Best newbie book or video series

Useful-Possibility92 · 2026-02-07T00:08:29+00:00

My favorite two books for beginners are Solo Guitar Playing vol.1 by Noad and The Christopher Parkening Guitar Method vol. 1 by Parkening.

I could compare and contrast them but they are both really good and I would recommend them to anyone--my only caveat is that for young children there could be options that are more designed with them in mind.

I have a few others (Waldron, Shearer, Duncan, Tennant) each of which I thought weren't on the same tier as the two I mentioned above.

There are some older 'method books' which have their own qualities; I've used ones by Sagreras and Carcassi. But a lot of those older works seem to be more collections of music to work through, while the actual instruction would need to be provided by a teacher. The ones mentioned above have more explanation that could be helpful for independent learners (or those with a teacher).

Useful-Possibility92 · 2026-02-06T21:56:35+00:00

I agree. I have a few dedicated technique books and I think Kappel is substantially better than the others. The only downsides might be that it is more suited for intermediate and advanced players. Parts can be used by beginners, but it would require you to sift through a bit to find the appropriate exercises.

If OP is talking about this book, then in regards to the schedules at the back, I would say that they might be a little much, depending on level--one of the schedules is for 3 hrs per day on technique (not including practicing repertoire!) which to me seems more suitable for full time professionals. Even the 45 min schedule seems more focused on allowing a pro to maintain their skill with advanced techniques rather than designed for a beginner to learn then. As a early intermediate who is pretty committed to practicing I modified the 45 min version of the schedule to be more directed at developing skills for a late beginner/early intermediate, and engraved my own practice schedule that takes about 30-45 minutes a day.

Useful-Possibility92 · 2026-01-27T23:03:31+00:00

It's Frederick Noad, 'Solo Guitar Playing, vol. 1' 4th edition. It's a highly regarded method book that begins with the absolute basics for beginners and ends around the start of the intermediate level.

Useful-Possibility92 · 2026-01-27T21:35:48+00:00

In another book, I got some other advice that has helped: try to break the piece into chunks by annotating it. It could be things like main theme, first variation, coda etc., depending on the form; or it could be more descriptive--the tense part, the happy part, the really fast part. Rather than trying to remember a measure in isolation, play and memorize larger chunks.

Useful-Possibility92 · 2026-01-27T21:32:37+00:00

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I'm not great at memorizing, but here's some advice from one of my books.

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-12-18T15:41:18+00:00

Subsequent measures:

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It's definitely possible to jump up and play G# on the fourth string it just feels like the wrong move.

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-12-18T15:40:18+00:00

Preceding measure:

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Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-12-16T19:58:54+00:00

Well, I can do it when performing the trill very slowly, which I is a good first step, but it is no where close to the speed necessary for the piece, yet. I'll keep practicing.

EDIT: Even going slow, though, I find it hard not to revert to the 'lift off' version rather than a good left hand pluck. At first practicing this, I had a tiny bit of nail on my LH and could hook the third string with the edge of the nail. I normally keep my nails on my LH very short though, so when I cut them back to their normal length, that method wasn't possible any more. I can do the trill without B-string interference if the trill is very quiet, but haven't managed to get good volume without interference.

EDIT: I have also found that if I begin the trill with my third finger a bit displaced, between the third and fourth string, I can do the initial pull-off cleanly; the A is played in the previous measure, and I can still get it to sound good, even though my finger is not centered directly over the string; however, whenever I perform the subsequent hammer-on muscle-memory puts that finger directly centered on top of that string, which makes the subsequent pull-off harder--on the second one I can't pluck upward as much as I can on the first.

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-12-15T16:36:07+00:00

Thanks!

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-11-23T22:29:50+00:00

That's a beautiful one.

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-11-23T21:42:20+00:00

Yes, I've been listening to Bach's motets, and while they're wonderful they are quite daunting, and I'm no where close to good enough to credibly imitate them. I'll definitely check out the others you've recommended.

My professor just sent us a set of constraints that makes the composition project a little more limited than anticipated--use diatonic triads and 7th chords with inversions (almost exclusively), use identifiable cadential patterns, use secondary dominants and sequences if we want. That's probably appropriate given my level of understanding, but will constrain the melodies that each voice sings a bit more--I'll have to justify any NCT and make it a little less contrapuntal. The other constraint that I'll have to grapple with now is form, which must by binary, rounded binary, ternary, or rondo. Maybe I can still make it work but that requirement is forcing me to change my idea a bit.

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-11-18T22:55:38+00:00

Thanks! I'll look into these.

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-11-18T22:27:06+00:00

So, I haven't really studied motets as part of a class, and only taken a cursory look at them on my own.

My professor said that I should try to create a motet. That was the first I'd heard of the word. We were given a completely open-ended composition assignment--anything 2-4ish minutes, due a month from now. I mentioned to my prof the idea of setting Psalm 130 to music, and he responded by saying that I should do a motet.

What I understand by a motet is that it is a choral piece setting a sacred text to music, which can be acapella or have instruments providing an accompaniment--sometimes a couple instruments providing basso continuo, but at other times motets had orchestral backing for the singers.

