5 comments about Beginning Mandolin (Book & Cd).

1. This book gave me a good kick-start. I had played around on the mandolin a little in the past, but not for 10 years or more. The book really paced me through some exercises and helped me build skills starting with simple scales and ending up with full-fledged songs and solos.
   
   Most songs and exercises in the book include both musical notation and tablature, to help you see how to play the song (which frets, which fingers to use).
   
   The accompanying CD has audio that lets you hear how the scales or songs are supposed to sound, which can be helpful.
   
   I found the book so useful that I've bought the same author's intermediate-level book.



2. If you already have played guitar for awhile, or you are comfortable with any stringed instrument, I recommend a more advanced book. I was through this one within a couple weeks.



3. Great produt for learning mandolin. Seperated in such a way that notation readers can skip that portion of the book without missing any important technique instructions on learning mandolin. technique instuction very clear and detailed.



4. This is excellent guide for beginners, because one can hear the piece played and then attempt to play along. Great for timing.
   However, it moves along quite rapidly without enough quality practice pieces to reinforce fingering, simple cords and music reading. The CD moves from one piece to the next without much hesitation and without introduction...often before I am quite ready. This requires stopping and starting the CD frequently.(am using a tascam) I practice a lot and use the first half constantly and definitely recommend it.



5. As a frustrated guitar player, I ended up with a mandolin. I bought this book because of the reviews here. It is clear. Concise and gives you a solid understanding of not only the instrument, but the way music works. Bravo Mr. Horne!

5 comments about The Luthier's Handbook: A Guide to Building Great Tone in Acoustic Stringed Instruments.

1. I'm not luthier even if I would like to be. When I boght the book my purpose was to understand why some instruments sounds good and other sound bad. Reading it I understood the many varibles to consider when designing and thus building an acoustic instrument.



2. I thought that this was a very good product, one that was easily read and that was very nicely laid out.



3. A 5 STAR rating still does not give this book the credit it deserves compared to ALL the other books written on guitar construction "Tuning".
   
   Although I am not a luthier, I have spent a lifetime earning a living in the field of structural vibrations, and as such, I can firmly say that this is the only guitar construction book I have read that gets it ALL right with regards to "tuning" the instrument during construction to achieve the desired response. Most of the Masters seem to know how to "tune" a guitar, but I think many may not truely understand the technical details of the process.
   
   Yes, as one of the reviewers stated, it may be too complicated for some beginners, but the title says "Luthier's" Handbook, not "Beginner's" Handbook.
   
   I plan to build my first guitar (or more) during my retirement and entend to use this book as my "Bible".



4. Very Very Poor.
   A complete waste of time and money.
   All about his theories (some of which are scientifically incorrect)without any real practical guidance.
   I'm sure he can build a great guitar or mandolin, but this book puts YOU no closer to achieving a good result.



5. This is one of the most incredible books I've had the pleasure of reading. This is not a "how to" book but more of a "why and what if" book. The insight the author has into his craft is something I, being a carpenter / builder can only aspire to have. It inspires you to create. Read this book any brace yourself for a life of creating musical instruments that you will never part with

5 comments about Classical Guitar Making: A Modern Approach to Traditional Design.

1. Very well written and presented, although I agree that there's nothing truly 'modern' here; a formal presentation of lattice bracing or composite tops (10 year old technology) would be needed to earn the 'modern' moniker. But for traditional style building (with interesting personalized wrinkles) it's an excellent text. Highly recommended, and the first true competition for the Cumpaino.



2. This book is an example of passion with the guitar. It's well written, beautifully photographed covering all steps of classical guitar construction that follows a high grade standard. Even if you don't want to build a guitar, buy it just for the beauty of its pages. I have bought a lot of books about lutherie, but this is one is far the best.
   It makes evident in every detail how Mr Bogdanovich loves what he do. Seems to me he had a very good time written it. Go deep!



3. This book is the ultimate guide to building your own guitar. The numerous color photos are of excellent quality. The book is well laid out and clearly written. A moderately skilled woodworker should be able to build a guitar from the information in this high quality book.



4. If it weren't for the fact that this is a step-by-step manual, the causual observer could be forgiven for mistaking this for a coffee-table book. It's almost too nice for a workbench! At the risk of sounding like an advertising blurb, the same passion and craftsmanship Bogdanovich displays in his guitars shows in nearly every page. He knows what he's doing, and it shows; the color photography is excellent, and the text is a pleasure to read - informative and concise without being dry at all.
   
   The beauty of this book is it has something to offer to experienced and aspiring luthiers alike. While the text deals with building a classical guitar almost entirely from scratch, much of the information given is pertinent to those attempting to go the kit route.
   
