Rating: 
Summary: A truly ...starter book for finger picking
Review: Greatest book ever if you want to learn fingerstyle. I'm about three quarters of the way through now, and can't believe I'm playing some of this stuff. You have to know some basic chords (open A, D, G, etc.) to get going, and towards the end of the book some Barre chords come into play, but it's nothing too difficult. I just wish I had found this book years ago.
Rating:
Summary: Mark is tops: this book is like taking lessons with him!
Review: I had the privilege of taking weekly lessons for a year and a half with Mark. He brought me to the point of not only easily picking James Taylor, John Denver and CSN tunes but also playing the complex instrumentals of Leo Kotke, William Ackermann and others. All in 1.5 years!!Mark is a patient, thorough, kind and absolutely top notch teacher. He first started me out on this book (I could only play basic chords before then). How the book is written is as careful and clear as he is in person. Learning guitar could be very frustrating. Before meeting Mark, I had invested in many guitar books and instructional videos. I now rate them all a C+ compared to this book which is a solid A. Going through "The Art of Contemporary Travis Picking" is like taking lessons directly with Mark. It's that good.
Rating:
Summary: Mark is tops: this book is like taking lessons with him!
Review: I had the privilege of taking weekly lessons for a year and a half with Mark. He brought me to the point of not only easily picking James Taylor, John Denver and CSN tunes but also playing the complex instrumentals of Leo Kotke, William Ackermann and others. All in 1.5 years!! Mark is a patient, thorough, kind and absolutely top notch teacher. He first started me out on this book (I could only play basic chords before then). How the book is written is as careful and clear as he is in person. Learning guitar could be very frustrating. Before meeting Mark, I had invested in many guitar books and instructional videos. I now rate them all a C+ compared to this book which is a solid A. Going through "The Art of Contemporary Travis Picking" is like taking lessons directly with Mark. It's that good.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for the beginning fingerstyle guitarist
Review: I have tried to play the Travis Style of fingerpicking before. I ran into dead ends with other instruction books on the subject. This book has a great CD to play along with or just listen to. The book is written in an easily understood style of tablature. The songs are great--no nursery rhyme stuff here.
I was able to play some good sounding stuff within a day or so. My spouse came down to my music area and asked what new toy I had bought--because it sounded like I had a different guitar. I have ordered the second book in this series as well as Fingerpicking Noel. This series of instruction books has me so enthusiastic about guitar playing again, that I ordered a new Chet Atkins SST model guitar to accompany me.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great book for learning a new technique.
Review: I have tried to play the Travis Style of fingerpicking before. I ran into dead ends with other instruction books on the subject. This book has a great CD to play along with or just listen to. The book is written in an easily understood style of tablature. The songs are great--no nursery rhyme stuff here.
I was able to play some good sounding stuff within a day or so. My spouse came down to my music area and asked what new toy I had bought--because it sounded like I had a different guitar. I have ordered the second book in this series as well as Fingerpicking Noel. This series of instruction books has me so enthusiastic about guitar playing again, that I ordered a new Chet Atkins SST model guitar to accompany me.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for the beginning fingerstyle guitarist
Review: I picked up the guitar recently after a 20 year layoff and wanted to learn fingerstyle guitar. This is an excellent book/CD combination that helped me reach an impressive level of technique in a short time--at least I've impressed myself. I now have two other Mark Hanson books and am equally pleased with his other publications. I intend to get the whole series. I recommend that you look at Hanson's website for a complete listng of what he has published (see www.accentonmusic.com).
Rating:
Summary: There are instruction books - and then there's Mark Hanson
Review: If you have been playing guitar for a bit and have learned the standard 5-6 chords, but are no longer satisfied, then this book can get you to the next level. Fifteen years ago, I picked up this book and tape set after a year of strumming away at Beatle, Dylan, etc.. tunes. It provided a simple and enjoyable entry into learing fingerstyle guitar. I have bought dozens of other guitar books and can say that this one was the best 'teaching' book I read. No jargon, no complicated charts, just a few simple practice patterns and some fun tumes to play. Also don't miss the companion book The Art of Solo Fingerpicking, which picks up right where this one leaves off. I still get a lot of kudos when I play the The Art of Solo Fingerpicking tunes to other musicians. No doubt, the best two book music instruction set I ever bought.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely pleased.
