BY WAY OF EXPLANATION
*
WHEN ANDY AND I WERE FIRST LEARNING TO PLAY GUITAR, IT WAS OFTEN
FRUSTRATING, WHEN BUYING SONG-BOOKS AND SHEET MUSIC, TO FIND THE GUITAR
CHORDS WITHIN OCCASIONALLY DIFFERED FROM THE WAY WE HEARD THEM ON THE
ORIGINAL RECORDINGS - PRESUMABLY TO MAKE THEM MORE COMPREHENSIBLE TO
THE AVERAGE STUDENT. THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH YOUR ELEVEN DIFFERENT
ANIMALS COLLECTION. IN IT, WE HAVE TRIED TO ENSURE, AS CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE,
THAT EACH GUITAR CHORD IS EXACTLY AS IT WAS LAID DOWN IN THE STUDIO, AND
HAVE PROVIDED CHORD DIAGRAMS (WITH SUGGESTED FINGERING YET!) AT THE HEAD
OF EACH SONG, IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY OCCUR.
    WE DO THIS CHIEFLY TO HELP THOSE WHO CARE ABOUT SUCH THINGS AS PLAYING
THE GUITAR, LEARNING THE PROPER CHORDS, EVEN SINGING THE RIGHT WORDS, AND
ALSO TO QUELL THE CURIOSITY OF THE FAN IN THE DRESSING ROOM WHO WON'T
LEAVE UNTIL HE'S BEEN SHOWN THE CORRECT WAY TO PLAY THE MIDDLE EIGHT TO
"SGT. ROCK".
    AS DEDICATED FOLLOWERS ARE ONLY TOO AWARE, MUCH OF THE STYLE OF OUR
MUSIC RELIES UPON THE SOUND OF TWO OR MORE INSTRUMENTS DISAGREEING WITH
EACH OTHER - FOR EXAMPLE, TWO OR MORE GUITARS PLAYING DIFFERENT CHORDS
SIMULTANEOUSLY. HOWEVER, RATHER THAN WRITE OUT TWO SEPERATE GUITAR
CHARTS FOR EACH SONG, WE HAVE COMPROMISED SLIGHTLY, WHERE THE NEED
ARISES, AND WRITTEN A SINGLE CHORD COMBINING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
TWO OR MORE IT HAS REPLACED. THE OPENING CHORD TO "THIS IS POP", FOR INSTANCE,
IS A MUTANT HYBRID OF D MINOR 7 AND D7SUS4. IN THIS RESPECT, IT IS
PERHAPS FORTUNATE THAT "ROADS GIRDLE THE GLOBE" IS NOT INCLUDED HERE!
    IN ADDITION, WE HAVE ENDEAVOURED TO REPRODUCE THE SAME INVERSION OF
EACH CHORD AS WAS INTENDED FOR EACH SPECIFIC SONG. THIS IS WHY THE G CHORD
SHAPE IN "MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL" LOOKS (AND SOUNDS) DIFFERENT TO A G IN
"ARE YOU RECEIVING ME?"; THE D6 IN "TOWERS OF LONDON" DIFFERS FROM ITS NAMESAKE
IN "LIFE BEGINS AT THE HOP". HENCE THE SEPERATE SETS OF CHORD DIAGRAMS AT
THE START OF EACH SONG.
THOSE OF YOU WITH ABSOLUTELY NO INTEREST IN PLAYING GUITAR, BASS OR PIANO
CAN READ THE WORDS OR HUM THE TUNES.
TONEDEAF READERS CAN LOOK AT THE PHOTOGRAPHS.
WHATEVER, WE HOPE YOU HAVE FUN WITH THIS BOOK.
ENJOY!

DAVE GREGORY

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