Fifty Easy Classical Guitar Solos Classical Guitar

Customer Reviews

Good Package, Great Value

2008-03-05
I own several other "easy to intermediate" level repertoire books, and this one has some good pieces not found in any of my other books. I tend to disagree with the reviewers who suggest that there isn't enough variety among these songs--I was actually pretty impressed with the selections here. The CD is very good, because Willard plays slowly enough to make it more helpful than if he was racing along at concert speed. I sure wish I'd had a book/CD like this 20 or 30 years ago! I've played guitar off and on for over 30 years, but just purchased this 2 months ago. I took lessons for a few months way back in 1980 to learn the basics of classical guitar, and have mostly played classical since. However, I haven't played consistently because of re-occurring pain in fingers/joints, and also what I perceive as a lack of talent. So I'm still not much beyond the "advanced-beginner" stage. Which leads to my final reason for recommending this package, and why, for me, one little thing was probably worth the 12 bucks I paid: Willard has slightly modified Tarrega's lovely Study in E minor (one of the best pieces in this book), making it easier by eliminating a bar chord that has always been hard for me to play smoothly--and hurt my wrist... And the change doesn't detract from the beauty of the song. I'm now playing it better than ever, and it doesn't hurt!!!

Great pick-up-and-play repertoire!

2007-11-27
This was my first ever classical guitar book, and I don't regret it for a second! The tablature with standard notation is definitely the way to go for beginners; also, the pieces, as other reviewers have stated, are simple enough for one not extensively versed in classical music to play. However, be warned that this is no method book, and the pieces are not exactly graded (I still have trouble with some of the songs toward the middle). I also agree with most of the other reviewers about the biographies and lack of spiral binding; it would have been better to have technical terms explained, and not force me to clip the book to my stand all the time (shifting those clips after each song becomes a major drag after a while). Problems aside, I love the fact that after the nonsensical biographies, there is nothing but pure repertoire for the budding enthusiast to dig in to. The CD also helps to give the player a better idea of how to play the songs, and can double as a nice addition to your casual listening music collection. When my friends ask me how they can get started making music like me, I always recommend Fifty Easy Classical Guitar Solos!

Beginner

2007-07-05
I am a beginner and can play the first 5 songs perfectly. I like how the songs get progressivly more difficult. Great book. The CD is handy to preview how the songs should sound.

Fun, good tunes, easy, yet progressive

2007-04-05
I recently decided to take up classical guitar on my own after playing piano most of my life and diddling around with electric and acoustic guitars. While this book doesn't give any instruction, it is progressive, starting out with extremely simple pieces and working up to easy yet more complex works. Half way through, the pieces require special fingering, and the tablature and notation help show how it's done. I'd give the book five stars since it delivers what its title describes, but I think the book could have been prefaced with some intro to fingerings and other beginner techniques. Nevertheless, there are many books that cover that issue. The songs in this book have mostly a nice Spanish sound to them, and I have really enjoyed working on them. I'd recommend this book to any beginner, hobbiest, etc.

disappointed

2006-09-28
Ehhh, I'm truly disappointed in this book. It is truly for the very beginner and the songs are sub par. Many of the songs are very similar and just wasn't what I was looking for. I was hoping for something with more skill/technical. I would pass on this book if you have prior guitar experience.

Who are you?

2006-09-26
Selections from all periods of classical guitar literature, for the beginning or intermediate player, in both standard notation and tablature. Includes a full-length CD of performances by the author to guide you through your studies.

Landis

2006-04-25
Its ok if you are an absolut beginner but with as many as 50 pieces I think the variation in music and also difficulty could be better.

Good fro beginners

2006-02-18
This books is good for beginners, if you have some experience playing guitar the songs are very simple (boring?)

depends on what you're looking for

2005-08-22
I was actually looking for a decent book on Spanish ballads and I came across this book. This is a great book for beginner or intermediate classic CLASSIC guitar players. As many reviewers mentioned, the pieces get complicated as you go on BUT not necessarily faster in tempo, which is what I was looking for. If you're looking for fast pace pieces (yes, it's a technical term) such as classic Spanish ballads this is definitely not what you're looking for. Yes, there are some difficult pieces towards the end...but the reason they are complicated is that they weren't originally written for the Guitar. And one thing that struck me the most was that on the recording the pieces are played by an electric guitar with Harpsichord sort of effect, which really hurt...with all that, I gave the book five stars because pieces are very consistent and they go from easy to more complicated ones. All of them also have TABs which can be helpful for beginners...it just wasn't the book I was looking for...

Great collection of well written and performed solos

2005-05-29
The solos are enjoyable and varied. The author performs in the CD at a confortable speed so that a beginner to intermmediate student can follow.