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Reddit mentions of A Modern Method for Guitar - Volumes 1, 2, 3 Complete

Sentiment score: 26
Reddit mentions: 45

We found 45 Reddit mentions of A Modern Method for Guitar - Volumes 1, 2, 3 Complete. Here are the top ones.

A Modern Method for Guitar - Volumes 1, 2, 3 Complete
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    Features:
  • Berklee Press Publications
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Height12 Inches
Length9 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateDecember 1999
Weight2.98 Pounds
Width1 Inches

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Found 45 comments on A Modern Method for Guitar - Volumes 1, 2, 3 Complete:

u/meepwned · 21 pointsr/Guitar

My suggestion is to learn on your own, and if you choose to go to college, pursue a major that has more profitable career options. Minor in music theory and invest your free time in practicing your instrument. Here is a reading list I recommend to start getting into serious music study and guitar playing:

u/[deleted] · 5 pointsr/Guitar

Coming at it from a jazz standpoint, William Leavitt's Modern Method, or Sal Salvador's Complete Book of Guitar Technique. Salvador's one contains a good few studies.

Mick Goodrick's Advancing Guitarist is particularly famous.

u/wunderbier · 5 pointsr/Guitar

If you want to really go down the rabbit hole: A Modern Method for Guitar.

u/tmwrnj · 5 pointsr/Guitar

I'd recommend Jazz Guitar: Complete Edition by Jody Fisher. It covers all the important topics in a fairly straightforward way and comes with a CD of examples and backing tracks. It's aimed at intermediate guitarists, but your experience should be sufficient.

The old standard was Mickey Baker's Jazz Guitar, but I'm not a huge fan. The learning curve is extremely steep and there's not a great deal of theory or explanation. It'd be a really useful companion to lessons with a teacher, but I think that most beginners would really struggle with it.

A good alternative to the Jody Fisher book is A Modern Method For Guitar by William Leavitt. The learning curve is fairly gradual, but it's tough going - everything is written in standard notation and there's no real instruction as such. It seems to be inspired by the Suzuki method. Everything is taught through progressively more demanding examples. You probably won't get stuck on anything, but you will need to do a bit of thinking to figure stuff out for yourself.

If you want to learn jazz theory in depth, I'd strongly recommend Jazzology by Rawlins and Bahha. It's the clearest, most elegant explanation of how everything fits together in jazz. It's not specifically written for guitar, but the theory is universal. The Jody Fisher book covers all the theory that you really need to know, but Jazzology would be a really good supplement if you like to understand things in detail.

In your jazz guitar journey, you'll probably come across The Real Book. It's an essential reference text, containing lead sheets for hundreds of the most popular jazz tunes. It's how most of us learned our repertoire and most of us still have a copy in our gig bag pocket. Today, you have a huge advantage in learning tunes because of the fabulous iReal Pro. It's an app version of The Real Book, but it can also play backing tracks for any tune in any key and at any tempo. It's an absolute boon when you're learning to play solos.

Finally, I'd suggest just listening to a whole bunch of jazz, not just jazz guitar. You should know Joe Pass, Ted Greene and Wes Montgomery, but you should also know Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Dizzy Gillespie.

u/Monkee11 · 4 pointsr/jazzguitar

if you can read sheet music decently I'd recommend William Leavitt's Modern Guitar Method - It's fairly tough for new guitar students because most of them don't know how to sight read, but if you can do that then this is a really great resource and will teach you scales and chords in different areas all over the guitar. This book doesn't hold your hand, so go in expecting that it's dense and might take time a long time to get through.