   This volume picks up where the classic Cumpiano/Natelson text leaves off, as far as the classical guitar is concerned. There are a few typos in the text that should have been caught by the editor, but they are obvious and not likely to cause trouble to anyone building a guitar from the book. All in all, Bogdanovich has kindly shared his skill and knowledge in a very timely, informative volume that I for one am proud to own!



5. I had originally checked this book out of my local library and after reviewing it, I knew I had to add it to my collection. It is a great companion to the Cumpiano standard with excellent color pictures. I am working on my first guitar and it is nice to have another book to illustrate different techniques for the different steps of construction. As the title suggests, he only covers classical guitar construction but many of the principals are similar and I would recommend this book to anyone considering building a guitar.

5 comments about Modern Chord Progressions.

1. I'm taking Jazz guitar lessons, and this book has helped me to peek ahead and see the dizzying number of permutations for all of the commonly used chords and voicings. There's no easy way to learn jazz, but if you work through this book, you will know a lot more by the time you finish it.
   
   It's not a reference or a book of practice exercises. But if you want to slowly and steadily increase your knowledge of how Jazz works, get a decent teacher and learn one version of one of the progressions in this book every night.



2. Observing people who have demonstrated a fluency in their instrument, and, using this information to develop one's own ideas are the benefits of study.
   Ted Greene is able to convey his passion for playing the guitar. He communicates his musicianship with his writings. Tab and other music notation accompany his chord studies. He is a highly recommended resource.



3. I have owned Chord Chemistry for almost half life and just in recent months began to really appreciate Ted Greene's work. I highly suggest owning all of his books, maybe not Single note Soloing unless you are really serious but Modern Chord Progressions and Chord Chemistry are necessary. If you wnat to get better at guitar I suggest using the wealth of knowledge that Ted has in his books and on his web page. He is a legend and a kind man to put so much work into helping others learn music/guitar. I have said it before and will say it again, my most heartfelt thanks go out to Ted Greene, his family, all of his students, and anyone who helped with his writiings.



4. With the purchase of "Modern Chord Progressions" a few weeks ago, I completed collecting all of Ted Greene's amazing publications. His approach to writing may be considered a bit unorthodox, or dated, to some as they were originally written in the 1970's using less sophisticated publishing techniques (For example, all of the chord diagrams are filled in by hand and there are notes and arrows scribbled in by hand on the pages). The result is that they have a homespun feel to them and I actually really like it; it's refreshing, in contrast to most of the slicked out books offered these days, and perfectly complements his warm, genuine, and humorous personality which shines through in his writing.
   
   I've learned, and continue to learn, so much from them as they contain a wealth of information that will, literally, take years to get through. The depth and detail with which he delves into applied music theory and harmony is incredible, so be forewarned. His books are not for the beginner, the timid, or the impatient, as each books require a great deal of perseverance to get through its myriad of examples, ranging from simple to extremely difficult, even for seasoned players. However, the effort is well worth it and you will grow so much as a musician, particularly in the all-important skill of voice leading, of which he was a master.
   
   I was sad to learn that he passed in 2005 at only 58. However, his legacy and contributions to the field of music education live on in his wonderful books that I highly recommend for anyone seeking the ultimate teacher; someone who can help guide you along the incredibly rewarding journey to musical knowledge and mastery.



5. I have only one consideration regarding this book and another of his actaully and that is that the hand drawn chord diagrams are difficult to read. I would prefer the diagrams a little larger and clearer. I give it a 4 star overall. Minus one star for the illegibality

5 comments about Blues Turnarounds: A Compendium of Patterns and Phrases for Guitar.

1. Excellant book. A Blues guitar player must know a good number of blues turnarounds and there are over 70 of them here presented nicely all in this book. What I like about this book it just cover blues turnarounds and does not cover alot of topics which always end up confusing me. This will you show you some of the best turnarounds it even has a minor blues turnaround. These are two bar phrases. I'm glad they are easy to memorize. I'm plugging these in my blues progressions right away.



2. If your blues lick vocabulary needs some punctuation work, as in the punctuation at the end of bar 12 of the blues, this book has you covered. A nice collection of licks that contain that satisfying resolition back the I chord.



3. This is a great resource for guitar players wanting to build a solid foundation for the blues. Not the best for beginners, these exercises are more for the intermediate musician who wants to polish their skills and to learn some traditional tricks of the trade. the other books in this series are equally as great. the cd's are very useful because you get the big picture from hearing the back up tracks.



4. I've seen others that this book doesn't have on youtube and other websites, and they show you the fingers doing it as well, but this is still a help to someone trying to develop a blues style. I recommend it.



