Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)My background in music was almost non-existent, and I couldn't read music *at all* before buying this book. I bought it because I wanted to have some background before seeking out a classical guitar teacher. My goal is to be a musician and learn about music the right way, not follow some kooky guitar method and play phony versions of pop songs.
Well, this DVD is like having a teacher in the room with you. Almost everything my teacher told me in my first several guitar lessons were addressed in this book and DVD. Tennant doesn't cover every little nuance -- and that's where a teacher comes in -- but this method DOES WORK WELL for the totally rank beginner like myself. Even if you're sitting in a room with a TV and no instructor, you can really learn to play.
This book has kept me very busy playing and practicing for three months at least, and I am not going to be through with it for a while yet. Even when I am done and on to volume 2 I'm sure I'll still be playing pieces from this book for practice.
Best Things: Scott Tennant has a friendly style and he doesn't oversimplify or overcomplicate things. Now that I know a little bit more about learning to play classical guitar, I can appreciate the effort put into making the exercises in this book "musical". Even when you know only a few notes on one string, he has you playing a "first string polka" that sounds like music. Many other books or methods have fingering exercises that go on and on and are not very musical at all. There are a few exercises in this method that have you walking up and down the fretboard in a pedantic way, but these are brief and the material focuses on the "musical" pieces, which is much more fun.
Having the DVD is the best part of this tool. You cannot replace the experience of seeing/hearing/playing along with an experienced player. It teaches you timing and how your notes are "supposed" to sound. You could play all the exercises in this book with a cruddy, twangy tone to your notes and you'd never know it if you didn't have the CD or DVD to measure against. The DVD material along with the book is about to create a revolution in music instruction for the home, I think.
Cons: On the TV it is sometimes hard to represent notes, because staff lines are so thin, on a white background. Maybe my TV stinks, and this would look better on a computer monitor. Most of the time you can tell what the note is, but it is really better to be reading from the book ... the online music does give you a nice crutch though when playing duets with Scott.
And the binding of the book ... why isn't this book spiral bound? The book IS lightweight enough to put on a music stand, but man if it were spiral bound it would be sooo much easier. This is a small nit to pick, but publishers should know this by now. I usually end up photocopying pages out of books and putting them on my music stand, so maybe they figure most people just do that.
A big warning should come on the part of the DVD about re-stringing your guitar. He shows you how to make a single loop around the bridge, and I had a couple of nylon strings slip out of that knot while I was winding the string onto the key. One of these snapped out hard enough to scratch the surface of my guitar, which sucked. I then started twisting them a couple of times at the bridge so they wouldn't slip, but I don't know why he doesn't address this or mention the possibility.
There really aren't any more cons. This is a great product. Eventually you'll need an instructor but this book really will stand in for an instructor for your first few months of playing.
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Basic Classical Guitar Method, Book 1From Scott Tennant—the best-selling author of Pumping Nylon—this fun and friendly method starts at the very beginning, teaching the anatomy of a guitar, how to choose and maintain your instrument, proper seating position, how to hold the guitar, and efficient hand positions and techniques. The step-by-step approach continues with lessons on how to read music, right- and left-hand basics, notes on the fretboard, accidentals and the chromatic scale. Photographs, drawings and personal tips from this world-renowned performer make learning easy!--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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