Hal Leonard Guitar Method Book 1: Book/CD Pack [Paperback]

Will Schmid (Author), Greg Koch (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0793533929 | ISBN-13: 978-0793533923 | Publication Date: January 1, 1995 | Edition: 2nd

Newly revised! The second edition of this world-famous method by Will Schmid and greg Koch is preferred by teachers because it makes them more effective while making their job easier. Students enjoy its easy-to-follow format that gives them a solid music education while letting them play songs right away. Book 1 provides beginning instruction including tuning, 1st position melody playing, C, G, G7, D7, and Em chords, rhythms through eighth notes, solos and ensembles and strumming. Features a chord chart, and traditional songs like: Amazing Grace * Greensleeves * and When the Saints Go Marching In.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation; 2nd edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0793533929
• ISBN-13: 978-0793533923
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 8.8 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Geezer learns guitar... me..., November 15, 2009

By 

Guitar Player "Retired USCG" (Northshore of Lake Superior in MN.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hal Leonard Guitar Method Book 1: Book/CD Pack (Paperback)

As a geezer let me tell you that i HAVE learned to play
my new Les Paul electric guitar using this series of
lesson books....books 1 through 3 & the BLUES book as well.

Book 1, will get you actually reading sheet music and
playing it. Mission accomplished.

I wish I would have learned guitar about 5 or 6 decades ago.
It is fun!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars not the method you will learn guitar on!, March 28, 2010

By 

A. Parsa (California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hal Leonard Guitar Method Book 1: Book/CD Pack (Paperback)

I have just finished the second book and it was not before I started using some online methods that I figured out how bad this book is in teaching you the chords! The book introduces the chords incrementally in between other lessons but it fails to describe the process of improving your chord changes and how proficient you need to be before moving on to the next lessons. I wouldn't use this method if I was going to start again.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Logical, Simple, Well Paced, and Clear, July 6, 2010

By 

Nick Roseth (Westminster, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hal Leonard Guitar Method Book 1: Book/CD Pack (Paperback)

As a secondary music educator, I believe this book is a GREAT book for people who want to learn how to play guitar (especially for those who have no musical training at all). Pedagogically the method is logical, simple, well paced, and clear. Each string is introduced one at a time and new exercises effectively combine and utilize skills previous taught. While many method books throw tons of initially irrelevant information at you from the start, this book only introduces and teaches what is necessary to properly play the material. TAB is introduced later in the series, but the first book requires students to learn traditional notation (i.e. note and rhythm reading).

Some previous reviewers call the exercises in this book "old" or "outdated," but majority of the material are familiar folk songs. Folk songs are generally... old. Ode to Joy, Greensleeves, Yankee Doodle, Star Spangled Banner, etc., are the types of tunes you will find in this book.

For those of you who wish to supplement your studies with some "pop" music, Hal Leonard publishes a book entitled "Easy Pop Melodies" for guitar which has some fairly satisfying material.

As with any student/method book combination, this book may not be right for some students who might require a different method of instruction, but I believe this book is wonderful for most beginning students.