Scales
This book combines the knowledge you have acquired about rhythm and scales, from the previous books Rhythm For All and Reading Studies For Guitar, respectively. In this book, you will find 92 complete harmonized studies to practice your rhythm and notes reading abilities. By the time you finish the last study you will be able to play a large amount of interesting phrases with accuracy and understanding of rhythm, not only as a pattern, but as a musical idea that sits well with a given harmony.
Get the book from Amazon here
The Real Book (Hal Leonard): The Real Deal
In this book, you will have to combine everything you have learnt until now. The Real Book is a book full of jazz standards throughout the years, and it is one of the most important ones you can have in your musical library. Inside you will find lead sheets for over 400 jazz standards for you to learn and analyze. It is one of the best tools to introduce a beginner jazz guitar player to the many different jazz tunes played in jam sessions and gigs.
Get the book from Amazon here
This list is just a hand-full of amazing books that, if you put in the time, can take you to higher levels of guitar playing and music understanding. I am aware that there are many other great books that are not part of this list. However, I can assure you that every book mentioned is here for a good reason and, together, they will teach you all the fundamentals (and much more) you need to progress in your journey of music.
For more information on music books, contact me today.
Gal Dornay
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