Outside of working through books, it sounds like you want to know the fretboard notes more than anything, so I'd recommend learning in this order:


  • Memorize the notes on the low E string and the A string. (playing e minor and a minor scales vertically [up one string] are useful for this so you don't have to worry about accidentals much yet)

    playing vertically is important to know but isn't very efficient

  • Memorize the notes on the 5th fret (ADGCEA) and come up with an acronym to speed things up and to be able to find notes between 5th and 12th frets much faster - A Dog Got Caught Eating Apples for example

  • Check out an app (also an online version) called [Tenuto] (https://www.musictheory.net/exercises) and practice Fretboard note identification, and eventually interval training (learning chords tricks you into doing this too). I especially like this on mobile because you can learn the fretboard pretty well when you're on the bus or taking a dump or whatever. Use the test mode and you'll see yourself getting way faster over time and eventually you'll start to see frets as letters instead of numbers.

  • My biggest advice to most guitarists who want to be well rounded is to learn chords. Chord knowledge is super useful on guitar - you can start to see intervals/arpeggios/scales really well by knowing chords on guitar - they're like the skeletons that outline scales and arpeggios.

    my advice for this is to learn E shape, A shape, and D shape barre chords, assuming you already know CAGED+F open chords. That paired with a good knowledge of the E and A string and you are off to a great start. Guitar takes a lot more work than piano in order to see chords and be able to move around efficiently.

    Tl;dr get the app Tenuto, also available on pc here and work through William Leavitt's Modern Guitar Method (i'm in no way affiliated with either - I'm a professional musician and teacher and they're both tools that I use daily)
u/DarkJkl2009 · 4 pointsr/Guitar

A Modern Method for Guitar by William Leavitt is what you are talking about.

u/leoperax · 3 pointsr/Guitar

Is it this one?
It certainly looks like something that might be able to help me, I'll probably get my hands on a copy! Thanks for the input!!

u/pagethesage11 · 3 pointsr/Guitar

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Method-Guitar-Volumes-Complete/dp/0876390114

This is a great book. If you can, buy it and devote a little bit of time to it every day. It will keep you busy for quite a while.

u/JoshFrets · 3 pointsr/guitarlessons

This is such an important (and IMO urgent) question for so many.

Sadly, the vast majority of guitar instructional material is either a) written for the unserious learner or b) written to not scare away the up-until-now-unserious learner.

That's why you see so many books and blogs on understanding theory (or playing jazz) that are full of TABs––in order to get the now-serious student to buy the book (or sign up for the course, etc) you first have to reassure them that everything is tabbed out and they won't have to read music, as if TAB and theory weren't at odds with each other.

Kudos to /u/igotthejack for this:

> While doing this focus on the note names while you play so by the time you're done you've also memorised all the notes on the fretboard.

And Ben Levin's youtube series is one of the few instructional pieces that doesn't make me want to stab myself in the face with one of the many pointy ends on a shredder's guitar.

Other quality standouts include:

First, Learn To Practice by Tom Heany

Music Reading For Guitar By David Oakes

Modern Method For Guitar Vols 1, 2, & 3 by William Leavitt

The Real Easy Ear Training Book by Roberta Radley


But there's good news in this too:

Because the vast majority of talented guitarists are so busy chasing their tails trying to figure out how to sweep pick faster or two-handed tap in the LandoCalrissian mode, even reasonably talented players with mediocre reading skills and a halfway decent knowledge of practical music theory get hired to play really great gigs.

That's my experience anyway. And getting hired for those gigs put me in contact with so many world-class players, which a) did as much as anything else to make me a "real" player, and b) helped me realize how so many of the things in the guitar-teacher-circle-jerk-echo-chamber are unimportant.

I think if you can get your practicing organized, fall in love with the metronome, record yourself (and listen back) often, and train your ear, you will be one badass player in a reasonably short time.

And if you learn the instrument in a way that lets you communicate with other non-guitarist musicians, you set yourself up to get actual paying work (and music theory gets waaaaaay easier).

