Easy Pop Rhythms: Book/CD Pack [Paperback]

Hal Leonard Corp. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1999

Strum along with your favorite hits from The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Eagles, Eric Clapton, and more! The songs are presented in order of difficulty - beginning with simple three- and four-note tunes and ending with songs that contain many chords, including seventh chords and barre chords. The accompanying CD features each song recorded by a full band, so you can hear how each song sounds and then play along when you're ready. 20 songs in all: All Apologies * Closer to Free * Gloria * Hurts So Good * Iris * Learning to Fly * Let Her Cry * No Woman No Cry * Push * Wonderful Tonight * and more. This book is intended as a supplement to the Hal Leonard Guitar Method, but can also be used with any beginning guitar method.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Founded in 1947, Hal Leonard Corporation has become the worlds largest print music publisher, representing some of the greatest songwriters and artists of all time. We are proud to publish titles of interest to all musicians as well as music lovers, from songbooks and instructional titles to artist biographies and instrument price guides to books about the music industry and all the performing arts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation; 2 edition (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0634001264
• ISBN-13: 978-0634001260
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not So Easy Without an Instructor, August 20, 2006

By 

BrutusRN (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Easy Pop Rhythms: Book/CD Pack (Paperback)

I was looking for a book to use solo, not with an instructor. Unfortunately, this isn't it. While they do include a number of strum patterns at the end of the book, they do not show strum patterns for each song -- you're left to figure it out on your own.

I'd hope that the CD would make that easier but the other instruments sometimes make it hard to hear the guitar part. They didn't do what's sometimes done and separate the guitar on one side and the backing parts on the other side so you can't isolate the guitar.

The chords are the easy part. All the songs are transposed into simple 3-finger chords (C, G7, G, D7, Em, D, A7).

Overall, I'm disappointed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful Beginner Book, November 9, 2008

By 

D. O. Becker (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Easy Pop Rhythms: Book/CD Pack (Paperback)

From Rock Around the Clock and Bye Bye Love to Let Her Cry and All Apologies, this book provides a useful selection of rock and pop songs for the beginning rhythm guitarist. All songs are simplified to 2 to 4 easy chords and include the lyrics. Only the tiniest 2 bar melody notation is included. There are about 2 pages that deal with reading the notation (e.g. repeats, codas, al fine) and strum patterns.

This version of the book comes with an accompanying CD which contains a voiceless back up band. It is useful for learning the melodies or providing accompaniment. It is not necessary for learning, and the publishers have also made Easy Pop Rhythms: Book for those who do not want the CD.

I would recommend this book to beginning guitarists with 0 to 1 years experience. It certainly is more fun for learning than reading scales and playing single note melodies.