Accessible book discusses ideas; gives example riffs- September 3, 2004

This is a good introduction to 7-string guitar, and it might even give some ideas to intermediate 7-string players who want to learn some new riffs.  The book assumes some familiarity with 6-string guitars, but a raw beginner should be able to jump right into this book.  It introduces very fundamental music theory and every example is written in both standard notation and tablature, so musicians of all skill levels can follow.  It includes a CD with audio versions of every written riff, so those who play mostly by ear can also benefit, and those reading the music or tabs can check their performance against the CD to see if they're getting it right.  The book is divided into 4 "units".  Unit I is 6 pages of very basic theory, including notes, intervals, (common) scales, chords, and arpeggios, mostly defining the terms but also giving short scribe/tab examples.  Unit II -- by far the largest section of the book -- deals with the 7th string tuned to low "B" -- the most common "rock/metal" variant.  This unit covers 2-, 3-, and 4-string power chords, and has numerous short (2- to 8-bar) examples of chord, scale and arpeggio patterns as well as combination riffs.  Many are "blues-rock" riffs, which Begelman says are not commonly used in modern 7-string rock; so he also ventures into more contemporary examples of "high/low" dual guitar riffs.  Unit III is a much thinner (8 page) examination of jazz 7-string (low "A" tuning), covering chord structure, low string as bass accompaniment, two-note chord voicing with bass accompaniment and a full-page 12-bar blues example.  Unit IV is really only 6 short paragraphs about "Other tunings and Applications" which really only introduces two specific alternatives, one Jimmy Page and one Limp Bizkit tuning.  To summarize, the book has useful and interesting information and example riffs, and the included CD is helpful (almost mandatory for any music book, really).  The brief discussion of theory and an included "guitar tab glossary" make the book accessible to novices.  Whether or not it is worth the money is purely subjective, but I find it to be so. - Lance R. Lindley, Amazon.com