My suggested order is:

  1. Names of notes (to the point you prefer them to TAB coordinates: that's not the 8th fret of the 3rd string, it's Eb)
  2. What notes go together in keys (ie know the Circle of Fifths so well you're never in doubt as to whether it should be called D# or Eb)
  3. Understand how chords are built (so you're unfazed by something like | Fm7b5 Bb7b9 | Ebm9 | even if you've never played it before).
  4. Understand how chords get built into progressions. (so when you glance that last example, you immediately think "oh, ii-V-i. Eb harmonic minor.)
  5. Rhythmic notation (I'd say at least 80% of the guitar charts put in front of me on a paying gig are chords with rhythmic hits and no further melodic notation to read.)
  6. Chart reading (knowing what "DS al Coda" and "second system" and "tag" and "ritard" mean, and what musician slang like "football" and "trashcan" and "railroad tracks" and "split the difference" mean.)

    Shameless plug, but I built a system that teaches these in a tiny daily lesson delivered by email. 1-4 are done, 5 & 6 are on their way soon. Free for now, just sign up for the first one (Note Names) and it'll walk you through all 6 in order (I'll be done with 5 & 6 by the time you finish 4).

    After that, read through the David Oakes & William Leavitt books mentioned above and you'll be 80% of the way to professional musicianship. A dedicated student (who already has a fair amount of technical proficiency) could pull that off in 6 months.

    TL:DR - The fact that you are even asking a question like this leads me to believe that you'll do just fine. Good luck!
u/BJJKempoMan · 3 pointsr/Guitar

I learned from this when I was a teenager, and it stuck with me to this day: A Modern Method For Guitar Volume 1

u/13531 · 3 pointsr/Guitar

My advice would be to focus on learning music theory, and applying said theory to your play. Everyone here loves to recommend justinguitar.com, and I'd agree. I'd also check out Steve Stine on YouTube (index of playlists). Best theory teacher I've seen in a long while. I'd also absolutely recommend musictheory.net.

Lastly, the Berklee guitar method books will simultaneously teach you to read music and to play your instrument. These books are the single best thing I did to progress my guitar skills.

Reading music helps greatly with understanding theory. Despite what you may hear from old-timers, reading music is extremely useful.

Another very useful skill to practice is ear training, which when combined with your theory knowledge, allows you to play music by ear. I'd suggest playing back some slower jazz guitar tunes on YouTube and figuring them out measure-by-measure. There's also Matt Warnock's Play Jazz Guitar group on Facebook which combines all of the above. Matt has a doctorate in Jazz Guitar Performance. He picks a tune each month, and everyone in the group works on it throughout the month, starting with the melody, to comping chords, to improv soloing. There are players of all skill levels, and I mean all. He provides excellent, free critique to everyone. I'm going to throw him a bone and buy a few of his books shortly since his excellent group has helped me so much.

Edit: I'd like to add as well that I don't really consider myself a jazz player; it's just that jazz skills are very useful and may be applied to virtually any genre.

u/ixAp0c · 3 pointsr/Guitar

Modern Method for Guitar is great for learning to sight read. It's a hefty tome, coming in at 424 pages it's the largest book on my music stand right now.

It's got a lot of stuff to read and practice, and all of it is aimed at guitar (whereas some music theory books may be for Piano or Violin, the music in this book is primarily written for Guitar).

The author notes the book can be supplemented with others, it's primary purpose is to teach you how to read music and apply it to the guitar mechanically.

There are lessons, exercises, along with some nice melodies which are mostly duet (here is the first song after the first 4 Exercises for example).

u/phalp · 2 pointsr/musictheory

I wanted to improve my sight reading so I got this book and worked through it. Highly recommended and I think it will work better than an app.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0876390114?keywords=%26%2334%3Ba%20modern%20method%20for%20guitar%26%2334%3B&qid=1453607443&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

u/coynemoney · 2 pointsr/Guitar

I posted this earlier in a different thread and I promise I don't know the author or anything but this book was recommended for a serious intro to music theory based around guitar.

