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A Modern Approach to Classical Guitar
(book review)

This is an instructional book for learning classical guitar. I own it so will give you a look at what it is about and what I think.

 

My copy of the book

I did most of my early learning of the guitar with the Carcassi Method. It is a tried and true guitar method that has been around for a hundred years. And it covers everything pretty well. But nowadays we have lots more options for learning how to use the guitar.

The book lies Flat

A modern approach to classical guitar is a good choice if you are a beginner to the guitar. First off I want to talk about a few less obvious things that are really nice about this book. It is bound in spiral comb which means each page opens flat, which is very nice. You can lay it down on a surface or put it in a music stand and the pages you are open to will lay flat. Makes it easy to read.

Also, this method comes with CD's which are a great addition to the program. If you are new to the guitar you are going to be unsure of what sounds right. Having the CD's means you can hear what is right. This way you know you are on track.

 


Book cover

A Modern Approach to Classical Guitar - Composite (Books 1, 2 and 3)(book & 3 CD'S)

This is the exact book that I have. It includes all three books and three Cd's.

 

 


About the Lessons in the book and the Music

Overall the whole instructional system is pretty good with this book. It cover all the basics in a logical and methodical method. It gives you pieces to learn in a way that makes sense and keeps you learning and growing. New keys, arpeggios, dotted notes, first position, second position, etc. This is a method that you can learn by yourself or with the guidance of an instructor.

My only criticism: Which isn't much of a criticism. Is that there is a lot of non-classical music in the repertoire. Jingle Bells, Amazing Grace, Hava Nagila etc.But this is mostly in the beginning when we are trying to just learn the notes and how to play them. As you progress through the book there is more and more classical and classical guitar pieces.

 

On the CD's

Each CD has almost 20 pieces on it so you get almost 60 pieces that you can listen to and see the sheet music so you can learn how to play them.

The CD's are simply the music played from selected exercises and pieces in the book. The first CD starts out with the six open notes so you can tune your guitar. Then it plays selected pieces from the instructional book so you can hear what it sounds like. The book has a notation alongside the pieces so you know which track on the CD it is. This is a decent arrangement. The first cd and first part of this book takes you all the way through to playing greensleeves. Which is a pretty good beginners goal.

The second CD takes you through more pieces, and of course more complex pieces all the way through Andante by Sor.

The third CD has more complex pieces and takes us all the way to A theme from Brahms' first symphony.

Overall

Learning to read music and to play an instrument takes time. You have to commit to a long term relationship with it! And it takes effort. This method is pretty good though. It handles everything logically and takes you through a good progression. I definitely recommend it if you want to learn how to play classical guitar.

What Does Carcassi Think of this book?

Matteo Carcassi

Matteo was a bit of an old fashioned guy! He lived from 1792 to 1853 and he wrote the carcassi method for guitar which is still used today. He says that the Modern Approach to Classical Guitar is a great learning method for modern times. If you want to learn to play but don't aspire to be a concert guitarist then get it! If you want to be a concert level classical guitarist then Matteo says you should get his method!

Matteo also wants to know what a CD is. No CD's with his method!

Interested in seeing some other methods for classical Guitar? I have them right here: Books for learning classical guitar

 


 

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