What beginner lesson book should i buy for acoustic guitar?
bwc asked:
I know how to read music, because i have played clarinet, and very little piano. I know absolutely nothing about the guitar. I just ordered a 6 string acoustic guitar.
I know how to read music, because i have played clarinet, and very little piano. I know absolutely nothing about the guitar. I just ordered a 6 string acoustic guitar.
When I got my first guitar, the first book(s) I picked up were Acoustic Guitar for Dummies and Music Theory for Dummies. People tend to avoid these books because of the whole “for Dummies” thing, when in reality they’re perfect for beginners. The Acoustic Guitar for Dummies has a TON of information on chords, chord shapes, finger strengthening, strumming techniques, as well as real excerpts from real songs in the practice sections. The music theory for dummies may help you bridge from tablature to real music staffs, since most beginner books are written in tabs. I would totally recommend both of them, even if you’re good with sheet music =] Matt
The Guitar Handbook by Ralph Denyer is a classic beginners book, I have had my copy for 20 years and still use it occasionally and always recommend it to all my pupils.
You’ll have no problem learning guitar as you obviously have the determination and patience having learnt clarinet. Paul Guitar Teacher
Hi
Always glad to hear another person taking up my favorite instrument - welcome aboard!
I’d recommend getting lessons rather than simply trying to learn from a book. I started off learning from books and tablature and developed a few bad habits that took me a while to “unlearn”. My progress was really slow at first, too.
Once I got lessons, though, things really took off.
If you can’t afford lessons, try one of the online courses like Jamorama. You can get a few free lessons to see whether it’s for you or not so there’s no reason not to.
You can find a bit more info aimed at beginners here -
Good luck! You’re gonna have a lot of fun learning guitar. Joseph Hawking
I would recommend to get a teacher and take classes. And at the same time use some books to balance your knowledge between your lessons and books. Alejandro
When I was just learning to play guitar, I bought the Hal Leonard Guitar Method series. It teaches you the notes on the neck BEFORE teaching you to play from tab notation, which is very helpful. A lot of the songs it has you playing are real songs, and not just stupid little melodies that somebody wrote. Each book also comes with a CD that includes backing tracks for many of the songs. I thought it was an excellent introduction to playing guitar. punker_rocker