Learning from guitar "Method" books?
 

I would be very interested to know if you have, or have not, learned recently from a guitar "method" book. This is kind of an informal poll.

I distinguish that type of book from one in which the author shares tab/music and you decide to learn from that. If a book has a bit of theory but is predominantly tab/music, I wouldn't consider that a "method" book for the purpose of my little poll.

Your input is very important to me. I am considering a direction for some substantial effort on my part. Please don't hesitate to share, whatever your level of guitar-playing, time, or interest. It would be helpful to know the ages of those responding, but if you don't want to share that, I understand. (I'm 71, btw, a fact that I can't - or don't want to - fully grasp. :)) If you think your personal or musical background would be relevant, please offer some info on that front.

Thanks for your input!

El

I am currently using the Hal Leonard guitar method books with an instructor.

67 year old retired band director.

I think it's essential, or at least extremely helpful, to know where you want to go on this journey.

I had my students use the first half of book 1 of any of the popular methods (Mel Bay, etc.) to learn a bit of theory and reading fluency on the 6 strings in first position.

After that I used Aaron Shearer Classic Guitar Technique Book 1&2. Some very nice, fairly easy guitar music in there and it provided a solid fingerstyle training. He has other books. I added most of the music theory work myself in lessons.

Some of them went on to become serious classical players and most of the young men went on to rock guitar.

But your goals are an important part of the process. If you wanted to learn enough technique to strum simple chords as a vocal background my plan would definitely be overkill.

I did have a student who ended up liking quite a bit of acoustic guitar vocal music and I would spend half his lessons correcting the music he downloaded from the interwebs. I quickly learned that I didn't enjoy that much.

If you're within driving distance of a college with music majors you might want to explore the possibility of an occasional lesson with the guitar teacher. If they were willing: take a lesson and call to schedule the next lesson when you went as far as you could on your own (maybe months).

I usually found more traditional method books frustrating (especially those that only used standard notation). I find video lessons that include tab the most useful.

My 1st guitar teacher used "method" books and sheet music with zero ear training. It forced me to become what I call "paper-trained". I couldn't play anything without having the sheet music in front of me.

There has to be some ear training mixed into any teaching & learning process.

Play a simple tune and get the student to find the melody notes on the fret-board & then expand upon that with more difficult songs.

I read somewhere, maybe here, that Mel Bay's guitar method, grade 1 is the grand-daddy of all instruction books. As far as starting out, learning a solid foundation with the core fundamentals.

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I personally got a TON of value out of working through Mel Bay in high school and things like William Leavitt volume 1 and others later in life. I loved the connection of notes on the page to pitches on the instrument... and just working fundamentals of pick technique etc., in a way which felt similar to my previous band experience in school.

Then, when I started teaching private guitar lessons in my 20s, I wasn't quite prepared for the difficulty that learning to play music from notation would present many of my students. It seemed far slower than my first time through. It finally dawned on me that my experience had just been pretty different from there's. Most of MY training had come from the several years of band instruction prior to my own self-study in my first guitar method book.

Anyway, all of that to say: if you've never done formal music training in a school program or private lessons, a competent TEACHER is probably the more important factor in the process, much moreso than the book itself. The first go-through on a first instrument is just slower. It will save a lot of time and headache to have a teacher if thirds never done that.

I am of a "mature" age, strong music background, and have used various method books for fingerstyle, flat-picking, and classical (mainly to learn the nuances of the different styles.) I was self-taught on guitar from the 1960s, but already played piano so I read music. I put the guitar away for a lot of years as work/family/life got in the way. Picked the guitar back up probably 8-10 years ago, and definitely prefer classical with some strumming, folk, and fingerpicking/flatpicking.

I'm not really sure what you are asking. Is this a question for new players or seasoned old guys who learned from various methods? If its the latter, here's my crooked learning path..

As a very young child I would sit and watch my sister and mother play and wonder how the squiggles on the paper in front of them got onto the white and black keys under their fingers. I had piano lessons for a while sometime between the ages of 4 to 6. Between the lessons and music classes in elementary school I learned how to read rudimentary notation and understand what 4/4 meant and the note and some of the rests' durations. Somewhere in there I learned to "keep time."

The above paragraph is probably the most critical portion of my musical education.

The rest of the time was just learning to play chords and songs with my friends and then when I got much older I decided to learn fingerstyle, talent or no talent :D I learn from tabs, videos and books, but mostly from the tabs of tunes I want to play.

El - are you planning on putting together your own method book?

I agree that that is essential. Without knowing that, there is no way to determine what sort of book, lessons or teacher would best help you get to where you want to go.

If you want to play classical music, for example, a book or teacher that teaches chords and strumming will not be helpful. If you want to strum some chords to accompany singing, for example, a book or teacher that teaches sight reading and lots of technique probably isn't a very direct path to where you want to go.

You can always change your destination along your way, but identifying a starting point is essential. The guitar has a huge range of possibilities, from Segovia to Dylan. Different possibilities require different paths to successfully achieve them.

I'm mulling it over, for CGAD tuning, frankly--but I think maybe a video of my discussing it would be more helpful.

I started on guitar 5 years ago at age 62. I could read music from studying trumpet in high school. I used the Mel Bay Method books 1 thru 6. With no tabs, it forced me to learn the fretboard.

I’m currently mostly flatpicking fiddle tunes, bluegrass, some blues (hardly any fingerpicking) and more than half time on 12-fret guitars. I spend most time in open, 2nd, 5th, and 7th positions. Most fiddle tune books have tabs. I only refer to them to see where author decides where to change positions. I can read music much faster than following tabs. Instructing at Guitars for Veterans is giving me rhythm and chording practice.

I’d be hard pressed to memorize more than 5 songs, so it’s all playing out of books. I have a 20-inch high stack of books that I cycle through. Perfection is not necessary because I’ll play the tune again in 1 or 2 weeks. Steady gradual progress is sufficiently satisfying.

My guitar playing goal is old-guy brain exercise, personal amusement, and guitar appreciation (some days playing 5 different guitars). All fun; no pressure; no public performance. Also dabble in mandolin, violin, piano, flute, and penny whistle. Retirement is great.

When I foolishly took up pedal steel guitar at age 56, the method book I used was indispensable. While I didn't end up getting very far in that instrument, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere without that book. Similarly, David Hamburger's book on Acoustic Slide Guitar really jump-started my learning of that style, which continues to comprise a good portion of my playing these days.

In short, I'm a fan of method books. It's nice to not have my eyes fixed on a computer screen; with a book, I can operate at my own pace, take notes in the margins, and easily revisit sections I've bookmarked. Now 59, I'm decidedly old-school, but I feel most comfortable reading and learning from print media.