Rating: 
Summary: Finally! A book that helps me understand *my* songs
Review: I've bought half a dozen guitar chord books over the years, always trying to figure out just why something I play on guitar sounds good/interesting/different to me. Most of those "2000+ Chords!" books had none of the chords I played. Not only did this book actually contain those chords (a coincidence? it's not at all a chord dictionary), it helped me understand their relationships to one another.The only thing that would make this book better is if the publisher could get a deal with the 1,000+ songs referenced by the book so I could get them all in MP3 format on a single DVD. Then I could instantly follow the theory and the practice in my practice.
Rating:
Summary: The best songwriting book for guitar!
Review: In order to benefit from this book, several things should be true: 1) you should be a guitar player (duh) although the progressions apply to all instruments 2) you should already have some knowledge of chords and basic theory. 3) you should be somewhat caught up with and interested in current popular music from the 1950's through the early 2000's, since the author cites songs as examples of certain types of chord progressions. If you haven't heard the songs, the examples will be pretty meaningless. A companion CD would be great addition. The book is logically organized and is printed on high quality color stock. I sat down and played through ALL the material once so I could associate certain patterns with the way they sound. I also refer to the book a lot when writing, since it has all kinds of useful charts and tools. If my studio burned down, this would be one of the first books I'd replace. If you are a guitar player and are interested in expanding your knowledge of songwriting, this book is GOLD. Other books that I would put in the "indispensable" category with this one would be "Fretboard Logic" by Bill Edwards (learning the fretboard inside out) and "The Advancing Guitarist" by Mick Goodrick (playing philiosophy, motivation, advanced concepts). The later book is primarily geared towards the accomplished guitarist and tends towards jazz and fusion playing so may not be suitable for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Best Beginner Book By Far
Review: It's as if all my meditating for the perfect guitar book came true when I bought this book. I don't learn very quickly but I learn completely. Now that I am working with other musicians, I don't have time to prod through 6 months or a year learning the in's and out's of playing guitar. This book will get you respect in no time from other musicians who will think you know your stuff even if you just bought this book last week. It's a blessing that someone put relevent info without fluff into one book. Forget online lessons as well. Buy a tuner, an amp, a beginning guitar, this book, some pics and I swear that's all you'll need.
Rating:
Summary: Best Beginner Book By Far
Review: It's as if all my meditating for the perfect guitar book came true when I bought this book. I don't learn very quickly but I learn completely. Now that I am working with other musicians, I don't have time to prod through 6 months or a year learning the in's and out's of playing guitar. This book will get you respect in no time from other musicians who will think you know your stuff even if you just bought this book last week. It's a blessing that someone put relevent info without fluff into one book. Forget online lessons as well. Buy a tuner, an amp, a beginning guitar, this book, some pics and I swear that's all you'll need.
Rating: 
Summary: Something of a disappointment
Review: One wonders whether some of the glowing reviews of this books weren't written by the author's friends. I certainly wasn't as impressed as them. The "book description" states that "Now anyone can write and play their own songs on the guitar - with no prior training![...] This book's straightforward style will have even those who've never played a guitar or written a song making music with ease." HARDLY!! This book provides very little instruction in guitar playing technique, and where it does mention technique (e.g. "fingerpicking") it presumes that the reader already knows what this physically entails. Like many books that need a good editor, it spends paragraphs describing the simplest things in detail, then jumps to a much higher level with little or no instruction on how we got there. This is most obvious when he uses terminology like "mini-humbuckers" or "intelligent pitch shifters" without any explanation. Assuming that you're aleady at an intermediate level of guitar playing, but rather lacking in the theory of, for example, keys, chords, chord progressions, and chord relationships, this book will provide a basic understanding of these things. The sections on songwriting, which provide tips on creating lyrics, rhythm and melody, would also be useful to somebody who hasn't much background. (Once again though, he jumps from explaining very simple things, like what a quarter note is, to discussing time signatures and compound time, without any real explanation for a beginning musician to know what these are.) The real downside is that most of the practical application parts of the book, where one is supposed to see how the theory works, presume that the reader has an intimate knowledge of a large number of popular songs, and that when, for example, he gives a chord sequence example of "I, II, IV: C, Dm, F - "High and Dry" (displaced as II, IV, I)" you'll know what he means without further explanation. (If that example just confused you, then you've got a feel for some parts of this book.) I think this book would work much better if the author had worked out in his mind what skill level of guitar player/musician he was really trying to write for. Secondly, since the book relies on so many varied examples of pop songs as part of the practical instruction, it would make sense to have created a companion CD so the reader who wasn't familiar with a particular song wasn't left wondering what these examples were really trying to illustrate. Finally, a better teaching technique (for example, providing more exercises that the student could play through with careful gradations from simple to more complex) would help. Overall, this book needs a lot more thought and a complete reworking for an improved edition.
