The New Guitar TAB Big Book: '50s & '60s Cover Image

The New Guitar TAB Big Book: '50s & '60s: Guitar TAB Edition Book

$24.99 USD
$24.99 USD
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The New Guitar TAB Big Book: '50s & '60s Cover Image
The New Guitar TAB Big Book: '50s & '60s: Guitar TAB Edition Book

The New Guitar TAB Big Book: '50s & '60s: Guitar TAB Edition Book

64 Early Rock Favorites

By various artists and composers

Item: 00-42428
$24.99
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Description
The New Guitar TAB Big Book: '50s & '60s contains 64 smash songs from these two key decades in the development of pop, rock, folk, and R&B music. Each book comes with lyrics and guitar TAB transcriptions for every song, so music makers can recall and create a lifetime of memories. If songs from the '50s and '60s aren't your favorite, there are also '70s and '80s and contemporary editions! Titles: 96 Tears (? & the Mysterians) * Ain't That a Shame (Fats Domino) * Another Saturday Night (Sam Cooke) * As Tears Go By (Marianne Faithfull) * At Last (Etta James) * Bad to Me (Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas) * Blue Moon (The Marcels) * Beginnings (Chicago) * Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell) * Bring It on Home to Me (Sam Cooke) * Build Me Up Buttercup (The Foundations) * Cara Mia (Jay & the Americans) * A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke) * Classical Gas (Mason Williams) * C'mon Everybody (Eddie Cochran) * Come Go with Me (The Dell-Vikings) * Deep Purple (Nino Tempo & April Stevens) * Delta Lady (Joe Cocker) * Easy to Be Hard (Three Dog Night) * Eight Miles High (The Byrds) * The End of the World (Skeeter Davis) * Friday on My Mind (The Easybeats) * Gimme Gimmie Good Lovin' (Crazy Elephant) * The Girl Can't Help It (Little Richard) * Going Up the Country (Canned Heat) * Good Morning Starshine (Oliver) * Good Times Bad Times (Led Zeppelin) * Hair (The Cowsills) * Hey! Baby (Bruce Channel) * Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (Mel Carter) * I Put a Spell on You (Creedence Clearwater Revival) * I Saw Her Standing There (The Beatles) * I'm Going Home (Ten Years After) * Itchycoo Park (Small Faces) * The Kids Are Alright (The Who) * The Letter (The Box Tops) * Light My Fire (The Doors) * Like a Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan) * Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (The Buckinghams) * Mrs. Robinson (Simon & Garfunkel) * Mustang Sally (Wilson Pickett) * Paint It, Black (The Rolling Stones) * Pinball Wizard (The Who) * Please Please Me (The Beatles) * Put a Little Love in Your Heart (Jackie DeShannon) * Rock Around the Clock (Bill Haley & His Comets) * Shapes of Things (The Yardbirds) * She Loves You (The Beatles) * So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star (The Byrds) * Space Oddity (David Bowie) * A Taste of Honey (Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass) * Tell Her No (The Zombies) * Time of the Season (The Zombies) * Try a Little Tenderness (Otis Redding) * Waterloo Sunset (The Kinks) * The Weight (The Band) * When You Walk in the Room (The Searchers) * A Whiter Shade of Pale (Procol Harum) * Wipe Out (The Surfaris) * You Better Move On (Arthur Alexander) * You Can't Always Get What You Want (The Rolling Stones) * You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra) * You Showed Me (The Turtles) * You've Got Your Troubles (The Fortunes).

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Additional Details
Series: The New Guitar TAB Big Book
Publisher: Alfred Music
Page Count: 264
ISBN10: 1-4706-1097-3
ISBN13: 978-1-4706-1097-5
UPC: 038081474342
SKU: 00-42428

More about this title

Why we love this

This collection captures the exact moment rock and roll became the dominant language of popular music, with 64 tracks spanning from early rhythm and blues through the psychedelic experimentation of the late '60s. The TAB transcriptions make these songs accessible to guitarists at various levels, allowing players to learn iconic riffs and chord progressions directly from the source material rather than approximating them.

What to expect

Opening this collection is like stepping into a jukebox from another era. Each song carries the unmistakable DNA of its decade, from the doo-wop sweetness and early electric swagger of the '50s through the folk-rock fusion and psychedelic innovation that defined the '60s.

Who it's for

This book serves guitarists who want to deepen their command of classic rock, pop, and folk repertoire through hands-on transcription and performance. It works equally well for self-directed learners building a personal songbook and for teachers using canonical material to teach arrangement, voicing, and rhythmic interpretation.

How to get the most out of it

  • Study the original recordings alongside the TAB to catch the nuances of tone and feel that transcription alone cannot convey, especially the rhythmic pocket and dynamics of songs like 'Good Times Bad Times' and 'Eight Miles High.'
  • Pay attention to the voicings and fingerings suggested in the TAB rather than defaulting to open chord shapes; many of these songs benefit from specific textural choices that define their era.
  • Use the lyrics provided to understand the lyrical phrasing and vocal melody, which often inform how the guitar part sits rhythmically and harmonically within the arrangement.
  • Experiment with different guitar tones and effects (reverb, chorus, distortion) based on the original artist's sound to match the character of each song's recording.

How to use it

Assign songs from this book as supplemental repertoire in a guitar elective or ensemble class, allowing students to anchor their technical practice in music they recognize and love. You might also draw from it for informal recitals, coffee house performances, or as source material for student arrangements and mashups that demonstrate how these foundational styles connect to contemporary music.

Skills your students will build

  • Reading and transcribing guitar TAB across multiple registers and tunings
  • Identifying and replicating era-specific guitar tones and playing techniques (clean tones, early distortion, fingerpicking patterns)
  • Understanding song structure through repetition and variation (verse, chorus, bridge conventions)
  • Navigating chord voicings and progressions typical of rock, pop, folk, and R&B idioms
  • Coordinating lyrics and melody with harmonic rhythm for accurate phrasing

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