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

5 comments about The Student Repertoire Series Vol. 2 (Student Repertoire Series , Vol 2).

1. Excellent for the beginner to intermediate Classical Guitarist. This book is easily a valued essential for any Guitar Library. Comes with a CD. Hope to see more from this author!



2. This book progresses from first pieces for players who read music and understand classical guitar technique through increasingly difficult intermediate pieces. It is ideal for first and second, and perhaps third year students. One aspect that I find particularly appealing as a teacher is the musical integrity of each piece. They are all very musical, the progression is very well thought out, and the presentation on the page is clear and uncluttered. Probably the best collection of easy to intermediate pieces available. The CD performances are outstanding.



3. This book was written with class. The pieces selelected are all very beautiful and fun to play. The CD provides a very honest interpretation of the pieces. There are definitions in the back of the book as well as a listing of each genre of the solos. Furthermore, there is a suggested list of pieces for a student who is interested in entering a guitar program at a school from freshman undergraduate, to second year grad student. The book provides the intermidiate to advanced guitarist an excellent basis for expanding his or her repertoire.



4. I'm a self taught guitarist who recently took up the guitar again after a 20 year break. I love this book. The pieces are beautiful and are arranged from beginning intermediate (I think) to advanced intermediate. You must be able to read music. The author includes some notes on playing each piece -- technique, musicianship. But mostly you advance through practice and listening to the CD. The CD, by the way, is wonderful, and I often put it on just for pleasure. One of the things I love about this book is how the author emphasizes musicality, things like subtle pauses and changes in tempo, crescendos, etc.



5. I recently purchased this book for pieces to use in my Classical Guitar class. Mr. Ferrara produced an excellent work that I predict will be a future classic. All the pieces are thoughtfully selected and presented with clear and helpful explaination. The CD is also a pleasure to listen to. Thank you Lawrence Ferrara for producing such an enjoyable work. I will be able to use this book for many years to come. I highly recommend it to all beginning and intermediate classical guitar players.

5 comments about Bach Lute Suites For Guitar (Classical Guitar Series).

1. I recently attended a 40 hour session of master classes that focused on interpretation of Baroque music on the modern guitar. Most of the attendees were students at conservatories - the general consensus was that this edition is superb. There may be others as good, but this one is certainly up to standard. During the class, we often referred to this edition to correct errors in the other student's scores.

   Of course, any transcription for the guitar makes changes, drops some notes, looses some voices, etc. The maestro's opinion (a specialist in music of the period) was that the compromises in this edition are quite fine.

   Of course, one should always have as close to the original texts as possible for reference.




2. About the fingerings I must say that in some pieces I tend to alter them a lot, but this is most of the time a matter of personal taste and style. It's just in a few cases that they realy need to be changed, and this is perfectly normal in a book that covers all of Bach's works for lute.
   Concerning the musicall content, this is a very good edition. I also liked the "ottava bassa" indications on the basses. This way you get a clear picture of the original bassline, and anyone that has ever played this suites knows how important they are.
   Price is also very appealing.



3. I must first say that the only reason that I've given this book one star is because that's the lowest amount that I could give it and Bach's Lute Suites are in the book and the book didn't fall apart. This book gives you no real performance notes, no true historical perspective of the music and how it should be interpreted, and the fingerings are adequate at best. As a teacher,and performer I can only recommend this book if the Frank Koonce Bach book is out of print or you can't afford something else. Shame on you Ariel Publ. and Jerry Willard.



4. This is a great compilation! These transcriptions are very musical, given the limitations of transcribing for modern guitar from a 13 course baroque lute...of course it was necessary to drop a lot of bass notes and the bass lines and even mid-register voicing just can't be made to match the original pieces all that well. You may want to alter some of the fingering, but everyone except rank beginners do this as a matter of course. The one star review is harsh and unnecessary. Go for it! My 1980s copy is well-loved and well marked up!



