5 comments about The ABCs of Cello for the Absolute Beginner: Cello, Book 1.

1. I wish I had studied the cello years ago, but it's better late than never! I started with this book for the Absolute Beginner and 'am now in ABCs of Cello book 3. This cello book 1 starts out easy with familiar tunes and warm-up exercises. It explains the staff and bass clef which is not the same as a violinists clef, the treble clef. You learn all the basic notes on all the strings in this book in 1st position and as you move along in the upper books you learn "shifting" which means you move your arm and fingers up the neck of the cello. All these books cover alot and are very basic at the same time.
   
   Cello is the best!!



2. We recently ordered this book for my adult (40 something) son who had never played cello before. He finds the book to be more than adequate and he is enjoying learning from it.



3. I used to play cello in highschool and then dropped it completely for 20 years. I am finding these three, beginning, intermediate, & advanced books very useful.
   
   The beggining book has a nice mixture of melodies and instructions, and I quickly got back up to speed. To get the most out of it, you really need to sit and read it as well, small phrases can be passed over that are very important, such as "try to think about the musical phrase while you play" is easy to overlook while practicing, but important to keep in mind.
   
   Having played before I am finding myself flipping back and forth between books, but even the begginning book has some lovely pieces that with changes in emphasis or repeats become compelling pieces for performance.



4. Good book for the adult beginning cello student. Simply laid out, nothing cartoonish. Good exercises. I do wish it detailed proper bow grip better though.



5. Great book for the beginner, well explained with lots of diagrams to understand the music notes and placement of fingers on the cello bridge.

No comments about Suzuki Guitar School, Guitar vol 1 (Suzuki Guitar School).

5 comments about Metal Rhythm Guitar Vol. 1 (Troy Stetina).

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 Fretboard Logic III Applications: Creative and Analytical.

1. I am enjoying the concepts in this book. I find the writer easy to understand and does a super job of explaining some difficult principles.
   
   The only think missing from I, II and III are some better chord diagrams.



2. A must for any guitarist seeking to learn the fretboard inside and out. I found it to be well-written and it builds very nicely off Fretboard Logic I and II.



3. This book covers the basics and beyond, in music in general,and guitar in particular.
   The author uses what i would call a "holistic" approach in his teaching.(He presents the whole picture.)
   The best music/guitar learning tool i've seen.



4. This 3rd book is extremely stimulating. It permits your mind and soul to be mush more creative in all aspects of music. Thank you for this amazing insight !!!!



5. Item was a gift for my son on the opposite coast. He reports this book met all his expectations and is very happy with it.

2 comments about The Fender Electric Guitar Book: A Complete History of Fender Instruments.

1. Very well researched!
   exciting to read for any guitar fanatic.
   great when you wanna trace the ancestry of you strat or telly!



2. This book for those of us Guitar nerds who love Fender instruments. It duplicates the history of the Telecaster somewhat and the Telecaster History has a bit more helpful stuff on dating of Telecasters. I would liked a bit more information about the staff in the pre-CBS years (who were these people who were signing the neck and bodies of the old Teles), the methods of production (were they effectively hand built) and levels of production generally year by year. If you are thinking of buying a vintage Tele or Strat you should definately buy this book along with Gruhn's guide to Vintage Guitars. Even if you are not then its an interesting read.

5 comments about 50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul: Half a Century of the Greatest Electric Guitars.

1. A great book on Gibsons and also for references.



2. Gibson Electrics - The Classic YearsGibson Guitars: 100 Years of an American Icon



3. Very informative and extremely well illustrated. I now feel like an authority on the LP.



4. Tony Bacon books are always top notch: stunning photos, accurate descriptions and very well researched. This book is no exception. It is, however in my opinion, an excellent overview of the famous Les Paul guitar---not a resource book. At 160 pages it does a very fine job of detailing how this legendary guitar has blossomed into SO many different models over the last 50 plus years (up to 2001). Sticklers for details, however, will probably find it lacking in some areas (year by year pix and descriptions,for example), but then one would need a book twice as thick to serve as this kind of encyclopedia on the subject. I highly recommend it as an introduction to Les Pauls, and it will probably be all that most guitarists want to know about the subject. It would make a great gift!



5. This is a great book to have if you love the Les Paul. It's really that simple, although for the serious collector or afficionado, more information about dates & numbers would be good. As that doesn't apply to me, and the book delivers elsewhere, five stars, no question.

5 comments about The First Stage Guitar Book: Le How To Play Guitar Easily & Quickly!.

1. This was the first book I used to get started from scratch. The reason I like it is that it has NO songs, so it took the pressure off having to learn a song, yet the 4 chord sequences sound quite good (according to my wife). It includes barre chords, but also alterative figuring to barre chords, so you can learn them slowly/progresively without pressure. The other book a bought (for songs) is "The Complete Guitarist" by Russ Shipton



2. I bought this book about three months ago and although it is a good place to get started, it does have a few mistakes. I'm now taking lessons and have learned that a few of the chord patterns in the book are inaccurate and/or wrong. For example, the book shows the correct finger pattern for an "A" major chord but does not omit the 6th string (open "E" note) from the chord diagram, thus leading you to believe the note should be played as part of the chord. My intructor corrected me the first time I played the chord. The mistake appears to be a simple publishing error but of course you can't know this if you are a beginner like myself. All things considered, the book was helpful in getting started and I was able to learn a few helpful chords before my lessons began. If you purchase this book, and are not familiar with how each chord is formulated, I would recommend veryfing the finger patterns against another source before you become too comfortable playing the chords.