5. If you're brand-new to guitar-playing, or have just discovered the blues, this book might be of some help. The CD tracks are clear and straightforward and the tablature is helpful. Many of the turnaround licks themselves, however, are either so elementary that no one of even mediocre skill will use them, or are of limited use because they're heavily jazz-influenced and unnecessarily complicated for guitarists not especially interested in jazz. I'm not a great guitar player, but I've been listening to blues music for decades, and of the 76 tracks on the CD, there's one -- ONE -- that I may try to learn and incorporate into my repertoire. Most of the turnarounds I've learned have come from regular, non-instructional music recordings, and they're not in this book.

5 comments about Chord Progressions for Guitar: 101 Patterns for All Styles from Folk to Funk!.

1. I love this learning to play guitar book because it includes ALL kinds of music: rock, country, fusion, bepop, punk, and on and on. Each chapter is a different style of music, so you can flip around to your favorites and learn a bit of everything! As a beginner, I thought the difficulty level was perfect. I learned a lot of new techniques. Only a few of the music pieces (each one is short - not a full song length) were too hard for me. I felt like I improved a lot especially with barre chords and different styles of strumming.



2. Understand the chord progression is very important for all kind of music playing. And to understand and know more about chord progression, this is the book! from foundation building to more pro reference,you need this anyways!



3. This will help you build your chord vocab but the progressions are pretty cheesy. Tom plays every instrument slapped on each track and the whole thing sounds canned. Many of the progressions sound like they could have been lifted from an elevator music anthology. Disappointed.



4. I've been doing these progressions in order though you don't have to - but doing so really gives you a feel for how different voicings and sometimes different keys can flavor the same style and make it sound fresh. I had gotten in a rut, droning on in practice trying various voicings for chords and needed something to make such practice more productive and efficient. I tried this book based on the reviews here and found that this guy had done all the work for me in writing out and recording a collection of useful progressions that sound great and really mix up the voicings.
   
   Descriptive narratives are provided in the book for each progression sample. These are really great because they point out the main concepts in a nutshell - things you might already know and understand but might not really talk about in such a well summarized way.
   
   I use the cd that demos each sample to loop the progressions and play along, changing from rhythm to lead back and forth so I am ending up getting more then double my money worth - the rhythm guitar practice is great and then doing lead practice against each progression helps get you comfortable making up rifs and melodies for each style against the various voicings... I can't believe the price point on this. It's so little for so much - get it before they catch on to what a deal this is!
   
   Bottom line: This book is fun, and it helps train your ear and improve your playing. Mastering all the samples will add a lot of variety to your tool kit of sounds - a great collection of voicings to encorporate in your own creative efforts.



5. Yes, perhaps some of the progressions are slightly generic, but most of them sound really cool and have a full band plus soloist playing along. Of the few guitar lesson books that I have, the CD with this book is the one that has tracks I actually enjoy listening to. You can probably find a version of most of the classic types of style/progressions in this book. Play on!

5 comments about Tube Guitar Amplifier Essentials.

1. Gerald Weber, columnist for 'Vintage Guitar' magazine, breaks down the sometimes confusing realm of tube amplifiers. This book is the product of 8 years of research and experience.



2. Same old GW bunch of ridiculous opinions. I thought this one might be better, but no...
   
   Now even pine isn't good enough - it has to be 100 year old pine!



3. I think this is another good book from Gerald Weber. None of Gerald's books give you all the answers to your tube amp questions, but he has over 20 years of experience and shares that knowledge with you. I find useful info in every tube amp book that I purchase.



4. This book has refreashed my knowledge of electronics if you want to build and understand Guitar Amplifiers this book is a must



5. I found that both the book and DVD are packed with good information. My first amp build was done confidently with knowledge gained directly from this book: I found the sections on tone shaping quite useful! Also helpful is how Gerald addresses fixes for built-in factory design flaws on some vintage amps (I found and fixed two of my Fender's heater wiring polarity issues with the book, and "Black-faced" a '68 Bassman using the DVD). Included in the book is a section on how to turn one of your Fender amp channels into a tweed or Marshall type sound, and visa-versa. Good Reading!

5 comments about Jazz Guitar Structures.

1. I have all of Green's books and they are uniformly excellent. Structures gives you a wealth of applicable information. Not scales, or licks, or weenie theory, but applicable ideas. Intermediate++.



2. This book has been the stepping stone I need to get to applying arpeggios all over the neck and combining different sounds with them. I've only gotten through the 1st section (minor arpeggios) and I'm not only more able to connect arpeggios over the neck but also able to substitute them in over other chords. For instance, before this book I didn't know how to substitute and play only minor arpeggios over a ii V I progression. Now I know multiple ways and can very the sound depending on degree of the chord I build off of. There is a lot of information and so much to get out of the book. The other sections that I haven't even gotten to yet covers in the same way how to use and apply major triad +2 and minor tetrachords.
   
   The best thing about Andrew's two books I have (Comping is the other I have) is they way he presents things. The examples he gives allow you to understand the concept and then later know how to easily apply it. So many books give too few examples that are so easily applicable outside the book.
   