5. I have to say that what Jerry Willard did in publishing his edition of J.S. Bach's Complete Works was to not inflict upon the music his musical conception, through over-fingering or ornamentation. It is perfect for the professional guitarist who wants a very reliable transcription in the accepted "guitar keys", as well as a great study version for any student of the guitar. Like his other publication of the Bach Inventions for the guitar by the same publisher, it is a diet staple both for me and my students.
   
   It is generally accepted that one must study these suites with a great teacher who has familiarity with the style, (which Jerry Willard is!)and to read alot about performance practice to determine for yourself what the best choices are. All this is possible if you own this edition. In the end, Willard leaves the choices to us.
   
   Excellent book!!

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.

3 comments about A Modern Approach to Classical Repertoire - Part 1: Guitar Technique (Modern Approach to Classical Guitar).

1. I've had this book for over five years and the music sounds great. It starts out with relatively easy pieces and you can learn to play nice sounding music from the get-go. Right and Left hand notation is used for problem areas. The author lists the notes/min that you can match with a metronome to get a sense of a goal of how fast to play. Most of the pieces are in the first five frets. If you want to progress beyond five frets, I would hook up with a teacher. All the pieces area good mix of Sor, giuliani, carulli, carcassi, etc.



2. This is a very accessible collection. (Note that it is misnamed by Amazon; the title is actually "Classical Guitar Repertoire: A Graded Anthology of Solo Pieces," and it has nothing to do with technique per se -- go to the Duncan method books for that.) Each piece has some inherent musical value, however simple it may be; and there is a mix of melodic pieces and technical exercises. Unlike many collections, the grade is not too steep; you should be able to play all or almost all of the pieces within a year if you practice diligently. Unlike the other reviewer, however, I would recommend starting with a teacher right away if you can find a competent one. I know that I developed a number of bad habits that took considerable work to get rid of, and I would have learned faster and had more fun if I had had a teacher.
   
   Two-thirds of the pieces here are at what Duncan calls "achievement level two," a designation which matches his method book (a good buy on Amazon, although I've never used it much but do own it). The rest of the pieces are for the third-level student, and they are significantly harder but still within reach.
   
   I would also recommend getting another book of Renaissance pieces if you enjoy that era as I do. The vast majority of the pieces here are Classical, and I myself prefer the Baroque and Elizabethan pieces. Also, if you want to learn something with a serious Spanish flavor, e.g., a Malaguena, you will have to look elsewhere, as Duncan is squarely in the Classical era. Sor, Carcassi, Carulli, etc. are here, but Duncan doesn't even include any Bach, although there is a beautiful little piece by Krieger and another by de Visee.



3. Absolutely a great book if you want some beautiful guitar pieces to play that are beginning to intermediate levels of difficulty. Fifty-five pieces of some of the historically best classical guitar pieces ever written. Some of the composers are: Sor, Giuliani, Carulli, Carcassi, DeVisee, Diabelli, Logy, Purcell and others.
   
   Many of the pieces are perfect for wedding music, and can be easily sight-read if you are a moderately good sight-reader. All notation is clear and well-written, with very helpful left and right hand fingering suggestions included. NO TAB! (yeah!) so you will have to be able to read music notation but don't be afraid - the first few pieces are very easy.
   
   I teach classical guitar and have many of my students purchase this book. The pieces in it add greatly to their repertoire and are very impressive to listen to them being played. I have owned this book for many years and it is one that I draw upon frequently. Maybe I should buy a new one since it is so worn now, but I'll wait until it completely falls apart.

3 comments about Laurence Juber PopularSongs for Acoustic Guitar BK/CD.

1. IMHO, the songs' arrangement is quite simple but sound beautifully. Most songs are in alternate tuning (6 songs in DADGAD, 2 songs in Drop D, and 4 songs in standard). The CD does not includes complete songs, it is a masterclass CD with Mr. Juber's voices give some playing advices from the title to the ending bar by bar.



