The Frustrated Guitarist's Last Chord Book: How to Finally Learn To Play Rhythm Guitar: Frustrated Guitarist, #1

By Eric Morrison

For absolute beginners to intermediate rhythm guitarists.

Regardless of where you are in your guitar chord studies, "The Frustrated Guitarist's LAST Chord Book" will take your understanding of the guitar's fretboard and chord playing to new and unexpected places. Say goodbye to all other lesson materials you've tried to utilize to get you there. You're obviously not there yet or you wouldn't be here. 

Based upon the "CAGED" system of chord studies, this book is the effectively-organized and intelligently-structured jump start that the CAGED system has long needed to drive the concept home. This book will show...

*How chord families link together!

*How these links provide a vast vocabulary of chords for the student with minimal memorization involved!

*An ingenious layout of all chords within each family. Worth the price of the book by itself!!

*Minimal theory with maximal comprehension!

*A how-to practice guide!

*An appendix on how to use a capo!

*Lots more!!!

"The Frustrated Guitarist's LAST Chord Book" is intended to be the last stop for any guitar player looking to break out of their stifled learning from sources which can include battles with picture chord books, method books, song books, YouTube videos, DVD's, audio files, etc. 

It's a rhythm method designed to have students playing chord charts strictly from memory without the need of this manual once they finish it.

Eric Morrison has been a professional guitar instructor for the past 15 years. A multi-instrumentalist, he is the owner and the lead instructor for guitar, bass, drums and vocals at the Garage Rock Academy in Mesa, Arizona (www.thegarageacademy.com).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eric Morrison
• Release date: Jul 29, 2012
• ISBN: 9781386853244

Eric Morrison

Eric Morrison is an author, entrepreneur, fitness enthusiast and an avid musician. His first book, "The Frustrated Guitarist's LAST Chord Book" is the first in his Frustrated Guitarist series of guitar books that also includes 4 smaller companion books on chords for drop-tuned guitars (Drop D, Drop Db, Drop C and Drop B). Also forthcoming in the series is "The Frustrated Guitarist's LAST Scale Book" which will cover guitar scales and modes. He has just released a health and nutrition book called "Gluten, Sugar, Starch: How To Free Yourself From The Food Addictions That Are Ravaging Your Health And Keeping You Fat - A Paleo Approach." Companion books in the same series will follow which will adhere to the same principles. Eric is currently the founder and lead instructor at the Garage Rock Academy (www.thegaragerockacademy.com) in Mesa, AZ.

Book preview

1.  Introduction:

––––––––

Welcome to The Frustrated Guitarist’s LAST Chord Book!

Thank you very much for your purchase. 

This book is a new entity on the playing field of guitar instruction.  However, I firmly believe that, as of this writing, there is no finer program out there for getting your playing off the ground and then taking it to new and unanticipated heights.

While not truly a chord book in the traditional sense, this book represents a superior system of organizing chords into a logical chord method which facilitates a broader ability for the student to actually memorize the entire fretboard and the chords which can be found within this structure. 

This method will focus on the efficiency of two elements of guitar study – speed and content.  By speed I mean the rate at which information is digested and, most importantly, understood by the student.  Content refers to an introduction of the information beginning guitarists need that is formatted in a revolutionary chronology of concepts.

I have not seen the equal to this program anywhere.  There are enough guitar method books out there that, if all of them were ignited at once, the blaze would be sufficient to warm a small country into the next decade.  I exaggerate, but, not by much.

The question is do any of them have any thing new to say.  Probably not.  And I don’t really claim to either.  But, I will take an old idea and organize it into a new way of finally seeing the point.  That point is the key to knowing how to access huge numbers of chords on the guitar. 

All that this program - and future volumes on the topic of chord study - are designed to do is intelligently break down and introduce topics to students as they are ready for them.  The problem that I see with method books out there is there is way too much focus on creating an all-in-one volume.  Occasionally an author will divide their work into two or so volumes.  However, in the quest to cram everything from tuning the guitar all the way up to improvising a solo into one book, the student is typically alienated from thorough, practical explanations of concepts at the hands of the editor.  There is simply too much information that needs to be absorbed by students in order for them to become complete players than what can be stuffed into one book.  There will be gaps.  I know from experience that there is nothing more frustrating than a concept in a guitar instructional book (or DVD or online lesson site, etc) that is not sufficiently explained.  Your learning stops right there.  Until you find another resource that can provide a better explanation for the concept, you are in guitar limbo. 

I spent way too much of my early career in long periods of limbo, while waiting to learn my next topic.

By the end of this book you will be a rhythm guitar player. 

You will be in demand on the music scene because of your ability to locate just about any chord at will on the fretboard.  You will be able to offer your band mates any number of chord voicings – up and down the fretboard – for any chord they’ll ask you to play.

Rhythm playing is what makes the music.  There are many professional guitarists that have built entire careers exclusively on rhythm playing. 

The alter ego, if you will, to these rhythm players are the flashy and exciting lead players.  These guys rely heavily on rhythm guitarists to lay down a musical bed for them to solo over the top of.  Without this framework in place courtesy of the rhythm player, there would be no availability for the lead player to show their stuff.

Lead players are advanced in their learning and typically have a thorough grasp of music theory.  They must have a strong knowledge of the intricate and seemingly endless combinations of notes within scales and modes that can be played over any given chord progression. 

Or they must have a good ear.

Jimi Hendrix is a prime example of a lead guitarist that could play by feel or by ear rather than by a set of rigid rules.  His playing did follow the rules but he arrived at note selection differently than other guitarists.  Jimi isn’t reported to have had any significant musical instruction during his early career and it is therefore assumed that he is self-taught.  It is commonly held that he also had no ability to read music.  Therefore, in figuring out what notes to play for each chord or solo, it would seem that the rule was, if it sounded good to Jimi, it was O.K.

Have you ever heard a solo played by Jimi Hendrix?  His solos display a mastery of technique and ability and a sense of musicality that is unparalleled in modern music.

Now, I am not saying that, if you have a good ear for music, you should abandon your studies and become the next Jimi.  But, I will say that an ear for music will help you in your learning immeasurably.  A good ear can’t be taught.  You either have one or you don’t.  Does this mean that if you don’t have a good ear that you are out of luck in ever learning to play lead guitar?  Not at all.  Whatever the current state of your ear for music, it can be developed and strengthened through repetition.  The more you hear music that is following