Guitar Books Buying Advice
Grade Exam books
Some students find the benefit of grade exams extremely valuable. The rock school examination board is my preference as they seem very switched on to the needs of a modern guitar player. The songs are well structured and really give a thorough insight into many techniques so a student can work through their grades without getting bored.
Grade 6-8 gains you extra UCAS points that help when a student wants to apply to university. A pass, merit, or distinction gains you points and if you progress all the way to grade 8 you achieve the most UCAS points. For example; a distinction in the grade 8 exam gets you 75 UCAS points a merit equates to 70 and a pass is 55. These points could be the difference between getting in to the uni of your choice so are definitely worth considering.
Guitar, Bass, Drums, Piano & voice are all catered for and there is a book available for each that all come supplied with a cd containing tuning notes, backing, and full tracks.
Bass Guitar Technique
The Complete Electric Bass Player series of books by Chuck Rainey are quite frankly superb in my estimation. They offer a complete look into the workings and mechanics of bass playing and have a wealth of good practice tips and advice. The major downside to this is that there is no tab included, it’s just purely notation, so if you don’t read you may struggle.
Guitar General
Stuff Good Guitar Players Should Know by Wolf Marshall (If that ain’t a guitarist’s name I don’t know what is) is a very concise book that delivers a wealth of information well. You can use it as a reference and turn to if you forget something or even use it as a discovery book when you first start. It basically covers all sorts of technique terminology, Chord types, scales, and guitar physicality’s. It’s pretty good for most guitar players although if you are an advanced student you may already be well versed in the majority of its contents.
Younger Guitarists
Starting guitar by Matt Scharfglass is a very good book focussed around younger guitarist aged around 7-12 years old. Its a complete beginners book and takes you through the very fundamentals of playing, how to sit, hold the pick, number of fingers ect, and end up teaching several key signatures, songs, and chords. It comes supplied with a CD for kids to play against and the music is written in tab and notation, so it covers all bases really well. I have had a child (my nephew) playing using this book at age 5 successfully.
