Official Review: Learning To Play The Guitar - Intermedia...

[PashaRu]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Learning To Play The Guitar - Intermediate Rhythm Guitar" by Anthony Pell.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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If you’ve stalled in your guitar-playing prowess and are having trouble getting off of that plateau you’ve been stuck on, or if you consider yourself an advanced beginner and would like to improve, then Learning to Play the Guitar: Intermediate Rhythm Guitar by Anthony Pell may be just what you need to get to the next level. Pell has also written Learning to Play the Guitar: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide, which is meant as a guitar primer and precursor to the Rhythm Guitar book, published in 2016. The Beginner’s Guide was published in 2013. They are available in e-format on Amazon and B&N. My ebook is 130 pages, and there are 17 separate “lessons,” or chapters.

As the title indicates, this is not a book for beginners. The author presupposes that users of this book already have a basic knowledge of the guitar – how to hold it, tune, it, strum it, and a rudimentary knowledge of music and some basic open-string chords.

There is a wide range of subjects discussed in this book. The opening chapter covers basic rhythm, musical notation, and time signatures. From there the book moves on to open-string chord strumming patterns, power chords, rock rhythms, and bar (barre) chords. Following the discussion of barre chords is a nice section on the CAGED chord system and how to use barre chords to take advantage of the entire neck of the guitar for more versatility in playing and variation in sound. Fingerpicking and slash chords are also discussed, and the book contains chapters on how to play reggae, funk, and blues music. The final chapters of the book focus a bit more on music theory, covering harmony as well as major and minor chord variations.

The exercises are short and easy to follow, and the explanations are clear and understandable. Each chapter begins with a very simple exercise; successive exercises build on it until, by the end of the chapter, you can play a short song using all of the techniques discussed. This is a very “hands-on” book; you read it, quite literally, with your guitar on your lap. There is a helpful amount of music theory, but it’s not overwhelming, and there isn’t a lot of fluff here. It’s just a book of simple, easy-to-follow guitar exercises.

The beauty of this book, however, is the online access to scores of audio samples, songs, and videos which are all tied in to exercises in the book. At the beginning of the book is the password which provides access to these samples on Anthony Pell’s website. There are 116 audio samples, 23 videos, and 18 songs on the site. Virtually every exercise in the book has a corresponding online audio sample, and there is a video lesson at the end of each chapter in which the author demonstrates the skills discussed in that chapter. In my pdf version of the book there are hyperlinks for each exercise; you just tap or click the link and it takes you right to the proper page on the site. Super easy and convenient. And all of the exercises can be downloaded on a computer, tablet, or telephone.

The audio samples and video lessons are a great help. You can look at the musical notation in the book and at the same time hear or see that particular exercise played. Since listening to music is primarily an auditory experience, it’s great that the learner can hear every exercise contained in the book.

I am happy to rate Learning to Play the Guitar: Intermediate Rhythm Guitar by Anthony Pell 4 out of 4 stars. The easy-to-follow exercises, audio and video online samples, music theory, and range of subjects make this a terrific book for those who want to improve their guitar playing. At the time of this writing, the book is $9.95 on Amazon. Anyone who has shopped for this type of instructional book with an accompanying CD or DVD knows that it can easily cost two or three times that. The ebook format and online resources undoubtedly keep the cost down without sacrificing anything. This book is well worth the price, and I recommend it to advanced beginner and intermediate guitar players who would like to improve their skills.

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Learning To Play The Guitar - Intermediate Rhythm Guitar
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Like PashaRu's review? Post a comment saying so!

[kandscreeley]

That does seem like a pretty good deal as far as the price goes. My question is, do you play the guitar? I would be interesting to see if it was actually helpful to someone who was trying to improve in their playing.

[PashaRu]

That does seem like a pretty good deal as far as the price goes. My question is, do you play the guitar? I would be interesting to see if it was actually helpful to someone who was trying to improve in their playing.

Yes, I play. Some of the info is a bit basic for me, but I was able to pick up a few pointers. I think the instructional method is quite good and easy to follow.

[mewsmash]

So you would say this book is most geared towards intermediate players?

[PashaRu]

So you would say this book is most geared towards intermediate players?

Yes. As the title implies, this is for intermediate players.

[mewsmash]

Thank you. It seems as if it would be obvious, but a lot of people have different ideas of what intermediate is.

[Jennifer Allsbrook]

Nice review! I think that the access to the extras makes this an extremely interesting book for purchase. I haven't touched my guitars in ages and would love to get back to playing. Having resources like this would have made learning to play much easier. I learned from friends and picked up bad habits so when I went to formal lessons, I had to relearn how to do certain things such as my finger picking technique. Learning a skill in the digital age is wonderful!

[PashaRu]

Nice review! I think that the access to the extras makes this an extremely interesting book for purchase. I haven't touched my guitars in ages and would love to get back to playing. Having resources like this would have made learning to play much easier. I learned from friends and picked up bad habits so when I went to formal lessons, I had to relearn how to do certain things such as my finger picking technique. Learning a skill in the digital age is wonderful!

There are countless instructional videos on Youtube; some are pretty good, some not so much. (I recently read an article about a woman who built her own house just by watching how-to videos on Youtube!) But it's nice to have the ebook to work in tandem with the audio & video material. The author really seems to know his stuff, and the quality of instruction is good. It's the next best thing to taking private lessons, and it's much less expensive and more convenient.

[Gravy]

What a very handy (ouch! Pun not intended) book! The extra online content sounds especially interesting.

[PashaRu]

What a very handy (ouch! Pun not intended) book! The extra online content sounds especially interesting.

Yep, the online content is what makes it worthwhile. Talk to the hand, not the face. In my case, though, it's one and the same.