Classic Guitar Technique -- Supplement 1: Slur, Ornament, and Reach Development Exercises (Shearer Series)

I've messed with guitar for 50years, play by ear and am largely self-taught. Mostly folk and country classics. I prefer fingerstyle to flat pick and pretty much gave up singing to play melody. After some success with melodic picking I decided to learn to read and play "real" music. Two of the best teacher-performers in the business recommended the Shearer series. I am working my way through volume one and playing along with the CD and finally understand what I have been mystified by all these years. It's a Lego set for aspiring players that puts the building blocks together in a challenging but satisfying way. But you gotta start with the beginning, even if you've been playing awhile. You may breeze through the early parts, but soon you'll find the slope is steeper and you're having to work at it. That's when it starts to pay off. Have fun.

I've used this book for over two years, with a professor of classical guitar. The book is excellent, and requires a lot of work and dedication to doing those boring exercises that accompany any serious study of a musical instrument. There are exercises that you may never think you would have a use for, yet they are necessary to develop finger independence and reach to play serious guitar pieces. I find these exercises well worthwhile, and sometimes even motivating.

Required for any serious guitarist of any style, the reach development exercises are worth the price of the entire book. Non-classical guitarists might not get much out of the ornament development section, but the slurs and reach development are invaluable as daily drills. Written in standard notation only, so you have to be able to read a little music.

I have the full series of these books now and this is a very fine book for the serious student learning through reading sheet music. I recommend it for teachers to use with their students as well.

Timeless classic still works, lots of slur exercise to conditions the hands, good for the moderately experienced....and the price is right.

I am (at best) and intermediate player who has returned to the instrument after many years. This book yields many exercises to help refine one's slur and ornament technique.

Thanks to Shearer series volume-1 which contains very usuful basic technique studies for anybody who wants to learn classical guitar especially improve the left hand technique slur etc...SincerelyGuray

It is a good extension to a classic classical guitar teaching manual. Still the one since before world war II.

This book is just what I was looking for a must in the classical guitar library.

I'm sure it's valuable to someone, but when a teacher recommends "Classic Guitar Technique, Volume 1," this Kindle edition is not it. At the time of this writing, there was not a Kindle edition of the book on this site.

The exercises are thorough and challenging. A perfect companion to Shearer's Method.A great way to build finger strength and dexterity.