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 enlarge | Author: Ralph Denyer
Publisher: Knopf
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy Used: $9.53
You Save: $16.42 (63%)
New (37) Used (24) Collectible (1) from $9.53
Avg. Customer Rating:  74 reviews
Sales Rank: 24777
Media: Paperback
Edition: Rev Sub
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 11 x 8.5 x 0.6
ISBN: 0679742751
Dewey Decimal Number: 787.8719
UPC: 029156960907
EAN: 9780679742753
ASIN: 0679742751
Publication Date: October 20, 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Greatest Guitar Book Ever September 5, 2007
Thank you Amazon for making this dream a reality,I have been searching for about two years for this book when a Friend told me to contact Amazon and buy this book from you. I must say i was very nervous as this was my first internet purchase but Amazon was so profesional in delivering my book that i can't wait to order again. Thank you again
Advanced or novice... This is the book for Guitarists!! August 24, 2007
Not a great big bunch to say! Everything a guitar person wants to know from style, to fundamentals, to luthier projects! Even history! Great reference for advanced musicians and great guide/textbook for newcomers!
My first decent guitar book-- 1982 edition April 19, 2007
I bought this book way before Amazon.com was even thought of.
This book expelled many misconceptions that I had about the construction of guitars and playing music in general.
This type of information had never been available before, so it soon became a standard for guitar players.
This book is a must if you are baffled by guitar necks, chords, scales, pick ups, guitar history etc etc.
For example the sections on neck adjustment, saved me from destroying my Hofner 12 string. How it managed to survive my attacks on it before I bought this book, I cannot understand. Has to be the German technology, I guess.
A definite 5 stars!
 Quite Useful March 10, 2007
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This was my first guitar book. I purchased it just days after buying my first uitar, in fact. I recommend the book for those who know absolutely nothing about playing a guitar to begin with. Yes, I know what that sounds like, but as i went through the guide learning how to do the most basic chords, I felt a little patronized by the tone of the instruction. The diagrams on finger placement are still useful, but I have rarely gone back to the text since my original read through.
I eventually moved on to more advanced songbooks, but I had to crawl before i could walk. If you do, too, I would start here.
Excellent book February 21, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is written in a style that is pleasant to read and easy to understand. I haven't read it completely yet, but so far so good. I've learned a lot of useful things.
There're some books you buy and they just sit on the shelf collecting dust like "The Jazz Theory Book" which I just couldn't get into because it was too heavy and overwhelming for my music education or rather lack of it. I'm not saying it's a bad book but just that you need to be ready for it.
Now this Guitar Handbook right here, it doesn't expect you to have a particular level of musical education. All you need is to enjoy playing guitar and have the desire to improve your playing. You sort of pick it up and read it and learn new things when you have the time. Or when you want to know something you go through this book and likely to find it. Author explains things adequately and concisely.
It starts with some history about the guitarists we all know and love, but it's not about things like what so and so likes to eat for breakfast.. but rather useful things such as where the artist is coming from (musically) citing their inspirations, playing styles and types of guitars they've used. This is useful info, because it gives you ideas about your own styles and musical directions.
After that there is a section on what makes up the guitar, its parts and their functions. Also very useful for several reasons such as knowing the guitar you already own, maybe changing certain things to improve the sound. As well as giving you an idea of what to go for on your next guitar.
Then goes the section on playing the guitar. This is the main part of the book and it tells you How to play the instrument. It explains the notes, various chords, their relationship. All this with nice diagrams and pictures of how to press the strings etc. You then learn about the actual notes on the staff, time signatures and all the technical things associated with that business. Then you learn The scales, major/minor/etc. It gets even more technical after that.
Then there's a section on guitar electronics/effects/amps etc. Also introduces the reader to microphones, recording, mixing. Nice overview.
The book ends with a Chord Dictionary (diagram of a chord with finger positions)
Some of the portions of this book are clearly designed to be studied like the part where you learn to actually play the guitar, and understand how the notes and chords work. Yet other portions are more for reference purposes, such as where the guitar's physical design and electronics are explained.
This book has proven useful to me and I enjoy reading it -- so 5 stars!
Another book I recommend is "The Mixing Engineer's Handbook". Although it has nothing to do with guitar-playing, it's also a great book and a must, if you are going to record.
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