From the Publisher
Hal Leonard Guitar Method Complete Edition – Second Edition
Book Only
by Will Schmid and Greg Koch
The Hal Leonard Guitar Method is designed for anyone just learning to play acoustic or electric guitar. It is based on years of teaching guitar students of all ages, and reflects some of the best teaching ideas from around the world. This super-convenient Complete Edition features the new and improved method books 1, 2 and 3 spiral-bound together.
Take a Closer Look!
Get a sneak peek inside this popular guitar method.
Take a Closer Look!
Get a sneak peek inside this excellent guitar method.
Take a Closer Look!
Get a sneak peek inside this excellent guitar method.
Take a Closer Look!
Get a sneak peek inside this popular guitar method.
Explore 3 different ways to tune.
Practice both sitting and standing while playing.
See an example of chord instruction.
Learn about the circle of fifths and three-note chord forms.
Christopher James Friesen –
Meh.
It has the content, but it’s out of order. A horrible companion if you’re making comparisons to the physical book. Just buy the paperback. It seems that Hal Leonard is not very invested in providing quality digital content.
Alberto –
Excellent guitar method.
This is a complete down to earth guitar method which I’m certain that a six year old can comprehend, and succeed.
Amazon Customer –
Guitar lesson for a Senior
This is the book that I have been looking for so I could learn to play like I did 55 years ago. I still have a lot to learn from it.
Stillman –
Excellent beginner’s resource!
Solid resource for beginners. Gradual progression in difficulty with popular licks like Greensleeves, Star Spangled banner etc thrown in early enough to keep you motivated. There are youtube support videos for all the tracks that someone has created. All in all a great resource.
One person found this helpful
Range –
Durable book that is easy to follow
Great book that is easy to use. My 10 year old son could follow easily. Plus, it stood up to his abuse so overall, a durable book.If this review helped, please let me know by liking it.
Madison Paxton –
I play better than prince now.
I bought this guitar book and although I’m disappointed it didn’t include an actual guitar and 30 free hours of instruction for the price, I now can play better than Prince, May he Rest In Peace.
Amazon Customer –
For every guitar lover
This is a great guitar tutorial book for every level.
George Gartner –
I have been very busy but the content is good for the money spent
I have been very busy but the content is good for the money spent. I will use it and enjoy the knowledge it can give me.
One person found this helpful
Curtis P Burson –
Always wanted to play guitar.
Like the spiral binding. Makes it easy to use on a stand. My teacher recommend this book.
Amazon Customer –
however is great book and I have made much progress in just …
Could be more clear about fret position for self-taught learners, however is great book and I have made much progress in just a month.
Curtis R. –
Shown to professional guitar player
I shown this book to a professional flamenco guitar player who is also my Spanish teacher and he said that this book will allow me to go anywhere I want to with this book, whether it’s fingerpicking country songs or heavy metal I’ll be able to branch off from this book alone. He also learned from books so he knows a good book when he sees one and he was super impressed with this one.
4 people found this helpful
Jackson Wong –
Recommended Guitar Book
This was the recommended guitar book from the music school. We originally bought only book 1, but that went by pretty quick (~2-3months). Recommend to purchase this complete series instead of book by book.
2 people found this helpful
Shane Bland –
Best book for beginners with old time ethic.
This is a very comprehensive intro to the guitar. If one were to buy only one book to begin this should be the one. I have gifted it to two others already who were just beginning. For those who do not already read music, this will get them up to primary speed easily. If one were to simply follow this instruction and remain OFF YouTube, they would become proficient. The YouTube gig only complicates the process as well as displays many bad options. Just get a private quiet place and work through it. There is no shortcut, no play in 5 minutes. Just get over it and LEARN it properly. Without that ideal as a guide you will simply have a guitar in the closet somewhere soon. Without the old time ethic of simply settling in to actually learn something students will always give up and drift away from the goal.
35 people found this helpful
Jennifer Singh –
Worked Fantastic For Self Guided Learning
I am using this to learn at home without in person instruction or tabs. The lessons are easy to follow with what feels like a nice pace. Exercises give good tips to pay attention to.
2 people found this helpful
Christopher Hallissy –
Essential Book, but get the one with audio files.
Must have book for beginners to learn how to read sheet music. Beware, though, that this version does not have the accompanying audio files which makes things less useful since you can’t see how something is played, particularly for the more obscure tunes. Overall, would buy again if I lost it, it I’d get the one that has the audio files.
3 people found this helpful
Andrew Helfer –
Outstanding method book
This book is outstanding!If you want to teach or learn by method, this book is really hard to beat. By the time you’re through all three sections, you’ll be able to:-Read music-play most any chord in a pop fake book-know more than basic rhythms-know finger picking patterns (including Travis picking)Once done, you’ll be able to pick up just about any guitar songbook and play along.
