Rockschool Guitar - Debut (2012-2018) Paperback – 3 May 2012

This is an excellent learning aid for the electric guitar, although to maximise the experience it really needs a teacher to take one through some of the techniques.It consists of six compositions for the electric guitar which cover a range of musical styles from Alternative Rock, Blues, Heavy Metal, Indie Rock, Progressive Rock and Pop Punk. These are composed specially for the Rockschool syllabus so they are novel pieces. Each are designed to include a variety of guitar techniques including chords, power chords, played both ringing and palm muted, together with solo phrases using hammer-on/pull-offs, slides, bends and vibrato etc. at the appropriate level of difficulty. Each piece has playing instructions and tips, describes the genre in which it is written giving examples of bands with similar styles, and includes recommendations for amp settings etc.Together with this there are a listing of the required scales and arpeggios, and sight reading and ear-test examples, and examination details and techniques. There is also one preview composition piece from the Grade 4 book.Learning guitar effectively and in a fun way requires are number of resources, however this series enables one to develop a range of techniques progressively. It is a really excellent syllabus, and well worth the investment even if one doesn't enter for the examination.Some have commented that a CD is no longer included in this series, which is correct. However the backing tracks with or without the guitar section can be downloaded using the code provided. This takes all of about a minute to do, and is then conveniently filed and accessible on the device; can't see a problem with this!

Help aid with learning guitar and easy to annotate. Highly recommend for intermediate guitar players.

So far I have really enjoyed learning to play using the Rockschool Guitar - Debut. I have learned the first three tracks and the information is clear and the demo and play-along tracks on the CD encourage a higher standard of playing. Having a framework to work in really is helping me and keeping me motivated. I plan to take the associated exam at the next opportunity. I would give this 5 stars but the overall costs (the book and the exams) are a little higher than I would have expected; also there is now an App for Rockschool Guitar and I do not yet know if you have to re-purchase each level to access the material via the App; hopefully this is not the case but I await a response on this. I also have a seven year old grandson that is starting to learn the guitar but I think the materials are too expensive for most young families.

Easy to understand

My son and I are enjoying the Rockschool grade books. They're a very well authored set of progressive study material and introduce a wide variety of music styles and technique. They're graded for exams, which my son is working towards. But, they're a useful set of books for anyone learning guitar even if you have no desire to take the exams. The included CDs are really helpful as a guide to learning the rhythm and getting the sound and playing style right. The backing tracks help with the timing and give something to play along to.

I have this book. I have been playing for a while following a Charanga Guitar Training PC Program but wanted something else to play as well. I struggle to play TAB for most proper songs so wanted something I could work towards fairly easily (I can play basic RIFFs and power chords but I am not particularly fast or fluent). These were spot on for that and I am enjoying playing along to them. They are NOT copies of other artists music but do copy some of the basic styles and have quite a bit of teaching material in too.

Perfect book for the next exam on guitar. Quick delivery would highly recommend.

Great book. Contains the Rock School syllabus for Debut level, which comes just before Grade 1. Well laid out. Great if you want to do the exam, and great if you want to just play the songs and progress. Music written in notes and tab (a minor drawback as pupils become lazy with reading the notes, and only use the tab).