The Nashville Number System


Book Description

The Nashville Number System was originally written and published in 1988 by Chas. He has rigorously updated and edited the book for each of 7 subsequent editions. Featured here is the 2005 printing and 7th edition of The Nashville Number System; expanded with the inclusion of the cd/cd rom, String Of Pearls. By word of mouth, it has become the most recommended source for learning the Number System. The Nashville Number System is used as a text at Berklee College of Music, in Boston, Belmont University, in Nashville, and MTSU in Murfreesboro,TN. SYNOPSISIn the late 50's, Neil Matthews devised a musical number system for the Jordanaires to use in the studio. Charlie McCoy and fellow studio musicians began adapting Matthews' number system into chord charts. The Nashville Number System has evolved into a complete method of writing chord charts and melodies---combining Nashville shorthand with formal notation standards. The Nashville Number System is 130 pages with a step by step method of how to write a Nashville number chart for any song. Included with each NNS book in Edition 7 is the cd, "String Of Pearls". This is a 10 song cd of instrumentals, including, Amazing Grace. I walk you through the details of each song and explain the Number System tools used to write the charts. Now, while listening to the cd, you can see and hear how Nashville number charts work.String Of Pearls is an Extended CD (CD ROM). As well as high quality audio that will play in your cd player, you can insert the disc into your computer and watch animated number charts as you listen to the songs. On the cd rom, there is a click track with each song and a highlight moving from chord to chord in time with the music. You can see exactly how to count each measure in real time with the music. Counting bars is probably the hardest part of the number system to teach. With this cd rom, you will be able to see, hear and feel how these charts work.




Nashville Guitar


Book Description

A complete instruction guide to Nashville country guitar. With 19 songs, in standard notation and tablature, in the styles of Maybelle Carter, Sam McGee, The Delmore Brothers, Merle Travis, Clarence White, and Doc Watson. Chapters on flat and finger-picking, lead guitar, Bluegrass, Rockabilly, Special sections on string-bending techniques and pedal steel effect; licks, riffs, double notes, shuffle rhythms and much more.




The Perpetual Beginner


Book Description

The Perpetual Beginner is part memoir, part musical instruction manual. Relating stories of his experiences as a young musician and music student in 1980's New York, author Dave Isaacs describes the key lessons that shaped his musical life and how they can help any aspiring musician at any age. The title refers to the average music hobbyist with more enthusiasm than skill or time to practice. Many people play for years without developing more than rudimentary abilities, and some become so frustrated by the struggle that they stagnate or quit. The stories in the book and the musical lessons they impart give these "perpetual beginners" the ideas, techniques, and encouragement that will help them begin to progress again. The title also references the Zen concept of "beginner's mind", a way of approaching any endeavor with the openness and zeal of a beginner regardless of experience. Maintaining a beginner's mindset removes many of the self-limiting beliefs and inhibitions that hold many people back, thus enabling the learning process - hence the book's subtitle, "A musician's path to lifelong learning." Author Dave Isaacs is a musician, performing songwriter, and teacher based in Nashville, where he is known as the "Guitar Guru of Music Row".




Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars


Book Description

The original version of this guide has sold over 30,000 copies. This new edition has been expanded by 25% and promises to become an invaluable resource. For collectors, dealers and players, this completely updated "field guide" provides specifications, serial numbers, and more for determining the originality of vintage American acoustic and electric fretted instruments. Detailing thousands of models by every major manufacturer, the book now includes expanded coverage of Martin, Guild, Mosrite, Dobro, Gibson banjos, Fender amps, Gibson amps, plus updates on the latest models from Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker, and others since 1990.




Masters of the Telecaster


Book Description

The Telecaster(tm) is the only guitar to have ever spawned its own cult following. The Tele's raw, penetrating sound, combined with unique physical characteristics such as a deeply scooped headstock and placement of its volume and tone controls enable tele players techniques and sounds not available on other guitars. In this video, telemaster Arlen Roth teaches you all the classic licks and riffs of the great Telemasters. He covers techniques such as pedal steel bends, behind-the-nut bends, chicken pickin', classic rockabilly rhythm styles, blues techniques, shuffle patterns, full chord bends, banjo rolls, and more.




Best in the West, Nashville Guitar


Book Description

"A comprehensive analysis of American country music from a European perspective, this massive 275-page book comes with a companion CD with 97 tracks. Everything from basic rhythm accompaniment to blazing bluegrass solos is addressed including: Carter lead style, fingerpicking, rockabilly riffs, Nashville lead styles, Western swing and honky-tonk, country blues and rock, Cajun history and styles, and a forecast of the future of country. The book is carefully structured with progressively arranged exercises, theory lessons and original and traditional tunes. This book should prove to be an important resource for country music enthusiasts. All 387 musical examples appear in both standard notation and tablature. Complete lyrics are provided when applicable. Kchlis love and mastery of the entire spectrum of country music is evident throughout."




Traditional, Country and Electric Slide Guitar


Book Description

An instruction guide for basic through advanced bottleneck guitar. Over fifteen tunes in the styles of Robert Johnson, Son House, Duane Allman, Ry Cooder and others, with exercises, runs, chords and tunes in open and standard tunings, written in standard notation and tablature.




Custom Guitars


Book Description

This beautiful book is a comprehensive guide to the new Golden Age of handcrafted acoustic guitars! Illustrated with full-color photos of custom instruments throughout, this rich resource also contains profiles of top luthiers, advice on buying a custom instrument, and an extensive directory with complete contact information for hundreds of makers. Encompassing steel-string flattops, nylon-strings, resonators and Hawaiians, archtops and more, Custom Guitars presents the history and current state of the art of guitar making. Includes an intro by Alex de Grassi.







The Unorthodox Guitar


Book Description

The Unorthodox Guitar: A Guide to Alternative Performance Practice is a comprehensive resource for experimentally minded guitarists and composers wishing to write for or perform on the instrument in new ways. The book focuses primarily on unconventional approaches to guitar performance, which include alternative tunings, extended techniques, instrumental preparations, electronic augmentations, and issues related to performing and recording with a computer. Embracing all guitar types-nylon, steel-string acoustic, and electric-techniques and examples are culled from a broad range of musical genres, including blues, contemporary classical, country, folk, jazz, rock, and non-Western idioms. While the writing offers a treasure trove of possibilities for experimental improvisation, it is oriented towards formal composition, and to that end details the controllable dimensions of the techniques and preparations at hand, along with strategies that might be adopted to notate them. Conventional guitar amplifiers, effect pedals, and pedalboards are examined, along with a discussion of analog signal chains, rig design, and best practices for the preservation of tone. In addition, possibilities afforded by the addition of a computer to the guitar rig are explored, including signal processing, sensor augmentation, and score following. The writing is paired with a companion website that contains an abundance of audio, video, and software materials to supplement the ideas presented. This information is intended to serve as a guide, reference, and source of inspiration for those wishing to compose and/or perform on the instrument in innovative ways.