Guitar for Absolute Beginners
by Daniel Emery
Reading Profile
Should I read this?
Guitar For Absolute Beginners presents a tightly ordered, step-by-step pathway through the essentials: fretting, basic chords, simple strumming patterns and short practice routines aimed at steady progress. The book's strength is its focus on bite-sized lessons that fit short daily practice, which keeps newcomers from overwhelming themselves with scattered advice. The main limitation is tone and pacing—chapters lean toward methodical drills and repetition, so readers seeking instant song-play or plenty of visual/audio demos may feel stalled.
Read this if...
- •a busy office worker fitting practice into 15–30 minutes a day who needs a clear step-by-step plan to make steady progress without overthinking technique
- •a high-school student about to join their school band who wants basic fingerings and rhythm habits rehearsed before group practice starts
- •a self-taught adult who prefers text-based instruction and short, discrete lessons to follow at their own pace rather than long video tutorials
Skip this if...
- •you'll likely put it down when early chapters stay on basic drills and mechanics for several pages before offering songs — frustrating if you wanted instant playability
- •annoying if you prefer video-first learning or lots of photos and play-along tracks, since this leans on written, stepwise instruction rather than visual/audio demos
- •not for intermediate players looking to move past basics; material stays focused on fundamental technique and may feel repetitive if you already know open chords and basic strums
How to play guitar: The effective guitar method successfully used by thousands of busy New Yorkers in their classes at New York City Guitar School. Learn the fundamentals of guitar in the motivating stepbystep comprehensive course for beginners from New York City Guitar School. This program cover all the basics of guitar playing, and includes det...
Before You Buy
Reading Specifications
Difficulty:medium
Audience Fit
- a busy office worker fitting practice into 15–30 minutes a day who needs a clear step-by-step plan to make steady progress without overthinking technique
- a high-school student about to join their school band who wants basic fingerings and rhythm habits rehearsed before group practice starts
- a self-taught adult who prefers text-based instruction and short, discrete lessons to follow at their own pace rather than long video tutorials
- you'll likely put it down when early chapters stay on basic drills and mechanics for several pages before offering songs — frustrating if you wanted instant playability
- annoying if you prefer video-first learning or lots of photos and play-along tracks, since this leans on written, stepwise instruction rather than visual/audio demos
- not for intermediate players looking to move past basics; material stays focused on fundamental technique and may feel repetitive if you already know open chords and basic strums
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Why recommended
appears in Guitar and Nonfiction.
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Appears In
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