Non Fiction Recs: Chess, Guitar and Photography.

[JMP300z]

Ok, I know I ask for fiction recommendations for vacation in my other thread but these are for different purposes.

Guitar: I am a self taught average player (almost 5 yrs) w/ poor rhythm, poor soloing and no ability to read music. I have an average understanding of chords, timing and the layout of the guitar. Would like to learn the basics that I couldn't find well organized online as well as get into scales and soloing.

Chess: I am an above average player w/ only the most basic understanding of openings etc. I beat all my friends but they suck. Ive been watching Curtains Videos here: http://www.chessvideos.tv//forum/forum-24.html but would like a pretty comprehensive book.

Photography: this is for a gift, preferably digital based, for an amateur, was thinking Understanding Exposure or Complete Digital Photography 3rd ed.

Thanks.

-JP

[Taso]

guitar-

www.guitarnoise.com - great lessons, and great forums too. You can ask anything at the forums, ask about scales, ask info on soloing and improvisation. They have a section where you can post your playing and get tips/comments/etc. What kind of music do you play? I've given lessons to people before, I could probably help too if you're looking at blues/blues rock type stuff. But again, guitarnoise is awesome.

[tarheeljks]

chess- "Play Winning Chess" by Yasser Seirawan, topics include (force, time, space, and pawn structure). you may be familiar w/ a lot of it, but it gives a comprehensive introduction to chess, and was recommended to me by 2p2er "AllinMcLovin" who is a chess baller. if you are all ready familiar with the concepts in this book you could go w/"Winning Chess Strategies" or "Winning Chess Tactics" both also by Seirawan. i've read "Play Winning Chess", and "Winning Chess Tactics" and am currently reading "Winning Chess Strategies"; i am a big fan of the series and i highly recommend it. i think it has 6 or 7 books in total.

[kerowo]

For your friend that is into photography I would suggest a book of photographs, nothing more inspiring than looking at good work. If you want to get something educational I'd suggest the Ansel Adams books; The Print, The Negative, and The Camera, they just seem more 'gifty' than a text book type deal.

[ezflop212]

Guitar: wholenote.com or get a subscription to Guitar Player mag. They have tons of great lessons for all levels. The Guitar Handbook is a must have for any player.

Chess: How to Reassess your Chess by Jeremy Silman

[JMP300z]

Hey thanks for the recommendations.

I tried to order Play Winning Chess but it was out of stock on amazon [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] I really am thankful for a recommendation from someone on here as I am worried I could get my hands on the Phil Hellmuth of Chess's book.

I also checked out Guitar Noise and have already learned a great deal. Great rec.

I ordered Understanding Exposure from amazon as the gift. Im not sure its 100% what Im looking for but it has consistently great reviews and every review for other books said they would have been better off w/ it instead. I checked out the Ansel Adams ones and they seemed like great recommendations but more involved with the process of photography-lighting, developing etc that I know are not going to be initial concerns of the giftee. I just wanted something that would teach composition and terminology and how to get the most out of digital cameras.

-JP

[Taso]

Good to hear. I just want to reiterfy <did I just make up a word? that the forums are INCREDIBLE there. Totally friendly community, you'll never get a sarcastic/assholeish type reply as you commonly see on other forums. You can ask literally anything, and there are at least two members there that have written books on playing guitar, a bunch of teachers, a bunch of intermediates like myself, and a hell of a lot of beginners trying to learn.

[Blarg]

Technical books on photography are very good to have, I think. They serve as ongoing sources of ideas and for developing one's mastery. I also strongly recommend books on composition. Studying it gets you to really think about pictures and picture-making, and for someone who likes photograpy or painting, that's actually fun to do and pretty intriguing. And you take a big and satisfying step up artistically when you start to instinctually think of composition whenever you design or frame a shot. It can even make watching movies a lot more fun.