Solo Guitar Playing, Book 1: A Complete Course of Instruction in the Techniques of Guitar Performance [With CD (Audio)]

I have been working with this book, independently, without a teacher and cannot recommend it highly enough. Right from the beginning the exercises sound musical and so are fun to play, which obviously encourages practice. Everything you need to know is clearly explained and you are never left wondering whether you are doing something correctly or not. I am not a complete beginner at the guitar, but I am a complete beginner at the classical style of playing and with about half an hour of practice per day, I have managed to reach Lesson 7 in about 3 and a half months. Lesson 7 is where you get to play your first real piece of music, 'Spanish Study', which is very rewarding and makes you sound like an accomplished player, although it is actually quite easy to play, using the skills that you have developed by this stage. Looking ahead, I notice that there is a lot of real music to look forward to in the near future. Based on my experiences so far I am confident that by the end of this book I will be able to play the classical guitar very well indeed! Obviously, diligent practice is required to make progress - but this book really does encourage that. My one gripe is that the book needs to be spiral bound, to allow it to remain open properly on a music stand - however, because the content is so fantastic, I feel it would be churlish to deduct a star for that. Update: Feb 2017 - after 14 months of continuous use I am now about half way through the book - practicing about 5 times a week for 30-40 mins each time. Some individual exercises, particularly those incorporating a lot of 3 note chords take huge effort and focus and can easily take me 2-3 weeks to learn to play, but boy, do you get a great sense of accomplishment when you can play them all the way through. Even some of the exercises in earlier chapters will not be 'mastered' until you are far more advanced than when you first encounter them - I still can't play Spanish Study to my total satisfaction. In chapter 12 (I think) Noad provides a routine of technical exercises which he suggests you should practice every day - this is in addition to whatever particular exercises you have currently reached and does add considerable time. But if you are diligent with this routine you will make great progress and develop increased stamina. Overall, I am more and more convinced that if I continue to the end of this book I will become a good classical guitarist, which is very motivating . I'm not in a hurry and despite rapid initial progress, the two year goal for completing the book, mentioned by other reviewers now seems unlikely for me and I suspect it will be more like 21/2-3 years. This is definitely a book whose value to each individual is relative to the effort that he/she is prepared to make with it. Noad put an awful lot of experience and knowledge into this book, but you will only get out what you put in.

Back in about 1992 I proudly got distinction at grade 4 classical guitar... unfortunately that was the height of my progress as, for one reason or another, I let things slip. About 7 years ago I picked up guitar playing again, focussing on blues. I've progressed since then, but deep down I missed classical playing and last year I bought this book to try to re-find those skills. I doubt there is a better book out there for learning classical guitar. It will take you from scratch to a very proficient level of playing. For a complete beginner, it could be a slight slog through the theory at the start, learning notes and note lengths etc. But how can you avoid this? Also on the duller side, there are lots of exercises early on and I admit I didn't give them the attention they deserved; as a beginner you probably should be more diligent in order to ensure good technique. One observation: lots of talk about rest strokes and free strokes... yes learn the difference and practise both, but playing pieces using rest strokes is harder, so you may like to balance practising that important technique with progressing through the book using mainly free strokes, otherwise it could get frustrating. It takes a little time to work through that theory and those exercises, but once you reach the first actual pieces the satisfaction levels quickly grow. The first two tunes are spanishy, then there are some which are more baroque in flavour... I love both styles and, as the weeks go by, more and more pieces will fall into your fingers and you'll find yourself learning positions ever higher up the neck. The book leaves scales til much later... the downside of this is that you get behind with these compared to your level of playing, the good side though is that you will have classical guitar firmly in your blood by the time you reach them, so you'll be well beyond them being able to put you off. The title is a little deceptive: many of the exercises are duets, but it's not a problem if you are teaching yourself, I just play the first guitar part, though these exercises would be more fun with two. Also there's a whole lot of music for guitar ensembles at the back of the book... but nevertheless basically the title is true, work through this book and you will be able to play solo guitar. I'm about two thirds through the actual tuition (about half way through the book) and would guess I'm back at around grade 3; by the end of the book I'd guess you've reached grade 5 or 6 and are ready to go on to book 2. So I still have a long way to go. I've written a shed load of reviews on blues guitar tutors... and I really enjoy playing blues, both electric and finger style, and hope I always will, but I love the purity of classical guitar, its diversity and the paradox of its complex simplicity. If you also want to play, you will have to learn theory and to practise dull exercises however you choose to learn... if you can wade through those first heavier sections of this book, then you'll emerge into chapters with pieces which sound fantastic, even at the early levels, and which will keep you hooked. For me, this is the consummate classical guitar book, polished through 4 editions and now ready to open up the classical guitar to anyone willing to put in the work.

Whatever your style of guitar playing, this is a must have. I bought this book mainly to ween myself off tab and to improve my sight reading ability, however going through it there are other aspects of my playing that this book has helped improve, in particular technique. It is also excellent as a refresher for the basics, something that is well worthwhile doing. I particularly like that the emphasis on each subject is 'doing', with plenty of exercises to help you build up your skills. I would also recommend the use of a metronome to help get the timing right. The book contains 26 chapters, and the author reckons you should spend a month on to get it right. That gives you a book that will keep you going for over 2 years.... Well worth the money and the best guitar book you could ever - or will ever - buy.

As if this needs yet another five-star review. It's nice to find a guitar method that teaches music notation and not just power chords and tabs (though both have their place; I just don't want to be limited to just those). This is a very thorough method for the price of a single grade book in other methods such as Mel Bay. I am a huge fan of Mel Bay methods but I'm also now a huge fan of Frederick Noad. I highly recommend this for anyone wanting to really learn the guitar. The instructions and lessons are easy to understand, thorough, and really add to the practice drills included. Many methods focus very little on teaching theory and concepts but focus on chords and tabs. This is not those; this will teach you the fundamentals of your instrument and take beginners from zero to being very competent. Noad suggests that you plan up to 4 weeks per lesson and there are 26 lessons so plan 2 years on this book. At that time, you'll be able to play in any key with any band and hold your own - if you practice.

Super repertoir, veru good CD

As a classical guitar teacher, I found this book very valuable because no just presents the idea but also uses pictures to the explanations.

Solo Guitar Playing est en effet un cours complet mais évidement ne remplace pas un (bon) professeur. Néanmoins conseillez a tout débutant. Note: j’ai reçu ce livre deux fois et aussi payé deux fois ce qui n’était pas mon intention. J’ai donc renvoyiez un exemplaire à l’adresse indiquée en Allemagne. Remboursement ou replacement par Solo Guitar Playing (N.Noad) Book 2 apprécié Merci pour votre compréhension

I bought this as a gift for my partner who just started guitar lessons, on a recommendation from a friend who is a musician himself. It arrived well padded with no bends or dents, and ahead of schedule. The seller communicated very well and my partner is loving how the book is perfectly suited for beginners, particularly on teaching her music notation which she's always wanted to be able to read. I would highly recommend this book! From description to purchase to arrival, all a super smooth process.