Crash Course in Scales

Prolific guitar-writer Jamie Humphries offers a complete 8-week crash course in the electric guitar. Featuring two CDs packed with demonstrations and examples this volume starts at the very beginning with your first chords and rhythms. You will then tackle blues shapes and your first soloing ideas expand your chordal vocabulary learn a library of scales and exactly how to apply them...and before you know it you're playing the electric guitar! Each week of lessons ends with a test to assess your progression. Get off the ground fast with this innovative approach to guitar study.

You can get ringing notes rich tones and textures simply by retuning your guitar to an open chord. On this easy exploration for novice players Mary Flower teaches some tunings that will help you play beautiful sounding songs and instrumentals almost immediately. An expert player and an experienced instructor Mary helps you work out well-known songs or instrumentals for each tuning. She starts with a simple one - dropping the bass E string to D - and teaches a basic but lovely fingerpicking version of the folk hymn I'll Fly Away. You'll then learn how to get into open G G6 D and D minor tunings. Along the way Mary shows how to embellish your guitar workusing various chord positions scales harmony lines hammer-ons pull-offs and other essential techniques. Songs include the traditional instrumental Spanish Fandango; the powerful folk tune John Henry; a 'carnivalesque' tribute to Bo Carter; and gospel/spiritual songs Amazing Grace I Shall Not Be Moved Do Lord and Jesus is on the Main Line.