I own dozens and dozens of guitar books.
At one stage, years ago, I’d be buying at least one book a week, probably for a year or so.
Sometimes off Amazon, sometimes in guitar shops.
I was always looking for something that would give me the “edge” and help me unlock some really cool secrets.
Well, the other day, I was having a look through an old book I bought.
It’s called From Rock to Jazz.
The cover is very cool.
It shows an image of two different guitars halved and merged together.
On one half you have a Fender Strat…
…And on the other half, you have a Gibson ES-335 (traditionally seen as more of a jazz guitar).
The two guitars are merged together to show the fusion of rock and jazz in the book.
Cool cover, but the problem is the title and the cover are nonsense.
Open up the book and you’re pretty much hit in the face right away with complex jazz chords and heavy theory.
There is no mention of playing rock guitar whatsoever.
When I first got this book, I was thinking, “What the heck?”
But after a while, I accepted it for what it is…
A good jazz beginner guitar book.
It just made me laugh because the author did a good job of writing the book…
…But it was clear the publisher wanted to sell the book and make it appeal to a wider audience…
Yet the publisher clearly didn’t understand playing guitar.
It seems those folks only knew about publishing books.
Anyway, I actually like the book and enjoyed playing around with some of the lessons inside.
…But this isn’t so much about the book as it is about the world of guitar tuition in general.
Most people, publishers, friends who play guitar, and experienced teachers…
…Simply forget what it’s like to learn guitar and be a beginner or frustrated beginner.
You’ve probably had it many times…
When you’ve been overloaded with heavy theory and mentally fatigued by the complexities of it all.
It’s like trying to learn guitar while standing in quicksand.
Anyway, I think it’s always wise to remember that most people have forgotten what it’s like to be a beginner.
If you remember that, it can help you start to make sense of all the confusing lessons out there.
That, I find, can help take away some of the nagging self-doubts (most of which are usually unfounded, by the way).
…And speaking of books, if you want to improve your theory and technique, now is the time.
…Because if you join the academy in the next few days, you’ll get TWO books of mine posted out to you as a welcome gift (no need to pay postage or anything). The books are:
#1 – Guitarists Get Theory
#2 – Essential Guitar Technique
You can find out more about the academy below…
The Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy
Have a great weekend.
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.
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