I have zero background in music theory and I'm still working on the first exercise but I've already learned a ton in about a week.

u/the_confused · 2 pointsr/Guitar

I've heard good things about The Modern Method to Guitar. I haven't actually bought it but it's on my wish list.



Edit: Fixed Link. My Reddit markup really needs help, I keep messing up. Sorry about that Dream_on

u/SeraphSlaughter · 2 pointsr/Guitar

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Method-Guitar-Volumes-Complete/dp/0876390114

Used by many universities for guitar students. $20 for the same education you'd get for thousands.

u/HisPaulness · 2 pointsr/Guitar

In truth, I'd try to add sight reading somewhere in there, perhaps subbing out the initial use of your music theory flashcards. For one, most music theory you'll want to learn will be in notation. Learning theory in the absence of how it immediate relates to your instrument will stall learning.

If you focus on working out of something like Modern Method for Guitar for the first six months, not only will you be compounding a lot of good practice technique, but you'll start providing yourself a strong foundation to play the theory that you learn.

u/dragonmage1 · 2 pointsr/Guitar

I'm going to suggest that you hang on to your money a little longer and continue with the classical until you have found an instrument shape and size that you just cannot live without. In the meantime, you can learn to strum if you want or pursue the fingerstyle that you seem to have become attached to. To aid your fingestyle, pick up a book that will help you: "A Modern Method for Guitar" and find a teacher that can help you with fingering. Good luck in your endeavors. I hope this helps. And by the way, if you really like the classical body size and shape, look at some of Yamaha or Taylor 7/8 size guitars or a parlor style to get a steel string guitar that fits like the classical. But take your time and find the one that fits.

u/turtleslol · 2 pointsr/Guitar

The Berklee Method books are highly praised. They have a lot of great information about learning theory and sight reading. Alternatively if you dont want to buy them you can just download the PDF here

Of course having an instructor to really guide you along is the best way to learn.

u/reydeguitarra · 2 pointsr/musictheory

I am currently using this. It has been very good for me so far, but I don't know if you will learn "tough" sheet music in a month. I have played the piano for nearly 20 years, so I definitely understand standard music notation. This book doesn't go on and on about notation, it just gives a brief explanation and makes you go at it. Since Christmas, I feel pretty comfortable sight reading individual note lines, somewhat comfortable with intervals, and pretty good with the chords that they use most in the first 50 or so pages.

So yeah, my overall opinion is that it's effective. It's not the most exciting music to play and you might have to spend quite a lot of time on it if you hope to read notes from the whole fretboard (after almost 50 pages, I'm still only in the first 5 frets).

u/a_baby_coyote · 2 pointsr/WeAreTheMusicMakers

Sounds like you're at a good place to learn a little music theory to help with composition.

I've been doing roughly the same thing having had (and still having) the same experience as you. I can play technically difficult music, but cannot create something more than a short passage, or add a chorus/bridge/verse to whatever I've created.

I picked up the Modern Method for Guitar by Leavitt:
http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Method-Guitar-Volumes-Complete/dp/0876390114/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374083268&sr=8-1&keywords=modern+method+for+guitar+william+levitt

And this started pushing me to the limits of my playing. I realized I couldn't sight-read, couldn't read music, and it was keeping me from improving in a totally different direction that I was used to. So I started learning how to read, and started picking up on some music theory.

So I'm still working on music theory, and sight reading, and technical challenges, and in the meantime I've noticed my ability to create has improved. It's not a huge improvement, but very noticeable to me.

I've been stuck in a rut for over 10 years because I've never sought to expand my horizons musically and try new things. I wasn't going to learn a chord if it wouldn't be useful in some riff I was trying to learn, and I certainly wasn't going to learn to sight read when I could teach myself with tab.

