Rating: 
Summary: Superior Beginning Classical Guitar Instruction
Review: A few months ago I decided to get serious about learning to play the guitar. However, I knew I would not be able to afford private or even class instruction. After going to music stores and carefully studying many beginning guitar books I settled on this one. I did not want to learn guitar by laboriously picking apart songs from cds note by note or relying solely on tablature. As Mr. Noad so rightly says in Chapter 3 guitarists are notoriously poor readers (that is, poor at reading traditional music notation). With this he launches into a very direct and easy introduction of traditional music notation and relating it to the guitar.Unlike the previous reviewer I believe even someone who has never read sheet music in their life will have no problem learning with this book/cd. I certainly am not. Mr. Noad provides plenty of musical exercises (they start short but get longer as you learn more and get further into the book), each one short and specific with commentary where it is needed. The point is that someone who is teaching themself must not get in a rush. I devote a minimum of one week to each chapter (and usually more) and that is practicing every night for a minimum of 30 minutes. The book starts with chapters and photos with explicit demonstrations of the proper way to hold the guitar as well as meticulously describing (with photos) exactly how the hands and fingers should be positioned for optimal playing (and to avoid bad habits that will make playing more advanced pieces difficult). The next chapters introduce music notation immediately linking each note with the corresponding position on the fretboard and reinforces it with very short musical exercises. He explains whole notes, half notes, etc. time signatures, correct fingering and liberally adds exercises to continually drill the lessons just learned. As an example, all of chapter 3 focused on learning to recognize, read and play correctly the open notes of the guitar. That is, recognizing the 6 notes on the staff that correspond to each string when it is played open (no need to press on the fretboard). And that chapter is filled with little musical exercises to reinforce recognizing and smoothly playing just those 6 notes. This same careful approach is taken throughout the entire book. As you learn more the exercises become more varied, interesting and exciting. Once you finally have an extensive background of each individual note on the staff and on the fretboard, even chords are taught in relation to their traditional music notation. By chapter 7, if you've carefully practiced exactly as Mr. Noad suggests, you will have a great foundation for sight-reading music notation many guitarists with more years experience could never play. Chapter 7 also introduces the first "real" song based on a theme by the Spanish composer Albeniz. It is a piece which looks (and sounds) harder than it actually turned out to be for me. From Chapter 7 on progressively more difficult instrumentals from various composers are included. By the end of the book you will have an extensive repertoire of songs to play for your friends or any performance occasion. There are chapters that cover subjects such as "voices", ascending and descending ligado, various types of scales, 2nd, 3rd, 5th & 7th position, traditional music vocabulary and their meanings, half-bar, full-bar, vibrato, portamento, trills, mordent, reverse mordent, appoggiatura, tremolo, tips for developing accuracy, speed, dexterity, tonal phrasing, ear-training, playing natural harmonics, playing harmonic chords, contrapuctual music (i.e. playing music in which the melodies are in more than one part - thus a good guitarist can often sound like 2 people playing), mastering the fretboard, etc. etc. etc. Mr. Noad says in one of the prefixes that the entire book contains approximately 2 years worth of study material if you follow the practice/study sessions as he suggests. The back of the book also has an appendix of graded guitar ensemble pieces for 3 and sometimes 4 guitars which is useful for a classroom or friends who want to play together. If you can afford to get the accompanying cd I definitely recommend it - particularly if, like me, you are having to teach yourself. This is not a book to be rushed through by any means. But if you are willing to put in the time and practice you will be one heck of a classical guitarist by the end. I can't wait to review his sequel - Solo Guitar Playing 2!
Rating:
Summary: I never knew
Review: Being self taught on steel string acoustic, I never knew how poorly I played until I began serious college level instruction in classical guitar. My instructor insisted on this book, and we agreed that I would "pretend" I knew nothing abouit playing. What I learned is that I really did know almost nothing about proper form or technique.
This book has been an invaluable guide in almost two years of formal training. It starts out with the very basics, and assumes that you know absolutely nothing about guitar. Granted, the beginning exercises are a bit boring, and you should really have an instructor to get the most out of this book, but once you get into the formal pieces, it really picks up. I especially enjoyed the pieces from Carrulli and Sor.
WARNING: this book assumes that you wish to learn classical guitar technique, and that you have the dedication and drive to learn proper formal technique. You are expected to learn how to read music, and honestly, once you learn to read music notation, you'll never go back to tab. If you just want to strum along to folk songs this book isn't for you. Likewise, if you just want to learn how to play twelve bar blues, find another book. This book will, however, give you an excellent foundation in guitar technique that is applicable for any style.
