Maran Illustrated Guitar Course Book - 303 pages

This is a very nicely done beginner level guitar book/course.

It's got some key qualities that make it a good first book for learning guitar: first of all, it's lively and interesting. It's fun to look at and browse through. It's loaded with bright and colorful photos. It's the kind of book that's a pleasure to pick up and read, and this will go a long way towards keeping you interested in learning. Also, this book comes with audio sound of the examples and songs it contains. While a lot of books include audio in a CD compact disk that comes with the book, this on gives you a web address of a companion site where you can download MP3 files of all the audio material. Once you have these files, you can listen and get help knowing how the songs should sound when you've mastered them. This is a big help to anyone learning something new on the guitar.

Here is a list of some of the types of music theory and guitar instruction you'll find in the pages of this book:

How to read music.
Key signatures - what they are and how to read them.
Playing chords.
Playing single notes.
Learning how to play guitar techniques.
Playing guitar for different genres, such as Rock, Blues, Country, etc.
How to buy a guitar.
How to take care of your guitar.
A chapter on the subject of home recording. How to do it, what options you have in hardware and software.
About assorted guitar accessories that are available

Here's a list of some general observations and a look at some of the special features this book has:

The book is titled Illustrated Guitar - And one of the best features of the book are the tons of awesome, clear, and colorful photos illustrating all the teaching about guitar. From how to play the chords to how to hold the guitar, to how to play all the different scales, etc. (according to the author, there are over 500 of these photos in the book.)
Audio examples are a huge help when it comes to learning new material on the guitar at any level. And there's nothing like being able to listen to a professionally played and recorded piece of music you are learning, so that you can have an example and know exactly how it should sound. This gives you a goal to shoot for, and let's you know when you've reached that goal. This book comes with audio! Inside this book, they show you where you can go to a companion web site where you are able to go and download MP3 audio files of all the scales, chords, example exercises, and songs that are contained in the book.
Plenty of music for you to play on the guitar. From examples and exercises, to complete songs for you to learn and perform.
The book has a modern look and feel. The typography, use of color, shading, photo clarity and quality, page titles, and headings, etc. All work together to make this book a pleasure to use.
A list of popular internet websites for learning the guitar.
Chord diagrams - popular chords used in the book grouped together in one place at the back of the book for easy reference.
Scale diagrams - with the root of the scales colored in red for easy recognition.
Guitar term glossary located at the back of the book.