Mel Bay Christmas Songs-Classic Guitar [Paperback]

Joseph Castle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1981

Easy classical arrangements of well-known carols transposed to keys suitable for solo guitar. Original harmonizations are retained if possible, but chords are sometimes structured to sound full and complete on the guitar.

Product Details

• Paperback: 31 pages
• Publisher: Mel Bay Publications (November 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871660059
• ISBN-13: 978-0871660053
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 8.7 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #571,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Classical Guitar Christmas Book, March 14, 2010

By 

Loveguitar (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mel Bay Christmas Songs-Classic Guitar (Paperback)

I teach classical guitar and one of my students came to his lesson with a very old copy of this book. It had to have been at least 30 years old. I thumbed through it and realized that I wanted a copy of this book but thought it would probably be out of print. I was very glad to find that it still in print, just with a new cover. I liked the old cover best because it was so late 1950's looking but I bought it for the music, not the cover.

The arrangement of all the songs are very well done and not overly difficult so that if you are brand new to playing classical guitar you can still play a tune or two. But if you are of moderate playing level then these songs are ideal for you. All songs are written in standard notation with no TAB, so you will need to know how to read music. Helpful left and right hand fingerings are given. The music is very well printed on large paper in deep black ink. It contains 22 Christmas songs of varying difficulty but overall I would rate the difficulty level at late-beginner to early intermediate level. On page 4 is a short explanation of fingerings and their indications which is very useful if you've never taken lessons and don't know what they mean. I think the most beautiful music ever listened too are Christmas carols played on classical guitar.

This is a very good book for the money and I highly recommend it for those who love classical guitar and Christmas carols.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice arrangements for the intermediate guitarist, November 17, 2011

By 

resonator - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mel Bay Christmas Songs-Classic Guitar (Paperback)

This volume contains 22 tasteful arrangements of popular Christmas carols and songs.
The arrangements are suitable for advanced beginners and intermediate guitarists.
Where necessary, the music has been transposed into a suitable key for the guitar,
and left-hand fingerings are suggested throughout. The music is boldly printed
and very readable.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for the beginner, December 13, 2010

By 

L. R. Willson "LRW" (Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mel Bay Christmas Songs-Classic Guitar (Paperback)

No, not for the beginner. Maybe for someone nearing advanced beginner? Maybe intermediate? I could modify some for my reach/skill so know I will get a few years of use out of this book.