Justinguitar.Com Beginner's Guitar Course (Book & 2 Cds) Paperback – December 5, 2011

Fine primer to take one's guitar playing aspirations from complete novice to decent familiarity with open chords (major, minor, 7th plus some funky versions of such), common rhythms and simple songs. The paperback/CD combo should be supplemented by the free online demos. It is useful to have a local guitar teacher (hence 4 star rating) assist every month or so with whatever are perceived as problematic areas, proper pick/strumming technique and such. Yeah, one could learn most of this solely via free online sources, but such is not comprehensively organized by a veteran teacher who seems unrelentingly cheerful in both the text, and the online materials. One can work at whatever pace suits....took me a year...if the periods "off" practice don't get so long the technique backslides and one has to return to earlier lessons. Note that the Intermediate Course merges seamlessly with the Course, and that is very helpful for someone who presses ahead, in my case despite obvious lack of innate talent, towards becoming good enough to play, after some effort/practice, about 2/3s of popular guitar tunes.

I really enjoy Justinguitar.com. I started checking out the website and his instructions were great and I wanted to have a hard copy to be able to practice when I don't have internet. I also wanted to help support Justin so he can continue his work. Now a little about my skill level; I have been trying to teach myself guitar over the course of a year or so and it has been very up and down and I wasn't really getting it. I tried a number of books and youtube videos, but was not progressing very well. My mom told me to check out Justinguitar.com and I really enjoyed his teaching style and his emphasis on being able to listen and recognize cords. I then bought the book with two cds and they are great. I would highly recommend this book to anyone trying to improve their playing or just starting out. Another great thing about this method is he provides a practice schedule that really helps improve your playing and guides you along the way. Bottom line, this is a great method and I can't wait to finish this book and move on to the next one. Thanks Justin!

If you can't get the course online, get this. If you're the kind that likes to have something tangible to read and review after watching the video lessons, get this. If you're wondering if Justinguitar lives up to the hype, it does.Justin's Beginner Course is the absolute most complete and most structured guitar instruction program I have seen outside of the Berkeley course (the white 1, 2, 3 book). The only thing this doesn't cover is reading music, but TBH, if all you want to do is play songs and improv some blues of a bit of lead, you don't need to read music. TAB and 'fake' book chord charts will provide you with all you need.BTW, TAB in one form or another (telling you which string to finger and where, as opposed to a note name) has existed since at least the Renaissance, and probably much earlier, for lutes so the concept is far from new (in fact, it predates the modern grand staff).

As a guitar teacher, I'm always looking for different method books to get ideas from. I had heard a lot about justinguitar and decided to buy his book. There are a few good things that this book does cover. Things like how to choose a guitar, minor maintenance, and some ear training. The rest of the book is quite lacking as it seems like a glorified chord book.Throughout the entire book, most of what you're learning is chords. At the beginning of each chapter, there's a list of songs you'll be able to play after reading, but you have to buy the songbook to get those. Of course you could just download the lyrics and chords from the internet as well. Almost every chapter is laid out the same: chords, how to alternate between chords, and ear training. You eventually learn pentatonic scales using tablature and a few easy strum patterns, but that's about it. Justin made no effort to teach you how to read music, which a lot of today's guitarists think is unnecessary or just too hard to bother learning.Though thorough in what it teaches, this book is overly simplistic, lacking in content, and offers almost no material to go with the lessons taught. If you're the type of guitar player that wants to play campfire songs and doesn't care about going further, this book may be good for you. If you want something that teaches everything this book offers and a lot more, I recommend Mel Bay's 'Mastering the Guitar' series. I'd also recommend 'A Modern Method for Guitar' by Berklee Press.

I haven't been playing long but I do know my chords and can shift quickly from cord to cord. My main complaint about this training manual is that it's pretty fast paced for a beginner right from the start.Immediately they want you to start playing chords by recognition of sound, rather than talking about hand placement and memorization.Every book has it's own approach, so you'll have to do what I'm doing I guess and take a little from each book that works for you and keep searching. I haven't found that perfect training book yet. Luckily I pick things up quickly and will be self-taught without lessons.Good luck in your search. I would not recommend Guitar for Dummies though, it was way over priced and a little bit advanced for a beginner. My cd didn't work for that one either.

