Understanding Chord Progressions for Guitar: Compact Music Guides Series

This books explains, albeit very tersely, the function of various chords. Berle tells you how a particular chord can be used. See, e.g., the explanation of a passing chromatic chord on p.34 and the function of the diminished 7th chord at p. 35). I would recommend this book to someone who already knows about music theory and knows some workable chord forms, but really wants to know how to USE the various KINDS of chords he or she has learned.You might get frustrated if you don't already know some more playable forms of some of the chords that Mr. Berle uses to illustrate his examples. For example, at page 7 Chords of Movement, Berle uses a version of a dominant 7th chord that I find very difficult to play. It is a first position chord grip that puts the dominant 7th note on the third string where it is likely to be muted because only a contortionist could play this chord grip and make every note be heard. And, check out the C6 chord on page 14. There are much easier ways to play a C6 chord, and they sound a lot better than this one. Fortunately, the majority of the chord forms used in this book can be played with a modicum of effort by people who are not double-jointed.As I said at the outset, this book provides some insight into how variou kinds of chords can be used. I bought it for precisely this reason, and I have not been disappointed. But, you may need another chord book if your knowledge of chord forms and music theory is limited.

written in plain, understandable English..none of the usual gobbledygook many writers use to show how little they really understand of the subject they are writing about.

A much better book than an earlier one this author wrote decades ago, it illustrates practical chord fingerings and how to use them to best advantage.

Some editing errors but not a bad reference book to have.

that it was delivered quickly

Awesome technique book

As described.

I admit, I checked this out of the library before putting it in my cart.Thank goodness I did. Now it won't go in there.The chord progressions he uses just don't make sense. They don't sound right at all.And the chord shapes he uses are weird and difficult. I agree with the reviewer who basically said there are easier ways to play chords, and that even a contortionist couldn't play them the way they're shown in the book.I also agree with the reviewer who essentially said there is no organization to the book, or chapters, which would have helped.Sorry, Amazon, but you won't get any money from me for this book. It's going right back to the library.Luckily, I live right down the street from it. I'll hear a satisfying "plop!" as I toss it into the book return bin.

This is great value if you are a guitarist wanting to expand your chord vocabulary and add more colour to your chord progressions. I am now planning to order the blues book

This is a nice little book if your looking for more colorful chord progressions. I'm a songwriter with a yearning for those 30's 40's jazz chords and how they all fit together to give great foundation for those timeless melodies, this is what Paul McCartney did and if its good enough for him its good enough for me

Good for intermediate/advanced players. Very handy for chord interpretations, easy to read & use.Does require a bit of musical theory/knowledge to fully understand it.Let's just say that you have to be a fair distance from bar chord play to get the benefits of this book. Some would say this has a jazz leaning, they would properly be right! Buy it

Only just bought this guitar book but it looks fantastic so far. Really well set out with nice clear diagrams and pictures. The chord diagrams look really clear and easy to apply. I am looking forward to getting started to improve my guitar playing.

Great compact chord companion