7 Things You Need to Know About "The Christopher Parkening Guitar Method Vol 1" - Book Review

[@roberttarchara4711]

This book and Noad solo guitar playing books are the 2 best of all time for classical guitar instruction

[@susanchinchillo7497]

Thank you for taking the time to post this. My instructor has just begun to go over this book with me. :-) So glad you shared this.

[@GuitarBasement]

Awesome! Glad it was useful for you.

[@jliveguy5164]

Thanks for the video. Ordered the book yesterday and should be arriving by Friday!~

[@GuitarBasement]

Great! Something to look forward to.

[@guillotinedeath]

Haven’t played my classical in 3 years going through this book now!

[@GuitarBasement]

It's a good book to go through.

[@chrisgemmell102]

I practiced claasical guitar for 5 years but never managed to resolve the problem of tension in left hand. Didnt even realise it was an issue for a long time ...just strained away when i finally gave it up it was a relief.

[@gopmario]

Wonderful quick overview of the book. I bout the book and a guitar at the beginning of COVID, since I was locked down, I thought it would be a good way to stay creative. I’ve been really enjoying the process.

[@GuitarBasement]

Thanks. That's awesome.

[@juntin810]

it’s not a bad book. started with that 20 years ago. there’s two volumes. at the beginning stage, putting emphasis on scale practice is not as important as developing sight reading at position V, VII, IX on the fretboard as well as various rhythms. Setting the basic foundation of musicianship is far more beneficial because it will ease learning new pieces faster you practice scales more later on when developing accuracy on rest stroke, free stroke, and slurs as separate exercises few minutes at a time.

[@guidofeliz8384]

Greensleeves is actually What Child Is This, a very popular Christmas song.

[@GuitarBasement]

Right! It seems I've heard versions of this before without making the connection.

[@aavashb5808]

I recently started playing the classical guitar. I have no prior experience (in reading music and playing instruments). So far, I have liked the book. I am about 1/3rd of the whole way. Thanks for the review!

[@GuitarBasement]

Good for you! Keep going. Thanks for the comment.

[@JAAHUNGHAAM]

Can you please tell me what grade is this book? And what grade is the volume 2? Really need to know this.

[@GuitarBasement]

I'm not sure I can give a grade number, but in book 2, the 1st part is about learning technique and the notes in the upper positions. The 2nd part of book 2 is repertoire from Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods. Parkening Book 1 can be started as a beginner. Comparing with LCM grade books 1 through 8 which I have, the Parkening book 2 probably starts at around grade 3 or 4.

[@JAAHUNGHAAM]

@@GuitarBasement thanks

For me - best guitar method. I dont make every exercise with student. Best pieces, very efective in comparrison with other books. One disadvantages - There arent slurs described but in fact - You need it. There are needed in several pieces when play it in regual tempo. For example - Telemann Bourre duet, Kemps Jig, Italian dance Newsidler.

[@josephl9961]

I am stuck on reading the music, It be great if you could make another video about proper notes and finger placement when reading from this book.

[@GuitarBasement]

Hey Joseph, a good suggestion. Not sure if I would be able to get to that soon though. Thanks for the idea!

[@guidofeliz8384]

What guitar do you play?

[@GuitarBasement]

In the video what I am playing is nothing fancy. It's a Lucida LG 777. It seems to be worth less now (or about the same) than it was when I bought it. They no longer make it, but they can be a decent buy used if you find one in good shape at the right price.

[@Joshua_Froschauer]

Bravo on showing the mistake ya made on Ode to Joy...shows us you're real and how to just get on with it! Bet!!!

[@GuitarBasement]

Who me!? Make a mistake? Thanks for watching!

[@johnroberts1141]

Before you begin to criticize this book, you need to address your own guitar playing. It is not very musical, and it is choppy, and difficult to listen to.

[@GuitarBasement]

Haha! I spent about 12 minutes praising the book and showing examples (even though they were not musical enough), then a few seconds to voice an opinion. My bad!