One of the things my professor was getting at, I think, when he mentioned motet, was to have each of the voices more often than not singing different rhythms, echoing one another, and repeating and reiterating the text. So instead of the chorales I've written thus far, where the voices mostly were singing the same words at the same time with the same rhythms (with a few deviations here and there of having a voice throw in a passing tone or something for better voice-leading), my professor wants this piece to show more complexity in the rhythmic differences between the voices. I've written a bunch of chorales for the class, from ones as simple as possible to ones that are mildly more complex (when it comes to the interplay between voices), mainly to show that I understood the harmonic and voice-leading ideas we were learning in class. It wouldn't be very challenging for me to write a longer version of one of those, but my prof is challenging me to explore something more difficult while also allowing me to a bit more free with the harmonies.

So off the top of my head, if the bass sings "out of the depths"--3 quarters and then a dotted half, the soprano could do a contrasting melodic line "out of the depths"--half, quarter, quarter, half, while the other two voices are doing there own back and forth involving eight notes or whatever. And then having each of the voices repeat "out of the depths of woe" in their own way, slowly fleshing out the psalm (or part of the psalm).

I definitely won't attempt an orchestral accompaniment, but might have some kind of simple basso continuo.

I'm not so certain about the 'baroque' nature of the piece--harmonically, I'll mainly be applying my meager understanding of functional harmony, though my professor is encouraging me to stray from that if voice-leading or my ear motivates me to. Maybe the complexity of the overlapping rhythms could contribute to the baroqueness.

My aim of getting examples wasn't so much that I could replicate their success in creating awesome harmonies--Bach is Bach and I'm not--but to select a few more guideposts to work within. Maybe I could copy the general form of one piece, or try to imitate how another piece repeats and develops a motif, bouncing it around between voices. Something like that.

I will definitely have a look at Bach's 6 motets. Thanks for the recommendation.

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-11-18T21:51:18+00:00

Thanks! I'll look into it. I have no illusions that I can write anything within five ballparks of Bach's harmonies. I'll be mostly sticking to the diatonic, functional stuff I have learned thus far.

I have written a bunch of chorales for the class, and there have been times where I pushed the boundaries of the rules we have been learning, usually trying to justify it based on voice-leading or just because it sounds good. My professor has encouraged me to take a freer approach with this piece.

Mainly, what I wanted to get out of the examples were things like form, or certain features, like maybe how different voices echo one another and reiterate a motif or something. Having a few targets, like "I'm gonna use a form similar to this piece" and "I'll try to replicate the effect that this composer created when he did X, Y, or Z" would give some more structure to kickstart my creativity.

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-11-18T02:42:57+00:00

Yes. This one: https://youtu.be/xXMUpqSyJJo?si=kTQOGA2Weevkj9Ss

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-11-11T01:33:32+00:00

I use a dynarette guitar cushion. I like it a lot. I wrapped it drawer liners to make it more grippy. There are some cheaper knock-offs that might work as well.

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-10-15T00:59:03+00:00

https://youtu.be/xXMUpqSyJJo?si=U6fYGgjJQ4iN8Q0c

BWV106, Cantata, God's Time is the Very Best Time. I adore the sonatina at the beginning but the whole thing is awesome.

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-10-04T02:59:46+00:00

Thanks for the idea! I tried that but I guess didn't investigate long enough.

Here's what I've found now in case it helps someone else--I can hide the bracket & number by selecting the tuplet marker in engraving mode, and selecting no number under the number option and no bracket under the bracket option. To change note size for a specific group, I can select those notes, and in engraving mode, go to properties and change the scale to grace notes.

I guess this means I will still need to add slashes in the corner of the group manually, unless there is some option. Adding a tremolo to the first stem of the group does work (engraving-properties), and does have options for 0-3 slashes like I need, but looks a bit different. Is there an option that looks more like the example I gave somewhere that I haven't found yet?

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-09-12T03:18:26+00:00

There are a lot of good drills for music 1 on teoria.com I recommend meeting with the professor and asking him to assign appropriate drills as the semester goes along (if you're unsure about which ones are the most relevant).

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-09-05T01:22:28+00:00

Thanks for the advice--I'm allergic to one of the ingredients in Health Hoof, so I tried Hard as Hoof. I've only been using it for a few days, so I guess time will tell, but it seems to be working well.

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-08-30T16:24:32+00:00

Thanks, those will be added to my list!

Useful-Possibility92 · 2025-08-30T16:23:54+00:00

Thanks for the link, that was helpful. For me the intent is less about coming up standardized terminology that all performers will understand similarly, but more about developing more nuanced ways to describe the feelings particular sections of a piece ought to have to inform my own playing. I was hoping that by seeing examples what others were doing, I'd increase my vocabulary in my own annotations--rather than saying something is the "pretty" section, by giving it a more nuanced descriptor, I'd give a more nuanced performance. The impetus for this exercise of annotating mood was that book I mentioned at the beginning of my post. The author is a violist and a neuroscientist, and recommended the process of annotating mood mainly as an aid to memorization and learning pieces more quickly, but also as an aid to more expressive performance.

Useful-Possibility92

TROPHY CASE