The Guitar Handbook - by Ralph Denyer. Excellent book. My copy is all dog-eared and worn out now from overuse, which says a lot, I think. Explains in good detail a wide variety of guitar-related topics including history on innovators (Zappa, Hendrix, Clapton, Townshend, etc.), the anatomy of acoustic and electric guitars, maintenance and customizing, performance technology, and of course, playing the guitar (about 100 pages). Also features a very handy chord dictionary at the back of the book which is convenient when learning a song with unfamiliar chords, or for unique voicings.
The Complete Guitarist - by Richard Chapman. Very helpful - goes more in-depth with guitar history and evolution. Topics covered include playing the guitar (over 100 pages), and a nice sized section on amps. Good book, but I found some of the notation for chords and tabs a little difficult to read (the way it was presented).
The New Real Book - by Charles Cher: 400+ pages of Jazz Standards - great for practicing songs which involve more complicated chords. Jazz songs are excellent for improving improvisational technique.
Mickey Baker's Jazz Guitar by Mickey Baker. Recommended by Corey Epstein: "Mickey Baker's Jazz Guitar Method is an excellent resource for the intermediate guitarist. I knew probably 75% of the content of the book before I read it, but Baker's approach pulled it all together and gave my playing a greater coherency. Baker starts with chords, and shows how to develop logical, harmonic chord progressions. I was able to speed through this section, although Baker recommends taking a good few months. The very next gig I played elicited rave reviews of my playing - and it's all due to Baker's method. Halfway through, Baker switches to soloing, gives some scales to practice, runs to note, and then presents an absolutely sparkling little 2-chorus blues solo which will knock you out. The book is written in standard chord diagrams and notation- there is no TAB. I cannot recommend the book highly enough."
Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar - Becoming the Best You Can Be By Troy Stetina: Recommended by Will Grissom "It has helped me improve my technical ability by leaps and bounds. I would highly suggest checking it out. (I'll warn you, though, it's very metal oriented). But it will help no matter what style you play."
Scales over Chords: How to Improvise and Never Play Bad Notes By Wilbur M. Savidge, Randy Lee Vradenburg: Even if you don't read music, this book will be very helpful. It's easy to understand. Explains relationships of scales and chords. Presents a logical way to learn these relationships for all scales and has many good practice studies in the last half of the book. The first few chapters may seem tedious to some but are the building blocks for the later chapters where things begin to really fit together. If you are looking for more than just a book on chord forms, get this book first. Click here for more reviews.
Mel Bay's Complete Book of Guitar Scales By William Bay: Recommended by Justin Levine: "Mel Bay's Complete Book of Guitar Scales, Chords and Arpeggios is an absolute must have for any guitarist. It is about three-hundred pages long, with 85 pages of scales, 35 pages of arpeggios and the rest dedicated to pretty much every chord you will ever play and their different voicings. It is all in a very easy to understand format. Although their are no technique explanations with any of the sections, if you have ever looked at a chord diagram or used tablature, you will be able to use this book with ease. All scales and arpeggios are in standard notation and tablature. An incredible book that is essential for all guitarists."
Guitar EncycloMedia by Mike Overly. Recommended by Bob Mirimonti "With his impressive book Mike thoroughly explains all the musical tools you run across as a guitarist - scales, intervals, pentatonic, arpeggios, chords, etc... the list is endless. It is one of the most complete reference book I have come across, equally addressing beginners and advanced players (although I think that it can be somewhat confusing to absolute beginners due to the huge information flood). The strength of this book lies in it's timeless topics, meaning you can look up a topic when you want to learn more about it (or need information about it), rather than studying the entire book in one sitting. I just bought this book and have started going through it. It is well organized and seems to explain the fretboard well. I own the whole Guitar Grimore series and this book seems to easier to use and understand because it provides an easy to follow framework for learning. Mike also sells fretboard flash cards to help guitar players learn the neck. I recommend that all of my students buy these. Learning the guitar neck was the most important thing I ever did. That may sound trivial but I know many guitar players who don't know the fretboard.
Creative Chord Substitution - A Journey Through Form and Analysis of Modern Harmony by Ed Arkin, Recommended by Bob Mirimonti : I really like the concept of this book. Ed Arkin takes us on a journey that includes basic terminology, chord substitutions and harmonizations, chromatic alterations, quartal harmony, etc... and applies the individual topics to "real music" situations, e.g., the Blues. The theory and music examples are well balanced and set up in an logical order. Although the cover states that it is written for all instruments, I see the experience and thinking of a guitar player, not only because all examples are supported by guitar tabs, but the way Mr. Arkin explains each topic. If you are interested in Jazz harmony and want to improve your chordal playing you should take a look at this book. This is a great book. It has really helped me and I use many of the concepts when I improvise.
Fretboard Logic by Bill Edwards, Recommended by Gregory Stuart: Three volumes broken into two editions (vols 1 & 2 are together; 3 is separate). All I can say about this book (at least the first 2 vols) is that it takes the mystery away. Very clear, very concise, and it focuses on music theory as it applies to the guitar *only*. The author goes through a whole argument as to why the guitar is fundamentally different from any other instrument (including other string instruments), and why music theory needs to be tailored as such. He then does the tailoring, leading the reader through chords, scales, and arpeggios, and then, most importantly, how they all relate to each other; it makes a whole lot of sense, and what I learned from Bill has helped me immensely. The book's about $20, either online or at a music shop (I picked up mine at a Guitar Center).
