Customer Reviews

Mel Bay Art Of Rasgueado

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am the author of this book, and I wanted to take the chance to clarify a few points about it.
This is a Rasgueado instructional manual. The Rasgueado is probably the most characteristic technique of the Flamenco guitar, and as such I thought it deserved its own publication!
However, even though all the included examples are taken from the Flamenco guitar repertoire, this is not a Flamenco guitar method. This is a Rasgueado method. The book does includes a fair assortment of Flamenco falsetas, but only ones that demonstrate the appropriate use of the verious Rasgueados forms. There are NO complete compositions or even lengthy falsetas included, and only the techniques relevant to rasgueados (eg. the Golpe) are explained
If you want to de-mystify the Rasgueado techniques of the Flamenco guitar(ists), I think you will find this book very helpful, whether you are a Flamenco, Classical or Fingerstyle Acoustic player. Thanks for reading!

I bought this book a couple of weeks ago, after reading the previous
review. I've been playing the Flamenco guitar for 10 years now,
semi-professionally and I think that the subject of rasgueados is probably
the most difficult of this guitar style! So I was very curious and
interested to see how the author was going to handle the descriptions of
all these convoluted right hand strumminh finger patterns.
Well, I'm very happy to report that he did a very good & thorough job! The
book was way more complete than I initially expected. As the previous
reviewer mentioned, there are more rasgueado patterns included than you can
shake a very big stick at, and they are all very clearly labeled, defined
and explained. I see this book becoming a staple in the serious classical
guitarists' library, since it offers several rasgueado pattern suggestions
that would work much much better for the classical guitar repertoire that
uses this technique. I think that the included examples helped clarify the
materials and gave me an immediate point of reference for ther use of each
specific pattern.
Having said all these good things, I do have a small complaint! It would
have been really helpful to have either an audio or a video recording of
the patterns. I emailed the author about this "omission" and he replied
that he plans to include both audio and video samples for most of the
included examples at his new WWW site (www.ioannis.org). If that turns out
to be the case, it would be a great addition to the book (PLUS, it will be
free, I think.)
To sum up, I liked this book. I felt it was really worth the money spent
on it, it seemed to be exhaustively researched and well-organized. The
author also mentioned to me that he has completed a new guitar
instructional book for Mel Bay publications, that "deals very exhaustively
with the Tremolo technique for both the classical & flamenco guitar, to be
published in 2004". This will definitely be on the top of my to-buy list!

I really enjoyed this book. Each one of the included Rasgueado techniques is clearly explained, with musical examples and each finger stroke is
distinctly described. I have been playing flamenco guitar for over 15 years and I still did not know more than half of the presented Rasgueado
patterns! 2-3 of them have already found their way into my regular playing. I wish I had this book available when I first started playing flamenco
guitar, it would have been worth its weight in gold!
The author has structured the book very carefully, in a way that the rasgueados get progressively more challenging and more interesting. I also
liked that the author explained the origins of each rasgueado pattern, or its "inventor" and that he categorized them according to their use(16th
notes, quintuplets, Traditional vs Contemporary, anchored vs free-floating etc). The extensive list of Classical guitar pieces that use Rasgueado
techniques was a very thoughtful inclusion. I also found the final chapter (Rumba basic rhythms and variations) particularly interesting.
However, keep in mind that this is NOT a TEACH YOURSELF FLAMENCO GUITAR book! For that, you should consider getting Juan Serrano's
books & DVDs or Juan Martin's and Oscar Herrero's instructional materials. BUT, If you want to de-mystify the Rasgueado techniques of the
Flamenco guitar(ists), I cannot currently think of a better way to do it than though working closely with this book! It is also good to see the Mel

Bay book range expanding to include more 'advanced' pedagogical works. The only criticism I might have is that it would be nice to have access
to CD recording or, even better, considering the subject matter, a DVD/Video tape of the included rasgueado examples.
BOTTOM LINE: An excellent addition to any Flamenco/Classical guitarist's library.

A well-writen book, with clear-cut explanations of the various rasgueados techniques. I'd never realised there were so many flamenco rasgueados in existence!!! The author does a great job is putting them in easily identifiable categories that make sense. And he definitely spares no effort in the description of the hand movement! This is a great book for the intermediate classical/flamenco guitarist that wants to find out more about the flamenco rasgueado technique. I wish there was a DVD to go with it though!

Rasqueado = strumming. The book is informative for a student of flamenco. It is clearly written; concise chunks for each technique; large enough print to be seen easily. I only wish the book came with an accompanying CD. Other than that, I would recommend it. Now comes the task to stick with it and practice, practice, practice!

A concisely written reference. I like it. Once you are established with one or two(eg., isam and pai), you can look through this book and adopt what you like in your playing. He explains why you might choose a specific rasgueado and sets it in context with examples. I am glad I got this book. Good luck.

This is the only publication from this author that has ever disappointed me. I have a number of his others and they are stellar.

It contains a lot of descriptions of rasgueados, but that's really it. The advice (practice slowly and use a metronome) was pretty thin.

What disappointed me most is that there was no attempt made to delve into the ART of the technique. Such as when or how to use different rasgueados to achieve different affects, how to transition between them, etc.

If all you want is a list of some of the infinite number of patterns, maybe this is for you. If you want something more you won't find it here.

For the student, this book holds some insight into rasqueado though I found it lacked substance beyond "here is what someone does". I did not find its goals of sound and ease of motion to be substantial.
Better to watch video in slow motion, find a good teacher and listen to lots of music.
Good marketing idea. I bought it.