What about William Leavitt's Modern Method for Guitar?

[Broadus]

I've been messing around with the guitar for a year now and have learned a lot of useful chords, gotten into barre chords, and been introduced to fingerstyle. I want to continue with these practical things, but I really want to understand what's going on with the guitar and reading music and so forth.

I've seen some good things about Leavitt's Modern Method for Guitar. Has anyone used it, and do you recommend it?

There is a 3-volumes in one, but volume one can also be purchased with a DVD.

My idea is to get Leavitt's book and work slowly through it while continuing to do more "fun" stuff like Mark Hanson's fingerstyle material. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Bill

[Howard Klepper]

It's a fine course; it's pretty much a standard text for jazz and studio players. Leavitt taught for many years at Berklee in Boston

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by Howard Klepper

It's a fine course; it's pretty much a standard text for jazz and studio players. Leavitt taught for many years at Berklee in Boston

Hey Howard,
The day that I dropped out of Berklee (fall of 1969), after being there for about 2 months and realizing I was never going to be a music teacher, I went to Bill's room to say goodbye, and I played him the rudimentary fingerpicking I'd taught myself while cutting several weeks of classes.

His comment to me was 'Hmmm.....that's interesting. Good luck'.

I only went to Berklee because I needed to avoid the draft, having drawn #42in the lottery.

I'm sure it's a great Guitar Method, but I was not a good student at that time in my life.

HE

[Broadus]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

Hey Howard,
The day that I dropped out of Berklee (fall of 1969), after being there for about 2 months and realizing I was never going to be a music teacher, I went to Bill's room to say goodbye, and I played him the rudimentary fingerpicking I'd taught myself while cutting several weeks of classes.

His comment to me was 'Hmmm.....that's interesting. Good luck'.

I only went to Berklee because I needed to avoid the draft, having drawn #42in the lottery.

I'm sure it's a great Guitar Method, but I was not a good student at that time in my life.

HE

So Howard, how did you get to where you are today?

BTW, if you want to understand playing a guitar, what do you do?

Here's why I ask: I have a good friend who's been playing for years. He understands scales and how chords are made and what you have to do to change one chord to some variation of that chord, but he doesn't read music and basically learns a song by picking it out. We're working up some duets for Christmas (he plays lead and I strum chords or fingerpick arpeggios), and he's having to re-learn songs he learned last year because he basically learned the songs by rote.

My youngest daughter took piano for years and can open a hymnal or other songbook and play and improvise beautifully.

Basically, I would like to understand what's going on. Of course, being 53, it's not like I'm a teenager with decades to learn and grow. Perhaps I'm being to idealistic.

Bill

[Matt Mustapick]

It's a fantastic book. The book does address technique to some extent, but it's greatness really is in the way it can expand your vocabulary and knowledge of music and general and finding it on the fingerboard. I've never seen a more organized, comprehensive, cohesive and useful explanation of music theory and applications for guitar or any other instrument. It's by far the best educational book of any kind that I've ever seen. I recommend this book as urgently as possible to anyone whose curiosity runs in this direction. I wish that Leavitt found time to learn about and write books on every other topic under the sun.

[TBman]

Way back when I was a flatpicker (1970 something), that was the book my guitar teacher had me buy. I didn't get far into the book, but I played the heck out of what I did.

[Howard Klepper]

People learn differently. Some want to know where to put their fingers and never want to read music. Others learn to read and never deviate from what's on the page. Most fall somewhere in between.

Leavitt is oriented toward people who are or want to be readers, and players who want to be able to play in all keys in standard tuning. It's great if you want to be able to play songs (like standards) that change keys a lot. The fingering system will enable you to play all keys in all positions. You don't have to be a flatpicker, but it's oriented to using a flat pick. If you want, say, to play country blues, or celtic style in a variety of tunings, it's not going to do as much for you.

There's a bunch of theory in Leavitt, but I don't find it the most useful book for jazz theory. For that, the best I know of is Mark Levine's The Jazz Theory Book.

[guitarman57]

I am able to read music, and studied some classical when I was younger, but I am and have always been primarily a by-ear player. that said, working through this method provided a lot of freedom and fluidity on the fretboard, and also put a few new sounds--mostly chord progressions--in my head. it's worth having these books and working through them at whatever pace suits you. knowledge is, as you know, power...

[mmmaak]

Thanks for the heads-up! I think I'll get a copy for some of my intermediate students

[Broadus]

I'm going to order the first volume/DVD combo. It looks like it will provide a good foundation of knowledge that will prove helpful. Thanks for all the input.

Bill

[trion12]

The Leavitt books are great if:
- you want to learn to read and want know where all he notes are all over the instrument
- get some basic guitaristic positional technique together to play all over the instrument (although these are not "technique" books).
- learn some basic theory that you can apply

They are not the be all and end all, but they lay a great foundation upon which a lot of other stuff can be built.

I am a big fan of these books as I learned to play the guitar using them and they got me to a point where I could get accepted into a university music program relatively quickly.

