Customer Reviews

50 Baroque Solos for Classical Guitar

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This is a well-produced package overall... The transcriptions are clean and precise, the music well-selected to reflect a clear picture of the Baroque guitar at an intermediate level... Only drawback is the lack of any commentary regarding the pieces or background of Baroque guitar in general by the author... Other books supply that information, though (the Noad Baroque Guitar Anthology includes a wonderful disseration on the subject) so it's only a minor complaint in this context. This book will sit nicely alongside other classical guitar books of this genre, and it will also prove appealing to rock guitarists who enjoy classical guitar and want to play beautiful pieces without undergoing a huge learning curve. The CD is well-recorded and is a nice listen in and of itself as well. All in all, well done!

50 Baroque solos for classical guitar seemed to be a great buy, but after I began playing the first songs, I realized they were not a big challenge. I was hoping for something more challenging and hard, instead I found a book great for intermediate players. If you are learning classical guitar in high school or have one or two years of experience, then this is a good buy. More experienced players can take advantage of it by using it to practice and hone sightreading.

The tablatue notation of the works teaches you to play the songs on the first position of guitar, your fingers will work around the 5 frets most of the time; some of the fingering might feel a bit clumsy if you have practiced mainly cords or scales. There is no indication on which finger to use to plunck the strings, you will need to figure that out by yourself.

The pieces arrenged by Mark Phillips were in major modes and when you listen to the audio cd they sound rather beautiful. Whether your aim is to learn some songs or feel a bit of how the baroque and renaissance music were, both books (50 renaissance or 50 Baroque Solos for Classical Guitar) will suit you. The serious enthusiast might feel suspicious but if you want to show off for a date, family or friends it will do the trick and those books are not really that expensive.