The Library of Easy Classical Guitar Solos: Guitar Tablature Edition

This is a charming, well edited, and pleasantly large collection of solos for the classical guitar. Willard draws from all the major eras of guitar music (renaissance lute, baroque, classical, and romantic), and includes all the compositions one usually finds in classical guitar anthologies (Greensleeves, Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, an arrangement of the Pachelbel canon, the Bach lute bourree in e minor, etc).Willard's arrangements favor ease and clarity over musical richness (though as another reviewer wrote not all of them are actually easy to play). He includes many stripped-down arrangements of Carcassi, for instance; his changes are never offensive, they just make the pieces slightly simpler (contrast with Ben Bolt's anthology of Carcassi, which makes fewer concessions). The book seems intended for practice and study more than performance, so this is entirely appropriate. Also, you get a LOT of Carcassi (and many other classical guitar greats), which is perfect for a developing classical guitarist.Clear printing, large and dark enough to read from the stand. A very nice anthology.

Pretty nice! I play guitar professionally, and when I'm not touring in my rock bands, I play classical guitar at wineries and restaurants. Because I play in so many bands, it's really hard for me to keep up on all my skills. This book is great, it's super easy to sight read, so I can use it to keep up on my classical stuff. I already know quite a few of these songs, and I can see how they simplified some parts. If you're feeling adventurous, you can add in some extra notes to turn a single note into a chord or something. Or if you know the songs, you can look up the complicated fingerings. I'll do that from time to time, just to make the songs sound more complete.Haha, don't tell anyone, but if I have a longer classical gig and I haven't been working my reiptore on a regular basis, I sometimes take this book and site read some of the songs for filler. It's great to keep up on your skills, or it's great to learn some easy classical pieces. Arranged very well. I run through this book frequently. So much material, it's great.

When Willard says "Easy", he means easy in the realm of classical guitar. While there are certainly pieces in here a newbie can tackle with an instructor, knowing your way around the guitar is going to help a lot. Many of the pieces are out of method books, so you can go from playing a piece written for performance to a finger-twisting lesson on the next page. The variety of pieces is wonderful, many different moods and eras covered.Book is standard notation and tablature. Right-hand fingering notes are included in many pieces. As noted, the binding is rather weak and some pages are coming unglued, but I have been using this book daily for two years.If you are looking to get into playing classical pieces, this is a great place to get started and learn some of the greatest composers of all time.

Like some of the other reviewers, I am enjoying the collection of guitar solos in this large book. Some are fairly easy while other are well beyod my current play-grade. As others have commented, it is such a large book that it would be more useful if it were spiral bound. I will probably take it to my local Office Max and have them do it. Adds to the cost a bit, but it will be more funcational and enjoyable to use. If it had come with the spiral bound, I would have given it 5 stars.

I've been using this book for years now to exercise my fingers. I'm not professional at the guitar, so this little book is perfect for me to practice my hobby. I remember when my dad brought it back from a trip from San Francisco when I was just a wee laddy and no practice. This has been my learning book from whence stems all my other songs I know to date. Good job Jerry Willard for putting it together so nicely.