1 comments about Classical for Guitar in TAB.

1. This book is aimed at the guitar student that has completed Jerry Synder's "Guitar School" book 2 and is now ready for more formal classical guitar studies. It is for the young-adult-aged nylon string guitarist interested in learning what standard classical repertoire consists of. It's far easier to learn and play than Frederick Noad's repertoire books as some intermediate level pieces have been simplified somewhat from what would be in a Frederick Noad book. It is divided up by grade levels. You start in grade 1 (easy), graduate on to grade 2 (early intermediate), grade 3 (intermediate), and then finally grade 4 which is late intermediate.
   
   Grade one has Andantino by Carcassi, Waltz by Carulli, and Andante by Sor. Early Intermediate begins with Andante by Carulli, then Study by Carulli, then Allegro by Giuliani. Intermediate is Fur Elise by Beethoven, Study in E Minor by Tarrega. Late Intermediate is Prelude by Bach, Bouree, Gavotte, and Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by Bach. Study in A by Carcassi, Canon in D by Pachelbel, Caprice by Paganini, Study in B Minor by Sor, and Lagrima by Tarrega,
   
   All 17 pieces are in tablature (TAB) which is helpful for today's TAB educated guitar student. None of Frederick Noad's books or Charles Duncan Modern Classical Guitar books are in TAB. The one thing I wish about this book and others involving fingerstyle, is that all right hand fingerings should be included throughout a piece as I find beginning classical students are confused as to what right hand finger (i, m, a) they should be using. The other thing its lacking is no background in music history for the pieces, so a new classical player will have to do their own historical research on which musical time frame a piece came from.
   
   Most beginning pieces are from the Classical era with first position chords. Intermediate Baroque (Bach) with shifting up to the 5th fret, and late intermediate Spanish which involve more advanced fingerings and barre chording up to the 12th fret.

No comments about Mel Bay presents Antonio Carlos Jobim for Classical Guitar.

1 comments about Classic Guitar Technique, First Supplement (Slur, Ornament and Reach Development Exercises) (Aaron Shearer Clasic Guitar Technique).

1. well written, not for total beginner.

4 comments about LIBRARY OF EASY GUITAR CLASSICS (Classical Guitar Series).

1. I ordered this book for my son. He loves playing classical music and this book has very nice selection. He has been playing guitar for a year and a half now and almost all of his music is from this book. There is nice variety from easy ones that he can read right from the list, to lots of difficult ones that he'll keep working on. Anyway, he loves this book and I love listening to the nice music.



2. This collection of classical guitar tunes is a wonderful resource for the beginning or advanced player. I have it and I love it. It's a hefty book, so it might take years to work through them all. It's spiral bound, so it opens easily on the music stand.
   
   The first section gives tab notation for each song, which is a big help if you're learning on your own. The rest of the book is arranged by composer. There's a good selection from Sor, Carcassi, and Carulli of the 18th century. Also Bach and folk tunes. Many, many, many more. I highly recommend this book.



3. I ordered a book and it never arrived. I am rating Amazon 0 stars: A complete failure, a complete waste of time!



4. I bought a lovely guitar and wanted to really get into classical guitar. I knew very very little about it. All I knew was that I sure do enjoy listening to it. With this book I have been introduced to the master composers. With college classes before...and a busy work schedule now. There is very little time for me to get really good at music reading. The tabs help me to warm up to it. Everyday...before I head out the door or after I come home from work I open this book and play a few peices. I have many many favorites but I don't limit myself to the favorites. There is so much music this book has kept me busy for several years now. I enjoy playing so much!

1 comments about Tom Petty - The Definitive Guitar Collection (Guitar Recorded Versions).

1. This is an excellent collection of Petty's best (through about 1993). It's not as if Petty's guitar work (whether his own or that of his sidemen) is extremely complex, but some of the odder little riffs that he uses, with open-string hammers and similar articulation techniques are made clearer here. (All the vocal harmonies are also in the book, a nice thing to have.) All but one of the songs in this book are on the CD "Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Greatest Hits," and all but two from the CD are in the book, so they're great companions. Highly recommended.

5 comments about J.S. Bach for Electric Bass: Three Duets and Five Solo Pieces Arranged for Bass Guitar.

1. Having not studied classically, the JS Bach book has helped my technique enormously and I can already see and feel improvements from playing the pieces. Enjoyable and interesting studies to play. Definitely a must buy for all bassists whatever style. Guaranteed fast results...lets see what my jazz colleagues think of my solo pieces now! Go buy it now!



2. Great book, and even better if you've got a mate who can learn the accompanying parts.
   Bach pieces arranged for the bass vary from the simple to the all out incredible, but with this bok you can work over the easy and the hard stuff at your own pace. Tab is there for those that need it, bu the notation is also there which is very important to get a feel for the pieces. The notes are also most informative with regard to feel, time signature and speed. Given enough practise, you can master a few of the arrangements very quickly, and before long, be able to impress a few people with your new found dexterity. Then impress them more when you do a full duet with a mate...



