A Modern Method for Guitar, Volume 1

Modern Method for Guitar #1

by William Leavitt

This money-saving value pack includes Volume 1 of this practical, comprehensive method book (the basic text for the guitar program at the world-famous Berklee College of Music) PLUS a matching DVD-ROM featuring 14 complete lessons with Larry Baione, chair of Berklee's guitar department. Owning this pack is like having access to a year's worth of private guitar lessons at Berklee for only $34.95 This DVD-ROM is compatible with all Windows operating systems and Mac operating systems through Mac OS X 10.6, though not on OSX 10.7 (Lion).

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1986

Reviews

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you already know how to read music from playing a classical instrument I think this is the perfect book to start learning guitar with. In my case I was coming from playing the violin for eight years in my youth and being familiar with another string instrument really helped with self instruction because I understood what each exercise in the book was trying to teach me in terms of technique and theory.

If you're completely new to playing a musical instrument but you're serious about getting good, I would definitely get a teacher who teaches you to read music. I've only played the guitar for eight months so I'm not an expert by any means but from a pedagogical perspective I think lot more beginners would benefit from learning to read music right away. There's definitely a steeper learning curve but I think it sets up the foundation for long term progress.

[Serge Pierro · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best book/series on the market to learn how to read music on the guitar. The first half of the book covers the open position, while the second half starts to work on the closed positions. Seeing as Leavitt was a fan of George Van Eps, the voice leading in the pieces are excellent. I've used this for 30 years of teaching and still find it to be the best method to teach a serious player how to read.

[William Dennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides the basic structure that you can fill in with the subsequent volumes of the series. Part two begins a deep dive into position playing and expands on part 1. I am just digging into volume 3 now, (via the all-in-one edition,) and it seems that by the time you’re done with volume 3, you are in outer space and ready to tackle anything. You achieve all 12 major keys in one six-fret block, and can play each key all along the fretboard. I like how by the end, the student has mastered any small section of the fretboard, and the fretboard as a whole. I unfortunately never met Leavitt, but I did study with one of his students at Berklee back in the day. He was a highly respected player, author and teacher who dedicated his life to making some sense of the zany guitar.

[Mrugesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great method book. Something new is introduced in each and every exercise. It is thoroughly enjoyable as well.

Update (2011-10-30):
I have barely completed a quarter of the book so far and I'm already rating it at five stars. It's simply outstanding. The exercises are challenging and yet thoroughly enjoyable. There's something new to learn with each exercise, as I'm mentioned earlier.

At this point, however, I would probably not recommend it to a complete beginner. A good prior experience with playing guitar and having a basic knowledge of reading music would be recommended before starting with this method.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the main method I use for teaching college students sight-reading. Some of the finger stretches Bill Leavitt does are strange but they make sense later in the book and in other volumes of the series. This is a book where you do everything Leavitt says and read very carefully. Also the duets are very important because he often includes new concepts in them for the first time. This is a great book for systematically learning music fundamentals, guitar technique and sight-reading. Highly recommended for intermediate levels and higher.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

My uncle started me on this book only a few months after beginning guitar lessons and I'm so glad it's my foundation. The material is presented at a steady pace, and is both stylish and parsimonious. While the book says not to practice a particular page over-and-over, I violated this rule and found I improved much better. When I attended Berklee seven years later, the proficiency tests were a breeze and no chord chart could stump me. It's the perfect complement to learning favorite songs & solos on your guitar journey!

[Melih Algan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

İt is one of the best modern guitar metod. Simple, progressive and fluent. All series vol. 1 through 3 are usefull for all level players

[Maradox · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first 20 pages are a rosetta stone for people going from tabs to sheet music, especially if they already read sheet music for another instrument.