Rock Guitar For Dummies Book Review

By: Nick Williams

Rock Guitar For Dummies by Jon Chappell

The “For Dummies” series has been around for as long as I can remember, and while I know a few people who got a lot out of their books in the information technology field, I never had any personal experience with them before I picked up guitar playing. Like a lot of people, I was slightly put off by the title, and even more so by the idea of toting the book around with the only-too-recognizable “For Dummies” on the cover, but out of curiosity and my liking for simplicity, I invested in Rock Guitar for Dummies by Jon Chappell.

You’ll notice that I mentioned simplicity above. I expected this based on friends’ experiences with computing-related titles in this series and how well they told me the author managed to simplify the most complex of concepts (even as far as computer programming algorithms!). This, combined with the book’s suggestive title, made me expect everything to be made as simple and uncomplicated as possible, and I wasn’t disappointed.

My reason for investing in this book was short and sweet. I wanted a quick way to learn the basics of rock guitar playing, like power chords, shredding and writing solos, and I didn’t want to be bored with the music theory and notation taught in classes. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against learning all the lovely intricacies that give music its magic, but I wanted to start rocking out as soon as possible.

The book features an introduction followed by six distinct parts, each with their own carefully constructed purpose – some more fun than others, but all useful if not absolutely necessary. The introduction familiarizes you with the book’s sections and makes clear the conventions that will be used. You do need to read this part, especially if you’re left-handed, to ensure that you understand and correctly apply anything you come across for the rest of the book.

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The first section, encompassing chapters one through three, might not be necessary if, like me, you already know how electric guitars and amplifiers work and are already familiar with basic playing concepts. This includes beginner introductions, such as how to play a chord, the correct playing posture and the right way to hold the guitar for maximum playing efficiency and minimum risk of injury.

The second section, and the first one that actually gets you playing stuff, is comprised of chapters four through seven. It takes you from playing open position chords to barre chords to rhythm guitar techniques and finally an introduction to lead guitar playing. Definitely an action-packed section. The book also comes with a CD in the back that has tracks for everything you’re asked to play, so you can check how well you sound as you go along. The CD is definitely useful when you’re learning music from a book! The rhythm guitar section introduces some basic power chord strumming patterns and teaches useful skills like muting (especially important in reggae music as well as rock). The lead guitar section introduces the pentatonic scale – the foundation upon which most lead guitar is built and the cornerstone of improvising your first solos. This chapter takes you through all the main variations of this scale and instantly leaves you with all the tools you need to improvise over a chord progression in any key.

The third section adds spice to all the basic rock concepts introduced by the authors in the previous section by teaching you how to take your playing to the highest extremities of the fretboard. This is essential as a lead guitarist, as you want want to stand out above the low rumble of the rhythm section. Effects you can create with your fingers such as bends, hammer-ons and pull offs, all the little things that add flavor to a solo and separate it from just a string of notes within a key, are taught and are a lot of fun to mess around with. This section definitely seems geared more towards lead guitarists than anything else, but it’s still a good read regardless of the role you fill.

Section four is a bit of a history lesson, following rock music from earliest days right up to almost present-day modern rock. I’m not personally overly into the old-school rock, but I do have a healthy respect for where we came from, and I had a lot of fun learning about bands and how their music was composed in those early days. They did, after all, set the foundation for rock music of today, and it’s a great way to practice.

Section five takes a step out of the fun of playing and jumps right into something almost as fun – collecting expensive gear and taking care of it. It starts out with the basics: choosing good parts, amplifiers and building a good set-up for starters. Then you’re introduced to the huge array of effects pedals and gear that can distort and utterly destroy the typical tone you get from a clean guitar sound. The musical massacre is the magic behind the crunching sound of a lot of rock music. Often, the unique identifying sound that a band has is dependent on the effects they favor, second only to the lead singer’s recognizable vocals. Effects pedals can do wonders for creating a unique sound, and this section covers all the basics and more. The final chapter in this section talks about caring for your instrument and gear, which is important if you want to spend less money on repairs and more money on newer, better equipment!

The last section section six features a “For Dummies” trademark: the “Part of Tens.” I’m not as familiar with non-guitar-related books in this series as I’d like to be, so I can’t speak for what this section usually entails, but it basically provides three lists (with descriptions): ten rock guitarists that changed history, ten must-have rock guitar albums, and ten classic guitars. This section is a great way to end the book since it introduces readers to guitarists they can draw motivation from and a variety of albums (spanning the 1960’s up to 1999) that can sow some seeds of musical creativity. It also showcases some of the best guitars available, though admittedly they all cost a pretty penny. An appendix follows that gives clear explanation of how to derive maximum benefit from the accompanying CD I mentioned earlier.

Rock Guitar for Dummies is an excellent book for someone looking to start playing and sounding like their favorite rock guitarists in the shortest time possible, especially those who prefer books to going to classes or videos (or would like to supplement these with a book they can take anywhere). One other thing I want to note is that this book doesn’t make you read music. Lessons are presented in both music notation and tabulature, which makes it much more accessible than a lot of other guitar books.

Nick Williams also runs IHateBarreChords.com, so check out his lessons on barre chords (hey irony!) and the community forums.