Anybody familiar with Howard Roberts' Guitar Compendium - The Praxis System?
Joey Goldstein
Guitar Compendium, Vols. 1, 2 and 3
The Praxis System
by Howard Roberts , Garry Hagberg
Are they a graded guitar method from beginner level to advanced?
Any good?
How do they compare to the Leavitt books?
--
Regards:
Joey Goldstein
Guitarist/Jazz Recording Artist/Teacher
Home Page: http://webhome.idirect.com/~joegold
Email: <joegold AT idirect DOT com>
Greg Clayton
a method you need for teaching the Leavitt are much better. HR did put out
[early 70's] several really great books and if you can find those grab them
. I think they were called HR chord melody and the HR guitar book.
Greg Clayton
Thomas F Brown
Joey Goldstein <joegoldATidirectDOTcom> wrote:
>Anybody familiar with the following books?
>
>Guitar Compendium, Vols. 1, 2 and 3
>The Praxis System
>by Howard Roberts , Garry Hagberg
>
>Are they a graded guitar method from beginner level to advanced?
>
>Any good?
I haven't seen them for a long time. My impression was that they
were a compendium of things that Howard came up with for his
GP Magazine column. Not a method, but full of great ideas and
insights. All of Howard's pedagogical material is worth checking
out.
Larry Vigneault
to advanced. It's not a method as others have mentioned. The flow of the
books can be somewhat confusing dependent upon what path you're choosing
to go. It was intentionally designed not to be followed in any
particular order which is why I state that you could find it somewhat
confusing. There's a ton of great material in the book, though I found
the explanations in some cases to be a bit unclear, especially in terms
of how to apply some of the concepts. Howard's one my favorite players,
so I can find value in just about anything the man wrote. I do like his
troubleshooting section where he poses common questions and suggestions
for ways to address the question. But if you're looking to start
learning to play jazz, this isn't the set of books you want. If you're
in a rut and you already understand much of the theory, then these books
could help you to approach the instrument from different perspectives.
Rgds, Larry
Joey Goldstein
I have a student who owns these books and he is going to show them to me
next time we get together.
I'm sort of wondering if anybody has found anything to replace William
Leavitt's books as far as a basic foundation for playing technique is
concerned?
My own book is a little scattered and doesn't seem to really allow for a
directed, controlled, gradual development from point A to point B nearly
as well as the Leavitt books.
I hesitate to use the Leavitt books with my students because there are
so many pitfalls (positionitis and alternate pickingosis come to mind)
that most novices fall prey to while using those books.
Any other suggestions?
I sort of look at Mick Goodrick's book - The Advancing Guitarist as the
4th Berklee Book where all the important things Leavitt left out finally
get covered. But it would be nice to find a decent method book for
beginners that got them playing across the fretboard and using some
sweep picking and reverse alternate picking, etc. from the get go.
Jim Kangas
through, but more reference material. My understanding (based on the
intro) is that HR thought we musicians tend to learn by picking up
little pieces here and there, so it's like an encyclopedia of little
pieces. It's organized into three volumes. The first deals with "style
and craft" and chords. The second is primarily scales and intervals,
and the third is arpeggios and essential theory. While I loved HR's
playing I have mixed feelings about this set. There are lots of great
ideas in it, but they range from really simple things which might be
appropriate to a beginner to things (e.g., voice leading) which might
be a little difficult for a beginner. Since each book is ~225 pages,
it just seems a little uneven at times. On the the other hand, it has
been a useful reference from time to time. So I'd say it has both
beginner and advanced mixed together.
I'm not a teacher, but I'd say *parts* of it would be great for a
certain concept. There's this other guy who has a pretty good book
who's from Canada -- his name is, ah, oh yes, Joey Goldstein. Similar
approach but HR's is more "guitaristic", while I think yours is a
little more conservatory-oriented. Both good.
-Jim
Joey Goldstein <nos...@nowhere.net> wrote:
>Anybody familiar with the following books?
>Guitar Compendium, Vols. 1, 2 and 3
>The Praxis System
>by Howard Roberts , Garry Hagberg
>Are they a graded guitar method from beginner level to advanced?
>Any good?
>How do they compare to the Leavitt books?
>--
Joey Goldstein
Jim Kangas wrote:
>
> I'm not a teacher, but I'd say *parts* of it would be great for a
> certain concept. There's this other guy who has a pretty good book
> who's from Canada -- his name is, ah, oh yes, Joey Goldstein. Similar
> approach but HR's is more "guitaristic", while I think yours is a
> little more conservatory-oriented. Both good.
Well thanks Jim. But I can't help wondering what you mean by "conservatory-oriented"?
Thomas F Brown
Joey Goldstein <joegoldATidirectDOTcom> wrote:
>
>I sort of look at Mick Goodrick's book - The Advancing Guitarist as the
>4th Berklee Book where all the important things Leavitt left out finally
>get covered. But it would be nice to find a decent method book for
>beginners that got them playing across the fretboard and using some
>sweep picking and reverse alternate picking, etc. from the get go.
I don't know about method books, but for learning to play along
the fretboard, you can practice three octave arpeggios, and
three or four notes-per-string scales--things that force you
to change position.
Jurupari
>directed, controlled, gradual development from point A to point B nearly
>as well as the Leavitt books.
This is something that might be smoothed out with editing. Is the book
finished? This probably isn't a short term solution, but the book may benefit
from editing, if there's someone you could entrust with the project. Please
keep in mind I know more of the book from its discussions here than by actual
exposure, so this may be off the mark - just a suggestion, really.
Regards,
Clif Kuplen