Hal Leonard Guitar Method, Complete Edition: Books & CD's 1, 2 and 3

This is a great product for learning the guitar from the beginning. Very thorough and the CD's really help. I believe a DVD would have made it more complete though. Maybe something to show you a few quick chords or easy song to keep you excited about learning more.

Good guitar book. Son loves it. This item WAS shipped to me, however, I'm VERY VERY disappointed in Amazon's overall lackluster, unreliable (lack of shipping) to military APO addresses. In general, they've shipped to my military APO address about 60% (if that) of the time - for very basic items. Many purchases were not made because items can't be shipped to me, other items I had to have shipped somewhere else and pay additional shipping to get item mailed to me. Shame on Amazon! Unfortunately I've received NO good answer from Amazon!

I bought this book with the intention of using it as a "do it yourself" guide until I had some basic skills. At that time I intended to seek professional help. I was however, advised to find an instructor immediately. I checked around and found an individual with excellent references. He told me to bring some extra money on day one because there is a book he uses with all his students. You guessed it - "Hal Leonard Guitar Method, Complete Edition." I wish I could say that the book has made me the second coming of Jimi Hendrix. Not yet.

The CDs are stupendous. At first I wanted to use them as frisbees, but they are great for forcing you to recognize the rhythm and to "keep up" with it. It would be impossible to accomplish this quickly by seeing your instructor only once a week.

The large and varied collection of songs in the book is phenomenal. You find yourself playing recognizable tunes after mastering only two strings.

Highly recommended. A good instructor really helps too.

I teach beginner guitar to young students. This book is an excellent resource for them. It teaches the basics at a slow, steady pace which I've found to be highly effective over the fast paced books for children. It encourages students to learn to read music and learn the basics of music theory, equipping them to become musicians and not just guitarists. The CD's are added bonuses as a teaching tool!

I bought this to try and learn to play the guitar and so far have gotten through a couple of lessons. Sadly, I'm having trouble sticking to continue the lessons, but none of it is the book's fault.
The CD provides play along and really helps you understand. I however found the electric guitar harder to tell between notes, but I suppose I'll deliver a ear for it as time goes on.
If your to get 1 book for learning how to play guitar, this should be your first choice. Has almost everything that you could possibly need. I couldn't find scales, but I didn't look hard enough so they're probably already there.