Rhythm Chord System

Continuously in print for nearly 60 years, this is the really the first modern guitar instruction book. Organizing chords by type, and then illustrating the inversions, this will give an intermediate guitarist a good understanding of all chord types. Musical tastes have changes somewhat since the 1940s, and the voicings presented tend to emphasize the bass more than the treble - but it's a simple matter for a guitarist to use these as a starting point. Starting with major, minor, and dominant 7th chords, one voicing is shown for each inversion, followed by an example or two to put the voicings to use through modulations. There's a side benefit to the way the exercises are presented - by indicating only the fret number and chord name, this book can help you learn the fretboard and the notes making up specific chords at the same time, if you think in those terms while you use it. Once you're beyond the dominant chords, a half dozen exercises mix up the three basic chord types to help cement your knowledge; after that, it's on to the other seventh chord types, ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths. Each new chord group is accompanied by a few short drills to get you used to using the inversions, and periodically there are review progressions that place these inversions in the greater context of all the chords covered so far. There's not a lot of explanation in this book - it's almost completely diagrams and exercise progressions. Guitarists teaching themselves may find it hard to use, especially if they're weak on the theory of chord structure. Students studying 'jazz chords' with a teacher will find it more useful, and also be able to use the progression examples as exercises with other voicings and voice leading.