Rating:
Summary: a pile of mess
Review: The basic format of this book is: Chord Sequence I IV V: C F G
'over you', 'spanish stroll'........ but there is neither staff nor tab of the songs. and even worse, there are always suddenly pages of chords without any context. Maybe the author should read "How to teach students by books"
Rating:
Summary: Inspiration handbook as well as songwriting companion
Review: This book is full of inspiration and great ideas. This book is also written in a format that allows you to flip to any section without being confused. Some of the chords in the book I have never seen before and have added twists to my music. This book suggests several different songwriting techniques to use as well as songwriting quotes from 60's rockers like Paul McCartney and more modern writers like Kurt Cobain. After reading this book, I was inspired enough to write three great songs within a couple weeks that I have played for my band, who like them. An important note is that this book will instantly transform you into a songwriter. This book is more of an inspiration handbook that suggests things for everyone. It is a book of suggestions and allows you to set the standards, so you don't get stuck in a rut. There are also no formulas in the book to write songs so you can write for any style such as rock or the blues.
Rating:
Summary: This is the best songwriting book in existence.
Review: This is the best (and most comprehensive/complete) songwriting book in existence. Seriously. I am a 26-year old multi-instrumentalist who has studied my fair share of songwriting books and techniques... I listen to, write, and study virtually every style of music (even oldschool country and some R+B). What Rikky Rooksby has done is create an easily understood book on modern (and not-so-modern) GOOD songwriting... how to make interesting chord progressions, how to write memorable melodies, what songs use certain chord progressions (from the popular Beatles stuff all the way to The Smiths (!!) and Sixpence None The Richer!) It's the only book I have seen that spotlights lesser-known amazing legendary alternative groups and their songwriting. Too many books these days show you how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.... what the hell is that? Who wants to learn songs like that? Rikky's book focuses on why the great pop/alternative/folk songs in history ARE great, why they work, what elements make them work, etc... you wanna write good solid songs that people will remember? Catchy, full of great hooks, etc... This book is IT. In the back of the book he even lists 24 CD's you should buy (and/or study) to improve your songwriting, and he cannot be more ON when it comes to what he chooses: 1. The Beatles- 1967-1970
2. Bob Dylan- Blonde on Blonde
3. Beach Boys- Pet Sounds
4. Love- Forever Changes
5. Burt Bacharach- The Look Of Love
6. The Band- The Band
7. Motown Chartbusters Volumes I-V
8. Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
9. Led Zeppelin IV
10. Bruce Springsteen- The Wild the Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle
11. Joni Mitchell- Hejira
12. Carpenters- Their Greatest Hits
13. Queen II (EXCELLENT choice)
14. Fleetwood Mac- Rumors (yet another excellent choice)
15. ABBA Gold
16. Siouxsie and the Banshees- Juju
17. Bob Marley- Legend
18. REM- Life's Rich Pageant
19. Kate Bush- The Sensual World
20. Madonna- The Immaculate Collection (quite possibly the most perfect pop record EVER)
21. Nirvana- Nevermind (it's about time SOMEONE recognized Kurt Cobain's genius)
22. Jeff Buckley- Grace (yet another AMAZING artist who tragically lost his life way before he got a chance to impact the music world)
23. Bjork- Post (absolute brilliance)
24. Radiohead- OK Computer It's such a diverse list, from stuff you might hate that your parents or older sister love (Beach Boys/The Band), to stuff that my generation fully appreciates (Nirvana, Siouxsie, Radiohead, Kate Bush)... even though I love the oldschool stuff, too... the best songwriters draw from ALL decades of music. Rikky also has a section where well-known alternative and pop songwriters talk about the songwriting process (Morrissey, Tori Amos, Elvis Costello, Clapton, Peter Buck, etc.)... and he has a section that highlights random pop and alternative songs and why they WORK.... why they're great... I cannot say enough about how brilliantly-written this book is... I would love to contact Mr. Rooksby and let him know how much this book has helped me. The book is VERY inexpensive (for how much stuff it covers!!!) and I highly suggest it to anyone and EVERYONE, especially an alternative rocker. One band I wished he would have featured in his book is Jets To Brazil... now that is a band which knows about hooks, great lyrics/chord changes... songs that will be remembered for a thousand years. But still.... Rikky pretty much covered EVERYTHING... seriously. I have been playing guitar for about 10 years and he has helped me a LOT even as experienced as I am (I'm not saying I'm some John Lennon or anything but I've learned a LOT from this book)..... you won't be disappointed if you pick this book up, seriously. I hope everyone out there reads this review and buys it... it's just without a doubt, something you cannot do without, if you're serious about songwriting (on guitar or ANY other instrument). -Skip from the band Beauty's Confusion
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty helpful...
Review: This really did help mme to write songs better. I can't explain this. I mean I think that it is a lot simplerthn he makes it tou to be, but his basic idea and philosophy on songwriting changed the way that I write songs and I still use his approach when writing songs today. there really isn't all that muh else to say. If you want to buy it then you should. (...)
Rating:
Summary: A interesting and unusual book
Review: This relatively new and fairly unusual book has a modern attractive layout. The content is fairly logically layed out. The book is easy to read and understand. The author provides some very useful insight into common song writing concepts (Abacab, etc.). Song references are diverse (a little too diverse for my tastes, especially as the title includes the phrase "on guitar") but I recognized most, and found the rules of thumb and examples helpful. If you are new to song-writing or self taught intuitively this is a great introduction. An experienced, knowledgable, well-read songwriter may find it less valuable, but might learn something. I found it interesting and a couple of songwriter friends have been itching to read it too!
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