My only complaint: the book should come in a spiral bound edition, as it is hard to keep this one open on the music stand.
Rating: 
Summary: Solo Guitar?
Review: I bought the book with the CD with the understanding that it would help me to improve my solo guitar skills. After all, that is the Title - Solo Guitar playing. I am teaching myself and I have no one to play duets with. I am not a raw beginner, I have already studied the Carcassi (1st position studies) and Carulli (book 1) methods. The good: The book is well organized and the solo's are wonderful to play. The hints before the solos are vary helpful and the CD is a great aid in developing the correct timing and expression that the piece requires. The pace is not to fast or too slow. The CD is so good I listen to it alone. The book/CD has 40 solo's in increasing complexity. Each one builds upon the skill-set developed in the previous solo's. Now the bad part: I was somewhat (unpleasantly) surprised to discover that most of the 148 practice exercises are duets. No problem I figured, I'll play the student part and use the CD for the teacher's part. Wrong, contrary to what one might expect the CD does not contain either part of the practice duets. To get the most out of the books excercises requires a teacher or very proficient practice partner to play the harder part of the duet. I belive that this is a real deficiency. I would have gladly paid another $10 for a second CD of the excercises to play along with. The CD should have had both parts recorded in stereo with the students part on one speaker and the teachers part on the other. This would have made it easy for the student to listen to both parts to get the feel for the piece and then turn down the student volume and play along with the teachers part. An ambitious student could have even attempted to go back and play some of the earlier teacher's parts as his/her skills progressed. Sadly, without the Excercises on the CD, this opportunity is lost. Overall I recommend the book and have gone ahead and purchased Volume 2 (with the CD). What I need now is a practice partner.....
Rating:
Summary: Solo Guitar?
Review: I bought the book with the CD with the understanding that it would help me to improve my solo guitar skills. After all, that is the Title - Solo Guitar playing. I am teaching myself and I have no one to play duets with. I am not a raw beginner, I have already studied the Carcassi (1st position studies) and Carulli (book 1) methods. The good: The book is well organized and the solo's are wonderful to play. The hints before the solos are vary helpful and the CD is a great aid in developing the correct timing and expression that the piece requires. The pace is not to fast or too slow. The CD is so good I listen to it alone. The book/CD has 40 solo's in increasing complexity. Each one builds upon the skill-set developed in the previous solo's. Now the bad part: I was somewhat (unpleasantly) surprised to discover that most of the 148 practice exercises are duets. No problem I figured, I'll play the student part and use the CD for the teacher's part. Wrong, contrary to what one might expect the CD does not contain either part of the practice duets. To get the most out of the books excercises requires a teacher or very proficient practice partner to play the harder part of the duet. I belive that this is a real deficiency. I would have gladly paid another $10 for a second CD of the excercises to play along with. The CD should have had both parts recorded in stereo with the students part on one speaker and the teachers part on the other. This would have made it easy for the student to listen to both parts to get the feel for the piece and then turn down the student volume and play along with the teachers part. An ambitious student could have even attempted to go back and play some of the earlier teacher's parts as his/her skills progressed. Sadly, without the Excercises on the CD, this opportunity is lost. Overall I recommend the book and have gone ahead and purchased Volume 2 (with the CD). What I need now is a practice partner.....
Rating:
Summary: Classical Guitar made easy?
Review: I think this is a great book for your instrumental needs. I got tired of reading tablature and am taking up classical guitar. Mr. Noad lays the music right before your eyes. The Beggining music is easy to learn and keeps your confidence high. When you get into it they have some very nice pieces, Spanish Study, for example is very good. I highly suggest this book for anyone who is looking to play Classical Guitar.
Rating:
Summary: The best beginning book for classical guitar
Review: I'm happy to see this book is still in print. I had a copy 25 years ago when I was first studying classical guitar. I've long since lost it, and am reaquainting myself with classical again, and am delighted that it now comes with a CD. The pieces Noad gives are simple yet melodic, and you will learn to read pretty painlessly. I still think if you're aiming to learn classical however, you'll need a good teacher to go along with the text, since the book can't give you feedback!