3. This is primarily a book on chord progressions. Starting with the most popular chords used in music, and then moving to other chords in open in barre position. Interspersed here and there are some tips on playing guitar. Not much more than that, and not very well organized.
   
   I would consider this most beneficial as a companion to lessons or to a complete method found elsewhere. There just isn't much to it. It's 80 pages, but each page generally contains two 4-chord progressions. I also found that several of the chords listed are inaccurate -- or at least inconsistent with several other sources I checked them against.
   
   I've used about 6 different books and software on learning the guitar, and I found this to be the least helpful. But there are some great reference diagrams that I still refer to, and as it is entirely focused on popular progressions, it finds a home being used in conjunction with another book.



4. This book is better suited for people who already know guitar basics. You shouldn't play chords if you're not comfortable playing notes



5. Better than I anticipated. I had expected the original version. What I received is a newer version which has been revised and updated: contains more pages with more examples, chord structures, and narrative.
   
   Very, very nice.

5 comments about Rhythm Guitar: The Complete Guide.

1. This is a great book. I've been looking for a book on strumming patterns for a very long time. This book taught me how to interpret 32nd, 16th, 8th and quarter notes into strumming patters. Step by step it increased my bar chord skills. I am only up the chapter 5, but, after 2 years of playing, I have a re-newed excitment about practicing.



2. For intermediate players: a good method to know guitar keyboard, voicings, all types of chords and their construction. There are a lot of common progressions and basic theory rules that let you "colour" your songs



3. Se vc tem noções de leitura esse livro vale a pena. Assim como o outro leitor que comentou, lá pelo capítulo 8 minhas fraquezas começaram a aparecer e tenho me divertindo insistindo nelas e verificando de maneira sistemática aonde estão minhas forças e deficiências.
   Nesse mundo de métodos para guitarra vc encontra muita coisa para te transformar num "soleiro" chato de galochas. Ótimo ter um método organizado de guitarra base, que é o que nós guitarristas fazemos e 95% do tempo em que tocamos, portanto, é a coisa mais importante a aprender.
   Não é perfeito porque faltou um CD, que tornaria o livro mais acessível a quem não sabe ler música. Se é o seu caso, só compre se vc tem um professor particular que pode ler por vc. Caso contrário vai simplesmente desperdiçar o seu dinheiro.



4. Of course, this book is not perfect, there's some flaws, for example:
   - there's a gap between the first seven chapters and the rest of the book, the first seven chapters are pretty accesible for a beguiner but, starting in chapter eigth the level required is raised a lot so a beguiner may have a lot of trouble finding his way trougth the examples.
   
   - Some aspects doesn't have enought explanation, some chapters may have 3 pages or so and you feel like there's something missing to fully "get" the idea.
   
   Eventhought, this is the best book I've seen so far about rhythm guitar, it is by far the most complete in terms of aspects of rhythm playing and has a fairly good amount of chords to show the student. This is not a book for guys just looking around, it is designed for serious study for a reletive long period (It might take nine months to a year of a consistent practice to absorve the content of the book). Botton line, if you want to learn rhythm guitar a little bit further than the average ballad to impress a girl, this is your book.
   
   One piece of advice: No book can stand on his own, to fully integrate the content of the book I suggest the Tom Kolb "Chord Progressions" as a companion, and maybe some others as your hability improves.



5. This book is an excellent learning aid. I read one of the reviews that said you should have the aid of an instructor, this is true. But, you should have an instructor and one that knows how to read music. I added this book to my daily routine and after only a couple of day s I am seeing an inmprovement.

5 comments about Mel Bay First Lessons Violin Book/CD Set.

1. I'm 32 years old, and decided to learn the violin as my son has been playing a few months now. I've been working through this book for almost three weeks without a teacher and I'm in the middle of lesson 8 right now. As other reviewers have mentioned, there is no instruction on how to read music or how to tune the violin.
   
   I played a string instrument (bass violin) many years ago and did not find this a problem, you simply remember Every Good Boy Does Finely to name the lines and F A C E to name the spaces and work from there. This will not slow you down, the bass plays in a different clef and learning to "read" the music in the treble (G) clef that the violin uses took less than a week. As for tuning, buy a chromatic tuner when you purchase your instrument and ask for tuning instructions then.
   
   This book takes an approach much better suited to adults or musicians who play other instruments in that it emphasises melodies to learn to play. You are done with open strings after lesson one and learn the notes and fingering of the A major scale in lesson two. This is a much more satisfying approach than traditional method books. Slurs are introduced in lesson 11. You'll have learned most of the notes in first position by lesson 13 and the rest by lesson 17. Lesson 22 will introduce the 4th finger.
   
