ISBN 9781619117143.

This is the flagship book in Mel Bay's Achieving Guitar Artistry series. Herein you will find an extensive collection of linear pieces with interesting melodic content. Frequent performance of these etudes will not only enhance technique, but offer the guitarist a wonderful opportunity to improve tone, touch and lyrical phrasing.We suggest playing each etude at a slow tempo at first, the goal being to achieve a clear and beautiful tone on every note. The next objective is to develop a sense of lyrical completeness to each musical phrase. Make the phrases sing! Once you have achieved the desired quality of tone and expression, increase the tempo to work on the technique.Mel Bay's Guitar Journals - Mastering the Fingerboard: The Reading Book (MB20903) would make an ideal supplement to Linear Guitar Etudes as it presents etudes in all keys and positions.The pieces in Linear Guitar Etudes are multi-positional. That is, the player will be required to move from position to position on the fingerboard. The music is presented in standard notation only, with left-hand fingering included on the more complex passages, and circled numbers to indicate the strings where certainnotes and passages are to be played.These etudes sound good on both nylon and steel-string guitars, and will be a valuable addition to the music library of any guitarist, enhancing their abilities regardless of the style of music played.

Song List:

Adoro Devote

All My Trials

All the Way My Savior Leads Me Lowry CrosbyINeed Thee Every Hour Lowry Hawks

Balm in Gilead

Benediction

Bread of the World Eucharistic Hymn

Canticle #1

Canticle #2

Close to Thee Vail Crosby Every Day and Every Hour Doane Crosby

Come to the Feast

Compline

Consecration

Deep River

Evening Prayer

Gloria

God Unseen Yet Ever Near St Flavian

Have Thine Own Way, Lord Adelaide

He Hideth My Soul Kirkpatrick Crosby

Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face Penitentia

Higher Ground Gabriel Oatman

Hold to God?s Unchanging Hand Eiland

Holy Is The Lord

I Love to Tell the Story Fischer Hankey

At the Cross Hudson Watts

I Will Arise and Go to Jesus Arise

I Will Praise Him Harris More Love to Thee Doane Prentiss

Jesu, Joy of Man?s Desiring

Jesus Paid It All Grape HallI Am Coming, Lord Hartsough

Jesus Spreads His Banner O?er Us Autumn

Just As I Am Woodworth

Kyrie Eleison

Lamb Of God

Lenten Meditation

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence Picardy

Let Us Break Bread Together

Light Of The World

Litany

Lonesome Valley

Look Down That Lonesome Road

Lord, I?m Coming Home Kirkpatrick Draw Me Nearer Kirkpatrick Crosby

Lord, Speak to Me Canonbury

Meditation on Psalm

My Faith Looks Up to Thee Olivet

My Lord, My God

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

Resignation

Nearer, My God, to Thee Bethany

Never Alone Anon

Night Prayer

Nobody Knows The Trouble I?ve Seen

O Esca Viatorum

Pass Me Not Doane Crosby

Only Trust Him Stockton

Peace

Praxis Pietatis Melica

Prayer

Prayer of Simeon

Psalm 102:1 Hear My Prayer, O Lord

Psalm 118:24 This Is the Day That the Lord Hath Made

Psalm 119:28 My Soul Is Heavy with Sorrow

Psalm 126:6 They That Sow in Tears

Psalm 128:1 Blessed Are They That Fear the Lord

Psalm 139:7 Where Shall I Go From Thy Spirit

Psalm 142:3 When My Spirit Grows Faint Within Me

Psalm 144:3 Lord, What Is Man

Psalm 16:1 Keep Me Safe, O God

Psalm 19:1 The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

Psalm 34:18 The Lord Is Close to the Broken Hearted

Psalm 65:2 Thou That Hearest Prayer

Psalm 88:13 Unto Thee Have I Cried, O Lord

Rendez a Dieu

Sanctus

Shall We Gather at the River Lowry

Softly And Tenderly

Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child

St Gregory Chorale

Steal Away

Sweet By and By Webster Bennett Leaning on the Everlasting Arms Showalter Hoffman

Sweet Hour of Prayer Showalter Hoffman Is Your All on the Altar Hoffman

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

The Lord?s Supper Way

To God Be the Glory Doane Crosby

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus He Is Lord

Wade In The Water

Wayfaring Stranger

We Give Thee Thanks

Were You There

What a Friend We Have in Jesus Converse

When I Lay My Burdens Down

An arrangement of the Flamenco style (palo) Tientos for solo acoustic guitar. The piece is based on traditional themes for the Tientos that I have expanded and elaborated on to weave together a self-contained composition that lies somewhere between Brahms? Hungarian Dances and Dvorak?s Slavic Dances. The composition is inspired by my studies with Juan Gonz�lez ?Triguito? in Madrid in the late 1960s. The Tientos belongs to the Tango family of Flamenco styles and is a slow majestic Flamenco rhythm that can reach great emotional depth in the hands of skilled guitarists. The Tientos is notated in standard 4/4 measures that although seemly simple can be deceptively complex because of the nearly inexhaustible possibilities for rhythmic variation. Lots of tapping can be found in the notation together with melody and chords, but also alone at rests which I leave in the notation. The tapping is perhaps a vestige of the African origin attributed to the Tango family of Flamenco palos. The arrangement ends with a finale (macho) that moves from the Tientos through a few bars of Tango to a finish in Rumba Gitana, the fastest and liveliest member of the Tango family.The Tientos is played in a Phrygian modal that moves from D minor through C and B-flat to A or A7. This variant of the so-called Andalusian cadence is typical for gitano Flamenco palos.The piece can be played by students of Flamenco guitar at the intermediate to advanced levels and contains many essential elements of serious (jondo) Flamenco guitar playing.

ISBN 9781619117501.

Among fretted-instrument players there is an expression that states, The fret hand marks a player, but the pick hand distinguishes an artist. The 23 original compositions in this book offer a fresh basis to explore and develop plectrum or pick-style playing technique to a professional level. These pieces require various playing techniques and include: linear studies, double-stops, counterpoint, and chord playing. By studying and learning these pieces, guitarists can not only refine their technical mastery, but also enhance their skill level and artistry in solo guitar performance. This collection also includes eight duet arrangements to be played by two guitarists. The duets are fun to play as student/teacher sight-reading exercises, and can be used as guitar duo performance repertoire as well. The music is written in standard notation only. Access to online audio is included for all 31 pieces.

ISBN 9781619117303.

Achieving Guitar Artistry - Concert Solos is a collection of 56 solos reflecting a wide array of colors, textures and moods. These were originally written for plectrum or flatpick guitar but may be played by the classical or fingerstyle guitarist. The solos range in difficulty from intermediate to advanced and will work wonderfully in recital or concert settings. Many of the solos encourage creativity with tone, expression and phrasing. Others are up-tempo and utilize Latin, jazz, bluegrass and Celtic rhythms. An ample amount of fingering and string markings are presented on each solo.This is the third book in the Mel Bay Achieving Guitar Artistry series. It follows Linear Guitar Etudes and Triads. The goal of this series is to present material able to develop the serious guitar student into a very accomplished player.