Acoustic Guitar Styles

Rating:
Summary: A very fine self-teaching guide
Review: Acoustic Guitar Styles For Beginning And Intermediate Guitarists by guitar authority and instructor Larry Sandberg is a very fine self-teaching guide featuring essential instructions as to basic chords, picking and plucking patterns, using alternating bass notes, and a variety of guitar styles such as melodic finger picking and country blues. Practice pieces (all of which are real songs) offer exercises galore to hone one's skill. A finely rendered audio CD enhanced with this staunch and useful tool for student musicians of the acoustic guitar.

Rating:
Summary: Great Self Teaching Resource for Acoustic Guitar
Review: I originally found this book at my local library. After checking it out and working with it and the CD, I just had to buy this book! It's a keeper. I had been learning the guitar 20 some odd years ago, and wanted to pick it up again. I knew most of the basic chords, but couldn't put them into anything that sounded "musical."
This book works through a variety of techniques: hammer-ons, pull-offs, bass runs, plucking, travis picking, and carter style strumming. I love Bluegrass music, but the styles learned here can be applied to any style of music on the acustic guitar.
The songs that can be learned are pretty good too: Railroad Bill, The Cuckoo, Wildwood Flower, and several others. One neat thing is that the author plays each song in a different musical style as you learn it! There is also a short Blues section too.
I wouldn't say this is the only book to have, but it's a great one to Begin with if you are just starting out.