Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30030 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-11-20
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 75 minutes

From the Back Cover
This unintimidating video presents the basics of playing guitar in an easy-to-follow format. By simply watching the instructor on screen and following along, you can learn to form chords, fingerpick and strum in different patterns, and play songs in a variety of styles—all without reading music! Guitar for Dummies provides step-by-step instruction of all the skills needed to become an accomplished guitar player. You start by learning to play in tune and in rhythm and then move on to left-hand chords and right-hand strumming patterns. From there, you apply these techniques to several different musical styles, picking up tips and tricks on playing authentically in each style. Along the way, you learn how to develop your own practice routine and focus in on the areas you want to improve.
About the Instructor: Jon Chappell is an author, writer, and award-winning guitarist. He has served as editor-in-chief of Guitar Magazine and has performed with Graham Nash, Judy Collins, and Pat Benatar. He has published over 20 method books in seven different languages and is the author of The Recording Guitarist—A Guide for Home and Studio and two For Dummies books, Guitar for Dummies and Rock Guitar For Dummies.

Customer Reviews

Baby Steps... In the right direction
This was the first DVD I ever bought on the subject. I ordered I even before I bought my first guitar, so I was a real beginner.

The pace is very slow, but as a beginner, I liked it that way. It helped me to feel like I had the potential to keep up. This was very important to me so that I wouldn't give up.

Some may feel the pace of this DVD is too slow, but if you are interested in starting slowly... this may be just the right pace for you.

Eventually, I started collecting Guitar DVDs and I now have over 20, but this was the one that held my interest long enough to make it past the training wheel stages.

Great for beginners; little here for intermediate players
This DVD is great for people who have little or no experience with playing guitar and want to begin without investing in private lessons (private lessons are a good idea if you can afford them). The DVD contains basics such as posture, hand position, a few basic chords, and strumming. It even has a very basic introduction to fingerstyle (playing with your fingers instead of a pick).

I had taken a very basic class a few years ago, then taught myself barre chords and a few scales. I recently invested in a good mid-range guitar (Martin DC-16 GTE), so I picked up this dvd as a refresher. I found myself skipping to chapter 8 before I came to anything I hadn't learned yet. So the title "Learning Guitar for Dummies" is apt. It is great for beginners as a SUPPLEMENT to private lessons. For intermediate players who are looking to build such skills as fingerstyle, barre chords, scales and improvisation, etc, you'll need something a bit more advanced than this. I found myself more bored and drooling over the Taylor 814 CE he was playing than focusing on the really basic concepts he was presenting.

Other drawbacks of the video: 1) his singing is terrible 2) he doesn't go over such basics as selecting and changing strings or some accessories that are helpful even for the novice (i.e. string winders, supplies for cleaning and maintaining the instrument- like a lint free cloth, a humidifier, etc). 3) in the video he does not always follow the suggested fingering shown in the chart on the screen (i.e. on a few of the songs he plays a G chord with the 1,2, and 4 fingers instead of the 1,2,3 as shown in the chart- I also prefer the 1,2,4 fingering, but this may be confusing to some beginners). Other than that it is a good introductory video for the beginner.

Perfect for beginers
I used to take guitar lessons when I was about 15 years old. Learned some basic cords and could play a few songs. I had not picked up the guitar in many years. My 12 year old Daughter decided to learn to play the guitar so I got my old guitars out and started playing again. I ordered this DVD Learning Guitar for Dummies, by Jon Chappell and found it to be an excellent first lesson for the beginner guitar player. Not only did I learn some thing's I did not know but my daughter sat through the whole DVD with her guitar. Jon has a great way of explaining things slowly and easily. I would recommend this DVD for any beginner guitar player. Even if you know nothing about the guitar, you will by the end of this DVD. I had also ordered another Guitar learning DVD and found it to be not nearly as good as this one. Two Thumbs up to this DVD! The only thing I was disappointed about was I could not find any other DVD's put out by Jon Chappell.