Latin Guitar: The Essential Guide to Brazilian and Afro-Cuban Rhythms [Paperback]

Bruce Buckingham (Composer)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

Pro musician and G.I.T. instructor Bruce Buckingham covers all the basics guitarists need to know in this book/CD pack designed from MI elective courses. Rhythms covered include: bossa nova, samba, partido alto, baiao, bolero, cha cha, mambo, nanigo 6/8 and more. The accompanying CD includes 79 demo tracks.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Musicians Institute Press (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0634006037
• ISBN-13: 978-0634006036
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,152,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Lot of Work Ahead of Me, July 9, 2001

By A Customer

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This review is from: Latin Guitar: The Essential Guide to Brazilian and Afro-Cuban Rhythms (Paperback)

Now I realize how a small seventy-page book can represent a year's worth of work on the guitar. The reason, of course, is that learning the instrument is all about muscular memory. You just have to do the repetitions (humbly, day after day) until the skill is in your body. Well, I'm thinking that I've found an excellent guidebook for the guitar practice that I'll do in the coming year. I love Antonio Carlos Jobim and afro-cuban music so much. It's the kind of music that I aspire to play more than anything, so I can't tell you how glad I was to find a reasonably basic instructional book that addresses it directly. But make no mistake that this is Not a beginner level book. Although I don't have a lot of skill, I've been messing around with and reading about guitars, music theory, and playing for many years, and I found the level of instruction to be perfect for me.

The excercises come in the form of chord progressions that illustrate all the different rhythms and their variations (bossa nova, samba, partido alto, bolero, cha cha, mambo, nanigo). No songs of any kind, but the examples sound almost like songs (very short songs) and are typical of the type of music that they illustrate. And the CD (which you HAVE to have, with a subject like this) is excellent. You could almost listen to it by itself just for fun, but not quite, since the tracks are only long enough to show you the exercise but not long enough to entertain. This book/CD package is an overall outstanding intro to these rhythms, though it could use just a bit more on all the afro-cubans.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Practical, enjoyable introduction to Latin rhythms, August 9, 2004

By 

M. C Cardoso "marciohaas" (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Latin Guitar: The Essential Guide to Brazilian and Afro-Cuban Rhythms (Paperback)

Tons of more advanced chord voicings there so you might want to be playing the guitar for a while. No need of virtuosistic skills, though. It is about internalizing the rhythms and becoming familiar with the typical chords of latin music. After mastering this book, you will be ready to read a bossa nova song-book and play the tunes with decent strumming patterns. It might help your cha-cha jams, too. The Cd really helps, too.

I am glad I purchased this book and I recommend it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, clear book, good demo CD, July 22, 2006

By 

Thomas Beale (London) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Latin Guitar: The Essential Guide to Brazilian and Afro-Cuban Rhythms (Paperback)

This is a great little book (not that little once you realise how long it will take to get it all down). Like more than a few people, I can play quite a few styles, but Bossa Nova is a new one for me, and it takes a while to get you head round the chord changes. The level is good for a guitarist who is already pretty familiar with everything but certainly doesn't have to be an expert; even the early lessons take a while to get down smoothly due to the peculiarities of right hand technique plus some occasionally tricky chord changes. The demo CD is good as well. Someone else here said there is a year's worth of work in this book, I'd say that's about right. But good fun work;-)