Jon Chappell - Guitar Exercises For Dummies

In this part, we review the skills you need to play through the book. Some material we present will no doubt be familiar to you (if you’ve played before). However, we also cover aspects of notation that may be new to even experienced players. So even if you don’t need advice on standing or sitting with the guitar, you should check out the notation definitions in Chapter 1, especially the section on tab and rhythm slashes. In Chapter 2, we offer ways to warm up, get your head in a good place for practicing, and bolster the complementary skills of relaxation and focus.

This part begins the essence of Guitar Exercises For Dummies, where the rubber meets the road — or where the fingertip meets the fretboard, if you will. We start with the major scale and its corresponding sequences, and then head into the minor scale and its sequences. Besides learning the major and minor scales (and all the various patterns and corresponding sequences), in this part you also get a feel for how the book is set up. We present each scale in five patterns, and we introduce the patterns in the same order for each scale.

This part is where we explore the wonderful world of arpeggios — the transition point between single-note playing and chords. Technically, you play arpeggios the same way you do single notes — one at a time, just like in a scale. But with an arpeggio, you change strings more often because the spaces between the notes — which are skips instead of steps — are wider. But musically, you’re really outlining chords with those single notes. So arpeggio playing is useful for getting used to how chords work in music.

Many guitar exercise books would simply stop after presenting a healthy dose of scales, scale sequences, arpeggios, and arpeggio sequences. But that’s what makes Guitar Exercises For Dummies so special. In Part 4, we provide the bonus material: a whole chapter on chords and chord playing. We also include supplemental exercises designed just for developing speed, strength, and independence.

If you’re familiar with the grand traditions of the For Dummies series, you know that the Part of Tens is the fun part. It’s the opportunity for the authors to take you on a bit of a side trip. In our Part of Tens, we want to give some suggestions for helping you play guitar. However, we want these suggestions to be different. We don’t want to provide you with, say, ten more ways to play scales. Because much of this book is technical, we decided to discuss some ideas in a non-technical way — even if we offer advice to take up something technical (and there’s a difference … we think). Chapter 15focuses on ways to make your practice time more efficient. After all, we feel there’s a difference between practicing the guitar and playing the guitar. When you practice, you should be as brutally efficient and serious as possible. But when you’re simply playing, you should have fun. Chapter 16is a similarly non-technical chapter. It offers ways to improve your musicianship, including activities that don’t require a guitar.

Don’t forget to check out the appendix at the back of this book! Guitar Exercises For Dummies comes with an accompanying website that presents recorded versions of many of the figures. The handy appendix tells you how to use the website and provides the track listing and exercise descriptions.

In the margins of this book, you find helpful little icons that can make your journey a little easier. Here’s what the icons mean:

This icon highlights important info that comes up again and again. So read this info carefully and store it in your brain’s hard drive.

These handy tidbits of info are designed to make your practice sessions easier, and they’re offered at no additional charge.

When you see this icon, watch out! It points to trouble spots where you could damage your guitar or someone’s ears.

If you already have a good practice routine in place and are looking for material to start drilling those digits, skip to Chapter 3. If you find something in the written figures that you don’t understand, you can always flip back to Chapter 2for details about the notation. If you know scales already, you may want to look at the arpeggio and chord chapters, as much of this material isn’t covered in other guitar exercise books.

Part 1

IN THIS PART …

In this part, we quickly go over all the essential things you need to know to practice the exercises that appear in this book. If it has been a while since you have played, we offer a brief refresher course in Chapter 1on holding the guitar while sitting or standing. We also cover all the notation devices and conventions that you need to be familiar with to navigate the different types of exercises presented. The material in Chapter 2focuses on warming up. It’s always a good idea in any physical endeavor (and yes, guitar playing is physical) to limber up. And because guitar playing is also a mental game, requiring focus and concentration, we give you some ways to gear up the old gray matter as well.

Chapter 1

IN THIS CHAPTER

Holding the guitar and sitting and standing with the guitar

Understanding tablature

Reading chord diagrams, neck diagrams, and rhythm slashes

We know you’re anxious to get started, but before you lock and load, bear down, and start drilling away on the hundreds of exercises that await you in this book, take just a moment to first ensure that you’re properly set up to do the job. In this chapter, we offer a few gentle reminders regarding some guitar basics. We also provide a refresher on guitar notation. Even if you play guitar often and understand notation, you should check out the “ Brushing Up on Guitar Notation” section so you understand how the written music examples in this book work.

You probably think we’re going to tell you that you must practice guitar sitting on the edge of a sturdy (or, in other words, hard) chair with your back straight and your feet flat on the floor. While this posture is proper, the truth is that you can practice guitar in whatever position feels natural to you. After you’ve figured out your favorite posture, you next have to focus on holding the guitar and the pick properly. We give you pointers in this section.