The Apprentice Guitarist

n music easily. The books come with demonstrations of all the material (at www.julianwardguitar.com) to assist with practising. Books 1, 2: 16 pages A4. Book 3: 20 pages A4 Printed on high quality coated paper. The Apprentice Guitarist


This series of books has been written as a progressive study of the guitar as a solo instrument, covering classical techniques as well as simple chords. The aim of this series is to provide material that enforces a tried and trusted method of learning, through a clear structure. It is assumed that the students will be studying these books along with a teacher. The material will work particularly well in a group situation, with plenty of opportunity for ensemble playing. The pieces should be challenging enough to demand both correct left and right hand technique. Book One concentrates on teaching ‘rest-stroke’ melodies with added ‘free-stroke’ thumb bass notes, along with standard notation. Chords are introduced very early on and are used to form fun sounding duets. By the end of the book, chords are integrated into the actual pieces. Book Two in the series builds on the work from Book One, developing a good right hand technique when combining bass notes, and teaches how to move positions. Chord work is developed further, and there are some very well known tunes that can be performed in ensembles as well as duets. Book 3 builds naturally on the work from Book Two. We look at developing good free-stroke (tirando) technique, multiple notes, higher positions, and more chords. As well as original compositions, Book Three contains some unique arrangements (both for solo and ensemble) of a variety of well known pieces. The last section of the book provides some fantastic and challenging repertoire pieces to study.