The Hal Leonard Acoustic Guitar Method: A Complete Guide with Step-by-Step Lessons and 45 Great Acoustic Songs [Paperback]

Chad Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

The Hal Leonard Acoustic Guitar Method uses real songs to teach you all the basics of acoustic guitar in the style of the Beatles, Eric Clapton, John Mellencamp, the Indigo Girls, Robert Johnson, James Taylor and many others. Lessons include: strumming; fingerpicking; using a capo; open tunings; folk, country & bluegrass styles; acoustic blues; acoustic rock; and more. Songs include: Angie * Barely Breathing * Behind Blue Eyes * Building a Mystery * Change the World * Dust in the Wind * Fast Car * Here Comes the Sun * Jack and Diane * Landslide * Leaving on a Jet Plane * Maggie May * More Than Words * Name * You've Got a Friend * Yesterday * and more. In standard notation and tablature.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0634064525
• ISBN-13: 978-0634064524
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Lieder & Art Songs

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not for a beginner., August 1, 2006

By 

R. Jones "Teacher" (Oklahoma City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hal Leonard Acoustic Guitar Method: A Complete Guide with Step-by-Step Lessons and 45 Great Acoustic Songs (Paperback)

The title of this book is a bit misleading. This is not a method book with step-by-step lessons. This is a song book. It does tell how to finger most chords used, but that's the extent of the "lessons." This is not for beginners. This won't teach you how to play.

I purchased this book with the Complete Guitar Method series. This is an awesome supplement to that book. The included songs are fantastic, and the tab makes this very easy to use for those of you who don't read music. I've got mixed feelings as the title lead me to think this was something it was not. However, I am happy I have this book because I now have some great songs ready at hand when I need them.

I searched through OLGA and a few other tab sites for these songs, and the quality of the book shines. When you get tabs from the net you get someone's interpretation of a song. When you get this book, you actually get the song as it was actually written. Keep that in mind. I know it's not true of all tabs, but sometimes you should really consider a real book rather than what could possibly be a sloppy rendition from a tab site. Free tabs are great, but you can actually rely on this book to give the true song.

Buy this for the songs, not for the "lessons." It is worth the money just so long as you realize this isn't for the beginner.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the Advancing Beginner, January 29, 2007

By 

R. Yentzer "To God be the Glory" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hal Leonard Acoustic Guitar Method: A Complete Guide with Step-by-Step Lessons and 45 Great Acoustic Songs (Paperback)

One thing to note with this book is right on the cover it says "supplement to Any Guitar Method". This is a book for someone who has learned the very basics and wants to see how all those chords, scales and strumming patterns apply to real music. It does assume a basic level of competence with the guitar. If you are brand new to the guitar, get this book in 6 months or so.

While browsing through the guitar section at a local bookstore, this book caught my eye because it shows real world examples of the techniques I've been currently practicing.

Again this is not for the beginner nor is it intended to be. But if you have the basics down and want to push your guitar playing to the next level this book will certainly get you there.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not for beginners., May 24, 2007

By 

Cody C. Engdahl (Nashville, TN. United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Hal Leonard Acoustic Guitar Method: A Complete Guide with Step-by-Step Lessons and 45 Great Acoustic Songs (Paperback)

I had seen this book in stores before I bought it, so I knew what I was getting into.

I think, over all, it's a good buy. But if you're just learning guitar, I'd wait until you got through Hal Leonard' s guitar method books (1-3), or some other basic guitar method. After a brief review of stumming patterns, the book takes off quite quickly with difficult syncopated rythyms and fancy chords.

The other thing is that, even though it boasts having a lot of songs,I think around forty-five, most of them are just a few measures and riffs from those songs. Only at the end of each chapter is there a complete song to learn.