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Introduction

I. About the Guitar

Types of Guitars; Stringing; Tuning; Holding; Finger Position; Reading Charts; Simple G Chord.

II. Simple Chords and Strumming

Songs Introducing Simple C and G7; Full A7, C and D Chords; Double Strum.

III. More Chords and Adding Accents

Songs with Accents; Shifting Accents; 3/4 Accented Time; A, Am, D7, E, Em, E7, Full G Chord.

IV. Slash Chords and Chord Progressions

Songs with Slash Chords G/B, A/C#; New Chords Am7, Bm, B7, C7, Dm, F, Full G7.

V. Rock Strumming and Power Chords

Folk Rock; Syncopation; Power Chords A5, D5, E5; Palm Muting; Contemporary Rock Strumming.

VI. Playing the Blues

Introducing the Blues Rhythm: “Corrina,” “Little Red Rooster” and Others; the 12-Bar Blues.

VII. Modern Rock Strumming and Movable Power Chords

Movable Power Chords and Riffs; Palm Muting in Modern Rock; Rock/Punk Strums; The Chika.

VIII. Reading Tablature and Playing Melodies

Tablature; Rhythmic Notation; Melodies – Folk to Classic; Boogie Woogie Bass; Blues Shuffle.

IX. Bass-Note Strum with Country Tunes

Popular Songs with Bass-Note Strum; Bass-Note Double Strum; Alternate Bass-Note Strum.

X. Fingerpicking – from Arpeggio to Travis

Introduced in “Scarborough Fair,” “House of the Rising Sun,” “Romanza” and Others.

XI. Reading Standard Music Notation

How to Read Music String by String; Rhythm; Time Signatures; Accidentals; Key Signatures.

Appendix

Button Symbols; Commands and Shortcuts; Song Looping; Tools (Animated Fretboard, Recorder, etc).

Electric guitar parts, stringing, tuning, holding, finger position, numbering, musical alphabet and the fretboard.

Open position power chords, tab notation, distortion

Open chords, “All Right Now,” minor key exercise, EQ

Strumming chords, Pumpkins-style song, Major key punk riff, EQ

Movable power chords, “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” verse from “Lake of Fire,” the blues scale, movable bridges

New strumming pattern, Rolling Stones-style song, the pinky, standing/not standing

More with open power chords, AC/DC-style song, E-blues scale riff, your practice area

Embellishing open power chords, the yank, classic rock riffs, effects pedals

More with movable power chords, “Tomorrow,” alternate picking, distortion pedals

More 6th string power chords, Sabbath-style tune, hammer-ons & pull-offs, playing with other musicians (part 1)

More open chords, “Tomorrow” with muting, chromatic warm-ups, playing with other musicians (part 2)

Shuffle strum, Blind Melon-style song, movable blues scale, reverb

Dominant 7th chords, 12 bar blues, punk shuffle riff, whammy bar (part 1)

The blues boogie, 12 bar blues with boogie, bent notes, whammy bar (part 2)

5th string power chords, adding a blues scale lick to Silverchair, complete form of “Tomorrow,” recording yourself (part 1)

Combining movable power chord grids, “You Really Got Me,” “All Day and All of the Night,” lead licks with the A blues scale, “Lake of Fire” solo, recording yourself (part 2)

Modern punk strum 1, pop-punk progression, pop-punk riff, recording yourself (part 3)

Palm muting, “Paranoid” with palm muting, muting distorted riffs, more ways to manage distortion

Mixing palm muting with regular strums, Green Day-style song, basing a riff on chord roots, feedback

Modern punk strum 2, Major key punk progression in Blink 182-style, another movable blues scale, the wah pedal

Chord review and integration, open and power chord song, movable Major scale – 6th string root, delay

Picking patterns, intro to “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” Major scale sequence, modulation effects

Barre chords, barre chord warmup – Hendrix-style, Major scale rock riff, playing with other musicians (part 3)

Movable barre chords on 6th string, Hendrix-style song, movable minor scale – 6th & 5th string roots, less is more

Movable barre chords with 5th string root, pop-punk bridge – using a mix of chords, Ozzy Osbourne-style riff, multi-effects pedals

Combining 6th and 5th string barre chords, minimizing left-hand motion, Latin-rock jam, chorus of “Lake of Fire,” minor key metal riff, modeling, “Tired of Waiting for You“

Appendix

Introduction

Contents; review of basics including tablature, music notation and notes on the fretboard.

I. Melodic Guitar – Left-Hand Techniques

Hammer-ons, pull-offs, triplet slurs, trills, vibrato, slides and bends introduced in riffs and songs such as “Crawdad Hole,” “Jesu,” “Largo,” “Scarborough Fair,” “House of the Rising Sun” and 12-bar blues solo.

II. Rhythm Guitar – Barre Chords

E-shape and A-shape barre chords; chord progressions; interactive chord charts for all positions, barre chord excerpts for “Midnight Special,” “Watchtower” and “Touch of Grey;” chord charts; symbols.

III. Strumming Styles – Folk, Country, Blues & Rock

Bass-strum techniques; shuffle rhythm; palm muting; songs including “All Along the Watchtower,” “Drive On,” “Touch of Grey,” “Jet Airliner,” “I’m Your Captain,” “Sloop John B.”

IV. Using Scales and Building Chords

Intervals; scales (major, minor, blues, country, rock and other); chord construction (triads, seventh, extended and altered chords); circle of fifths; improvisation basics.

V. Guitar Solos

“Spoonful” (Dixon- and Clapton-style); “Touch of Grey” (Garcia); “Too Much to Lose” (Jeff Beck); “All Along the Watchtower” (Hendrix-style).

VI. Fingerstyle Guitar

Travis and arpeggio style; picking variations; harmonics; songs including “Dreamboat Annie,” “Time in a Bottle,” 12-bar blues, “Greensleeves,” “Für Elise,” “Malagueña,” “Romanza.”

Scale Directory

Major, natural minor, blues, major pentatonic (country), minor pentatonic (rock) in open and closed (movable) fingerings.

Appendix

Button symbols; program commands; tuner; chord dictionary; recorder; metronome; etc.

I. Introduction, About the Guitar, Preparing to Play

Welcome; introduction to guitars; guitar sizes; guitar strings; tuning the guitar; holding the guitar; right and left hand and finger positions; string, fret, and finger numbering; reading chord charts; Animated Fretboard

II. First Chords and Songs, Simple Strumming

Introducing the G Chord; Brother John; the C and G7 chords; Skip to My Lou; The Three Musketeers Game; chords for the Mystery Tune; the D and A7 chords; Down in the Valley; The Clouds in the Wind Game; chords for Mystery Tune 2; Red River Valley; Silent Night; The Sunny Morning Game; chords for Mystery Tune 3

III. Double Strum, Adding Accents, New Chords, 3/4 Time

The double strum, Marianne; Jingle Bells; The Summer Shower Game; chords for Mystery Tune 4; adding accents; Go Tell Aunt Rhody; Careless Love; Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; The Mountain Climber Game; chords for Mystery Tune 5; shifting the accents; She’ll Be Comin’ Around the Mountain; Oh, Susanna; introducing 3/4 accented time; Amazing Grace; My Darling Clementine; Scarborough Fair; The Victory Tune Game; chords for Mystery Tune 6

IV. Playing Melodies, Tablature, and Notation

Introduction to Tablature; playing melodies with a pick; playing melodies with the fingers; plucking exercises; playing melodies with the left hand; left hand exercises; basic rhythm notation; Alouette; Ode to Joy; Au Clair de la Lune; Aura Lee; Yankee Doodle