01_599046 ffirs.qxd 9/12/05 6:09 PM Page ii 01_599046 ffirs.qxd 9/12/05 6:09 PM Page i Guitar FOR DUMmIES‰ 2ND EDITION 01_599046 ffirs.qxd 9/12/05 6:09 PM Page ii 01_599046 ffirs.qxd 9/12/05 6:09 PM Page iii Guitar FOR DUMmIES‰ 2ND EDITION by Mark Phillips and Jon Chappell 01_599046 ffirs.qxd 9/12/05 6:09 PM Page iv Guitar For Dummies®, 2nd Edition Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2005932590 ISBN-13: 978-0-7645-9904-0 ISBN-10: 0-7645-9904-6 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2B/SZ/QZ/QV/IN 01_599046 ffirs.qxd 9/12/05 6:09 PM Page v About the Authors Mark Phillips is a guitarist, arranger, and editor with more than 30 years in the music publishing field. He earned his bachelor’s degree in music theory from Case Western Reserve University, where he received the Carolyn Neff Award for scholastic excellence, and his master’s degree in music theory from Northwestern University, where he was elected to Pi Kappa Lambda, the most prestigious U.S. honor society for college and university music students. While working toward a doctorate in music theory at Northwestern, Phillips taught classes in theory, ear-training, sight-singing, counterpoint, and guitar. During the 1970s and early ’80s, Phillips was Director of Popular Music at Warner Bros. Publications, where he edited and arranged the songbooks of such artists as Neil Young, James Taylor, the Eagles, and Led Zeppelin. Since the mid-’80s he has served as Director of Music and Director of Publications at Cherry Lane Music, where he has edited or arranged the songbooks of such artists as John Denver, Van Halen, Guns N’ Roses, and Metallica, and has served as Music Editor of the magazines Guitar and Guitar One. Phillips is the author of several books on musical subjects, including Metallica Riff by Riff, Sight-Sing Any Melody Instantly, and Sight-Read Any Rhythm Instantly. In his non-musical life, Phillips is the author/publisher of a series of “fun” high school English textbooks, including The Wizard of Oz Vocabulary Builder, The Pinocchio Intermediate Vocabulary Builder, and Tarzan and Jane’s Guide to Grammar. For the reference value of his numerous publications, Phillips is profiled in Who’s Who in America. Jon Chappell is a multistyle guitarist, transcriber, and arranger. He attended Carnegie-Mellon University, where he studied with Carlos Barbosa-Lima, and he then went on to earn his master’s degree in composition from DePaul University, where he also taught theory and ear training. He was formerly Editor-in-Chief of Guitar magazine, Technical Editor of Guitar Shop Magazine, and Musicologist for Guitarra, a classical magazine. He has played and recorded with Pat Benatar, Judy Collins, Graham Nash, and Gunther Schuller, and he has contributed numerous musical pieces to film and TV. Some of these include Northern Exposure, Walker, Texas Ranger, Guiding Light, and the feature film Bleeding Hearts directed by actor-dancer Gregory Hines. In 1990, he became Associate Music Director of Cherry Lane Music where he has transcribed, edited, and arranged the music of Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Steve Morse, Mike Stern, and Eddie Van Halen, among others. He has more than a dozen method books to his name, and is the author of Rock Guitar For Dummies and the textbook The Recording Guitarist — A Guide for Home and Studio, published by Hal Leonard. 01_599046 ffirs.qxd 9/12/05 6:09 PM Page vi 01_599046 ffirs.qxd 9/12/05 6:09 PM Page vii Dedication Mark Phillips: For my wife, Debbie, and my children, Tara, Jake, and Rachel. Jon Chappell: For my wife, Mary, and my children, Jennifer, Katie, Lauren, and Ryan. Authors’ Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge the folks at Wiley Publishing, Inc.: Tracy Boggier, Mike Baker, and Jen Bingham. Special thanks to Woytek and Krystyna Rynczak of WR Music Service for the music typesetting, and to Brian McConnon of Steinberg for the CD recording software, Cubase SX and Nuendo. 01_599046 ffirs.qxd 9/12/05 6:09 PM Page viii Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Composition Services Media Development Project Coordinator: Adrienne Martinez Project Editor: Mike Baker Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers, (Previous Edition: Kyle Looper) Lauren Goddard, Joyce Haughey, Acquisitions Editor: Tracy Boggier Barbara Moore, Barry Offringa, Lynsey Osborn, Rashell Smith, Erin Zeltner Copy Editor: Jennifer Bingham Proofreaders: Leeann Harney, (Previous Edition: William A. Barton) Carl William Pierce, Shannon Ramsey, Editorial Program Assistant: Courtney Allen Charles Spencer Technical Reviewer: Rod E. Schindler Indexer: Rebecca R. Plunkett Media Development Specialist: Laura Moss Special Help: Tim Borek, Kit Malone Editorial Manager: Christine Meloy Beck Media Development Manager: Laura VanWinkle Editorial Assistants: Nadine Bell, Hanna Scott Cover Photos: Jon Chappell Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 02_599046 flast.qxd 9/12/05 6:12 PM Page ix Contents at a Glance Introduction ................................................................1 Part I: So You Wanna Play Guitar .................................9 Chapter 1: Guitar 101 ......................................................................................................11 Chapter 2: Turn On, Tune In ..........................................................................................19 Chapter 3: Ready, Set . Not Yet: Developing the Tools and Skills to Play .............27 Part II: So Start Playing: The Basics ...........................39 Chapter 4: The Easiest Way to Play: Basic Major and Minor Chords .......................41 Chapter 5: Playing Melodies without Reading Music! .................................................61