1 comments about Classical Studies for Pick-Style Guitar - Volume 1: Develop Technical Proficiency with Innovative Solos and Duets.

1. This is a great collection for fine tuning your plectrum technique. Standard classical guitar pieces that are VERY challenging with a pick.

2 comments about First Book for the Guitar - Complete: Guitar Technique.

1. It was design to guide a guitar player starting from zero knowlegde in guitar thru adquire playing skill while improving the music reading. The exercises and companiaments were very well selected in a way that every time to master any drill you enjoy doing it and have the filling of achievement.



2. I have used this book for classic guitar beginners in my private studio many, many years. It was written by the eminent teacher/guitarist Frederick Noad. Many introductory books are either overly simplistic for adults, begin with too much theory too soon, or too difficult too fast. This book - although not perfect - is the best I have found for a "middle-of-the-road" first book over a 35 year teaching career. Students with no previous musical instruction may benefit by starting with Guitar QuickStart(tm) - Disler, then moving on with this book. Classic guitar is NOT a "do-it-yourself" activity, so finding a qualified teacher is highly recommended, whatever book is the first one.

No comments about Blues Rhythm Guitar.

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

3 comments about Mel Bay Presents Classical Guitar Pedagogy: A Handbook for Teachers.

1. In the words of Les Cahiers de la Guitar (Paris), "...Glise is the first to propose many of these questions... this book is a goldmine of information and reflections and I strongly recommend it!" (Les Cahiers de la Guitare, Paris, no. 67, 1998).

   This book is currently in use as the primary textbook for classical guitar pedagogy classes in the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil and France and has recieved praise by virtually every guitar magazine in the world.

   The first textbook of its kind, it covers a vast wealth of subjects and information from anatomical information to performance and career develoment for the classical guitarist....




2. This book is used in virtually every university and conservatory in the US, Europe, and S. America. Glise is the first to compile a "how to" for teachers. Has gotten brilliant reviews world-wide. As a professional guitarist/professor, this work is required for ALL my students.
   Glise is one of the "Gods" of the classical guitar - on stage, on recordings and in the teaching studio.
   Anyone who even PRETENDS to play the guitar MUST HAVE THIS BOOK!!!!



3. Teacher or not, this is a very informative and eye-opening book. There are many things here about which I have never particularly thought or even cared, for that matter. A serious student or teacher of the classic guitar would do well to read this book.

5 comments about IL DIVO (Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook).

1. These four singers are handsome, talented, and sing the songs so beautifully, it's overwhelming. They combine their classical voices, the exception is Sebastien who is a pop singer, into popular arrangements of well known songs such as My Way, Unchained Melody, I Believe In You sung with Celine Dion. Since they represent 4 countries, the ablums contain songs in Spanish, French, Italian and English. They have 2 albums out with some variation of the songs in those recorded in the UK. There is also a DVD with Simon explaining how he discovered them, plus a very engaging interview with the 4 of them. Be sure to get the USA version, the UK can only be played on a computer. If you like Josh Groban, you'll LOVE Il DIVO ! They're currently Number 1 on the charts in the USA.



2. Enjoyed this greatly. Done with the perfection and professionalism we have come to know and appreciate from Il Divo. Wonderful!



3. The music is great!
   The voices of this group is GREAT!
   BRAVO!!
   Must get one for yourself!



4. The arragments of the songs are easy, and you can even feel the sound like in the tracks. Ease follow the melody and harmonies. My students enjoyed each song, so do I.



5. I was very happy with this music book as it contained most of the beautiful songs of il divo well arranged and very good for playing

1 comments about Art Of Spanish Guitar.

1. Art Of Spanish Guitar I have been playing classical guitar since 1999 and am primarily self-taught. While classical guitar technique is a fairly universal concept, teachers vary in the way they convey the art. Method books usually provide rudimentary music theory (as pertains to the study of classical guitar) but are grossly inadequate as to the explaination of classical guitar technique. Granted, nothing can replace private instruction with a gifted teacher, but not everyone has access to such a mentor (and not all classical guitar performers are great teachers).
   
   The Art of Spanish Guitar is a comprehensive classical guitar technique book. All exercises, studies, and repertoire are written in standard music notation which, in my opinion necessitates a minimum of first position reading/ playing proficiency. Throughout the book thoughtful and systematic instructional text with accompanying photographs, exercises, studies, repertoire selections, and a wealth of advice gleaned from three generations of world class guitarists -- the Romeros -- is presented.
   
   The first half of the book deals with the basics of classical guitar technique -- positioning/posture, sound production, finger independence and economy, ligados, chords, barring, arpeggios, etc. The second half provides ample repertoire and study options for right both technical and musical development. More advanced techniques such as tremolo, rasgueado, ornament and harmonic usage are also addressed. An invigorating daily workout to facilitating fingering security, velocity, flexibility, and strength is included. As if this isn't enough to make Art of Spanish Guitar a "hands on" study essential for every serious guitarist, a high quality demonstration CD of selected exercises and repertoire choices from the book is also included.
   
   My grateful accolades to Celino Romero for this excellent and much needed resource! I would also highly recommed his instructional DVD by the same name!

5 comments about The Renaissance Guitar (Frederick Noad Guitar Anthology).

1. the book had great songs in it and interesting commentary, however the way in which the music was written was confusing. i am reletivly new to guitar, so it may just be me, but the tablature numbers were mixed randomely through the musical staff, and i understood very little of it, even in its beginer section.