However, my goal was to be a jazz musician, and as others have mentioned these books are great foundational tools for that as well as for those wanting to pursue a career as a studio player or hired gun in a whole variety of circumstances.

If your goals are different these books might be less useful to you, but I still think would provide some value regardless of the goals or type of music.

I kind of think of these books as the other side of the coin to classical pedagogy for those guitarists wanting a "formal" music education but not wanting to go down the classical path.

Aaron

[Bern]

Leavitt's books are good if one sticks with his scale fingerings. In all my 'travels' in studying the technical part of playing, there are different approaches and fingerings which might be more efficient in the long run, Jimmy Bruno's or Billy Bauer's come to mind). Also, I found that Leavitt's books lack more information on chord scale relationships and open and closed chords.
I do like his rhythm studies book very much.

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by Broadus

So Howard, how did you get to where you are today?

BTW, if you want to understand playing a guitar, what do you do?

Here's why I ask: I have a good friend who's been playing for years. He understands scales and how chords are made and what you have to do to change one chord to some variation of that chord, but he doesn't read music and basically learns a song by picking it out. We're working up some duets for Christmas (he plays lead and I strum chords or fingerpick arpeggios), and he's having to re-learn songs he learned last year because he basically learned the songs by rote.

My youngest daughter took piano for years and can open a hymnal or other songbook and play and improvise beautifully.

Basically, I would like to understand what's going on. Of course, being 53, it's not like I'm a teenager with decades to learn and grow. Perhaps I'm being to idealistic.

Bill

Hi Bill,
How'd I get to where I am today? Single mindedness and perserverence!

I suppose a little bit of innate talent as well, and 'wanting to get the girls'.......

I do not read music, or tab for that matter, but when I was in high school I took music theory.

When I teach guitar I basically use the Nashville method of explaining things. That's a system of Roman numerals, which works very well for guitar, especially when different tunings and capoes are being used.

I can explain, to anyone who has a rudimentary knowledge on guitar, how to play anything I play.

This is purely because I am very good at explaining, verbally, what to do at any given moment, in sequence, with either hand, instead of just saying 'Look at what I'm doing'.

That just don't cut it in my book.

I can explain the feel, the groove, the beat, and how the parts interrelate.

Also I can explain the chord changes, what part of scale they are, the melody notes as they relate to the changes, etc, if the student really wants to know.

Usually I'll let the student determine that, but most don't care: They just want to make music, which is, in the end, all I wanted to do.

I've always been fascinated by drums and bass, and when I discovered fingerpicking, I realized that I could then be 'the band', and have the bass, the melody and the rhythm all at once.

That right there was the motivation for the rest of my life.

Look: I don't need to know why my wife loves me, I just need to know that she does.

Regards,
Howard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1YsznT3tlI

[Mandarb]

Cool thread - thanks.

[Broadus]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

Hi Bill,
How'd I get to where I am today? Single mindedness and perserverence!

I suppose a little bit of innate talent as well, and 'wanting to get the girls'.......

I do not read music, or tab for that matter, but when I was in high school I took music theory.

When I teach guitar I basically use the Nashville method of explaining things. That's a system of Roman numerals, which works very well for guitar, especially when different tunings and capoes are being used.

I can explain, to anyone who has a rudimentary knowledge on guitar, how to play anything I play.

This is purely because I am very good at explaining, verbally, what to do at any given moment, in sequence, with either hand, instead of just saying 'Look at what I'm doing'.

That just don't cut it in my book.

I can explain the feel, the groove, the beat, and how the parts interrelate.

Also I can explain the chord changes, what part of scale they are, the melody notes as they relate to the changes, etc, if the student really wants to know.

Usually I'll let the student determine that, but most don't care: They just want to make music, which is, in the end, all I wanted to do.

I've always been fascinated by drums and bass, and when I discovered fingerpicking, I realized that I could then be 'the band', and have the bass, the melody and the rhythm all at once.

That right there was the motivation for the rest of my life.

Look: I don't need to know why my wife loves me, I just need to know that she does.

Regards,
Howard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1YsznT3tlI

Howard,

I need to find one of "you" down here so I can learn from him and pick his brains. Care to move to upstate SC?

I tend to want to know how things work, and that knowledge in other areas helps me to see the bigger picture and put things together. Unfortunately, it can also cause one to get bogged down in minutiae.

That's why I trying to get what I hope is a balanced approach: understanding the why and doing the how. I'm hoping that working through Leavitt's 1st volume with the DVD will satisfy the curiosity factor and working through material such as Mark Hanson's will aid with the actual making of music.

Unfortunately, I'm flying blind in this venture, relying a lot on those older in the art of making music. I don't want to merely mimic what I see on a DVD. I want to play the music and adapt it to what I feel, so I think the understanding is needed.

Because of demographics and finances, I don't have that good teacher such as yourself and others to provide hands-on guidance, but that's okay. We live in a blessed age when there are so many great resources available that would not have been even envisioned in the not-to-distant pass.

As you pointed out, desire and perseverance are doubtlessly crucial elements. Additionaly is getting good input, so stand ready to give more advice.

Bill