Guitar Chords and Chord Progressions are key to playing chords on the guitar.
Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One
So now it’s time to learn Guitar Chords!
- Do you need a logical system to learn the chords you need to know to play through ANY chord progression?
- Need backing tracks to help you learn each chord progression?
- Do you need a system to understand how chords are built?
- Want to know which notes you can add into guitar chords for added spice and variety?
- Need a special system that will have you memorizing the chords and the guitar fretboard at the same time?
- Do you need a book that will give you not all the chords a professional guitarist needs to know?
- Want 36 cool chord progressions to apply these newly learned guitar chords?
- Need a system for understanding how guitarists substitute guitar chords?
- Want to spice up your blues playing with some new guitar chords and chord progressions?
- Do you want to work on sight reading guitar chord voicings?
- Need information on the use of tensions in chords and chord progressions?
- Do you need some basic theory knowledge so that you understand the structures of chords?
If the answer is YES, then Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One will give you a logical system for learning guitar chords so that you can play any chord progression. You will also gain knowledge on how to re-harmonize a progression and understand how chord progressions are organized.
Chord Workbook is one of Bruce Arnold’s best selling books!
Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One gives you all the basic chords you need to know to play any music. If you are a complete beginner all the guitar chords you need are found in Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One. If you are a budding jazz guitarist you will also find all the commonly used chords. These are the chords with the root on the low E and A string. Those are the chords that a professional guitarist commonly uses in their playing. More importantly you will have 36 chord progression that you can play and reference for years. The theory behind these progressions is also included. You can start creating your own progressions or re-harmonizing jazz standards at will.
We also highly recommend that you also work with the Guitar Technique and Physiology Course so that you learn chords with the proper technique. This course gives you a comprehensive approach to playing guitar and includes a video on playing chords with a light touch.
This guitar chords book contains the following:
- The basic open guitar chords used in Folk, Country and Rock.
- Five hours and 46 minutes of backing tracks in MP3 format for the 36 chord progressions found in Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One.
- Moveable chord forms commonly used in Rock and Jazz.
- Application of guitar chords to common 2-5-1 progressions.
- In-depth explanation of guitar chords and available tensions.
- All common 7th chords with tensions.
- In-depth re-harmonization section so you can understand the theory behind chord progressions.
- Twelve 12 Bar Blues chord progressions. One in each key.
- Twelve 12 Bar Minor Blues chord progressions. One in each key.
- Twelve “Rhythm Changes” chord progressions. One in each key.
Let’s Take a Look at Some Examples from the Book
First, as in most chord books for guitar, there are multiple voicings for each chord. What is unique about Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One? It gives you only the chords that most professional guitarist’s use so you aren’t wasting time learning chords you will never need. Furthermore, each chord is shown not only with a chord diagram but it also shows where those notes would be on a music staff. While that might not seem important to some, if you want to be a professional guitarist you will need this information. Keep in mind that sometimes charts have the chords written out, and no chord symbols. Below is an example page.
Guitar Chord Progressions the Secret to Remembering Chords.
One thing that is sorely missing from most, if not all chord books for guitar, is chord progressions to apply the chords you are learning. There is no way you will remember all these chords unless you apply them. Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One gives you 36 chord progressions with which to apply all these new chords. They are challenging progressions and they sound awesome. Below is an example of a “Stormy Monday Blues” type chord progression in Bb.
Bb Blues Progression Slow Tempo
Listen and Play
Now what is REALLY GREAT is Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One gives you three MP3s to play along with for each chord progression. This allows you to start out slowly and gain speed over time. It also allows you to develop a good feel for playing in a Blues or Jazz style. As a bonus you can also use these files to improve solo skills over the chord progressions, so they are super useful!
Here are two more MP3s for the Bb Blues Progression. If you are up for it, play along. If you need some work learning the chords, then this is the book for you!
