Best Books For New Guitar Students – Are you aspiring to be a guitar student? Do you have an interest in learning how to play guitar? All you have to do is to go through this article to find out the best book for new guitar students.
Best Books For New Guitar Students
1. My First Guitar
Covers the fundamentals of guitar technique, including proper hand position, posture, and mallet, gradually progressing to more advanced concepts such as chord progressions and finger placement.
It is perfect for young children because it uses clear diagrams and images to help students understand and practice the lessons, and the accompanying audio tracks are a valuable tool for practicing and reinforcing the techniques taught.
One of the notable features of the book is its emphasis on self-learning. The lessons are structured to allow students to progress at their own pace, and the book does not require the reader to be able to read music. This approach can make the learning process more fun and engaging for young readers and can help them develop a lifelong interest in music.
The book’s clear and concise writing, helpful diagrams and illustrations, and soundtrack make it an effective and engaging introduction to the world of music.
2. “Idiot’s Guides: Playing Guitar”
David Hodge’s Idiot’s Guide: Playing the Guitar is an educational book with lots of information about the guitar and how to play it. David Hodge is a Certified Teacher who writes for Acoustic Guitar Magazine and is a renowned Massachusetts guitar and ukulele teacher.
The book comes with online audio resources to make the exercises and explanations easier for students to understand. The approach in this book is easy to use and best suited for beginners. It explains complex theories and techniques in a simple way to make it easier for students to understand and apply. This book focuses a lot on rhythm, as it is the most important aspect of music.
3. Guitar Book For Adult Beginners
This book not only helps make the learning process more fun but also ensures that the material is relevant and interesting to students.
In addition to the book, students have access to additional videos that provide additional instructions and demonstrations. The lessons are well organized with clear and concise written instructions along with helpful diagrams and illustrations.
4. “Hal Leonard Guitar Method”
Students are introduced to two different chords that can be used to play many songs as illustrated in the book. Thus, you will learn to play music at each step, which motivates students by showing them the result of their practice.
This book also focuses on the rhythm section in more detail than other books. Since rhythm is essential to music, this book focuses on building a strong rhythmic foundation in students. It is an interesting fact that the tablature sign is not used in the book, and classical music notes are used instead. For most players, this will make the thighs a bit heavier, but it might help if you like classical pieces.
5. “Advancing Guitarist”
Mike Goodrick’s Progressive Guitarist is one of the classics when it comes to advanced guitar books. It focuses on jazz guitar and broadens the guitarist’s perspective rather than the “play and experiment” approach found in most guitar books. Thus, it has become a classic and is considered one of the most enlightening books on the guitar ever written.
This book offers a different perspective and a big change in the habits of guitarists. It gives you an interesting perspective and takes you to the next level. Don’t be fooled by the fact that this is a jazz guitar book. Because jazz guitar has such an amazing technique and approach, you can use it and apply what you’ve learned to different genres.
6. Teach Yourself to Play Guitar
One of the most notable features of this book is its heavy reliance on diagrams and illustrations. Rather than trying to explain complex musical concepts through text alone, Brewster uses clear, concise images to help readers understand the fundamentals of chord patterns, finger placement, and other important guitar skills. This makes the book very easy to follow, even for those with little or no musical training.
This book covers the basics of guitar playing and includes tutorials on more advanced techniques like strong chords and barre chords. To help readers develop their ears for music, Brewster includes lessons on scales and how to use them to create melodies.
Whether you’re learning guitar as a hobby or a stepping stone to a music career, Teach Yourself Guitar is a valuable resource to help get you on the right path.
Overall, if you’re a beginner looking to learn guitar, Teach Yourself Guitar is a great place to start. With clear and concise lessons, engaging visuals, and an emphasis on fundamentals, this book will help you build a solid foundation for guitar playing and progress toward becoming a master musician.
7. Acoustic Guitar Primer Book for Beginners
The book also offers a comprehensive guitar course, beginning with concepts such as guitar parts, proper playing position, strumming, and guitar tab reading. Also includes a full chord chart, one hour of video, and music written in regular notation and tablature; this is a type of notation common on the guitar that records the location of the fingers on the instrument rather than the musical pitches.
8. Mel Bay’s Modern Guitar Method
Mel Bay’s Guitar Method Book is a popular and widely recommended system for learning to play the guitar. This classic book starts in grade 1, so if you’re interested in learning guitar at a progressive level, this is a good option.
The seven volumes (or grades) of this method are written in standard notation to help students develop their sight reading skills and abilities. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include TAB, so it has a more traditional/classical approach.
However, this is beneficial in the long run as it encourages you to develop your ability to read musical notes, a valuable skill for any musician. You can also find versions of this book that come with an audio CD or even an instructional DVD that some students may find helpful.
Conclusion
The collection of these best books for new guitar students will help you pick the right book. However, it is your choice to pick anyone from the list above to learn guitar. All of them are just perfect!
Frequently Asked Question(s)
Is 23 too late to learn guitar?
You are never too old to learn guitar. You can start learning guitar at any age. While younger people tend to learn faster, you are still capable of learning guitar as a beginner whether you are 30, 40, 60, or even 70.
Can anyone learn guitar in 3 months?
You can learn the basics of guitar in 3 months as long as the length, quality, and consistency of your practice is good. You also need to be highly motivated and have the ability to take constructive criticism in a positive way.
How many months does it take to be good at guitar?
For someone who practices around 30 minutes a day, 3-5 days a week, with medium intensity, it’ll take roughly 1-2 months to play beginner guitar songs, and approximately 3-6 months to confidently play intermediate and slightly more advanced songs with technical elements.
Is 1 year enough to learn guitar?
You can learn guitar in three months of dedicated practice – if you’re able to commit hours every week to practicing and learning new techniques, you should be able to develop your skills quite significantly in just a few months. Most people will take longer– up to two years – to become proficient players.
Can I learn guitar from YouTube?
You can absolutely learn guitar on YouTube as a beginner without having private lessons. However, this method may be more difficult as there is no tuition and direct feedback from an experienced teacher if you get stuck. It wise to choose a well-structured guitar program as a beginner in order to aid progress.
Reference(s)
- rockguitaruniverse.com – Top 30 Guitar Books For Beginners, Intermediate, And Advanced
- hellomusictheory.com – The 10 Best Guitar Books For Beginners In 2023
- rollingstone.com – The Best Beginner Guitar Books
- reallysimpleguitar.com – THE 6 BEST BEGINNER GUITAR BOOKS: READ, LEARN, AND SHRED!