I remember searching for guitar instruction books in my woodshedding days and the variety was fairly
bleak. There was no internet full of guitar tab in the 80s and the books available were lame. The guitar
magazines had tablature for the latest Yngwie Malmsteen “hit” but nothing by the Circle Jerks. I didn’t
have much of an ear and I couldn’t read music; it was a pretty desperate situation. I settled on a book
with tablature for “Puff the Magic Dragon,” it sounded kind of cool, after all, it was about a dragon.
Student guitarists have it made today, perhaps in a reaction to the massive amount of free guitar tab
online (the quality varies) publishers are offering a wide variety of genres, and the quality of the books is
impressive. Here is a round-up of some guitar instruction titles.
bleak. There was no internet full of guitar tab in the 80s and the books available were lame. The guitar
magazines had tablature for the latest Yngwie Malmsteen “hit” but nothing by the Circle Jerks. I didn’t
have much of an ear and I couldn’t read music; it was a pretty desperate situation. I settled on a book
with tablature for “Puff the Magic Dragon,” it sounded kind of cool, after all, it was about a dragon.
Student guitarists have it made today, perhaps in a reaction to the massive amount of free guitar tab
online (the quality varies) publishers are offering a wide variety of genres, and the quality of the books is
impressive. Here is a round-up of some guitar instruction titles.
PUNK GUITAR METHOD
By John Tapella
Hal Leonard I couldn’t resist checking out Punk Guitar Method. I was kind of
hoping it was full of blank pages or instructions on how to steal your first
guitar. Instead it is a serious treatment of punk rock guitar styles including
“punk reggae” and “mystical cult punk” (whatever that is). This book even has
some early punk history thrown in. Includes a CD with 32 examples and two
complete songs to play along with.
By John Tapella
Hal Leonard I couldn’t resist checking out Punk Guitar Method. I was kind of
hoping it was full of blank pages or instructions on how to steal your first
guitar. Instead it is a serious treatment of punk rock guitar styles including
“punk reggae” and “mystical cult punk” (whatever that is). This book even has
some early punk history thrown in. Includes a CD with 32 examples and two
complete songs to play along with.
SURF GUITAR
By Dave Celentano w/ The Torquays
Hal Leonard/Centerstream
This book is a hoot. The author earns some cred right away with a picture
of himself and Dick Dale. Lots of surf techniques here in standard notation
and tab along with a CD to play along with and even surf dance moves.
What is great is the inclusion of a real modern surf band on the CD, the
Torquays who sound a lot like the Ventures here.
By Dave Celentano w/ The Torquays
Hal Leonard/Centerstream
This book is a hoot. The author earns some cred right away with a picture
of himself and Dick Dale. Lots of surf techniques here in standard notation
and tab along with a CD to play along with and even surf dance moves.
What is great is the inclusion of a real modern surf band on the CD, the
Torquays who sound a lot like the Ventures here.
SOLO BLUES GUITAR
By Dave Rubin
Hal Leonard
This book is my favorite of the three, maybe because of my short attention
span. It is very straight-forward, no gimmicks, history, or celebrities, just 55
straight forward lessons in solo blues guitar, stuff you can play to the beat of
your tapping foot or your sister Meg. I immediately picked up some licks that I
was able to mutate into my own writing.
By Dave Rubin
Hal Leonard
This book is my favorite of the three, maybe because of my short attention
span. It is very straight-forward, no gimmicks, history, or celebrities, just 55
straight forward lessons in solo blues guitar, stuff you can play to the beat of
your tapping foot or your sister Meg. I immediately picked up some licks that I
was able to mutate into my own writing.
All these books are available at music stores and books stores or at HalLeonard.com. My advice is to
get a few books and then settle in to one that you find comfortable. Then try to stay focused and work
through the whole book. I had a tendency to skip around to songs that came easy to me, and that isn’t
how you learn. It feels great to finally conquer a technique and even better to use it to write something
original.
--Craig Campbell
get a few books and then settle in to one that you find comfortable. Then try to stay focused and work
through the whole book. I had a tendency to skip around to songs that came easy to me, and that isn’t
how you learn. It feels great to finally conquer a technique and even better to use it to write something
original.
--Craig Campbell