3. Not the most thrilling of all music you can buy, but it is accessable to intermediate players like myself. Nice to play something different besides Rush and Cream, and my wife doesn't mind listening to it either.
   
   Not for beginners. May be useful to know what the piece sounds like before you attempt to play it.



4. This is a great book for intermediate to advanced level Electric Bass. There are two duets for Bass and Violin (or G Clef instrument) and one for Bass with accompaniment for Piano. Includes the tab notation which helps a lot!



5. A wonderful book of Bach pieces transcribed for the electric bass. I'm a music teacher who is primarily a guitarist, but I also have a few bass students, a couple of them who have progressed beyond the fundamentals of rhythm, position, and left and right hand fingering.
   
   These pieces offer a refreshing contrast to the more contemporary styles usually associated with the electric bass guitar, and the duets are fun to play with students.

No comments about First Book for the Guitar - Part 1: Guitar Technique.

5 comments about Fingerstyle Guitar.

1. The great thing about this book is that it really shows you how to play fingerstyle guitar. For every exercise and transcription, the author discusses the new technical problems for the piece -- showing you the most efficient way to fret chords, discussing any particulary complicated picking pattern, etc. Songs are presented in tab and in standard notation.

   Chapters cover everything from basics to hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, bar chords, celtic and ragtime styles, etc.

   Along with Perlman's second book, 'Contemporary Fingerstyle Guitar', makes a great introduction to playing fingerstyle.




2. Ken Perlman packs a gig bag-full of fingerstyle guitar into this book. While it definitely targets novice fingerstyle players, it is not a book for those just beginning to play the guitar. Although Perlman introduces tablature, he assumes the player can read standard notation and already has a good knowledge of the fingerboard. Also, because much of fingerstyle is based on movable chord positions, the student should have some facility negotiating between chords.
   That said, the book begins by introducing the style of alternating bass and builds increasingly complex melodies and techniques over this basic pattern. The student will learn all the standard left hand techniques (hammer-on and pull-off notes, slides, graced notes, etc.) as well as some development of the right hand. Perlman's approach is to use individual songs to introduce each concept which keeps the learning process musical without being overly didactic. In my view, there are several points that elevate Fingerstyle Guitar above most other instructional books. First, Perlman selects great acoustic guitar music. If you like the simple yet wonderful style of Mississippi John Hurt, it's there within the first few pages. With about 40 songs in all, the blues, roots and Celtic tunes are great fun to play, and much of the credit goes to Perlman's arranging and writing abilities. I also like the way Perlman sets each song up, giving the student some context in regard to the composer, or the song's history. And finally, following each piece, Perlman focuses on specific measures in the song that may be problematic, such as fingering patterns in chord transitions or tricky syncopations.
   While Fingerstyle Guitar starts from a very basic level, the pace of skill development is brisk. For example, open tunings are introduced barely half-way through the book. The tunes near the end of the book, such as Joplin's "The Entertainer", are definitely for the capable intermediate guitarist. Therefore, I would also recommend the book to anyone who has previous exposure to fingerstyle.
   For the intermediate-to-advance level player, Perlman's Advanced Fingerstyle Guitar is an excellent companion book which follows the same basic format set-out in Fingerstyle Guitar. Centerstream Publications has done a good job in the clear presentation of text and notation for both books. I particularly like the use of archival photographs of musicians that begin each chapter.
   Overall, you won't be disappointed with Perlman's approach to Fingerstyle Guitar.



3. I began fingerstyle with Zeppelin's "Babe I'm gonna Leave You" - learning from a tab, and picked up this book on a friend's rec. It is outstanding, there are a handful of great tabs provided that sound great and are fun to play (ie, "Freight Train"), while learning the basics. A bunch of Mississippi John Hurt tabs are in there, and after 4-6 months anyone should be able to play 'Candyman' with expertise. If you like fingerstyle and don't know Hurt, get his 'Best of' Live at Oberlin on vanguard. Anyway, an outstanding book for any willing player.



4. I've been learning guitar from books for about a year and this certainly does a good job. I wish I had discovered it 6 months ago. If you like this style of music, then this is the book for you. A lot of the songs can be played after minimal amount of time so there is a lot of reward when practicing from this book. One thing I found it helped alot with was with timing. It really emphasizes and polishes your sense of timing.



5. There are no tempo markings for any of the pieces, so you will not know how fast or slow to play the pieces. He does not use classical guitar technique: he hooks the left thumb over the neck to fret many notes, and worst of all he advocates the right hand pinky extended and placed on the face of the guitar.
   
   There's no CD with the book either.

5 comments about Mel Bay Learning the Classic Guitar: Part 1.

1. If this book was to be used with a part 2 then why release it as an independent volume? There is no music in this book. What then is there to discuss! The Classic Guitar Technique Vol 1 stood on it's own but this book is almost worthless. Just my opinion... That's all.



