Customer Reviews

Alfred's Basic Guitar Method, Bk 1 (Enhanced CD) (Alfred's Basic Guitar Library)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Follow this Method! "Alfred's Basic Guitar Method" is a system to make you a real musician. Its' exercises, music and theory leads you naturally and comfortably to deeper levels of musicianship and enjoyment. That must be why this book has been so popular for over 50 years. It has also been updated to include more current tunes.

Want to teach yourself? This Method combines physical and mental exercises with the enjoyment of music-making as the goal:
Physically: It begins with illustrations of good guitar-playing posture, seated and standing. Also shown are correct hand and finger shapes and arm positions. The exercises are comfortably paced making learning enjoyable. You locate notes, one-at-a-time on one string-at-a-time while the hands and fingers are gradually strengthened and made flexible. Soon you will be using finger positions or "pattern shapes" on the fret board to build chords as the strings are learned. Your "mini-athlete" hand and finger muscles are gradually strengthened and flexed for stamina, agility and building "muscle memory."

Mentally: Standard music notation, dynamics (tempo, rhythm, loudness, etc.) and theory are taught in the book. These subjects are revealed and explained as you progress through the exercises. The same is true of chord-building as notes on the various strings are learned and played together. Without realizing it, music understanding and techniques are progressively learned by completing the exercises and playing the enjoyable tunes. Oh, by the way, the material is presented very clearly with lots of "white space" so it's easy to overlook very important information. Be sure to really study each page and not just the exercise before moving on. Suddenly you are reading and understanding music!

A word about chords. Many people start by learning full guitar chords by rote. To a beginner they are painful and awkward finger patterns on the fretboard, without gaining a real understanding of the note relationships. Also, many guitar books separate the teaching of standard notation from teaching chords. As you can see from what has been said above, this Method presents a more gradual and integrated system. Muscles are allowed to adapt and the mind to "see" the logic in the note arrangements.

You may also want to check out the three-books-in-one with CD of this series.

I don't have any natural talent in music. I've tried to learn to read for years, but the books I found did not suit my needs. Authors would just assume you'd understand or that you had a teacher to turn to for more. And then I found Alfred's Basic Guitar Method. YOU DON'T NEED A TEACHER with this book. I can't believe I'm actually learning to read! Even without a CD, it would be the greatest book. The CD is just extra help. Thanks, Morty and Ron, whoever you are, I am sending you a hug big time.

I had recently been asked to give a few grade school students an overview of the guitar (how to hold a guitar, how to tune a guitar, it's history, how to read music, etc), along with a few basic beginners guitar lessons. I obviously needed a teaching resource, and I decided to use Alfred's Basic Guitar Method- Book 1. After a basic introduction of how to hold and tune a guitar, the textbook begins of course, with the guitar strings. The six guitar strings of E-B-G-D-A and E are introduced, with both finger and string exercises following. Also included are songs covering and pertaining to the appropriate strings. So for instance with the second string B, the songs will cover all six notes on the B and E strings (B,C,D, and E,F, and G). The A note on the E string (5th fret), will be introduced later. These exercises are challenging, but not overwhelming. There is an accompanying CD that can be listened to with the student to review and verify that the exercise is being played correctly. In between introducing the guitar strings, Alfred's Basic Guitar Method- Book 1 also introduces basic beginners music theory. Time signatures, types of notes, chord introduction, tempo signs, pickup notes, and dynamics are all included. Once all the guitar strings have been covered, the textbook moves on to the introduction of bass-chord accompaniment. There are more songs with both single notes and chords to be played. This will continue to teach and reinforce the bass-chord accompaniment method. The more the student practices and uses the method the easier it becomes, and it really serves to bring out the beauty of the melody, as well as build the skill of the solo guitarist. Moving on, the chromatic scale, major scale, and the key signatures of C,G, and F are all introduced. Lastly, the whole point of learning to play the guitar, is to be able to play songs and instrumental pieces. In Alfred's Basic Guitar Method- Book 1 the song selection is a well chosen mix of 18, 19, and 20th Century American Folk songs, guitar adaptations and arrangements of Bach, Johann Pachelbel, Johann Strauss, and a piece from Antonin Dvorak's "New World Symphony", and a piece by Jacques Offenbach. Also included are Mexican, German, and French Canadian Folk songs. These songs and instrumental pieces help to build a strong musical foundation for beginning guitar players. Alfred's Basic Guitar Method- Book 1 is an excellent textbook resource for the beginning guitar player. It is a highly effective, interesting, and a lively introducton to the guitar. Thank You for reading this review, Janet Saccardi-[...].

Wanted to return this CD, but received this from SELLER: "Return the item in new, unopened condition to us for a refund of your purchase price:". How did I know the CD WAS NOT A PRODUCT THAT I COULD USE unless I opened it! DUH!!!!! I truly was looking forward to some good instructions. I would give this CD a ZERO and I will look elsewhere. When I put the CD in my computer - looking forward to some expert advice - CD would not play properly; video could not be seen. I followed "minimal" instructions on CD, but to no avail. I tried for quite some time! In my opinion, the CD itself is inferior. (Material could have been good, but without playing it in my up-to-date computer, I will never know). SELLER can keep the money I spent.

Received the book in a decent amount of time. It is in good shape and so is the cd! Learning quickly :)

Between the CD and the book, this really does offer what you need to get started as a guitar student.
Includes finger placement, how to hold your guitar, tuning instructions, and exercises.
Very satisfied.

Same book I used in 1965 when I first took guitar lessons. Only changes are more modern photos of guitars and how to hold the instrument, and available CD and DVD book combos. I guess some things are difficult to improve on.

This is a good basic method book with good photos for hand positions and at-a-glance fingering positions. Quickly moves to melodic songs to keep beginners engaged. This edition (3rd)is different than my teacher's, which has smaller print and a few songs not on the updated edition. What is missing in the new is the chord chart at the back of the old edition! The CD included is very clear and straightforward and corresponds to the exercises and songs in the book; after the second string, he counts off and strums the teacher chord accompaniment - it's fun to follow along. As someone who comes to this already knowing how to read music, it is very easy to follow and uncluttered format. I don't know how this compares to other method books, but I am enjoying using this book.

This book doesn't stand out from the many others like it, but our daughter's music teacher recommended it to us. She seems to be happy with it. No issues. Just fine.