Rating:
Summary: The best beginning book for classical guitar
Review: I'm happy to see this book is still in print. I had a copy 25 years ago when I was first studying classical guitar. I've long since lost it, and am reaquainting myself with classical again, and am delighted that it now comes with a CD. The pieces Noad gives are simple yet melodic, and you will learn to read pretty painlessly. I still think if you're aiming to learn classical however, you'll need a good teacher to go along with the text, since the book can't give you feedback!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent instruction for advanced beginners
Review: Noad is the standard text for technically oriented guitar instruction. The pieces that Noad has selected for this volume are intelligently selected and all have plenty of comments to help you interpret the music. Sometimes my teacher has better suggestions for fingering than Noad supplies, but this is a minor complaint. Noad is very traditional in his approach; sometimes his reasons for choosing a certain fingering or phrasing are based on obscure historical precedent that the less knowledgeable player will not be aware of, but trusting Noad's scholarship will enhance your playing. This book will definitely get you reading better, but don't rely on this book to teach you to read. If you don't read yet, go to a more basic book before this one. I don't have the CD, but I wish I did. I think that having a CD of the music is key if you are studying on your own.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Introduction to Both Techniques and Composers
Review: Not only does this book introduce students to the essential techniques, but also to a wide variety of composers from various countries and periods. I feel this is important as it allows the beginner to not only gain an appreciation for the contributions of these composers, but also allows the student to determine the area of focus they would like to pursue in the future, whether that be a preference for Baroque period or Spanish composers, etc. If there is a flaw, it is found in the accompanying CD. Students, such as myself, can be mislead in what is attainable. For example, the first piece on the CD is called "Spanish Study", which sounds like a simplified version of Leyenda. Nevertheless, if you hear how fast Frederick Noad plays, it is extremely discouraging because there is no way in the world 99.99% of beginning students are going to be able to play this first piece at tempo. It leaves you feeling, "if this is what is expected of a beginning student on the first piece, maybe this instrument is way beyond my capacity, and I should just look for an easier instrument." So, I feel the CD would have been better done if Frederick Noad had played the pieces at a tempo that is realistic for a beginning student. To me, the purpose of an accompanying CD is not to show how a professional would play it, but to show you how you should sound if you play it correctly for the student level to which the book is targeted. Secondly, one thing beginning students may not know about is a "digital editing", which I'm sure was done on some of the pieces played, since the average for classical guitar is 100 digital edits per 20 minutes of music. An excellent example of this is in the beautiful "El Testamen de Amelia". If the student tries to reproduce those phenomenal artificial harmonics that Frederick Noad plays on the CD, you can spend weeks trying to reproduce such a crisp, clean bell-like sound. Fortunately, my own teacher, who has been playing for over 40 years, pointed this out to me and showed me what can realistically be expected in terms of sound produced in artificial harmonics. So, my point is the student can spend many frustrating weeks trying to produce a sound that is exactly like that on the CD, not knowing it's impossible since we can't digitally edit our playing. Consequently, you might want to just buy the book without the CD as it can be more harmful than it is helpful in your progress. One other shortcoming is the lack of a glossary of musical terms used in the pieces. For example, in the same piece mentioned above (El Testamen de Amelia), he uses the term "rall. poco". I spent considerable time going back through the entire book, as well as searching the Internet, trying to figure out what that meant. I was not able to find out until my next visit to see my own teacher. With the exception of the two shortcomings mentioned, it's an excellent book, and I'm glad I chose the Noad instruction books over others. The final series of Tarrega and Llobet pieces make the end of the journey through Book 1 worth it all.
Rating: 
Summary: Painfully Boring
Review: Simply put, this book does not have enough pieces. After completing the first position at page 116 and moving on to the second position, you have only learned six little pieces that you can perform. The rest of the musical examples are exercises. There are plenty of beginning level solo guitar literature written within the confines of the first position but Noad does not provide them. I firmly believe you must not lose sight of the reason for playing the classical guitar, which is passion for the music. Doing day after day of exercise could cause a student to lose interest. Most students will never reach a professional level of performance on the classical guitar. The classical guitar is an extremely demanding instrument. I think most students are more interested in having fun, and playing pieces if fun. It's ok not to beat your self up doing exercise because it is just a hobby. I recommend Charles Duncan's "A Modern Approach to Classical Guitar." Duncan has simple arangements of well known tunes. It is very important for student to learn music they are familar with so they get an intuitive understanding of rhythm and interpretation. Unfortunately, most people are not familar with 16th to 19th centurary solo guitar music. For a very lucid explanation of guitar technique at the advance level, get Charles Duncan's "The Art of Classical Guitar Playing." Good luck!
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