Many times my students or the readers of my blog ask me what guitar book I would recommend them to learn about general aspects of the guitar. Since I am of the opinion that the experience itself is the best counselor to make a recommendation, I have clear for years the answer to this question.
But let me start the story at the beginning, and in a very summarized way. It was the year 1990 and I was a young guitar student eager to learn, I had not started my studies at the Conservatory and the world of the guitar was for me a mystery in general. The Internet did not exist in spain at this time. I had the immense luck of running into a local bookstore, where I found a copy of THE GUITAR HANDBOOK, by Ralph Denyer, I bought it and started reading it with great interest. From the first minute the book caught my attention, because it was a book dedicated to the guitar in general, and was not limited to a specific type of guitar, a musical style or a specific playing technique. This feature, along with some really fabulous illustrations and the absence of mistakes or false information are the greatness of this book.
If you’re looking for information about the mysteries of Bach’s lute works or the tapping technique, this is not your book. This is a book to understand the world of the guitar in a broad and generic sense, which awakens the love and liking for the guitar through its different chapters, in which it deals with different topics related to the instrument, always in well organized way, with excellent planning, rigorous information and a sufficient dose to train the new guitar player.
Especially interesting are the sections dedicated to the biography of great guitarists and to the constructive details of the different types of guitars. It also includes information about the technical interpretation on the guitar, such as chord charts, arpeggios, harmonics, intervals, etc.
The book is widely illustrated
The Clasical and Flamenco Guitar are well covered
The biographical information is very succulent
Also deals with the subject of electronics
These are the pages dedicated to harmonics
… intervals
… and to finish, a complete dictionary of chords
The passionate and systematic reading of this book took my love towards the guitar to a new plane, more solidly passionate, and it provided me with a broad base of knowledge about the instrument.
These are the reasons that make me recommend this book when someone asks me for advice, since its reading is pleasant and the information it contains is very valuable.
Since it was published, there have been several editions of the book and it is translated into several languages. I have the Spanish edition with hard cover, nowadays discontinued (to which belong the images that illustrate this post). There are currently several editions available in English on the Internet, whose contents are identical and which differ only in the covers.
As you know, the links to Amazon generate a small commission that does not increase the price of the book for you. Buying the book through these links you collaborate to the maintenance of this blog, in which I have invested hundreds of hours of work.
Thank you very much and have very good moments with your guitar!
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