Hi! Could anyone recommend a really good guitar tutorial book for a complete beginner (me!) please? A friend of mine gave me a second-hand guitar years ago and all it's done is sit in the corner of my music room, so I'm determined at least to make a start on learning how to play it in the New Year.

What sort of guitar is it? Does it have nylon or steel stings?

Not sure about steel-string, but for classical guitar, "Classical guitar playing Book 1" by Fred Noad is widely recommended. There's also a good classical guitar website, delcamp.net, which has recently started running on-line guitar lessons that look quite good. There are demonstration video clips, and you can upload recordings or clips of your own playing for feedback.

It's a very basic Angelica acoustic guitar. For some reason the bottom 3 strings are steel and the top 3 are nylon. Is that normal, or should they all be one or the other?

I searched for Fred Noad in my local library's catalogue and found "the Complete Idiots guide to guitar playing", so that seems to be ideal for me. I've reserved that together book 1 of Classical guitar playing as JME recommended. Thanks very much. Really I just want to learn a few simple tunes and some chords, so nothing too technical or complicated. I can pick out Frere Jacques myself (by trial and error!).

Still not sure. There must be some books for acoustic guitar but I don't know any. The Idiots Guide you mention sounds a good start. A better start would be to buy a classical guitar (but then I'm rather biased ).

Pardon my ignorance but what's the difference between an acoustic guitar and a classical guitar? Is there any different in the notes, strings, methods of playing etc? If I learnt some simple songs and chords on the guitar which I have, couldn't I play them on any guitar?

They're completely different instruments. Acoustics have steel (and maybe a few nylon) strings and are mostly about plucking chords with a plectrum. Some guitarists also play fingerstyle, generally with finger/thumb picks or they'd soon wear away their nail. The music they use is a set of little pictures called TABs. Classical guitars are much more like pianos in sound - they use sheet music. They've got nylon strings and are played with the nails. Have a look on you tube.

The difference is like that between keyboards and pianos.

Oh, I see. That's very interesting to know. Then maybe the guitar I have is half-classical and half-acoustic! Do you think it would help if I had the bottom 3 strings replaced with nylon strings? Also, as I am a pianist, my nails are really, really short, so I think that might cause a slight problem playing the guitar, but I'm going to give it a try in the New Year and see what happens.

Does your guitar have slots at the top? Classical Guitar bass strings are wound in silver and appear to be metal - but have a nylon core. Maybe you could post a photo? Acoustics have a different sort of set up for attaching the strings. I'm not sure it would work with classical strings.

I teach piano and have to find a compromise with my nails. I've done a few concerts over Christmas and have had to keep them a bit shorter than needed for the guitar. Now I'm growing them again - it's just the right hand i,m,a, (guitar speak) that are a problem. My p is OK with the piano.

The biggest problem with Classical Guitar though is that people don't know what it is. I travel a massive distance (and pay a fortune) for lessons with a qualified CG teacher and I still get people telling me "My mate's really good on guitar - he could teach you" .

Actually it does sound like a classical to me (top 3 strings nylon bottom 3 steel - presumably wound?). Have a look here (instructions for tying on guitar strings).
http://www.staffordguitar.com/helpstringtrebles.asp

Do the bridge (specifically the way the strings are attached) and the tuners look like yours?

Or is yours like this?

http://www.mccabes.com/sstring2.html

Yes, mine looks exactly like the pictures in the first link. I've just checked and the bottom 3 strings are wound, so possibly they do have a nylon core. This is a whole new world for me!

Sounds like a classical then. Noad should be a good bet. Even if you want to do non-classical repertoire, learning how to play "properly" will pay dividends when you come to blues, folk or anything else. Mind you, I still can't play the damned thing.

It's way harder than learning to play the piano! It's taken me nearly three years to get to grade 3.

I'm surprised to see you say that! I have the greatest respect for anyone who can play the piano well, and I can't imagine how anyone can do such difficult things simultaneously with both hands. Or (as I started as a single-note instrumentalist- clarinet) how anyone can read such complex music!

Having said that, I think the guitar is a difficult instrument to get to a really good standard on - more challenging than the clarinet. Easy to play badly, and very hard to play really well!

I am also about two years into learning the classical guitar. Iwould highly recommend learning classical gutar style even if your goal is to play power chords in a rock band.

Noad will be very good to learn your beginning technique and first position notes. After that you might be better off going to the ABRSM syllabus and working through the repertoire there. Learning new positions as you need them is far better than learning them in abstraction.

The repertoire in noad may be too much for the beginner without lessons.

Also try to get ahold of two books by Ricardo Iznaola; Ricardo Iznaola on Practicing: A Manual for Students of Guitar Performance, and Kitharologus: The Path to Virtuosity: A Technical Workout Manual for All Guitarists. The book on practicing is good for any musician though all specific comments are for guitar. The second book is a comprehensive guitar technique resource with practices schedules and good advice for learning technique. Both are available on Amazon.uk.

Also remember that the classical guitar is usually played with your foot on a foot stool. Perhaps a two lesson investment would help you get the posture and holding of the instrument.

Jonathan

I don't think AB publish a book of exam pieces for classical guitar. When I last did an exam I had to buy several different books to try out things and choose the ones I wanted - with loads of spare pieces I don't need. I've since given up on AB for guitar as both Trinity and LCM publish one book per grade with all the pieces and technical exercises. I've bought both board's books for grades 1 to 5 just to give me plenty to do at each level.

But the ABRSM does publish the 'Time Pieces' books, which contain many if not all of the exam pieces. For my grade 5 guitar I just got that book, and chose all three pieces from it.

Unfortunately for those of us in the U.S.A, ABRSM are the only graded exams we have access to. Because I had to buy by pieces for voice book by book I was not aware that one could get exam pieces for a grade all in one book for other instruments. It would be very economical to be able to buy one book and if there is another exam system that allows you to do that I amend my recommendation.