Bb Blues Progression Medium Tempo
Bb Blues Progression Fast
Professional Level Additional Material
If you are serious about becoming a professional guitarist, then Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One also has some other resources that will put you out front. As previously mentioned, sometimes music charts contain written chord voicings and no chord symbols. This is true when you are reading film scores, working with big bands, or other large ensembles. This is done because the composer wants a specific sound that won’t clash with other instruments. Mastering the ability to read chord voicings is hard and it is also hard to find resources to work on this. But Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One provides you with 36 chord progressions where you are reading the “notes only.” This is exactly what you need to get started on the path to becoming a professional musician. These “notes only” charts are also great for sight singing and improving your ear training skills.
Add in the MetroDrone® to incorporate Ear Training exercises Too
By singing through these structures while a MetroDrone® is playing, you will develop your ability to hear chord progressions. Obviously doing this exercise is a valuable addition to a musician’s toolkit.
What is the Theory Behind the Chord Progressions?
Another special feature of Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One is a whole section on chord re-harmonization theory. What’s even better, it’s totally simple; just a few basic rules and you will be understanding guitar chords and chord progression theory. Then all you need to do is apply it. Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One is great for applying it directly to the guitar, but you also need instant recognition of how these chord progressions are built. To build up that speed you need a course like “Harmonic Analysis.” It’s one thing to slowly understand how chord progressions are built, but these concepts need to be second nature. “Harmonic Analysis” instills this in you by having you analyze all the same 36 chord progressions found in the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One. So they are a great pair of books to work on at the same time.
Guitar Chord Progressions written as “notes only”
Below is an example of the Bb Blues in which you must read the “notes only” for the guitar chords. By having these “notes only” charts you see the exact chord voicings that Mr. Arnold used when making the MP3s. Keep in mind that there are multiple chords that could be used when reading a chart with chord symbols. These “notes only” charts are excellent example of good voice leading of guitar chords.
Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One also includes a music theory section to help you understand the basics but also help you understand how chords are built. It is written with extremely simple language as can be seen from the example below.
Yikes Music Theory!
And now for the 800lb gorilla in the room. How are your music theory skills? If your response is “Gee, it’s OK give me a minute and I can figure out what notes are in a chord.” “Give me a few more minutes and I’ll find some type of chord voicing on the guitar that probably works. Is that good enough?” Honestly, no it is not. Music is an art form but it is also a language and like any language in which you are attempting to communicate with others it needs to be fluent. How to you develop this fluency? You work through exercises that teach you the correct understanding of chord tones, available tensions, position of notes on the guitar fret board and voice leading. Chord Workbook for Guitar will give you all of that information, but it is crucial to master instantaneous music theory recognition.
Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One
That’s why Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One is the perfect companion for the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One course. It has you work through 100 pages of exercises in order to ingrain music theory information and uniquely apply this directly to the guitar fret board. This is a “one of a kind” book.
A One of a Kind Book
There is no other book on the market like this book and it will be the equivalent of taking 2 years of music theory in college. Many of my students that want to attend music college work through this book and often advance place out of the 2 or 3 music theory course levels. You only need about 15 minutes a day for about 6 months and you can finish Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One and have a “Black Belt” in music theory. It should also be mentioned that there is the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One Video Course which has 130 videos to help you learn music theory as it applies to guitar chords. Sometimes that extra help is exactly what you need to understand crucial concepts or just give you another perspective.
What About the Scales to Play Over These Chord Progressions?
This is a common question we get about the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One. The answer is our Scale Analysis book. Scale Analysis is really the Rosetta Stone of understanding how to think about scales and guitar chords relationships and how they relate to ear training. Remember, you want to learn to hear music, not just process it intellectually. Scale Analysis does this for you, and is hands down the most important book you could own to understand how to tie together chords, scales and ear training. Essential Scales is another book to consider. Essential Scales gives you 22 scales that are commonly used in the chord progressions found in the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One. There is also guitar fret board fingerings for each scale. If you are just starting out learning to play guitar and don’t have a lot of soloing experience the video below will provide you with some simple ideas to use when soloing.
