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Articles & Books From Mark Phillips
Video / Updated 08-11-2023
An arpeggio is a chord whose notes are played one at a time instead of simultaneously. It’s sort of the exploded view of a chord (kind of like the pictures you see in the owner’s manual to a piece of build-it-yourself furniture).
It won’t surprise you that in Italian, the word arpeggio means “broken chord.
Discover the magic of classical guitar with this fun and easy guide The perfect starting point to learning classical guitar, Classical Guitar For Dummies, walks you through the steps, techniques, and styles you’ll need to finger-pick your way around some of the most beautiful songs ever written. Whether you’re a first timer looking to add your very first classical guitar to your collection or you’ve already made the jump to the classical style want to pick up some priceless tips, this book is the easy-to-read companion you’ll want at your side.
A one-stop resource to the essentials of owning and playing the guitar If you’ve just bought a guitar, or you’ve had one for a while, you probably know it takes some time and effort to learn how to play the popular instrument. There’s so much to know about owning, maintaining, and playing a guitar. Where do you even begin?
A guitar-playing practice guide with hundreds of warm-up and technique-building exercisesIf you already play some guitar but need some practice, you're in the right place. Guitar Exercises For Dummies is a friendly guide that provides just enough need-to-know information about practicing scales, chords, and arpeggios in the context of specific skills and techniques to help you maximize its 400+ exercises and improve your guitar playing.
The bestselling guide now updated with video demonstrations and audio tracks online The guitar is one of the most versatile instruments in the world, which is why it's so appealing to musicians. Guitar For Dummies, 4th Edition gives you everything a beginning or intermediate acoustic or electric guitarist needs: from buying a guitar to tuning it, playing it, and caring for it.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-10-2022
Learning to play the guitar is a lot fun. Use this cheat sheet to help you get started with your guitar finger placement and guitar chords. If you need help with finger placement on your guitar, use tablature (tab) and fingerboard diagrams.Practice playing the most common open-position chords on your guitar to get that “jangly” sound, and make sure you know the notes on the neck of your guitar to change starting notes in scales, chords, and arpeggios.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-16-2022
On this Cheat Sheet, you find handy reference material that you can print and place conveniently in your practice area. Included are an explanation of guitar notation as it translates to actually playing the guitar, 24 common guitar chords, a fingerboard diagram showing all the notes on the guitar up to the 12th fret, and a list of essential tools and accessories that facilitate trouble-free and versatile music-making on guitar.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-24-2022
When you’re practicing guitar, use these diagrams to show the finger positions to play major and minor scales, as well as the notes on the neck of your guitar. The latter will help you change starting notes in chords, scales, and arpeggios.Guitar neck diagrams for major and minor scalesWhen practicing guitar, use these miniature neck diagrams to remind yourself exactly where to position your left-hand fingers.
Step by Step / Updated 08-10-2022
Electric guitarists need to change their strings more often than do acoustic guitarists. Because of this, electric guitars are built with hardware that makes the process of changing strings very quick and easy. Of the three types of guitars — steel-string acoustic, classical, and electric — you can change the strings on electric guitars most easily by far.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-14-2022
Playing classical guitar starts with figuring out the notes, noting major and minor keys on the circle of 5ths, and knowing what situations in classical guitar call for playing the free stroke or the rest stroke.Classical guitar notesThis diagram illustrates the guitar’s entire range of notes, including sharps and flats, on the treble clef, using ledger lines below and above the staff.