Rating: 
Summary: I Love This Book!!
Review: I have bought several guitar books and never used them because they were not helpful. This book is wonderful. I have been playing the guitar for five years and have never learned so much than I have from reading this book. Thank you Chris!
Rating:
Summary: This is a great book !!
Review: I have learned more from this book in a far shorter amount of time than I have learned from a guitar teacher I am taking lessons with. I tried other books and this one blows them away. There's not alot of technical talk or theory in this book, just good solid hands on instruction. This book is very similar to the Author's other titles: " The Pre-Stage"... & "The First Stage"... I highly recommend any of Chris Lopezs' books !! GET THIS BOOK !!
Rating:
Summary: The "No Fluff" guide to playing the guitar
Review: I like many others, own many 'how to play guitar' books. The vast majority of these books are either overly technical for the beginner, or present incomplete information that demands prior knowledge of guitar theory. This book presents chords (open and barre) in easy to read diagrams, along with progressions that take the guess work out of what chords sound good together. Of the many books I own, this, along Chris'other book,"The Next Stage Guitar Book", are my favorites. Rather than reinventing the wheel and taking years to learn the information presented in this book by trial and error, I'd suggest buying this book. It's like a treasure map that will simplify the guitar, and more importantly, allow you to have some fun rather than drown in years and years of theory before being able to play anything.
Rating:
Summary: Woo hoo!
Review: If you want clear, well thought out instruction thats also not going to break the bank, buy this book! Its that simple! This is by far and away the most effective guitar tuition book I've found. Both books are superb and the chord chart is really handy too! I will be buying more of Chris's books as soon as he gets round to finishing them... hint hint.... :)
Rating:
Summary: Woo hoo!
Review: If you want clear, well thought out instruction thats also not going to break the bank, buy this book! Its that simple! This is by far and away the most effective guitar tuition book I've found. Both books are superb and the chord chart is really handy too! I will be buying more of Chris's books as soon as he gets round to finishing them... hint hint.... :)
Rating: 
Summary: Some value, but poor organization & too inconsistent
Review: Judging by other reviews, this book has worked for some, but I found it to be quite poor:* As another reviewer stated, the fingerings are inaccurate -- or at least inconsistent with other books. I checked the fingerings against three other sources, and found that 3 of the first 7 chords in the book (the "CAGE DEA" approach) are not consistent with the other sources.
* The organization is poor. "Start with the CAGE DEA chords, and by the way, you might want to also look at chords on page 44 and 46. Flip the page, and play a progression with a chord that is introduced on page 30. Then look at the barre chords, but don't play them. After page 60, go back to page 15 and. . ."
* Everything is bold and uppercase. Not a showstopper, just annoying.
(...) I expected much more from the book based on the reviews here. I've completed book courses from Hal Leonard, Mel Bay, and eMedia, and this book was easily the poorest of the four. All that said, there is value in the book. Learning the guitar is all about patience and repetition, and this book will help you walk through what you need to learn. As others have noted, the moveable chords are interspersed throughout the book, which is a nice touch. And the fretboard diagrams are fantastic -- I was so impressed with them, I also picked up the First Stage Chord Chart.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Guitar Tutorial I've Seen
Review: The best guitar tutorial I've seen-excellent chord charts are easy to use, with logical progression that make it easy to locate desired chord. Simple and straight forward.
Rating:
Summary: A great way to learn how to play guitar.....
Review: This guitar book is very clear and to the point with bold and easy to understand illustrations. I also highly recommend The 'Next Stage' Guitar Book - Learn How To Play Scale Patterns & Tabs Easily & Quickly! Both these guitar books make a great package in learning how to play guitar.
Rating:
Summary: A great way to learn how to play guitar.....
Review: This guitar book is very clear and to the point with bold and easy to understand illustrations. I also highly recommend The 'Next Stage' Guitar Book - Learn How To Play Scale Patterns & Tabs Easily & Quickly! Both these guitar books make a great package in learning how to play guitar.
Rating:
Summary: Good as a companion to another method
Review: This is primarily a book on chord progressions. Starting with the most popular chords used in music, and then moving to other chords in open in barre position. Interspersed here and there are some tips on playing guitar. Not much more than that, and not very well organized.
I would consider this most beneficial as a companion to lessons or to a complete method found elsewhere. There just isn't much to it. It's 80 pages, but each page generally contains two 4-chord progressions. I also found that several of the chords listed are inaccurate -- or at least inconsistent with several other sources I checked them against.
I've used about 6 different books and software on learning the guitar, and I found this to be the least helpful. But there are some great reference diagrams that I still refer to, and as it is entirely focused on popular progressions, it finds a home being used in conjunction with another book.
| 