10 people found this helpful
Walkr –
Easy to follow
Grandson wanted lessons, but not in the budget, He uses this tutorial every day and is learning the guitar and basics quickly and at his own pace. Great starting option
TWM –
Not a bad start
This is more for a begginer however its lessons do go from very begginers to the experts. In the start it does tell you how a scale is formatted and notes are counted, does spend time teaching you to read them. However thats what I wanted, yes I know the scale (I played clarinet in school) yes I know how to read notes. I also didn’t know how to play a C on a guitar. This is not really for someone who wants to just play songs on this is more for someone who wants to learn a wide verity of songs, from country to rock, classical to metal. If you want to specialize in one maybe this book isn’t for you. However I like this book because its not just a tab book of here is Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” (its playing on the TV at this time) or whatever song you may want to play.
4 people found this helpful
Amazon Customer –
Warning – this does NOT come with access to the audio files
Pay attention to which of these you are buying. I didn’t as I assumed they all came with audio access.If the particular version you are purchasing does not specifically state audio access you will not be able to access the online audio files to play along with.Lesson format seems solid – unfortunately I’ll be purchasing a second copy so I have online access.
2 people found this helpful
Clyde C. –
Received promptly and without product bloat.
I hate going to music stores: limited choices, inflated prices on materials written decades ago, trying to find options sourced from other stores… Modern music outlets just suck.The fact that I can buy the same book online, minus the triple inflated price point because of DRM coded audio books included, is amazing. Wife and sister-in-law will love using this to learn and for me to brush up on my music reading skills that are lacking.
3 people found this helpful
Lilti9er –
Good for my kid
This book was recommended by my 8 yr old’s guitar teacher. She can easily follow this book and learn guitar from it. She is always studying ahead of what her teacher assigns so I like that it is easy for her to go through.
One person found this helpful
Nicholas ThompsonNicholas Thompson –
Hal Leonard’s marketing sucks – Buy books from fundamental changes instead
So here’s the deal I got exactly what I ordered.There are two versions of the book.One is about 10 bucks more and under the “guitar method” on the front cover, top left, there is (in 10 point smaller type “Audio Access Included”).My book doesn’t have that. I purchased this precisely because the Bass Book came with audio, I just didn’t realise there is a version without the audio. And as others have pointed out, why would you sell a version without the audio.This is pretty scummy, I don’t really mind paying extra (but get this: audio is *free* with the excellent “fundamental changes” books). But having two versions, with no way to get the extra content is just annoying.I went to the Hal Leonard website and there seems to be no option to purchase the audio tracks.Amazon should make it clearer in the listing that there are two versions. So now I am faced with the choice of just using this as is, or returning it (which is a hassle).As the other 1 star reviews might indicate this is just dumb deceptive marketing. Change the cover in a more visible way, or offer the means to purchase the content online. how hard could the latter be? you’d actually make customers happy.Stupid, stupid, stupid.Makes me want to avoid Hal Leonard products in future. And that’s a shame, because the content seems pretty good.
42 people found this helpful
Steve Brosnan –
Helpful for beginners
I am using this book to learn to play the guitar (a challenge at my age-senior). The book is helpful-it seems to go at the right pace and includes interesting songs from a variety of genres. I like the fact that it uses mostly music notation instead of tabs- it helps to learn to read music. Only regret is that it doesn’t come with the Cds.
9 people found this helpful
Meagan H. –
Great instruction/lesson book for learners
Very good book for learning to play the guitar. Me, my son, and my niece all used this same book and we all really liked it. It is very easy to understand.
Chuck’sTravels –
Very thorough
Exactly what I was looking for. I’ve been teaching myself to play and using a lot of online courses but there is nothing that compares to starting from scratch and learning the proper way. This book does not spend a lot of time on form but it does provide the rudimentary basics beginning with basic notes and music reading. If I am ever able to master everything this book has to offer I will not only be able to play guitar, I will be a musician.
4 people found this helpful
Chris –
Binding needs to be better quality
The binding is very weak. I had to replace it almost immediately and that’s kind of annoying. Wish they’d fix that as my guitar teacher stated it happens to most of his students.(I’ve purchased both the print edition and the kindle edition when I lost the printed version)
One person found this helpful
BPW –
I would highly recommend this book to anyone that want to learn to …
I would highly recommend this book to anyone that want to learn to play the guitar!!! I have been playing acoustic Guitar for several years using tabs.. I decided i would like to learn to read music and play it on my guitar…. This book makes reading music and playing it super easy!!! You learn the notes one string at a time, at your own pace…. And it don’t stop there you learn chords,strumming(something i had problems with) and more. I have other lesson books that don’t come anywhere close to comparing to this book…
2 people found this helpful
Zeus R –
Guitar Hero
Easy read. Works better if you have a guitar.
George S. –
Great beginner guitar book!
Great beginner guitar book, especially for those who want to learn to read notes not just tabs. It also has a code at the front that lets you access mp3 files to play along with the songs included.
Steve Freides –
The Best, Most Complete Basic Guitar Method Book
I have been teaching guitar for more than 40 years, and over those years I spent a lot of time with a couple of other popular guitar methods, specifically Alfred’s Basic Guitar and the similarly titled book published by Mel Bay.In my opinion, the Hal Leonard guitar method is more complete than any of its competitors. I used to teach chords on my own, and strumming and finger picking techniques, and leave the book to teach note reading, but the Hal Leonard book does it all and, most importantly, it seems to introduce new things at the right times in the student’s development.
