Teach Yourself VISUALLY Guitar

Charles Kim teaches guitar, bass, songwriting, recording, and music theory at Chicago's renowned Old Town School of Folk Music. A multifaceted musician, producer, and composer, his scores have been commissioned and featured by the Royal Academy of Art, Showtime, and the History Channel.

• CHAPTER 1 Learning to Play 2 Hit the Ground Running 3Continue Your Guitar Education 4Some Final Advice Before You Start 5CHAPTER 2 Parts of the Guitar 6Parts of the Acoustic Guitar 7Parts of the Electric Guitar 8Headstock and Tuning Pegs 9Neck 10Body 12Bridge 14Strings 15Electric Guitar Controls 16CHAPTER 3 Tuning the Guitar 19Standard Tuning of Strings 20Tuning with an Electronic Tuner 21Relative Tuning 25CHAPTER 4 Getting into Position 28Sitting 29Standing 32Fretting Hand Position 35Picking Hand Position 38CHAPTER 5 Your First Chords and Song 40How to Read a Chord Chart 41D Chord 42A7 Chord 44G Chord 45Put These Chords Together in a Song 46CHAPTER 6 The Rest of the Open Chords 48A Chords 49B7 Chord 52C Chords 53D Chords 55E Chords 57G7 Chord 60CHAPTER 7 Moving Between Chords 61Economy of Motion 62Chord Shifts with Common Fingering 64Chord Shifts on the Same Fret 65Chord Shifts on the Same String 66Move from Chord to Chord without a Common String 67CHAPTER 8 Strumming and Picking 69Start with Your Thumb 70Play with a Pick 72Fingerpicking 74CHAPTER 9 Rhythm Guitar 83The Basics of Tempo 844/4 Time 853/4 Time 90CHAPTER 10 Reading Chord Symbols, Tablature, and Lead Sheets 91Five Common Types of Guitar Chords 92Read Tablature 97Play a Song from a Lead Sheet 99CHAPTER 11 The Capo and Barre Chords 103Use a Capo 104Barre Chord Technique 109Your First Barre Chord: F 111Related Barre Chords: F7, Fm, and Fm7 114Moving Up and Down the Neck 116CHAPTER 12 Arpeggios, Suspensions, and Bass Runs 125Arpeggios 126Suspensions 133Suspension Chord Fingerings 136Bass Runs 146CHAPTER 13 Reading Music and Basic Theory 166Scales 167The Treble Clef and Ledger Lines 174Note and Rest Values 175Time Signatures 177Accidentals 178Key Signatures 179CHAPTER 14 An Introduction to Soloing and Improvisation 184The Pentatonic Scale 185Simple Solos 190CHAPTER 15 Advanced Techniques 201Slides 202Pull-Offs and Hammer-Ons 205Vibrato 213String Bending 215Tremolo Bar 217Harmonics 218CHAPTER 16 Purchasing and Maintaining Equipment 220Buy an Acoustic Guitar 221Buy an Electric Guitar 223Buy an Amplifier 225Care for and Maintain Your Strings 226Restring Your Guitar 227The Truss Rod 231Adjust Intonation on an Electric Guitar 232Humidification and Other Maintenance 233CHAPTER 17 Electric Guitar Sounds 234Controls on Your Electric Guitar 235Controls on Your Amplifier 236Effect Pedals 238APPENDIX A Chord Charts 240Major and Minor Chords 241E-Shaped Barre Chords 242A-Shaped Barre Chords 247APPENDIX B Scales 251Major Open Scales 252Major Movable Scales 253Minor Open Scales 253Minor Movable Scales 254Major Pentatonic Open Scales 255Major Pentatonic Movable Scales 256Minor Pentatonic Open Scales 256Minor Pentatonic Movable Scales 257Blues Scales 258APPENDIX B Scales 251Index 259