Mel Bay - Miles Okazaki -

General

A true treasure of information for guitarists of all skill levels, the Fundamentals of Guitar by Miles Okazaki tells you everything there is to know about playing techniques, rhythm, harmony and the guitar in general. The book includes exercises as well as theory and has been divided into two chapters: Pitch and Rhythm.

Part 1 - 'Pitch'

The first part starts off covering strings, harmonics and various tuning systems, after which students are taught everything they need to know about scales and where the different notes can be found along the fretboard. Then, the focus shifts to pentatonic and heptatonic (7-note) scales, intervals and, finally, chords, inversions and a number of four-chord rhythms.

Part 2 - 'Rhythm'

The second part of 'Fundamentals of Guitar' begins with in-depth info and exercises to help players develop a feel for 'symmetrical picking' - a playing technique based on drum rudiments. The exercises are aimed at improving control and stamina, while the rest of the chapter zooms in on rhythm, including efficiency, accuracy, speed, dynamics and groove. In closing, Okazaki extensively illustrates various finger-picking techniques and shares his knowledge on polyrhythms: playing two different rhythms at the same time.