5 people found this helpful
gaby –
okay
starts off with music notation very confusing! would personally not recommend for beginners unless you have someone educated helping you. still seems good for others, not for me though!
Jaidon –
Great method for teachers to use!
I use this and the Mel Bay books to teach beginner students (they are very similar methods, but each set of books include different examples to choose from when teaching). I have no complaints, though I do recommend using these books and supplementing them with your own exercises when teaching.
2 people found this helpful
GG-MA –
Practice and Self-Guided Studies
Great for both my Millennial young career adult child that studied piano already and the pre-teen son of a neighbor (guitarist)!
2 people found this helpful
Ian Cheg –
Where the notes are on the fret board.
The book had everything I needed at my stage of learning. Precise and not too wordy. By the time I work my way through the book I should be a good player of the guitar.
bryan g. –
technical acuracy
easy to understand. an area that is often not approached by aspiring musicians probably because it can appear daunting, not attractive to the weekender. But can be the most important element for the long term, and rich friendship music can have in store for anyone seeking a buddy.
3 people found this helpful
Steve Stillwell –
Great book for beginner guitarists.
I bought this book to learn how to play the acoustic guitar. When I scheduled my first lesson, I asked the instructor what book I should buy for lessons. This is the book he uses. Very straight forward book. Glad I have it.
One person found this helpful
Bob –
Excellent quality.
Just starting on the guitar and this is the first book I’ve used. Really like it so far.
Gerardo –
A must have in your collection
A very complete method, covers a very wide variety of topics, can be used as a stand alone method or can be seen as a reference tool.Amazon didnt provide audio, didnt work, so I contacted Hal Leonard and next day they provided me mp3 files.
2 people found this helpful
It’s all in the feet –
Excellent book for beginning guitarist, and for other players needing music reading practice
This book is good for kids and adults alike. Goes nice and easy, nothing too complicated, but still covers all the basics. Would highly recommend for anyone just beginning to play guitar. It’s also a great refresher for those who have been playing chords awhile, but never learned to read music. I’ve been playing guitar for 8 years, but mostly chords. I never really practiced reading music. My son is now taking lessons, and his teacher uses this book. I’m now learning along with my son. It’s never too late to teach an old dog a new trick!
3 people found this helpful
maxine yeager –
All levels of learning
Best overall guitar learning book
Amazon Customer –
Great start
Great for beginner, easy to follow.
elizabeth w –
Great book
really useful for beginners
Amazon Customer –
Review
This book is excellent for beginners
JackJack –
Book opens all the way and lays flat.
Great having three thin books all together on a binder that opens all the way on the music stand.
Robert L Guzman –
She says it’s very good and easy to use
Bought as a gift for my grandchild . She says it’s very good and easy to use .
One person found this helpful
Missy –
Great beginner series
I love this collection of books.it is a compilation of three method books in one.
Madhav Desabhotla –
Really good book
All 3 volumes in one is ready good. A good book for a learner
Helen –
Still using the book but a bit disappointed that the book1
Still using the book but a bit disappointed that the book1,2,3 edition does not include a CD or a digital code as mentioned in some of the product comments.
One person found this helpful
Kare R.N. –
Otherwise it looked really good.
I had toreturn this item there was no DVD to accompany it. Otherwise it looked really good.
Anay –
Money Well Spent!
Awesome! Says its used but looks very new 🙂 On google play book 1 is more than this, and this is book 1, 2, and 3.
ranjanty –
Guitar course which is very practical and easy to learn
He really goes in depth into theory if that’s what your looking for. I also bought Justin’s. Guitar course which is very practical and easy to learn.
2 people found this helpful
C. adams –
no audio support for this book
there is no audio for this version making it useless. Amazon didn’t make this clear so i bought a guitasr book i can’t learn from
Robert D. Heffley –
Well laid out, easy to understand
Easy to learn from
USALAS –
Great buy! Great Price!
I’ve only been using this book a few days and I’m several lessons, notes, songs, chords and notes in! It teaches you quickly and easily! Having never played guitar before this week, I have complete confidence that this was the right purchase for a beginner.
4 people found this helpful
Andy Anderson –
Great Book
Product arrived fast.. packaging excellent…All the lesson’s are planned perfectly..
Louise Teutschman –
Great review books for those with a musical background
Good, basic instructions. Easy to understand
Amazon Customer –
I recommend this book
I am swinging for four weeks in Internet. So many information, but only confusing. This book is a path I can rely on. This is my first experience with guitar. And the book has become my second best mate (after the guitar) on this journey.
2 people found this helpful
S. Early –
Great for a beginner adult
I am adult beginning guitar player and I purchased this book as a supplement to the book my instructor required. I really like this book. It is a great introduction for those who don’t know the names of the strings or how to play notes and chords. I highly recommend the book for a new student wanted to start with the basics to learn guitar.
3 people found this helpful
Ray Schwartz –
Good instructional guitar book series (in one volume)
Most cost effective way to get a beginner to intermediate guitar course in book form.
One person found this helpful
REN MIAO –
three books in one
contains all three books and cheaper than buying three separately. good value!