Customer Reviews

Mel Bay Play Solo Flamenco Guitar with Juan Martin Book, CD, and DVD: Vol. 1

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Flamenco is not for the beginning guitarist/novice. Flamenco has many very difficult techniques (rasgueos, golpes, picados). If you have a basic understanding of guitar tab and a dedication to following it the pieces in the first couple of grade levels aren't too difficult to learn. Granted you've had some guitar experience already (prefererbly classical as some fingerpicking techniques are identical).

To play even at grade 0 you must have the following basic skills: ability to read tab, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides.

The following basic skills are a must have to be able to play grade level 3 through 6: picado(alternating index and middle fingers rapidly on the same string), full bar chords, repeating 5-stroke rasgueos, frequent use of hammer-ons and pull-offs, slides, and slurs.

The solos are simply great, even grade 0. Some of the best pieces in the book don't require too much use of rasgueos (they're the identifying techiniques of flamenco), which makes them easier to pick up.

Flamenco is one of the most unique styles of music on the planet, learning this style will take a lot of practice; but having some flamenco pieces in your repetoire will definitely make other players envious.

I use this book and the accompanying CD a lot, and also have watched the DVD. This book fills a gap in flamenco guitar teaching. The pieces are nice too. I recommend it highly if you do not mind the mutiple minor issues that you may want to know:
(1) The book is not intended to teach you play Flamenco technique; it is a compilation of Flamenco pieces from easy to difficult
(2) the book is filled up with his pictures (and even his son), playing or posing with flamenco 'legends' etc.--- not a humble looking book!
(3) in the CD, 3 songs are repeated (one slow tempo, one fast) while the others are not, I could not figure out why those arbitrary pieces were repeated. Also I thing two pieces are recorded with the metronome on while the rest without metronome.
(4) The DVD quality is poor and cheap looking, with low resolution.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed this product, the degree to which it helped me learn flamenco guitar was minimal. I'm a self-taught player who's been plucking away at the instrument for an astounding 25 years (astounding because I just realized how long it's been) and who, within the past few years, has finally learned to read music, abandon contemporary styles for "classical" and was ready to take on a new form of playing. And I think that I could have taken on -- and will eventually take on -- flamenco with an instructional piece that offers more details in terms of technique.

The DVD is a pleasure to watch. With his calm and friendly delivery Juan Martin seems like a "really nice guy." Also, the information/history he provides about flamenco is interesting and informative (not to mention the pleasant visual accompaniments: footage from Spain between lessons). Foremost, however, his playing is spectacular. If you're like me, you find yourself thinking that, though surely a daunting task, you'll be able to handle this impressive style in time and be able to play some of these beautiful pieces with some degree of accuracy. But that wasn't the case with me. Namely because he/the DVD provides no instruction and the book provided only a modicum more -- brief, bulleted blurbs. And clearly there's more going on than that; clearly this style and its techniques -- it would seem to someone unfamiliar with flamenco -- are more complicated than a one- or two-sentence description can actually detail (especially if a guitarist is to play correctly). Yes, there are symbols in the songs' notations that indicate how the right hand fingers should fall, but they become so intricate at times that one needs a bit more assistance in order to feel confident that they're following them correctly. I found myself a few inches away from my monitor and slowing down the DVD's speed in an attempt to study his right hand. And I realized that was a bit absurd... not to mention ultimately unhelpful.

The point being, if someone is stepping into this style cold, green and completely void of flamenco technique, this may not be the learning tool for them. Personally, I'm going to try to find a more basic book on the topic. Even if it may be more tedious and even if the songs are less interesting, I think I'll get more out of it. And then I go back to Juan Martin.

If you're already fairly experienced in classical guitar, and have begun dabbling with flamenco techniques, and want to learn the real thing from someone who's really got a handle on it, this book is for you. So far, this book has been an incredibly rich source of learning flamenco technique for me. It has made very plain certain sounds I've heard on flamenco recordings that I had always wondered how to play, but had no idea where to begin. Juan Martin teaches different styles of flamenco from various regions of Spain. I'm still only at level two and I've already learned two completely different flamenco scales that I never knew before. One is in F# major and uses droning dissonant open upper strings, and has a rustic and haunting sound. If you're just beginning fingerstyle, this book can still be for you, if you don't mind being patient enough to stay at the first levels long enough to master the techniques in order to move to the next levels. To oversimplify, I think flamenco is kind of like improvised classical fingerstyle plus a few more fingerstrumming. techniques called "rasqueo". So if you're a plectrum strumming guitar player, perhaps you should first learn some more basic fingerstyle technique before using this book.

I think this book covers everythng pretty good. I have 10 years playing, though I consider myself an intermediate level player, and I wished to get into playing flamenco for a long time. This book is excellent! They are very short, but highly effective pieces covering most flamenco rhythms. Definitely not for a beginner.

I have played classical guitar for 20+ years. I have had some formal training in the classical style also. I figured that with some basic guidance I could learn Flamenco. This instructional book, dvd, cd makes a number of assumptions that I would hardly say are basic. I keep feeling like I am missing something. However, there is a lot to this book that could keep you busy for years with all it has to offer.

Is it for the dead start beginner? I don't think so, but it is a good way to get started if you have some classical background.

I am a novice guitarist interested in Flamenco guitar. I purchased this book/dvd/cd recently and am thouroughly impressed with it. It does not cover technique so you do need a companion book. However, it is truly wonderful. I especially like the song "Granadinas" which is simply beautiful.

I have never written one of these nor do I know Mr Martin personally but this guy is the best imo.The dvd sounds great on my computer. He teaches with a level of virtuosity and clarity I have not seen elsewhere. The accompanying book is admirably direct and logical in its progression and the background and ancillary material on the elements of Flamenco guitar playing,copious notes on the central importance that Compas(rythmic drive) and Aire (expressiveness, spirit, feeling) have in Flamenco,many pages of all the music played with supportive comments of each one and a few pages of some of the well known Flamencos that Mr Martin has been associated with together with the video of his playing and some of the surrounding coutryside make this a truly inspiring work.In toto it is a very full plate and one that will take most students some time to fully digest. There is nothing to take the place of seeing a supremely accomplished player perform.
It may be true that it is not a complete treatise on Flamenco technique . For this I would recommend it together with "Juan Martin'Guitar Method.El Arte Flamenco de La Guitarra" . Both complement each other beautifully.At Amazon.com's price this is one heck of a bargain. Thank you Maestro Martin!

I am an absolute beginner to guitar playing, and have only basic knowledge of reading music notation. I have bought (unfortunately) other instructional DVD on flamenco for more than twice the price of this set. I wish I had found Juan Martin first! This is just superior! The book, DVD and CD all well organized. The book contains detailed instructions and using it with the DVD you can follow the technique and put it together. The DVD is easy to navigate and easy to find a certain part in the book. The DVD also has beautiful scenes of Andalucia, which makes this a complete feast!
Congratulations to FlamencOvision and Patrick Campbell to put this great set together! And of course thanks for Maestro Martin!

This book gives very short examples of flamenco pieces that are enjoyable to play. Listening to the CD is very helpful. The DVD is a nice touch, too, but it could be better. The camera angles could be better to get a clearer view of the right hand techniques, especially the golpe and some of the rasqueos. I realize that this is not a book on flamenco technique, but since the DVD is included, it may as well provide better views of the right hand for viewers to gain insight into the technique. Finally, the left hand fingering notated on the transcriptions does not always match those played on the DVD.

Overall, this is a very good introduction to flamenco guitar. With more attention to transcription detail and better video angles, it could be even better. At this price, it's definitely a good value!