A Guide to Guitar Chords
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A Guide to Guitar Chords (BC1GTR.shtml) | Updated: 21-Jul-2008 - 11:24
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A Guide to Guitar Chords
Author: Curt Sheller
Publisher: Curt Sheller Publications - (58 pages)
ISBN: NA Published: December 2004
Size: 8.5 x 11 inches (coil binding)
Product Code: BC1GTR
Product Page: www.curtsheller.com/books/BC1GTR.shtml
Press Release: www.curtsheller.com/BC1GTR/PR_BC1GTR.html
Foreword
Introduction
After playing guitar for over 40 years and teaching guitar for 20 years I saw that most guitar players struggle with movable chords forms and the more advanced chords commonly called “jazz” chords.
Seeing that there was a lack of clear, concise and an organized presentation of material for guiding one through the maze of chords for the guitar. I decided to create just such a text.
This book provides a guide to the common basic open position chords all guitar players should know, an introduction to movable chord forms and more advanced 4-part jazz chords.
This book is designed as a guide to guitar chords. Covering basic open position guitar chords, movable chord forms, rock chords, how to transpose chords, learning the guitar fingerboard and an introduction to 4-part “jazz” chords and more... It is proven material developed over the years from my private teaching and extensive research, study and application.
From a few basic chord shapes and a understanding of how chords are constructed your chord vocabulary can be dramatically increased without memorizing countless more chord shapes. There are too many chord shapes to memorize.
This book will take the mystery out playing and understanding chords on the guitar.
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Contents
- Introduction 3
- Open Position Chords 7
- The Guitar Chord Diagram 8
- Movable Barre Forms 15
- “E/F” Barre Form 16
- “A/Bb” Barre Form 17
- “C/Db” Movable Form 18
- sus, add9 and Power 5 Chords 19
- Neutral Chords 20
- Barre Chords Fret Chart Summary 21
- Root & Fifth Chart 22
- Movable Triad Chord Forms 23
- Major Triads • String Family 1 2 3 & 2 3 4 24
- Minor Triads • String Family 1 2 3 & 2 3 4 24
- Diminished Triads • String Family 1 2 3 & 2 3 4 25
- Augmented Triads • String Family 1 2 3 & 2 3 4 25
- Tips for Remembering Triads 26
- Movable 4-Part Chord Forms 27
- Movable 7th Chords at Fret (1) • String Family 1 2 3 4 28
- Generic • Movable 7th Chords • String Family 1 2 3 4 28
- Additional 7th Movable Chord Forms 28
- Movable 7th Chords at Fret (1) • String Family 2 3 4 6 29
- Movable 7th Chords at Fret (1) • String Family 3 4 5 6 29
- Tips for Remembering 4-Part Chords 30
- 4-Part “Jazz” Chord Forms 31
- What is a Chord? 32
- A Few Chord Building Rules 33
- Creating the 4 Basic Chord Types 34
- Building More Advanced Chords 35
- Scale Interval Formula Chart 38
- Suggested Learning Order 40
- Transposing Chords & Progressions 43
- How to Transpose Chords 44
- Practice Chord Progressions 47
- Orlando Blues 48
- WC Swing 49
- Learning the Guitar Fingerboard 51
- Reference or Key Frets 51
- Enharmonic equivalents 53
- Sharps to Flats 53
- Flats to Sharps 53
- Standard Tuning Natural & Sharp Notes 54
- Standard Tuning Natural & Flat Notes 55
- Conclusion 57
Book Changes & Errata file
(on www.CurtSheller.com)
Testimonials
If you ask, "When I'm playing a solo over a jazz song, how do I know which notes work at any point in the song?" then you may want to have a look at this book (Harmonic Anaylsis for Scale Selection and Chord Substitution)
You can glean this information from many sources, but this is a pithy, direct approach to the heart of the answer you're looking for. I would also suggest, for a broad, comprehensive, and beautifully written "Bible" on understanding jazz, Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book."
James K. Kroger, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, New Mexico State University
I wanted to pay you a compliment. (Now don’t get a big head!). I have purchased many books over the past 15 years I have been playing and none of them come even close to having the detailed and easy to understand information yours have. I really got a chance to get some practicing in and am finding your books to be such a great learning tool. I also purchased a timer like you suggested and my practice sessions the past 4 days have been my best in years. Take care,
Nick (Matty) Matyszczak
JazzGuitarLife.com
(A review of The Advanced Guide to Guitar Chords Vol.1
by Lyle Robinson of JazzGuitarLife)
...When I received this instructional book for review my first question
was, “where was Curt Sheller when I needed him twenty years ago?” If I
had access to this book early on I would have most likely progressed
quicker than I did, especially when faced with a lead sheet from a fake
book with all those “weird” chord names and alterations.
Sheller’s “The Advanced Guide to Guitar Chords Vol.1”
provides the beginner and intermediate jazz guitar player with the most
common and great sounding chord voicings of all the major, minor,
dominant, augmented and diminished chords plus their alterations: 9, 11,
and 13ths. As well, he discusses the sus, add, and slash theory of such
chord formations.
This is a text that is beautifully laid out and very easy to work
through. What little chord theory there is throughout the book is
clearly explained and doesn’t bog the student down with too much
theoretical discourse. The chord diagrams are clearly defined and there
is no confusion about where fingers should be placed. This is definitely
a book that you can begin utilizing in a practical playing situation
almost immediately. And it’s great for teachers to get their
beginning Jazz guitar students to start hearing and playing those
wonderful voicings that excited us all early on in our development as
Jazz guitar players.
“The Advanced Guide to Guitar Chords Vol.1” is a great
beginning for any aspiring Jazz guitarist and I can't wait to check out
Volumes two and three.
Thank you Lyle Robinson
(Regarding QUICKSTART Scale Fingerings for Ukulele) ... I was looking for blues chording info but your site came up as jazz chords. I figured soon or later I would need jazzer chords so here I am. Plus nobody else is offering more indepth info on the uke, I liked the scale one the best so far.
Thank you RDGauthier
(Regarding QUICKSTART Scale Fingerings for Ukulele) The ukulele book arrived, it must have been chatting with some Christmas cards somewhere.
The books are great!! I am very happy to wrap the books up, and put them under the tree.
My husband and I are both learning to play ukulele and he is also playing a little bit of guitar. Thanks also for sending the full catalogue. These look like some of the best materials that I have found so far!
Thanks, Laura C.
Book Samples
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Related Book Info
Information related to the topics principles and information in the book.
Related Book Info
Books related to the topics principles and information in the book.
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