   My only complaints about the books are: 1.) the heavy emphasis on the A and E strings. This was dramatic enough to make me search through the book to find any songs that use the G string (I found a couple at lesson 13), and to make me wonder if I should write out the songs an octave or fifth lower just to practice using the D and G strings as well. (The D string is included a little more often that G)
   
   And 2.) the lack of difficult songs. Always one to run before I can walk, I'd have liked to see a "challenge" piece every couple of lessons or so. The pieces included in the lessons here can be conquered somewhere within 1 to 3 hours of practice and, of course, become easier with repetition.
   
   All in all, an interesting book to work through and the CD is a nice bonus.



2. My children had taken violin in school when they were growning up. after they became adults their instrument sat around gathering dust. Now i've had some piano lessons years ago. My husband playes a Yamaha 6 string Bass. At 46 I've decided to learn to play my daughters violin and needed something that was simple enough and easy enough for me to enjoy the beginning process. This book is not only easy for me with the DVD and the CD that comes with the book, it is enjoyable and relaxing to listen to and watch. The only reason i gave it a 4 and not a 5 is i wish the DVD should more clearly the fingering position closer. Overall this is a very excellent way to learn.



3. Not for the absolute beginner but a good supplement for lessons with a qualified instructor. I use this when I practice alone and find the pieces challenging but worth the effort.



4. Background: I'd studied suzuki style for all of one month before firing my teacher because I couldn't sing another nursery rhyme. I didn't read music, or understand what a key signature was, and in the 3 years since the Suzuki method, I couldn't remember which was the upstroke sign and which the down, so while I wasn't an ABSOLUTE beginner, I had more bad habits than good. I've also TRIED and failed to learn piano and guitar, so I do have SOME music theory background.
   
   The Bad:
   As a beginner I rely on having my neck taped so I know my finger placements. (no frets ;) ) This book does not tell you where or how to do that, so getting finger placement right if you have no one to help you will be difficult. Beyond this, I'm loving the book.
   
   The Good:
   
   1.) This has the simplest and easiest notation I've ever seen for learning to read music. I tried and failed many times before with piano and guitar books both to learn to read real musical notation, and failed every time. A week into the book and I'm already sight reading some simpler pieces. (very simple, as in 2 strings, but reading them none the less)
   
   2.) Some of the music doesn't suck. Now, being a beginners book, you're going to be stuck with twinkle twinkle little star, just like every other beginners book, but finding "Ode to Joy" on the second lesson of actual play made my day. :)
   
   3.) The big graph on the top of all the first lessons makes it easy to remember which strings and finger placements are which notes.
   
   4.) you learn to find key signatures slowly and simply while you learn the scales and notes on each string. Once again, this is something I'd read about alot in other books, but in this book it was shown simply and only one example at a time as you worked your way up the strings and scales played on them, so it finally made sense to me.
   
   In conclusion: While I'm not an absolute newbie to music, I really am to the fiddle, and after throwing away a few books I found absolutely useless and giving up on learning under a teacher who targeted 5 year olds, I've found a book I'm REALLY happy with and which is helping me make progress.
   
   -- James



5. This book is difficult to review, because I was truly a beginner using this. I was not just a beginner to the violin, but also to reading sheet music. I felt that there was very little setup to get to the point that you not only feel comfortable reading music, but also holding the violin. Unlike many other instruments the violin is not inherently natural because you hold it in place with your chin. The actual sheet music has a good progression from simple finger exercises to more advanced pieces. Especially with some of the baroque music, different time is kept. Again this is a case of ignorance of not having previous education in sheet music. The concept is explained, but little weight seems to be given to it. The CD accompanying the book is nice to have, but has little dialogue . I wasn't incredibly impressed with the overall number of scores in the book either. So in all it has all the basic elements of a beginner's book, but little explanation of anything is given and falls short of being very helpful for a "true" beginner.

3 comments about The Gibson Electric Guitar Book: Seventy Years of Classic Guitars.

1. My son was happy to get it for Christmas and feels he will use it a lot.



2. This book is a must read for any electric guitar fanatic, required reading for any Gibson fans. Not only does it take you through the ups and downs, trials and tribulations, innovations and failures of this storied stringed instrument company, it puts all that within the historical perspective of what was going on at Gibson's major competitors at the time, Fender chief among them. Clearly Carter, once historian for Gibson, knows wherefore he speaks. And the photos of Gibson electric guitars as they morph through their history is worth the price of the book. Loved it.
   
   Tony Tedeschi
   founding editor
   naturaltraveler.com
   myspace.com/stuckinthesixties



3. The text is insightful and the pictures are beautiful.
   
   However, most real fanatics will want more than the usual stuff that is regularly covered in guitar magazines. Many models are missing and some of them are covered too briefly.
   
   This book is a broad overview of the history of Gibson's electric guitars. In my opinion, there isn't enough in here to satisfy the real fans. It is nonetheless a beautiful book.