ISBN 9781619118515.

Mastering the Classical Guitar, Book 1AA is the first in a progressive series using a wide variety of musical repertoire and educational material to provide a solid technical foundation for classical guitar students, exposing the full range of the instruments potential and repertoire.Book 1A is most appropriate for students with no prior knowledge of the guitar or music theory, or for those who simply want a fresh start with the classic guitar. It is written in three broad sections:A Progressive Studies and Pieces,A Technical ExercisesA andA Rhythmic Reading. Tips on how to integrate the three sections are provided throughout the book. Every chapter begins with exercises written specifically to improve a certain aspect of ones playing, followed by various examples from the classical music repertoire and traditional songs from various cultures.While every aspect of classical guitar technique is clearly described and illustrated, students using this book would still benefit from the advice and constructive feedback of a competent teacher. Consequently, teachers will find opportunities to assert their individual teaching perspectives within this method, making it a perfect road map for the instructor and students musical journey.Written in standard notation only,A Mastering the Classical Guitar, Book 1AA comes with extensive online audio examples. Fingering is kept to a minimum to encourage effective sight reading, allowing teachers and students to annotate their own ideas about digitation and contribute to their own learning process. Includes access to online audio.

ISBN 9781619117549.

The arts flourished in the Baroque period. Music from that time is still performed worldwide by symphonies, opera companies, choirs, chamber ensembles and soloists on many instruments. The period was characterized by the works of such great artists as J. S. Bach (b. 1685), Handel (b. 1685), Telemann (b. 1681) and many others. These composers defined the rich, ornate and melodic Baroque style of music which we categorize in the classical realm. There was another genre of music flourishing during this period, and that was the common or folk music style characterized by such composers as Ireland's legendary harpist, Turlough O'Carolan (b. 1670).In composing music for this book the author recreated harmonic and melodic elements of this great musical age, while adding some contemporary twists. All of the etudes are original and will serve to enhance guitar technique, phrasing, expression, note- reading ability, and knowledge of the entire guitar fingerboard. Fingering and string markings are included where appropriate.In addition to facilitating the many technical and aesthetic aspects of performing at an advanced level on the guitar, these etudes may be used successfully in concerts or recitals. This book is an ideal companion for the other books in the Mel Bay Achieving Guitar Artistry series, which is designed to condition and guide the developing guitarist to an advanced level of proficiency, regardless of the style of music performed.

ISBN 9781619119734.

Applicable to classic, flatpick or fingerstyle guitar, this excellent text relates scales and modes to chord construction, solo playing, and fretboard position a must for the advancing guitarist! Includes many outstanding original guitar studies to teach the guitarist how to apply the theoretical knowledge gained from under-standing, playing, and hearing the scales.

My idea of developing music from Richard of Gloucester's monologue 'Now is the winter of our discontent', and of generating more music from that material, was conceived during the 1960s. Ten years later it took a more concrete form, when Julian Bream suggested to me that I should write a substanial new guitar work for him. More time went by, and only having finished 'We Come to the River' could I begin to realise our plan. Then began a collaboration with the instrumentalist that went through various phases, from which I gained a more profound knowledge of the technicalities and of the sound-world of the guitar. I would even go so far as to say that this collaboration gave me a new concept of how to write for an instrument with a rich tradition. The guitar is a 'knowing' or 'knowledgeable' instrument, with many limitations but also many unexplored spaces and depths within these limits. It possesses a richness of sound capable of embracing everything one might find in a gigantic contemporary orchestra. but one has to start from silence in order to notice this: one has to pause, and completely exclude noise.
The dramatis personae of this piece enter through the sound of the guitar as if it were curtain. Through masks, voices and gestures, they speak to us of great passion, of tenderness, sadness and comedy: strange events in people's lives. Into this, the whispering voices of spirits are mingled. The epilogue is spoken by Oberon, pacified and reconciled, as though Nature had been subjected to Man.
- Hans Werner Henze.

ISBN 9781609748883. Joseph Castle has compiled and edited 76 time-honored classic guitar solos, reflecting his comprehensive knowledge of the guitar and of music in general. Selections range in time from 1500 through the Romantic period. Composers include Mozart, Carcassi, Beethoven, Gluck, and many others. Standard notation only.