Product Description

Chord Master is the latest book in a series that includes the bestselling How To Write Songs On Guitar, Riffs and The Songwriting Sourcebook. Unlike traditional chord dictionaries, Chord Master is more than a catalogue of chord shapes. It takes the time to discuss each of the chord types and patterns a guitarist is likely to come across, why they sound the way they do, how to use them in songwriting, and how to play them easily. Chord Master includes:

* Over 1000 chords and their variations

* Chords arranged by key, by type, or by musical style

* Chord secrets of famous songs revealed

* A 20-track audio CD demonstrating chords and chord sequences

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #270764 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780879307660
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Rikky Rooksby is the author of the best selling How to Write Songs on Guitar and many other books for musicians.

Customer Reviews

The best introduction to music theory I've ever read!
I found this book to contain an excellent explanation of music theory in a very effective way. I've bought several books on music theory in the past and most of them have been fairly long-winded and difficult to understand. Over the years I have picked up the basics (major and minor chords, scales, inversions etc.) but not much else. In the first 30-40 pages, this book clearly explains a lot of information on musical theory very clearly. In my opinion, this is worth the price of the book alone. I've never seen this information presented so concisely in any other book or website.

The rest of the book goes on to explain how different chord types tend to be used by certain genres and the last half of the book is dedicated to a listing of all the chord diagrams. I especially like how the chords are listed by their type (major, minor, 7th, etc.) rather than by their musical tone (A, B,C,D etc) as this makes the book a lot easier to navigate.

There is also a section of the book dedicated to illustrating the differences in the sounds of the different chord types that is aided by the accompanying CD. The music on the CD isn't really that good, but it does effectively demonstrate the variations in the sounds of the different chord types.

Compared to your standard chord dictionary, this book provides so much more information for only a few extra dollars. I'd definitely give it 5 Stars!

More than a simple chord dictionary. Quality as only Rooksby can deliver.
What makes this book great is that it has song examples that use a specific chord coloration.

For example, G6 is the Beatles' "She Loves You" chord. You hear a G6, and you immediately think of that song (it's one of the most popular songs that uses such an odd chord, really).

And then you have Gaug4, which is the intro chord to Zeppelin's "Dancing Days." You hear the Gaug4 and you think... "Dancing Days!"

Those are just a couple examples on why this is so much more than a chord dictionary.

Here is how the book is sectioned:

-Chords for Beginners
-Triads (how to play simple triads all over the guitar neck, using only three strings)
-Movable Shapes (very useful section!)
-Chords for Songwriters. Here's where the book gets REALLY good. It tells you all the basic chords you can do in some of the major and minor keys. If you don't know a lot of theory, this helps you create a pop song quickly and easily. Awesome for beginners.
-Chords for Different Musical Styles. This is another GREAT section of the book. He details which chords you can use for acoustic/folk, blues/rock n roll, funk & R&B, jangle/indie rock, heavy rock & punk, soul & easy listening, and jazz. This section teaches you an INCREDIBLE amount in nine pages.
-Chords Used in Famous Songs. This is what I mentioned above-- he's got 50 different, unique chords and the songs which feature them (which instantly make you go, "hey, that's from that song."
-Chord progressions on the CD. Some basic song examples, explaining why certain chords go after or before others. Very good information.

And lastly, the second half of the book is what Rooksy calls the "Chord Matrix." It's basically your typical chord dictionary. Shows you which fingers to put on which strings/which frets. Organized by coloration (Major, Minor, inversions, Maj7, Min7, Maj7#5, etc. etc. etc.

Needless to say, this book is pretty damn comprehensive. Don't pass it up.

This is not only about HOW, but WHY as well
I had been playing guitar for more than 40 years from Classics, Rock, Jazz to Flamenco... you name it! I've never owned and/or read any Guitar Chord Book except this one. This is the ONLY book for you if you wanna know WHY a chord should be pressed like this and what's the relation between the notes you are pressing. So far this is the ONLY guitar chord book I found that ALSO uses the harmonic notes 1 to 7 and of course the A to G# as well. Creating your own chords will be a piece of cake after you read this book.