Basic Classical Guitar Method 1 (Book & DVD) by Scott Tennant
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Book Reviews of Basic Classical Guitar Method 1 (Book & DVD)
Book Review: Great for true beginners
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been trying to play guitar for 25 years. I have had numerous instructors, paid hundreds of dollars and got nowhere with my classical guitar playing. I learned a few cords and got by. For 2009, I decided to dedicate myself to learning the UKE and guitar. This dvd is great for true beginners, I wish DVD's were available back then. I liked it so much that I am now in search of Scott's Method 2, not sure if it exists. FYI, I looked at the first section of CAGED Template Chord System for guitar playing. If you can play the following chords, C A G E and D, then I believe this DVD will be very helpful. My jaw dropped after watching only part of this DVD. All these years and I am finally getting it. uke pBook Review: A great teaching tool!
Summary: 5 Stars
I just received my DVD/book combo today and I am thrilled with Scott Tennant's instructional DVD and book. As an absolute classical guitar beginner, Mr. Tennant's DVD/book shows me that I can play the classical guitar and that I can do it myself with his help! I believe this DVD/book combo is a MUST for anyone who is thinking about or ready to play the classical guitar. I know that I will purchase the subsequent DVDs/books as my learning progresses. This is a great product.Book Review: classical guitar
Summary: 5 Stars
As someone completely new to guitar, I am finding this book to be very easy to follow and very informative.Book Review: Fun but over all too soon...
Summary: 4 Stars
For those of us who are attempting to self-teach classical guitar, I think a DVD is invaluable at the early stages. This is when you are working on the basics of hand position, posture, sitting position etc... If you go wrong here, you could potentially develop bad habits which are much harder to correct later on. From this DVD, you can actually see Scott Tennant demonstrating the right way to play - which is more useful than using static photos or hand sketches you traditionally find in guitar books.
Also, it's great to be able to play duets with the on-screen Scott (once again for those of us who don't have a teacher or anyone else who can play duets with us).
The book itself is fun. The pieces include some memorable tunes. The difficulty level is for the most part reasonable for a beginner like me. The main problem is that the book is quite sparse. I finished all the pieces within a week, and it's not that much fun just repeating pieces over and over again (though maybe that's what you're really supposed to do). And though I have Basic Classical Guitar Method 2, I actually didn't feel proficient enough having gone through book 1 to move straight into book 2.
As a way of filling in the gap, I bought and am currently working through "Solo Guitar Playing" by Fredrick Noad, and it is a MUCH thicker book. Noad himself claims in the introduction that there is enough material here for 2 years of study! Now I like the sound of it, but it doesn't mean that Classical Guitar for Beginners was not satisfying or useful - just that it didn't have enough meat on the bone.
Also, the DVD version doesn't show Scort playing every single piece in the book. In that way, the CD version is superior. It's useful to be able to hear a piece being played right first so you know when and where you are stuffing it up.
Book Review: Perseverance Pays Off
Summary: 4 Stars
Learning to play any musical instrument is hard work. The guitar is no exception. Anyone planning to buy a self-instruction book should be dedicated to making the effort and willing to work past the frustration that is part of it. If, like me, you have played only keyed instruments, or never played at all, your fingers will scrabble over the fingerboard as you attempt to put the right finger at the right fret on the right string and pluck that same string with the other hand. You will make many mistakes, but if you work past that point you will find that muscle memory eventually takes over. The pieces Tennant provides are well suited to that purpose. Your job is to practice these pieces over and over and over and over until your fingers know where to go, and your ear tells you that your playing is beginning to sound like music.
Tennant is tough. He gives you a lot to learn at each lesson, and if you don't already know how to read music, it will take you a while to get through this book. Once you've gone through it, go through it again, picking up what you missed the first time. Even though I am now in Book 2, I keep going over the pieces in Book 1 and my playing steadily improves.
At the end of this book you will still be a beginner, but you will have some ability to read music and some degree of comfort with the guitar. If you have worked hard you may be impressed with how far you have come and perhaps be motivated to buy Book 2.
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