2. I've had this book for almost 20 years and have been getting back into it quite a bit lately. The reviewer that complained about the tablature notation is a little confused. The numbering on the notes are left hand fingerings, not tablature, and is standard for classical guitar notation. Sometimes I find myself playing just the notes and paying less attention to the fingering.. or I might question the fingering... but time and time again I find the fingering offered is utlimately the best solution.
   Not only is the music expertly presented but the selections are incredible. Years ago I bought the tapes of this book as well as Noad's Baroque, Classical and Romantic books. I learned many of the pieces that were on the tapes that I found interesting.. but for the most part with this book and the Romantic book I think all of the tunes are quality. I have even learned the pieces that were not on the tape and have found a number of gems. I am an amatuer so I don't appreciate spending what little time I have to learn a piece and then having the piece turn out uninteresting... but I think you will find ALL of the pieces in this book to be fascinating.
   This was the first Noad book I bought... and had it for a few years before I bought the others. However... I still find this one to be my favorite. And the four book collection has to be the greatest collection of classical guitar music ever assembled.
   I may have to order another copy of this book because I've worn mine down.



3. As far as guitar sheet music/song books go, Frederick Noad was and is a name to be trusted. This collection is no different from his others. A first rate compilation. I rarely have problems with his fingering suggestions. The selections are top notch and always include a few surprises! Mr. Noad was truly one of the finest classical guitar teachers of the 20th century (and a top flight guitarist to boot). His legacy lives on in his songbooks. I own everything he published and recommend him most highly to beginner, intermediate and advanced students alike.



4. Noad's books in this series have a very tasteful presentation of staples of the repertoire mixed with more obscure pieces, illustrations, and history. Highly recommended!



5. For anyone trained in reading classical guitar notation, this book is excellent. The pieces are wonderful, the fingering and suggestions are just enough to make things easy and not overly done. The selection ranges from late beginner to advanced, but even the advanced stuff is readable. Only complaints are that the CD does not include all the selections and the singer on the CD for the few selections with vocals is an awful classical style singer with a disgusting amount of vibrato. Besides the fact that this level of vibrato being generally distasteful in any context, it is particularly inappropriate to this era when vibrato was definitely not encouraged. But the book is excellent and deserves 5 stars. The CD is just bonus and it is overall quite good.

5 comments about More Easy Classics to Moderns (Music for Millions, Vol 27) (Music for Milions) (Music for Milions).

1. My main complaint about books edited by denes agay is that they do not lay flat. I sure wish music publishers would publish music book s with comb binding or something similar so the books will open and stay open so you're not constantly fiddling with them and cussing when they close on you while you are playing the music. Is this too much to ask for? And why doesn't Amazon inform us of the type of binding in the details of the book?



2. This book is full beautiful classical songs for beginner pianists. It's even fun for the more advanced student as very little practice is needed in order to play them.



3. When I was in elementary school, I took piano lessons for a while with a decent teacher. I wasn't the most cooperative student -- I really wanted an instant solution that would let me play as well as my well-trained mother, instead of all this hard work and fussing about timing and so forth -- and we gave up at the end of the first book. I've learned very slowly since then.
   
   One frustration in the intervening years was learning a dumbed-down piece, like a heavily edited version of Beethoven's ever-popular "Fur Elise," and then discovering that not only was the real version much more complex and interesting (and beyond my limited skills), but that learning the dumbed-down version actually made it much harder to learn the real one! My fingers kept wanting to go in the "wrong" direction to play the simplified version.
   
   I've looked for a long time for a book like this, which is original, classically structured compositions which have NOT been dumbed down for the not-very-advanced pianist, but simply weren't very difficult to begin with. I received this book just a few days ago, and I'm basically happy with what I see.
   
   On the down side, I'm going to have to take the book down to a print shop to have the binding cut off and have the pages drilled for a three-ring binder. It won't stay flat even with a couple of hymnals to hold it open. This is not an especially expensive task, and it will completely solve the problem, but it is a hassle.
   
   Also, quite a number of the pieces are things I've never heard of, and some of them can't be found on the Internet, either. I wish there were a CD available so I could figure out whether I have a reasonably normal interpretation of an unfamiliar piece.
   
   Finally, I think it might be helpful if there were some effort to describe what the editor thinks "intermediate" means. A few of the pieces look somewhat more intimidating than the little bit that's visible on Amazon's website, and a couple just a little less. But if you're not well-trained or if you're a non-musician buying something for a student, having some specific information (like "recommended for people who have finished John Thompson's Grade Two book") might be helpful.



4. I love this book. When I was growing up, I used it in piano lessons and enjoyed many of the songs. it contains well-known songs as well as many which will become your favorites. It also has a variety of styles so everyone is happy with something. I like it because I am no virtuoso and the songs are difficult enough to be interesting (to play and listen to) and challenging, but not so difficult as to be unachievable. It has fallen to pieces, so I had to buy another one for my kids, who are just getting into this level.



5. My son uses this book. Pieces are not equal in their complexity. My child plays the two "Bagatelles" by Beethoven, Sibelius and similar in difficulty pieces. One can find texts that are much easier than the ones I mentioned in this book. I also love this book as it reminds me of the time when I studied piano as a little girl at a City Music school in Russia. I played the vast majority of the classical pieces from it. These days, when my son is not practicing, I sight read everything from this book for pleasure. It is not for intermediate players, it is for advanced beginners, I think. I expect my son to play Rachmaninoff in a couple of years. He is now 8 yo and has been playing the piano for about two years, instructed by a magnificent Russian teacher. Before formal lessons he played by ear and improvised. So, the book is for people playing for no more than a couple of years.

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