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Chord Master

How to Choose and Play the Right Guitar Chords, Updated Edition

Rikky Rooksby

Chord Master is a chord dictionary with a difference. Rather than just show chord shapes – which are all there in the Chord Matrix – a large portion of the book explains how to use chords, with information about the theory behind them, and attempts to answer the questions guitarists often have about chord shapes. Also, it presents usable groups of chords for beginners in relation to a variety of song styles.

This new, revised edition emphasises the practical and is even more useful to beginners, with expanded exercises and more audio. The multimedia component has roughly doubled the number of tracks and is 30 minutes longer. Some audio examples have a backing track arranged to stress melodic and rhythmic elements so that when the reader puts the chords alongside, the effect is marked, sometimes allowing for re-harmonizing the same music with a different chord progression, or a chord progression played in more than one area of the guitar. The notation of the chord progressions is partly redesigned, making it easier to read. This will also make this part of the book more attractive to the casual browser.

More chord types have been added to Chord Master's Matrix (dictionary) section, with new material about balanced chords (which remove ineffective or unnecessary doublings of notes) and about effective chord voicing. The section about chords from famous songs is expanded with more examples of unusual chords, including ones that players are often curious about – one of the most famous examples is the first chord of “A Hard Day's Night.”

Includes online resource.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers / Backbeat

Pages: 256 • Trim: 8½ x 11

978-1-4950-0151-2 • Paperback • May 2016 • $24.99 • (£18.99)

978-1-4768-5241-6 • eBook • January 2004 • $23.50 • (£17.99)

Subjects: Music / Instruction & Study / General, Music / General

Chord Master

How to Choose and Play the Right Guitar Chords, Updated Edition

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Chord Master is a chord dictionary with a difference. Rather than just show chord shapes – which are all there in the Chord Matrix – a large portion of the book explains how to use chords, with information about the theory behind them, and attempts to answer the questions guitarists often have about chord shapes. Also, it presents usable groups of chords for beginners in relation to a variety of song styles.

This new, revised edition emphasises the practical and is even more useful to beginners, with expanded exercises and more audio. The multimedia component has roughly doubled the number of tracks and is 30 minutes longer. Some audio examples have a backing track arranged to stress melodic and rhythmic elements so that when the reader puts the chords alongside, the effect is marked, sometimes allowing for re-harmonizing the same music with a different chord progression, or a chord progression played in more than one area of the guitar. The notation of the chord progressions is partly redesigned, making it easier to read. This will also make this part of the book more attractive to the casual browser.

More chord types have been added to Chord Master's Matrix (dictionary) section, with new material about balanced chords (which remove ineffective or unnecessary doublings of notes) and about effective chord voicing. The section about chords from famous songs is expanded with more examples of unusual chords, including ones that players are often curious about – one of the most famous examples is the first chord of “A Hard Day's Night.”

Includes online resource.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers / Backbeat

Pages: 256 • Trim: 8½ x 11

978-1-4950-0151-2 • Paperback • May 2016 • $24.99 • (£18.99)

978-1-4768-5241-6 • eBook • January 2004 • $23.50 • (£17.99)

Subjects: Music / Instruction & Study / General, Music / General

Author

Rikky Rooksby (Oxford, England) is a guitar teacher, songwriter, composer, and writer on popular music. He is the author of the multivolume Backbeat songwriting series, which began with the bestselling How to Write Songs on Guitar and includes such titles as The Songwriting Sourcebook; Melody, Lyrics, Riffs; and How to Write Songs in Altered Guitar Tunings.

Chord Master

How to Choose and Play the Right Guitar Chords, Updated Edition

Rikky Rooksby

Chord Master

How to Choose and Play the Right Guitar Chords, Updated Edition

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