[.ca] Learn to Play the Guitar: A Beginner's Guide to Playing ... (ISBN 0785821899)

NOT a Beginner's Guide:
I picked this title up primarily because it was coil bound. I already have "Guitar for Dummies", which is actually not a bad instructional book, but the binding prevents it from laying flat. When you're trying to play, you need both hands, and so I thought this coil-bound book would do the trick. It does stay open on it's own. That's the only good thing I can say about it. Otherwise, this is not a beginner's guide, as a great deal of the language used is not explained. For example, the following is found on page 9: "There are five possible shapes for every scale on the guitar which, when joined end-to-end, cover the fingerboard in the notes of one specific scale. However, rather than overwhelm you with too much information, only the two most important shapes are given for each scale: Shape 1 (which is formed from the open E chord and associated six-string barre chord), and Shape 4 (formed from the open A shape and associated five-string barre chord)." What? Shapes? Associated five-string barre chords? Scales? There's a glossary at the back, but not for most of the jargon used. And it goes on like this. Page 9! The author has clearly forgotten his audience, despite the wish to avoid "overwhelming with too much information". I'll go back to the Dummies book, and maybe pick this up once I learn how to play. It's a shame though...it sure does stay open nicely...