   To get a better idea of the contents of the book, check out Andrew Green's website at www.[...]com. This along with his Comping book have been two of my favorite books in a while. Know that both of these books require reading skills (no tab) and they are not aimed at beginners.



3. This book, though limited to just a few melodic structures, gives a very good insight to what improvisation is about: telling your own story, using coherent and consistent melodic structures. It goes to the basis, and because it doesn't overwhelm you with all possible modes/scales/structures but just sticks to a few powerfull tools, enables you to understand and implement. A must for the advanced guitar player.



4. Very clever book, I never read the notions explained here anywhere else,
   or maybe it was because it wasn't clear enough. The material is precisely
   organized and the examples sound great. This gave me another way to hear
   bebop, recognizing some structures.
   
   You have a lot to work on this stuff to make it comes naturally, but the
   challenge is really worthy, so good luck !
   
   peace



5. this will teach you the fundamentals in creating your own voice in jazz guitar, instead of wriggling your fingers, now you can play interesting triadic lines and hip modern superimposed harmonies, thank you andrew green!

5 comments about Metal Rhythm Guitar Vol. 1.

1. I have played guitar for over 12 years. I have recently begun teaching private lessons. I try to teach such that the information I give relates personally to each student. Everyone learns differently and has different tastes.
   
   I recently purchased Troy Stetina's book, Metal Rhythm Guitar Vol. 1, for a few of my students who are interested in studying heavy metal. I have to say, this book is excellent. It starts from the very beginning, teaching how to play powerchords. Troy's notation is excellent, incorporating counting techniques into his TAB.
   
   I find as a teacher that it is essential to get your students playing something cool from the beginning. Otherwise, they lose interest. This book has been a great resource to help my heavy metal students start rocking almost from the first lesson.
   
   Excellent job Troy, keep it up.
   
   -Craig Nybo, author of Total Human: The Complete Strength Training System



2. Of the 30 or so guitar method books I own, the Troy Stetina collection is by far the most useful. His method is somewhat similar to the musicians institute series of instruction, except that his series tends to focus on a particular style of music rather than just general learning. This particular book is great as it is progressive. Start at the beginning of the book and work your way through at your own pace. That's it -- easy schmeezy lemon squeezy. Also, buy a metronome and you'll get even more out of it.



3. I am a music teacher. I was looking for a book that will teach young adults a method of playing heavy metal music. This is the book I would recommend. My students are enjoying the simple exercises and the play along cd.



4. I worked my way through Troy's Metal Rhythm Guitar I & also his Metal Lead Guitar I before buying this book and I'm here to tell you that guitar instruction books don't get any better than this... the theory, presentation and examples are top-notch! You will LOVE the riffs he gives you to learn each technique and style of Metal Rhythm - it's SO FUN to learn when the stuff you play sounds SO COOL! Troy Stetina knows his stuff & can he ever PLAY! When you hear the examples he recorded to accompany the book you'll realize you're learning from a MASTER! To top it off, the theory is easy to understand as Troy explains it & the musical notation in the book uses TAB, but WITH the timing (half notes, quarter notes, etc.) BUY THE ENTIRE SERIES!!



5. Great book for the beginning guitarist. Like the above reviews say, within minutes you'll be playing metal. The explanations are good, the exercises better, and the play-along songs awesome. highly recommend for people starting to play guitar with an interest in hard rock and/or metal.

5 comments about The BEAD Method of Fretboard Mastery.

1. has quite a few mistakes and errors. It would have been nice if a list of corrections had come with it.



2. I have been reading through this book for a few months now, and i can say that my guitar playing has improved quite a bit. I've been playing for well over 10 years mostly self taught. I've tried to look at a few books but none really helped me learn the notes or chords as much as i wanted to. But after reviewing this i can now easily figure out my notes and placements on the fretboard. thanks for the great book man!



3. The book I purchased is not the current version. It's full of errors, which have been corrected in the current edition. As soon as I received it, I immediately made notes in it and it is not resalable condition.
   Good prodeuct, but outdated.



4. I have been trying (without success) for years to "memorize" the fretboard. In my opinion, the BEAD method is by far the best and simplest system that I know of to acquaint a guitarist with ALL of the notes on the guitar. I am now not just memorizing but finally UNDERSTANDING the layout of the fretboard. Highly recommend for guitar enthusiasts of every skill level.



5. If you are learning by tablature, this book may not be as helpful as it would be if you are learning to play the guitar using musical theory and are a visual learner. I've used other methods, such as "Fret Board Logic", and numerous articles from websites, but "BEAD Method" made it click for me. I can honestly say, I now know the notes on the guitar fret board. Moreover, this publication helped me better visualize the "CAGED" method of learning the major, minor and pentatonic scales.