Guitar method books

[newpedals]

Hal Leonard Guitar Tab Method: Books 1, 2 & 3 All-in-One Edition! Hal Leonard Online

Buy the official Hal Leonard Guitar Tab Method, 'Hal Leonard Guitar Tab Method: Books 1, 2 & 3 All-in-One Edition!' - This series includes official Hal Leonard sheet music for the following songs, available in: Softcover Audio Online and Digital Book/Online Audio

www.halleonard.com

Progressive Complete Learn To Play Guitar Manual

Contains everything you need to know about guitar playing. Takes the student from beginner to professional level in all styles and techniques as well as teaching music theory and improvisation in an interesting and practical way. This excellent method represents an essential guide for guitarists...

www.learntoplaymusic.com

I learnt guitar from books and also from youtube lessons. One of my friends gave her daughter a Christmas gift comprising of an acoustic guitar, clipon, strap, pick and a subscription for online lessons.

Are method books obsolete now? I believe they are an essential companion to video lessons. I have the "learn to play" book mentioned above and Mel Bay's chords, scales and arpeggios book. I am sentimentally attached to them. I did not tell my friend about my books yet because I won't like her daughter to be distracted with too much material. She is 12 years old.

Will you recommend a beginner to learn only from video lessons? I am in a dilemma whether to give her my method book or not.

 

[the-trooper]

Will you recommend a beginner to learn only from video lessons?

No. A real life teacher is better than anything else. Any other way is a way with lots of wasted time and many reinvented wheels.

 

[newpedals]

No. A real life teacher is better than anything else. Any other way is a way with lots of wasted time and many reinvented wheels.

I completely agree with you.

When I was "stuck" I was fortunate to be able to consult local teachers.

 

[la szum]

No. A real life teacher is better than anything else. Any other way is a way with lots of wasted time and many reinvented wheels.

Sounds too much like an absolute to me, with a lot of exceptions from real life experience.

IRL is no guarantee of a great teacher, or a stellar student.

With sufficient desire and intention to learn we can learn. Format does not trump desire. In my experience.

 

[the-trooper]

Sounds too much like an absolute to me

Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

With sufficient desire and intention to learn we can learn.

Absolutely, with a lot of wasted time and many reinvented wheels.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Sounds too much like an absolute to me, with a lot of exceptions from real life experience.

IRL is no guarantee of a great teacher, or a stellar student.

With sufficient desire and intention to learn we can learn. Format does not trump desire. In my experience.

On the one hand, 1-on-1 instruction isn't for everyone.

On the other hand -- in this context, i.e., rank beginner that was just handed their first guitar -- I can't see how six months instruction is going to make things worse, no matter how bad the instructor/student match.

To O.P., I can't see how the books are going to hurt matters.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I think having books is a good thing. I never took formal lessons but I did study some books very early on. Even advanced tab books that I wasn't even ready for yet, but still ingested and worked to learn what I could handle. It's all helpful.
Here were my very first books I used:

 

[TSJMajesty]

The very first "book" I had was the tab for Stairway. I learned it note-for-note just from those tabs. But in retrospect, I would've done much better, and progressed much faster had I also incorporated a good teacher, which I did later on. But even if it's only for a period of time, I feel a teacher can catch things for you, to help you along the way. So I guess I'm saying 'both.' At least at first, and definitely in the beginning.

I've taught myself several things on my own, from auto mechanics to computer programs, and I can't think of any of them, that if I'd had someone showing me the basics along the way, that I wouldn't have learned faster, had I had someone to show me.

Of course there's something to be said about learning things the 'hard way,' with the idea that those "lessons" tend to really stick with you.

Someone can tell me to always pull on the wrench when trying to loosen a tight bolt, but once I busted my knuckles, I never forgot!

 

[Eagle]

Whatever gets you hooked because then you will set yourself on the path. Even with teachers and all the best assistance you need to be obsessed to improve or you will never get past F7 .

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Everyone has a preferred style of learning. The only way to figure out that style is to expose someone to as many different styles and see what sticks.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Someone can tell me to always pull on the wrench when trying to loosen a tight bolt, but once I busted my knuckles, I never forgot!

I will say though, playing with a bass player and drummer was ultimately the best teacher. There's no substitute for that.
Music books are kind of like recipes for cooking. Learning a lot of recipes is helpful for understanding how flavors and techniques produce tasty food. Playing music is actually the cooking part, and everybody cooks a bit differently. Grandma's pound cake recipe never quite tastes the same when we make it.

 

[JasonE]

I think the value that a teacher can bring is pretty important. When I started playing, I was self taught. I started around the age of 9. You can get books to learn to play chords and such. I collected books and materials over the years that added to my knowledge and playing. I got good enough to play in cover bands and held my own, until someone called me out to take an improvised solo in the middle of a song. I didn't have a deep enough understanding of how everything fit together to make that work without needing some time to prepare something. I got frustrated with where I was at with my playing and went to a guy I knew for lessons. We were able to start with theory and really dig in because of where I was with my level of knowledge. I spent a year taking lessons with him when he told me that he had taught me everything he knew. It was up to me to explore it and build my own style from there. This was the best thing I could have done for my playing. It connected a lot of dots for me and filled in some holes in my knowledge. It was really a springboard that took my playing to a whole new level. It was good to have someone that could help me understand the information in the materials I had accumulated over the years. I went on to teach others after that and I sort of specialized in taking people that were stuck like I was and getting them to being able to understand and use the information they had collected over the years they were playing.

I have not been playing nearly as much as I used to since separating from the last band I was in. I have started digging back into the theory again and trying to take it even farther and am planning on trying to use it to write some stuff of my own. I really feel that is the direction I want to go in. I always think back to when I made the decision to get assistance with this from someone that really understands it and can have conversations about it with me and fell good that I did it.

 

[Byrdman]

IMO, a good teacher will make sure that bad habits dont impede progress. Yes, progress will eventually happen with only practice, but it is probably not the most efficient way to learn.

 

[LeftyLoungeLizard]