At just short of my 70th birthday, I decided to take up the guitar again. It had been more than 45 years since I'd played. An inexpensive Squier Stratocaster, Fender amp and Justin's Beginner's Guitar course is just what I needed to get started again. One of the first things I learned was I was holding the pick wrong. Old habits die hard bit once I started holding it right, things moved right along. His book and the 2 included CD's make relearning the thing a breeze. I'm already playing simple songs and doing rather well at it. Most of what he teaches, I have to go to U Tube to hear what they are supposed to sound like but that is a small thing.Thank you Justin. You're #1 in my book.

I've tried on and off to learn the guitar for about 12 years now. I've never been keen on lessons, they don't fit round my lifestyle well at all. I have tried guitar tuition books before, and they tend to come in one of two forms:-1 - Theory, notes and chords. Quite dry, not too inspiring.2 - A series of songs with 'easy play' tabs and chord symbols. This works even less well than the first. You might learn to play one song well, but its not then related to the next, so there's no progression or anything. Also, you'll probably find that technically you aren't even that good at the song you've just learned.Anyway, the two methods mentioned above made me give up more than a few times.The Justinguitar.com Beginners Guitar Course and Beginners Songbook are linked. I'd suggest you buy both if you are going to buy either, because they are pointless without the other. Individually them they kind of encompass the two kinds of book I mentioned above (but in the best way I've ever seen), but together they form a well paced and structured set of lessons with theory and songs built to help you progress at a fast but steady pace, which coupled with Justins excellent website telling you how to do things and helpfully showing you what is right and wrong.... well its the furthest I've ever come to getting somewhere with a guitar! I'm amazed and excited and so enthusiastic to complete the course (I'm only on chapter 4, but in two months I already play better than I have ever managed in 12 years.This is the beginning of a full course, and accompanied by a brilliant website. It's the best way I can imagine you'd ever learn to play the guitar... just do it, buy them both.

Justin is one of my favorite Guitar Teachers ONLINE, I have been watching his video's on Youtube and his Website for years now, I got this book, along with his 2nd Edition songbook, both GREAT,This book goes into GREAT detail to learn you the basics of playing the Guitar, Chords, Notes, Names, Strumming, Tabs, How To Use Picks, What accessories to buy, there is too much to tell, the book has over 190 pages FULL of very useful learning skills.Justin has done an amazing job on this book, if you are just starting playing the guitar, get this book it ill teach you a lot and its well worth the money if you ask me :)I have been playing 5 weeks now, I can play pretty good, but i wanted to go over it all again hahaGreat book 5 ******MANY THANKS

Over the years I've had a few goes at playing the guitar, but never had lessons - I've always tried learning from books. Justin's the first person I've found who makes that easy.The book itself is great, combining a structured approach with plenty of notes on technique and a light and humorous style. It's well laid out and clear, with plenty of illustrations. Each chapter includes a table of specific, timed exercises which really helped me focus my efforts on achieving the goals he lays out. It really comes into its own, however, when combined with the beginner's songbook and the on-line lessons. I think the 3 approaches are genuinely complementary and by using all 3 I was able to make progress where I had struggled before.

As a new beginner and not being able to afford lessons for both me and my son I looked for some free online courses. Of all the ones I looked at Justinguitar.com felt the best. Although you can do the online course without the book it is great for reference once you have watched the video's on his website. The book is clearly set out and its clear he has really thought out how to teach guitar playing in simple terms. The whole thing is good value for money with the book and 2 CDs cheaper than 1 lesson alone.Another reason to buy the book is to support Justin financially and keep his site going for others to use.

I wanted a quality book from one of the best instructors EVER! This was right on the money, taking the acoustic player from beginner to intermediate. Many songs are really easy, giving the player a 'feel good' factor. The book has plenty of variety and contemporary songs. Check out the website for Justin Sander one ([...]) - it's even better, with everything an aspiring guitarist could want to get to the top level. It includes practise routines, theory, chord structures, tabs, acoustic, electric and all supported with video lessons and downloadable bits, like the brill metronome app!