Product Description

Chord Workbook for Guitar's theory section helps a beginner understand the basic theory of chord building in simple easy to understand language. Chord progressions are provided to show how to apply chord voicings to common song forms. Advanced students will find the chord reharmonization section to be of particular interest, providing them with a lifetime of possibilities. All chord progressions are presented with chord symbols and in music notation to show smooth voice leading. The notated chord voicings also provide professional guitarists an opportunity to strengthen their sight reading.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1416564 in Books
• Published on: 1996-09-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Spiral-bound
• 173 pages

From the Publisher
We are very excited about Mr. Arnold's Workbook series. The feedback we have received has validated our instincts that the books are a long-needed breakthrough in music education. Mr. Arnold has culled from his many years of teaching both privately and on the university level, and has provided information and teaching approaches which have never been presented in quite this way. The serious student will find the books to be a real "Rosetta Stone" for music theory and its application, while the professional musician will find them to be compendiums of valuable information and lifelong companions in the voyage of musical discovery.

We are also excited about the comping styles books which take the progressions examined in the Chord Workbooks and teach a student how to play them in a blues, jazz and funk style.

From the Author
Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One can benefit a beginner, intermediate or advanced student.

For the beginning guitarist the Chord Workbook for Guitar will help them to understand the basic building blocks of music i.e. music theory, and their direct application on their instrument. The student is not just learning fingering patterns, they are applying chords to songs and experiencing how they sound in a musical situation. The theory section is written in a style that anyone can understand. This gets the student off on the right foot to absorb what they are doing when they play chords or music in general. Students find the method I use to help them learn and remember chord forms is hard for a couple of weeks but eventually it really pays off; they find that they are able to remember large numbers of chords and know their exact names. My method involves two stages: learning where the root notes of each chord are on the guitar and then applying these chords to common song forms to hear the chords in a musical situation. These common song forms include the Blues, Minor Blues and Rhythm Changes. The Blues, Minor Blues and Rhythm Changes forms are also explained in another theory section so that the student understands what the component structures of these important contemporary music forms are.

The intermediate guitarist is usually a student who has holes in their knowledge of theory- they are familiar with a number of forms and progressions, but may not understand the underlying structures. This book contains the information the student needs to analyze and create progressions.

The advanced guitarist should know most of the chord voicings found in this book, but will find the harmonic superimposition theory section to be fascinating and useful. The theory section presents the 3 ways a dominant chord can resolve along with extensions that can be placed in front of a dominant chord. The progressions presented allow the student to see first hand how to apply this information. They include 12 versions of the blues, minor blues and rhythm changes, one in each key. It is also recommended that an advanced student use these progressions to create solo lines using the superimposed progressions as templates. Students in the New York University program are also required to sing through these progressions using solfege while strumming the root chord of the key. This develops not only an ability to understand how progressions relate to a key but helps to improve the ear and thus make the progression more part of one's musical language.

From the Inside Flap
To acquire a thorough understanding of the guitar you must build from the basic mechanics of music. Most guitarists begin their study in a garage band playing the songs they like. I was one of these people. There is much to be said about this kind of learning; it develops creativity, a sense of musical interaction, and a soul for music. But although these are unquestionably essential parts of the process, it can only go so far. I found that without proper training I was falling into bad habits and even worse, I felt musically confined and stagnant. Through learning to read the notes on the guitar and understanding music theory I was able to break through this barrier. It added immensely to my abilities on the instrument, and this coupled with my "garage" education gave me the perspective to understand, play, and create just about any music I was interested in.

This book is designed to help you open up to the world of music theory, as I did, so as to know the guitar in a way that will infinitely expand your musical potential. It takes concentration and commitment, but I guarantee that it's worth it.

This book will present you with musical combinations, some of which you may not have heard before, yet these chords and progressions are only a small part of the harmonic palette available on the guitar, and are known by all accomplished players. They are the tools of the trade. Let them inspire your creativity. Learn the chords and progressions in this book and don't just imitate. Use them as a starting point to create your own unique voice.

The guitar is a very easy instrument on which to see fingering patterns. It is a common trap to read these patterns instead of reading musical notation. This can cripple your musical potential. The method presented here tries as much as possible to get you to learn the notes and to understand the basic music theory behind all chord combinations. In this way you can use both your musical intuition and your analytical mind to help you create.