Anyway, my suggestion is to push yourself and learn new things. Learn some weird chords, learn how to put them together with some theory, record yourself playing some chords and then play the notes in those chords over top of them as a lead. The more knowledge you have of music and the guitar, the larger a pool you have to pull from.

u/ImPastamonium · 2 pointsr/pcmasterrace

If you wanna learn to read music try this book!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Modern-Method-Guitar-Volumes-Complete/dp/0876390114

Super helpful and recommended by a lot of people! Helped me a ton

u/Elgige · 2 pointsr/italy

Se vuoi imparare a suonare bene uno strumento il primo consiglio che posso darti è quello di studiare lo strumento stesso e parallelamente di studiare la musica.

Quando io cominciai mi trovai molto bene con questo libro
(Qui la versione PDF del primo volume)

u/Yeargdribble · 2 pointsr/piano

I assume you mean the Berklee Press "A Modern Method for Guitar" (though I think the same book by William Leavitt is published also by Hal Leonard).

I was just recommending the Hal Leonard Complete Method because it's so much less daunting, but if you've got the chops for the Berklee book, go for it. It definitely jumps in hard with both feet and leans way more on harmony really early on. If you find yourself hitting the wall with it, you can always take a break and try the other one and jump back and forth as you progress.

I'll also recommend this playlist on Youtube that has several of the duets played with both parts. That way you can really enjoy playing the duets and learn both parts and then play them back with the other parts played on Youtube.

If you don't already have a looper, it's also likely a worthwhile investment not just for guitar, but also if you're using a keyboard. It's great to be able to play duets with yourself when there isn't a recording like above. Also, listening back to yourself lets you really pay attention to details and lets you notice how bad your time is so you can fix it.

It can also be great for jamming between the two instruments or used to help with practice of improv and other things.

An entry level, no-frills looper that seems really popular is the Ditto.

u/Xenoceratops · 2 pointsr/musictheory

>tailored more to someone wanting to make music instead of just read it.

GAS and obsessing over gear is a bigger problem for guitarists than reading music or sitting on abstract knowledge about music. (Not sure which you meant.)

>Preferably something that is more specific to guitar playing instead of just general music theory

You ever seen Gooby, the 2009 Canadian film about a kid in a comfortable living situation being helped through some growing pains by a giant imaginary teddy bear when his family moves from one suburban neighborhood to another? When you learn "guitar theory" (or most "theory" directed at a specific instrument; even "piano theory" is pretty awful) rather than music theory proper, it's like replacing an original trilogy Star Wars film with a Gooby.

Anyway, when I was a youngun, I bought The Guitar Grimoire because it looked cool and had little dots for where to put my fingers. I also went through a good chunk of Ted Greene's Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing, Volume 1 because it had "jazz" in the title and had little dots for where to put my fingers. William Leavitt's guitar method is solid in that it doesn't make many theoretical mistakes (doesn't actually do much theory though), but its strength is really in building technique, musicianship and reading.

u/fforalks57 · 2 pointsr/jazzguitar

The Bill Leavitt books are also great for learning to read. Some of the music sounds a little old-fashioned now, but these books really helped me when I was studying music at college years ago: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Modern-Method-Guitar-Volumes-Complete/dp/0876390114/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Modern+Method+for+Guitar&qid=1566384088&s=books&sr=1-1

u/lurgar · 2 pointsr/Guitar

I've been playing for 11 years and had classical training before that. What I've been using to learn sheet music (finally after all of these years) is the Berklee Modern Method for Guitar.

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Method-Guitar-Volumes-Complete/dp/0876390114/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1318729831&sr=8-2

A link to amazon for you.

u/Nolubrication · 2 pointsr/Guitar

Depends on what you like. I was big into metal and hard rock when I was starting out. Black Sabbath is easy enough that you could be playing songs within the first couple months, if not just weeks.

