Ultimate Guitar Technique: Private Lessons Series

They weren't kidding when they named this book the Ultimate Guide to Guitar Techniques. This book was a great purchase for me. It introduced me to numerous techniques. I could not do a pull off, but after sticking with it, I'm doing the all the time. This book addressed the concept of downward pressure as it applies to the fretting notes with your left hand. The exercises have helped me tremendously. I can stretch, minimize movement and I'm gaining more and more finger independence. This book is defiitely the book that every guitarist should have because it is a bible of guitar techniques. I highly recommend this book. Even if the exercises get a little difficult, I stick with it and, "voila", suddenly, I have it down and it has become a part of my playing style. More than I expected.

This book covers all the techniques you need to know to play contemporary music and all examples in the book have an audio demonstration. Practice with this book an hour a day, and believe me - you'll see a lot of progress.

For anyone who is trying to learn more about music and the kind of tips that help you grow as a player this book is awesome. I have bought several of the Musician's Institute guitar books and they are all excellent in instruction of music and guitar. I highly recommend any of their books to anyone who is trying to teach themselves guitar playing.

I am only a short way into this book and have put it aside. At first it seemed great. The first few lessons were simple and to the point. I grasped the concept and gained skill. Then with just a page turn I found myself struggling with examples that were written for someone far more advanced.The guy who wrote this is obviously an accomplished guitarist. You can tell by his sample tracks. However, not being this skilled I found the exercises too difficult to grasp the basic concept being taught. I had to concentrate so much on just trying to play the lick itself I lost the concept of the technique. If you're advanced, this might be great for you. I'm going to try another title.

I have 4 or 5 of these technique books. I really like this one because of the layout of the exercises as well as the content. They cover so many techniques and have so many examples. The sections on alternate picking seem to cover just about every combination of guitar notes for the span of a measure. Many of the exercises are simple, while others are difficult (at least to me), often depending on how fast you perform them. Of course, the point is that if the example is too hard at one speed, slow it down until you can perform it flawlessly and then speed it up.

While I have only read the initial chapter - Left hand Concerns - if it is any indication then this book is a worthwhile investment for any budding guitarist. I have never seen a book that addresses the concept of downward pressure as it applies to the fretting hand and walks step by step through what the fretting hand should be doing while playing an A pentatonic scale at the fifth fret. From the get-go, an exact picture is presented of what is expected of the reader. The exercises in this chapter - which focus on stretching, minimizing movement and finger independence will help most budding players like myself.I sure wish the publisher would give this book the Look Inside treatment, it is pretty comprehensive and a one-stop shop for all sorts of techniques and introductions to different idioms.Pick it up today.

This Lexicon goes through everything. As a guitar instructor, this seems like a great tool for if a student brings up techniques that you are not sure how to teach. Think of this as a Technique Dictionary more than a lesson book.Bill LaFleur, formerly the Yoda of GIT, is one of the great guitar instructors.

Covers all techniques relating to guitar playing. Only a page or so on each one. But good as reference and overview of each technique.

Good book. Recommend it to beginners and more advanced guitarists.

This is the most difficult book about guitar technique.Prior knowledge of guitar basics is assumed; this book is meant to perfect what you know and what you will learn in the book and CD. The degree of difficulty in learning this technique is high and it will take a lot of practice to work your way through the book.The book starts at at an advanced stage, namely, how to prevent strings from vibrating, ensuring that only the intended string makes a sound. There are a variety of ways of accomplishing this but this is where the author starts with left hand muting and teaches you a style of playing where you become a master of the instrument. There is only one way of correctly playing guitar, the author's. The exercises will have you cursing but they have to be perfected to play well.My own preference for a technique book is Carl Culpepper's Terrifying Technique for Guitar, a somewhat tamer book and CD combination that despite the title, is more sparing in its teaching method. Terrifying Technique for Guitar (Paperback)Terrifying Technique for Guitar (Paperback)