2. As always Laurence's interpetations for popular pieces are very rich in texture, melodic fun stuff to play. What i liked the most are good share of DADGAD pieces that can be adopted to repertuar of this tuning.



3. This is a very good compilation of playable tunes which were elegantly arranged by Mr Laurence Juber. I'm personally satisfied with the purchase.

No comments about COLDPLAY: SINGLES & B - SIDES (PIANO/VOCAL/GUITAR).

4 comments about The Guitar Book.

1. Pierre is not only one of the most extraordinary acoustic guitar players in the world, but a lot more. The Guitar Book is the living proof that Pierre is also an skilled writer, capable of sharing his own "little world", as he calls it, so that the reader is able to immerse himself in Pierre's playing style, musical visions, and even venture into some more, uh, sensorial stuff. The book provides not only insights on his playing techniques, immaculate transcriptions of tunes from his first 4 albums and the Mechanics of Guitar according to Bensusan, but also some poems, evocative photographs, paintings and even recipes!! This is as deep as you can get into an artists personal world, done in the irreprehensible Bensusan style. A MUST-BUY!!



2. Pierre Bensusan's "Guitar Book" is simply one of the best guitar books ever published. Virtually all of the pieces from his first 4 recordings are transcribed in very accessible format. All in tablature, mostly his preferred DADGAD tuning. In general, the pieces are arranged from easiest to most difficult, and most are accessible for an intermediate player. If it were just about the transcriptions, this would certainly be an extraordinary work. However, the "extras" take it to another level. Poetry, art, cooking recipes fill in along with some of his thoughts about playing the guitar. This work is truly distinguished from other guitar publications. Obviously, this book is not for a mass audience, but if you like Pierre Bensusan and play the guitar, you simply MUST have this.



3. This book is a great find for acoustic guitarists looking to stretch their fingerstyle playing as well as learn about alternate tunings. Pierre Bensusan's playing is phenomenal, and if you can keep up with any of the tunes transcribed (I wish I could!) in this book, then you're really doing something. This book has all the songs from his early records, plus poems, pictures, even recipes. It's excellent.



4. Pierre Bensusan is a musician's musician. The first time I saw him (which was in 1977 at a folk festival in the little village of Hoeilaart in Belgium), I was so knocked out I bought his first two albums on the spot.
   
   Since then, of course, he has become world-famous, expanding his musical vocabulary all the while.
   
   The pieces in this 1985 book, however, are all drawn from that earlier time, before the effects pedals and so forth, when his main influences were easily discernible to be the notable guitarists of the English folk revival; particularly John Renbourn, Nic Jones and Martin Carthy.
   
   Contents
   ======
   Along with scales and exercises there are 35 tunes, as follows. All are in DADGAD tuning except where otherwise indicated.
   
   The Return from Fingal
   Le voyage pour l'Irlande
   Rakish Paddy
   Le lendemain de la fête (EADGBE)
   Près de Paris (FDGCF)
   The Ash Plant (FDGCF)
   The Morning Dew (FDGCF)
   La danse du capricorne
   De Trilport à Fublaines (DGDGCD)
   Heman Dubh
   Maurice au pays des merveilles
   Clementine, Mandarine et Reine Claude
   Merrily Kiss the Quaker
   Cunla
   Murtagh McKann
   The Pure Drop
   The Flax in Bloom
   Le moulin á parfums d'Emmanuelle
   Water Music
   Le voyage pour l'Irlande (EADGBE)
   Le lac des abbesses (DGDGCD)
   The False Knight on the Road
   Digital
   Hekimoglu
   Climats doux et tempéres
   Suite flamande aus pommes
   La marche du sonneur égaré
   Sí Bheag, Sí Mhor
   Santa Monica
   Au jardin d'amour
   Solilaï
   Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
   Nice Feeling
   Bamboulé
   Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum (CADGAD)
   
   Most are from Pierre's first four albums:
   
   7 from Près de Paris
   5 from 2
   11 from Musiques
   6 from Solilaï
   6 miscellaneous
   
   The pieces are arranged in order of difficulty (it's noticeable that all those from Solilaï come at the end).
   
