Online Guitar Lessons Review

best guitar theory books

Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure: Tools and Techniques for Writing Better Lyrics (Songwriting Guides) $10.67 Veteran songwriter Pat Pattison has taught many of Berklee College of Music's best and brightest students how to write truly great lyrics. Her helpful guide on songwriting techniques contains essential information on lyric structures, timing and placement, and exercises to help everyone from beginners to seasoned songwriters say things more effectively and gain a better understanding of their craf...

Variations on a Blue Guitar: The Lincoln Center Institute Lectures on Aesthetic Education $14.00 From the Lincoln Center Institute's lectures on professional development, these essays touch on various topics, including: aesthetic education; imagination and transformation; educational renewal and reform; excellence; and standards and cultural diversity....

Engineering the Guitar: Theory and Practice $37.54 Engineering the Guitar: Theory and Practice uniquely describes the mechanics of the guitar for engineers and craftsmen alike. Complete with informative illustrations, this popular musical volume describes the underlying mechanical concepts behind the guitar, supported by theory and test. A detailed description of guitar electronics paired with an analysis of sound quality appeals to scientific aud...

Guitar Theory $7.26 Guitar Theory

Teach Yourself Guitar Theory $7.92 Teach Yourself Guitar Theory

Alfred's Basic Guitar Theory $5.99 Alfred's Basic Guitar Theory

Music Theory for Guitar $5.99 Music Theory for Guitar

The 21st Century Guitar Method Guitar Theory 3 $5.99 The 21st Century Guitar Method Guitar Theory 3

Essential Guitar Pure Theory:harmony $11.99 Essential Guitar Pure Theory:harmony

Basic Elements Of Music Theory For The Guitar $6.63 Basic Elements Of Music Theory For The Guitar

Interested in playing the electric guitar, but not sure where to start? The first thing to realise is that there’s no one single best way to learn to play electric guitar. Instead, there are a number of options to consider, and this article takes a look at the pros and cons of each, so you can decide what’s best for you.

The range of options for learning to play electric guitar can seem pretty overwhelming. The best choice for you will depend on your personal preferences and circumstances. Here are the main choices you’ll need to consider:

Method 1: Private Lessons

Many people wonder if they’ll need in-person lessons with a teacher to learn guitar. The answer is, not necessarily, although they can be beneficial. On the plus side, a teacher can get you started off on the right footing by showing you the correct posture, hand positions etc, so you’re less likely to develop bad habits that will need correcting later on. It can also be very helpful to have new techniques demonstrated in-person, so you can see exactly what you need to do. A teacher also provides encouragement during those inevitable frustrating times when you just feel like giving up.

On the other hand, private lessons can be expensive, it can be difficult to find a teacher on the same wavelength as you who teaches the music you want to learn, and you might end up spending a lot of time travelling. You also have to accommodate the teacher’s schedule.

Method 2: Playing Songs By Ear

Given the possible problems associated with private lessons, many would-be guitarists opt to learn by themselves at home instead. A lot of new guitarists try to teach themselves to play by learning a few chords then playing along with their favourite songs by ear (sometimes using tabs too). This method is great in that it develops your aural skills, which are crucial if you want to be a good musician – this type of ear playing is an essential part of any guitarist’s practice routine.

Unfortunately though, if this is all you do, you’re selling yourself short. Don’t just play songs – sure, they’re more fun, but you can only progress so far by playing songs alone. If you’re playing electric guitar (as opposed to an acoustic), it can be especially easy to fall into the trap of just playing chords, especially power chords. But you need to avoid this; scales, theory etc are essential if you want to become more than a mediocre guitarist. It’s better to follow a formal course of lessons when you first start out, so you learn all the skills you need in an efficient manner, rather than spending months or years figuring out each little thing on your own (or maybe never managing it). You can still learn all your favourite songs by ear too, but you’ll be a better guitarist if you supplement this with proper lessons (whether with a teacher or teaching yourself at home).

Method 3: Using A Tutor Book/DVD

So, you decide to teach yourself guitar with a course of some kind. One popular method over the years has been to buy a guitar tutor book, and in recent years these have often been accompanied by DVDs or CDs so you can see or at least hear what you should be doing. You can also get standalone DVDs.

This method is appealing because it’s extremely cheap compared to private lessons. You can also learn at your own pace and there’s no need to travel to lessons. Good books will also provide a logical lesson plan, covering all the techniques you need to develop beyond the beginner level.

The downside of learning from a book is that it can be difficult to understand exactly what you’re meant to be doing from a written explanation, even if photos or illustrations are included. The books that come with DVDs can be a better choice if the DVD includes video demos of each technique. Many books also feature music that you won’t necessarily want to play, such as old folk tunes and the like. It can also be hard to stay motivated when you’re learning alone at home.

Method 4: Online Guitar Lessons

The self-teaching route now includes online guitar lessons too. With the advent of widespread internet access, there are more ways to learn electric guitar than ever, and there are hundreds of sites offering videos, PDFs and other guitar instruction. Online lessons have a lot going for them – as with books, you can progress at your own speed and save a lot of money (some online lessons are free, and even the ones you pay for are much cheaper than private lessons). The best ones also have the advantage of being presented in a multi-media format – you typically get video and written instructions, audio jam tracks and sometimes software learning aids too, all of which combine to make the learning experience easier and more fun for most people. You also get access to some lessons in a huge range of styles, taught by very highly skilled teachers from around the world. And since the lessons are downloadable and/or accessible online, you can enjoy them anywhere where you have web access.

Online lessons aren’t perfect however. If you have trouble with your computer or internet access, this can cause problems. There’s also a lot of garbage out there – anyone can throw up a site and call themselves an ‘expert’ guitarist, and you don’t want to be learning from people who don’t really know what they’re doing! So it’s vital to find a professionally produced, high quality course. And as with books, learning in this way can be isolating, although some sites also have communities where you can interact with others following the same course, as well as contact areas that you can use if you need help.

Who’s the the best author if I want to find a book on music theory?

Specific instruments include:
piano,
violin, &
guitar.

Try this lot (gleaned from wikiwotsit)

Boretz, Benjamin (1995) Meta-Variations: Studies in the Foundations of Musical Thought. Red Hook, New York: Open Space.
Chase, Wayne. How Music REALLY Works!. 2nd Ed. Vancouver, Canada. Roedy Black Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-897311-55-9 (book)
Taylor, Eric. AB Guide to Music. Vol 1. England. Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, 1989. ISBN 1-854-72446-0
Taylor, Eric. AB Guide to Music. Vol 2. England. Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, 1991. ISBN 1-854-72447-9
Apel, Willi & Daniel, Ralph T. “The Harvard Brief Dictionary of Music”. New York, NY. Simon & Schuster Inc, 1960. ISBN 0-671-73747-3
Sorce, Richard. “Music Theory for the Music Professional”. Ardsley House, 1995. ISBN 1-880-15720-9
Lawn, Richard J. & Hellmer, Jeffrey L. “Jazz Theory and Practice”. Alfred Publishing Co. 1996. ISBN 0-882-84722-8 (book)