2. A well thought-out method of considerable value for the analytically-minded guitar student, or even for experienced guitarists.
   
   There are three books in the method: Parts 1, 2, and 3.
   
   Part 1 (shouldn't that be "Part One"?) is all about the mechanical aspects of guitar playing: How to hold the guitar, the best ways to place your hands and move your fingers, etc. (Many use the word "technique" to describe this aspect of musicianship, but I call it "mechanics." I got the idea from Vladimir Horowitz, who said that technique is something beyond mere mechanics. He said that "technique is the ability to get your point across." So, in Vlodya's world of music, it would be possible for a musician to have very inelegant mechanics, yet have a superb technique! Haven't we all heard such musicians?)
   
   Part Two is the "workbook." It features lessons in the form of musical studies and original repertoire pieces, written in standard notation. Many of these are duets to be played with a teacher or a more advanced player. It also introduces the reader to the study of solfege.
   
   Part Three discusses expressive playing and gives guidance on developing one's performance skills.
   
   At the least, the three books comprise a valuable reference work for a serious guitarist or guitar student. There are other grand guitar methods in the world, of course -- Carlevaro's and Aguado's, just to name two -- but I can't think of any other that is as well-organized, as systematic (it progresses through thoughtfully designed stages), as comprehensive, and as coherent as Mr. Shearer's.



3. I bought this book recently..I own several solo/classic guitar playing books, including Noad's, and Shearer's previous books,which are also very good, but no other book I've seen spells out the mechanics of the fingers and body placement/positioning nearly as well as this one does. I plan on getting Part 2 soon, then possibly Part 3 as well. This book should obviously be used with beginning studies and a good teacher if possible.



4. One has to purchase at least Part 1 and 2 together to get the best benefit if you are a new student. I had to learn myself early on and used these books. When I could afford to start taking lessons, in Winston-Salem, I was pleased that my technique was not screwed up. Many of the musical pieces (book 2)aren't tough on the ear as you patiently work your way toward competency. Very well organized and thought out. If you are patient, you will be pleased.



5. I bought this book assuming it contained some practical exercises for my students to use. It was only text. I can tell my students all that information that has been written about in this book while they use a book which gives them hands on practice. I read it all they way through and found it dry and rather boring. I made the plunge and bought book 2 but was not very impressed with it either.
   
   IMHO, if you are wanting to learn how to play the classical guitar badly enough to try and sit through and read all this stuff, then you really need to hire a teacher. Method books are good up to a point, but they will never replace what a teacher can do. This book should have been cut in half and stuck to front of the 2nd book. I've had the book for a couple of years now and only occasionally refer to it. All the information is given in other method books that also include tangible exercises.
   
   UPDATE: 8/28/08
   
   I've been giving this book more thought. I would like to give it 4 stars now but Amazon won't let me edit that part. It is loaded with good classical guitar information though I don't always agree with it. Such as some of his right hand diagrams on page 25. I feel the right hand fingers and strings need to meet more on the left side of the fingers and not directly straight on. But, that's fodder for a live guitar lesson. If you are being "self-taught" then this book is a fairly adequate substitute for a real teacher. I would strongly suggest practicing his technical ideas using musical exercises from another book such as Christoper Parkening's, "Guitar Method, Vol. 1". The ideal situation would be for the student to read the information in Shearer's book and then hook up with a qualified classical guitar instructor so the student could fully assimilate the information into actual practice.

4 comments about The Greatest Guitar Songbook.

1. I'm quite pleased by this book - it has a great list of songs - some classical, folk, rock, christmas, and even has Amazing Grace. The layout of Tab and notes makes it a great tool to learn to read music. Special chord fingerings are listed at the top of each song (bonus) and the print is large enough to read easily.



2. This book is a total waste of money. maybe one out of the 100 songs included in this book is right. The chord listings are way off, and the songs sound terrible if u try to play them the way they are in the book. i made the mistake of wasting my time and money ordering this book. Dont be like me learn from my mistake. THIS BOOK IS HORRIBLE!



3. I bought this book as a teaching tool for some of my beginning students, since I have one that wants to go rock, one classical, and one jazz. The arrangement for Fur Elise was a nice piece for a quick-learning beginner to study accidentals, and the arrangements for "All the Things You Are" and "Misty" have been helpful in beginning some jazz studies. Otherwise, I agree that a lot of the arrangements are off, and while there is a large variety of songs, I find that there are a lot of them that I would not have chosen for a book that presumes to call itself "The Greatest". As a teacher, though, there are a few things in here that I have found useful...although, I would prefer that the book didn't have tablature.



4. Thankyou to amazon for the book and very fast way in which it was posted to my address.
   The condition of the book was as if it had never been used and I know that my son can only gain more knowledge in reading music and improve in the way he plays his Guitar.
   
   Thanks again
   
   DMR