If you're interested in actually learning guitar and not just memorizing songs I'd recommend working through these as well:

  • Fretboard Theory
  • A Modern Method for Guitar

    You'll want to take the Berklee book someplace to get it spiral bound. Also note that it's not a tab book. You'll have to read standard notation. It starts off super easy and gets progressively harder, page by page. A looper pedal for the duets will be helpful.
u/BadResults · 1 pointr/Guitar

I bought William Leavitt's A Modern Method for Guitar (Amazon.ca link because I'm Canadian) for this purpose and I am totally satisfied. It teaches theory and sight reading at the same time, and is basically a big book of exercises. You learn by doing.

u/davidddavidson · 1 pointr/Guitar
u/guitarfx · 1 pointr/Guitar

The William Leavitt books are good:
http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Method-Guitar-Volumes-Complete/dp/0876390114

Also, depends on the style you want to go for. If you go classical, get a really good teach and learn where to place your right hand fingers. Its better to learn correctly than have to re-learn.

u/gibbenskd · 1 pointr/rocksmith

Try the Fretboard Logic series. Very informative and a great place to begin to understand the connections of the fretboard. Another great series is A Modern Method for Guitar.

u/eddard_snark · 1 pointr/guitarlessons

If you want to learn how to read, buy this: http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Method-Guitar-Volumes-Complete/dp/0876390114/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Otherwise it sounds like you just want to do some ear training. There are lots of programs to do that. Or just record yourself playing intervals and when you play them back try and guess what they are. Start at thirds and fifths in the same octave and then expand as you get better at it. Do that every day.

If you don't know basic theory like scales and chords, that's where you need to start. There are roughly a bajillion books on the subject.

u/stramash · 1 pointr/Learnmusic

180 bpm is very fast indeed. Not something I would be worrying about while beginning learning to read; I would start at about 60/70 and maybe work my way up to about 100.

Saying note names as you go can be a helpful way of learning note positions across the neck—if it works for you, then go ahead.

I'd recommend this book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Modern-Method-Guitar-Volumes-Complete/dp/0876390114 as a good means of learning to sight read.

u/DJFunkyFingers · 1 pointr/Guitar

A Modern Method For Guitar by William Leavitt is a great book for this. Starts of with teaching you the staff and how to read notes all the way to advanced theory and improv. It is all standard notation though so you need to be able to read music OR be willing to learn (and will make it easier to learn theory), which this will help you with. It has a ton of songs and practice pieces in every position in it to guide you, and you'll know the fretboard in and out if you stick with it. I highly recommend it.

u/NopeNotQuite · 1 pointr/IWantToLearn

Buy "A Modern Method For Guitar Volume 1" by William Leavitt. Its written by the guy who founded the guitar department in Berklee College of Music. The book teaches you all of the basics of guitar in volume 1 and moves at a fast, yet manageable pace.

Here's a link to the combined 3 volumes for $22
http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Method-Guitar-Volumes-Complete/dp/0876390114

But you get a DVD if you just buy Vol 1 that has a guitar professer at Berklee (the current head of the department) teaching the book to you.
http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Method-Guitar-DVD-ROM-Berklee/dp/0876390696/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370752061&sr=1-2&keywords=a+modern+method+for+guitar

The book gives you an amazing foundation for being a good guitarist and musician that you won't get searching for tabs on the internet.

I know I'm gushing over this, but I'm just amazed by how good at playing I've gotten by going through the book. You don't need a teacher or lessons if you have this book.

u/lwp8530 · 1 pointr/Guitar

sorry for the late reply! well nearly all books will have some rhythm learning which is excellent. [Berklee's A Modern Method for Guitar - Volumes 1, 2, 3 Complete] (http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Method-Guitar-Volumes-Complete/dp/0876390114/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410004474&sr=8-1&keywords=Berklee%27s+Modern+Method+for+Guitar+123) By William Leavitt
as for more books focused on rhythm some good ones are:

[Rhythm Guitar: The Complete Guide] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rhythm-Guitar-The-Complete-Guide/dp/0793581842) by Bruce Buckingham and Melodic Rhythms For Guitar