Review: If you've bought book after book hoping to get to that "next level", without satisfaction, then this is the book you've been looking for. For those of you who've played chords and always wanted to fingerpick but have had your eyes glaze over by lines of sheet music. I had played only chords for 8 years and within 5 minutes of starting this book/CD I was fingerpicking! Furthermore, it was easy! The "lightbulb" in my brain was turned on and my understanding of picking in general was illuminated. This may be the best money you'll ever pay to learn Travis picking.
Rating:
Summary: Truly a jewel
Review: Mark Hanson is considered to be amongst the top instructors today in the fingerstyle domain. He regularly holds fingerstyle workshops and has authored over 30 books and videos, all on the same subject - fingerstyle guitar. He has also interviewed several fingerstyle authorities such as Leo Kottke and James Taylor.
This book is considered by many as the leading fingerstyle instruction book. There are several very good reasons for the high number of votes Mark's books receive; and WHY you should buy this book.
1. Travis picking (alternate bass with melody) is the foundation of fingerstyle guitar. Nearly every fingerstyle guitarist from Rev. Gary Davis to Muddy Waters to Robert Johnson to Leo Kottke and Chet Atkins has used the Travis picking method. This book is the bible of Travis picking.
2. The book requires no knowledge of the instrument. I couldn't switch chords comfortably when I received this book. In fact I only knew the C and G chords. With some patience and determination I learnt more than 30 chords by the time I was at the end of the book, and obviously I also learnt to switch between them effortlessly.
3. Mark lays out very logical examples throughout the book to ensure you are progressing the right way. There is a practice song after every chapter to make certain you are comfortable maintaining the rhythm and will face no difficulty if you encounter a similar pattern in any other song outside of the book. The instruction is very clear and there is absolutely no ambiguity even for a novice. It's almost like the author is holding your hand throughout. I am no dazzling guitarist (read no natural flair) and had no teachers while I was using this book. I waded through it without any major hold-ups. There is also a CD included where Mark plays the pieces at both half and full speeds. If you have heard `Dust in the Wind' by Kansas; after only a week with this book you'll be able to play that song, albeit not at performance speed.
4. The book has a sequel; the Art of Solo Fingerpicking. The sequel is for intermediate/advanced fingerpickers only. The sequel ensures you get to learn the most complex fingerpicking techniques, including breaking out of pattern playing (i.e. Travis Picking). Once you have mastered both the books playing fingerstyle guitar in any genre (blues, jazz, classical, country, folk etc.) will be unchallenging. Of course this is not easy and will take time; but the results will leave you fulfilled.
5. Mark is a wonderful person. I had a query regarding the use of thumbpicks and fingernails and shot him a mail. He immediately replied back and addressed the query in detail. It's nice to know you can repose faith in the author/instructor and he is there to tackle any issues you have. Further, he runs a website accentonmusic.com which carries articles on fingernails, amplification of acoustic guitars, contemporary music, newsletters, etc. all of which are really useful. There are tons of resources on the web, but only so few are reliable. Also, it's tough to judge an author by a single book. Every book of Mark is really enjoyable and he has a truckload of material to offer. I was a big zero with music theory and Mark has promised to write a book on that (he's graduated in Music). Can't wait to get hold of it.
6. I own as many as 8 other `bestselling' fingerstyle books for beginners and intermediates and a few videos too. Only one book comes anywhere close - Beginning Fingerstyle Blues - by Arnie Berle. Even that one does not specify how many fingers to use, right hand position, thumbpicks or not etc. You will certainly require answers to these once you take the plunge. Fortunately Mark's book takes good care of the reader here. His passion for fingerstyle is contagious.
When you buy an instruction book, the most important investment you make is your time. You don't want to follow an instruction book devotedly for 6 months only to realise there is a better book out there; it leaves you in self-doubt and may hinder your progress. You will never be in a quandary with this book. Very few books have information pouring out of every page. Such books are priceless and will stand the test of time. The Art of Contemporary Travis Picking is one such book. Written in 1986, it works wonders even today - nearly 20 years later.
If fingerstyle guitar eludes you, buy or borrow this book. I promise you will be grinning ear to ear after carrying out the instructions. It's easy, many have done it, and so can you!
Very highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Get this book if you want to learn fingerstyle!
Review: Practicing each exercise is a pleasure. They build in difficulty in an even progression and I learned nice patterns almost immediately. The CD is high quality and very useful. The only fault I can assign is the "hurriedness" of the CD. This is easily overcome by simply pausing the audio so that you can read each exercise before listening to it. I have a dozen or so Book/CD combos and this is one of the best.
| 