   As well as the above, there are recipes, advice, photos, poems from the author's wife, and much more. In fact it's not so much a music book as a total brain dump.
   
   Accuracy
   ======
   The transcriptions are, by and large, very accurate, but there are nonetheless some curious anomalies.
   
   One is that "Le lendemain de la fête", given in standard tuning, was recorded by Pierre in DADGAD, and is given in that tuning on his DVD The Guitar of Pierre Bensusan, Vol. 1. It's certainly playable as written, but it doesn't sound quite right. What the explanation may be for this, I can only conjecture. However, "Le voyage pour l'Irlande", is given twice here, once in each tuning; so maybe it's just that Pierre plays (or has played) these pieces both ways.
   
   Most annoying, however, is that the staff notation is written at absolute pitch, even when a capo is used, e.g. "Le lac des abbesses" in G capo'd at 4 is written in B. This makes the staff impossible to read without reference to to the tab, for the 15 pieces in which a capo is specified.
   
   The key signature of "La marche du sonneur égaré" should be one sharp, not two; since although the key is D, the mode is mixolydian, and so the Cs are natural (as confirmed by the tab). However, there is the occasional C#, so, again, you have to check both the staff and the tab.
   
   Presentation
   =========
   The book is conventionally bound and does not take kindly to being opened flat. My copy (about 20 years old) is falling apart.
   
   Summary
   =======
   This is one of the greatest guitar books I've ever come across, so much so that even the quirks mentioned above can't lead me to deduct a star. It's certainly THE greatest book on DADGAD, although Pierre Bensusan presents DADGAD Guitar comes close.
   
   But it's not for beginners, nor for flatpickers. Also, if you can't read you may have trouble, especially if you don't have the author's first four CDs. In that case, or if you learn better visually, I would recommend the DVD mentioned above, along with Vol. 2. Both come with tab booklets.

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.

4 comments about Easy Classical Guitar Duets: Book/CD Pack.

1. The book is great but the CD doesn't work on CD player or by computer. Returned the book hoping that it was a fluke but 2nd one had the same problems.



2. I presume the manufacturer is intensionally selling defective, unplayable cd's because of other revues indicating this same fact. Amazon was supposed to follow up on this complaint, but I never received a response to my conversation with an Amazon rep. This is the first time I've ever been dissatisfied with any product I've bought thru Amazon.



3. I like this collection of duets, especially the last (and most difficult one), "Pavane, Op.50" by Gabriel Faure. Incredibly beautiful. I have played it many times (even with Charles Duncan himself). However, I don't let the fact that I know him personally and have played many duets with him over the years influence my opinion of his books. As a matter of fact, I have dissed a couple of them.
   
   The duets progress from very, very easy (great for newbie guitarists) to higher levels of difficulty. Each piece is also broken down by parts (1st guitar and 2nd guitar parts) by level of difficulty. I teach classical guitar and use these duets frequently to teach my students how to play with another guitarist. The pieces in the book are all very good pieces written by famous composers (Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Dowland, etc...) but of course they have been greatly simplified for inexperienced guitarists, but are still very lovely to listen too.
   
   The CD that comes with it is very helpful to play along with so that the guitar student can practice either part with the recording and get a good feel for his/her part. I haven't tried using my PC to play the CD yet so I don't know about that problem mentioned in the previous review, I've just played it in my boom box and it sounds great.
   
   Just remember that it is a book of EASY duets. If you are wanting some intermediate or advanced scores, this book won't have them. I recommend this book to beginning guitarists. The notation is clear, NO TAB (yeah!) and helpful fingerings are given.



4. I have never had any problem with the CD that comes with the book. I have used it often for every piece in the book with my computer.
   
   The last three or four pieces are especially nice, but it's all good stuff. The music is easy for any intermeidate level player.