Get this highly acclaimed book and really get your chord playing together with a logical well organized system
- Additional Information:
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- Digital Edition IBSN: 978-1-59489-868-6
- Physical Edition IBSN: 978-0-9648632-1-7
- 157 pages book
- The digital download contains 5 hours and 46 minutes of MP3 for the chord progression (Download Only)
- What people are saying:
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Review One of Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One
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- Certainly wish I would have found Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One first when I was learning guitar chords. I went through a host of teachers and spent a ton of money on books and then found everything I needed in Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One. Over time you come to the realization that you can’t learn chords by repeatedly playing them each day unless you apply them to real music. That is exactly what Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One does. It gives you super hip chord progressions which takes the boredom of playing chords over and over and makes it fun because you are playing music while you are learning. Get the download it has all the audio you will ever need for the chord progressions. Do yourself a favor and get Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One. I guarantee you won’t be sorry. A. Vega
Review Two of Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One
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- I own a large library of chord books. Chord Workbook is the only one I use. It has so much more information than most books and is better organized. Typically you get a book with a plethora of chords but no chord progressions to apply the structures nor any information on how to use the chords. Chord Workbook really is a manual for any musician seeking the knowledge that you will only find if you go to college for contemporary music studies and then it probably won’t be presented so logically. I teach my beginning students out of Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One and my advanced jazz students. It’s really that flexible. I strongly recommend Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One for anyone who wants to the know the secrets behind great chord playing. F. Frankel
Review Three of Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One
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- I’ve studied privately with Bruce Arnold for a few years. Chord Workbook was one of the books we used to learn chords in conjunction with a MP3 download available on the muse-eek.com site that Bruce recommended. With this massive quantity of MP3s Bruce plays the chord progression for a chorus while I improvise and then I play the chord progression with only a metronome click. It’s like playing a duet with someone and at the same time teaching you to feel the form. The combination of Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One and those MP3s changed me from someone who knew some chords to someone who could play with anyone now matter what their level. This also helped me developed an innate sense of a 12 form which shows up so often in modern music. Bruce also tortured me with reading all chord progression by just looking at the notes rather than the chord voicings. While this was extremely hard it did give me an advanced knowledge of not only the chords the but the guitar fret board. If you are looking to become a professional guitarist Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One is a must own. A. Cohn
Review Four of Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One
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- I’ve been playing guitar for two years now, with no lessons but flexible fingers and a love of music. I recently (like a week ago) purchased Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One and found it immediately helpful. One of the better routes a beginner should take to becoming a good guitarist is learning the basic chords that most songs employ. Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One does that using “cycle 5” which is an in genius way to teach chords. I’ve learned tons of ways to play all 12 chromatic notes in 3 days! The progressions of chords at the end of the book are great also, they help you to get a feel for what notes work with what notes etc… I had no musical “insight” before Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One (probably like most of you out there) but Chord Workbook For Guitar Volume One really walks you through the basics of music on the guitar. Be patience and practice, practice, practice! B. Meyers
Review Five of Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume One
- I purchased both the Chord Workbook for Guitar Volume 1 and 2. I’m at the University of Alaska learning guitar (beginning my second semester), and I was looking for additional instruction. These books are full of clear, easy to understand chord diagrams. Volume 1 has full of chord diagrams but also touches on much needed basics of music theory and chord construction. It is very helpful. I am thankful to have Mr. Arnold’s books at my side. Also, I want to mention that I emailed Mr. Arnold with some questions about rhythm, time, notation, scales, and just some things I needed help on. He guided me to the right places and answered all my questions with great detail and encouragement. I was very impressed with his care and thoughtful response. You won’t be disappointed putting your trust in the knowledge he has to share about guitars! S. Cartwright.
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Status: Digital book is available for immediate access.
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