Teaching Books for Beginner and Intermediate Students

By on May 1, 2011 in Classical Guitar Canada Blog, Free and Recommended Sheet Music, Lessons, Tips and My Week Teaching

Sometimes we all need to remember to really complete some work on solid methods. The first two I’ve listed here are not the most “fun” but they instill solid musical training. They need to be completed a little bit each day rather and bought, looked at for one week, and then shelved.

Remember, it may take going through the book three times before the concepts really sink in. As a teacher, going over this material every day with students has really helped my own development and understanding of instrument.

  1. Robert Benedict: Sight Reading for the Classical Guitar – Levels 1 to 3 & Sight Reading for the Classical Guitar – Levels 4 to 5: These books are very musical. The books focus on: “Daily Sight Reading Material with Emphasis on Interpretation, Phrasing, Form, and More.” However, in many ways they are method books minus the technique. This is the kind of book that every guitarist should go through with a teacher that focuses purely on the musical aspects rather than the guitar technique. Learn to properly play dynamics and with good phrasing. Violinists and cellists are no strangers to this kind of training and guitarists need to get on-board.
  2. Aaron Shearer Supplement 3 Scale Pattern Studies for Guitar: Hideously boring if you try to complete it all at once. But wonderful if you play it for 10 mins a day. 279 pages of scales and sight-reading on scale patterns. Actually making a connection between reading and scale patterns is key to reading success in guitar. Learn to read in every key and every position and stop the cycle of guitarist’s reputation as horrendous readers.
  3. Martha Masters: Reaching the Next Level: A Method For the Experienced Classical Guitarist
    A great book for guitarist’s making the transition to intermediate or advanced repertoire. It’s the text that matters in this book. The repertoire is good but limited, however it’s the text that discusses the art of practicing and how to approach pieces which makes the book excellent. It may become required reading in my studio.

I’ll also plug my own books (Bradford Werner):

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