 Sight Reading for the Classical Guitar: Level 1-3 |
| Review Date: March 26, 2008 |
| Reviewer: D. Johnston, Wharton, Texas |
While not exaxtly a classical guitar beginner, I nevertheless noticed that my rate of progress was not matching my hard work in diligently practicing. My teacher knew that I was working hard and one day when she noticed my frustration she told me to get Sight Reading for the "Classical Guitar: Level 1-3" and, same title, Level 4-5. I did and immediately discovered what I had not sensed or heard...or understood what my teacher had been gently telling me.
Quoting from the Foreword of this book, "...it is important to develop facility in reading, recognizing the notes, as well as the bar positions in which to play them, the fingerings, the rhythmic patterns, and any markings of interpretation (dynamics, phrasing, articulation, etc.)."
The beginning guitarist, and even those more advanced, must develop skill in these facits if real progress is to be made.
The excercizes are mostly one-line, easy to read--even melodic--compositions that you will know when you have played them correctly. I particularly like the brief, direct, no-preaching comments the author makes. The book provides a thrifty, interest-keeping tool that now occupies a significant part of my daily practice routines. And, my progress is getting back on schedule. |
An Absolute Jewel of a Book!
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| Review Date: May 14, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Loveguitar, Georgia, USA |
I teach classical guitar and one day one of my students came into my studio with this book (Levels 1 to 3). It didn't take but a few seconds for me to realize how perfect it was and I ordered one immediately. I've had the second book (Levels 4 & 5) and wrote a review a long time ago praising it, but never bothered to check out this book until recently.
It is perfect for those who are brand new to classical guitar notation or notation in general. The exercises are so well laid out. You would use this book as a supplement to your regular guitar studies, assuming you are learning musical notation. This book will not tell you where the notes are, but delves into the musicality aspect of reading the notation and playing it. Since you can "Look Inside!" you can get a good idea of how the exercises are laid out and how they progress from simple to more challenging. My youngest student using this book is 7 and my oldest is 68 and both are learning very valuable aspects of musical expression.
It looks deceivingly simple at first but it will quickly spotlight areas of musical weakness that need to be worked on. It hammers an area of music reading which is usually the hardest to grasp, and most frequently left out of method books and that is rhythm. Learning what the names of the notes are and where they are on the guitar is not that much of a challenge, but playing rhythmically precise is often the hardest aspect of playing music. It has several pages of pure rhythmic practice dispersed throughout the book (which I wish you could see but unfortunately can't), which are gold mines for rhythmic practice. As far as I'm concerned this entire book is a gold mine for excellent, practical knowledge for music reading and interpretation. The subsequent book, Levels 4 & 5 is also wonderful.
You will learn a lot if using this book by yourself, but if you use it in conjunction with a qualified teacher, you will get much more out of it. |
More than meets the eye
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| Review Date: February 9, 2010 |
| Reviewer: D. V. Short, Orkney, UK |
This book has amazed and rewarded me for my efforts. The first book is for levels 1 - 3, with introductions to 3rd and 5th fret positions. The second book is for levels 4 - 5 and gives more exercises for the 2nd, 3rd and 5th positions.
These books are essential for practising short exercise pieces that can be found in complete scores. They seem simple at first sight, but when attempted they may reveal difficulties of technique, hand, finger and thumb positioning. They can even show a need to master hand curvature and angle to reduce strain on the hand digits and wrist. For example, I found the need to ensure my thumb is correctly positioned opposite the fingers on the guitar neck. The angle of the hand determines where across the neck the thumb may be positioned and how the fingers may be positioned correctly. The short exercises allow one to experiment with the best positioning for the best results, with the least amount of stress to one's hand and digits, especially if one's hand and digits are not strong.
Worthy accessories to these books are the Qwik Time quartz metronome and the book on practicing by Ricardo Iznaola (ISBN: 0786658738), both of which may be found on Amazon. Commence using the Sight Reading books only after reading Iznaola's book, then when using the Sight Reading books, set the metronome initially to low speeds (60 - 80 beats per minute) so as to master accuracy before mastering speed.
Relax and enjoy the daily exercises.
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Useful to have, and easy to use
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| Review Date: February 22, 2007 |
| Reviewer: dotmoll, Japan |
| Not a bad price, and not dispiritingly difficult either. Purpose-written guitar sight-reading material is hard to find, good to have this and the companion Level 4-5 book to work from. |
Benedict offers a thoughtful and articulate text that is useful for beginners and learned guitarists alike!
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| Review Date: May 5, 2007 |
| Reviewer: B. Maestas, Astoria, NY, USA |
I ordered this book in the hopes that it would be useful not only for my students but for myself as well and it really does deliver. This text, Level I-III, assumes that the student has at least a basic knowledge of music theory but not so much that it's useless for beginners. It starts out with simple diatonic exercises on the first string, a great departure point and a common starting point for many generations of guitarists.
Just as it states on the cover, Benedict emphasizes dynamics, interpretation, phrasing and form almost right from the start. This wide scope permeates the lessons and lends a lightness and freshness to the lessons that keeps the student wanting more. The pacing of the exercises is carefully constructed and there are no big jumps in difficulty, which is great. Equally useful is his addition of random rhythm patterns at the end of each level. With all the emphasis on tone production, dynamics and interpretation, students (and teachers) often neglect their rhythmic mastery and with Benedict's inclusion of these random rhythms and his even-handed approach, one is sure to learn something no matter their experience level!
There haven't been many books that have made my list of instructional essentials but this book and the second volume have proven to be indispensible to myself and to many of my students. The fact that this book just happens to make you a better sight-reader in the mean time is a testament to its transparency and usability. Highly recommended. |
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November 5th, 2009 | 
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