The Brazilian Guitar Book

I was looking for a book on the culture and history of Brazilian guitar. Not mutch about that in this book.

It's a compliment to say of this book, "you'll get out of it what you put into it" because so many guitar instruction books fall short of that standard.The author knows his stuff, takes it seriously, and pretty much expects you to do the same. This is not an "easy" method, it's an effective method and will teach you several interesting playing styles if (and only if) you really work at it.Some of the rhythmic figures are tricky at first, and the accompanying CD makes a huge difference for me.My only criticism is that since the book covers a lot of ground, there aren't necessary a lot of pages devoted to each style, and you'll have to pay close attention to the examples that are given. When I get better at it I do plan to seek supplementary material.But still the book gets five stars from me for a serious and thoughtful approach to an interesting, if somewhat difficult, realm of guitar play.

My rating is based on the fact that I cannot recommend the Kindle version. Other then that it is 5 stars. I think the material in the book is great and I will have a great time learning what is in it, but the Kindle version has some draw backs, even if the price was right. First the kindle pages are too small (the printed version is 8 x11). Secondly, in order to get the sound tracks you have to go to an entirely different web site and first down load to a computer and then to the iPad. I guess there is something to be said for being able to hold a music book in your hands and just popping the CD into a player.Having said that, the material in the book is excellent, very instructional and well written. BEWARE..this is not a book for beginners and is not a song book.I am happy I bought the book but wish I had opted for the extra money and bought the printed version.

The organization of this book is very simple and very effective- Chapters on Samba, Bossa, Choro, Frevo, and Baiao, each with rhythm pattern examples and variations, then song, accompaniment, and chord/melody examples.What makes it stand out is that the examples are well-chosen, and seem relevant even before context is introduced.While the material doesn't require virtuoso level playing, it's not a beginner book- the examples do require reading ability, and some of the rhythms will need to be worked out at a slower tempo, and sped up gradually.One gets the impression that the author is steeped in the subject matter, and the book is informed by considerable experience-no Dick Louden 'how-to' book- It's the real deal, and well worth the price and the time it will take to work through it methodically.

Nice book which includes a CD. It's focus appears to be helping one sort out rhythmic patterns for various Brazilian styles. However, there is no tab whatsoever in this book, contrary to a couple of the other reviews. There's only some simple chord diagrams. This is fine for simply focusing on the rhythm w/out having to worry about reading the music. But in most of the complete songs, you'll have to read notation.

A good sampling of Latin rhythms with musical notation (sheet music) and corresponding recorded clips on CD. Not very many songs in the collection. But a solid "catalog" of rhythms and guitar voicings. I would have like a few more songs in the book. But it's very well done.

I picked up this book to work on my right hand technique. I read the review that said the quality of the CD examples was poor, which I find to be false. The CD examples help so much and the quality of the recordings are good. There are also chord charts that are very helpful. If you are interested in learning how to play bossa nova, or samba guitar this book is a must have.

This is the only really practical demonstration of bossa nova I've encountered, and the book would be well worth buying for the bossa nova section (which is only about a fifth of the book) itself. I've already made Mr. Faria's arrangement of "Triste' part of my guitar repertoire, and I'm hoping to do the same with the two other complete arrangements.

I've been playing for years but this has book has added a whole new dimension to the way I think about chords and progressions in my song writing and playing. Recommend it.

Great book. It has got everything I could want to help me learn these wonderful, complicated rhythms. Very logically laid out.

Ich spiele schon seit langer Zeit - wenn auch mit Unterbrechungen - Gitarre (35 Jahre). Dieses Buch ist meiner Meinung nach sehr effektiv und bietet die wichtigsten Grundlagen gängiger brasilianischer Musikstile. Weiterführende Musiker werden auch genannt, obwohl ich die Schinderei mit Musikerfotos etwas nervig finde, mich interessieren nur die Erläuterungen und Noten. Die beiliegende CD hilft, um sich das Ganze mal anhören zu können, obwohl die Noten ausreichen würden. Ich kann diese Anleitung nur empfehlen.

The book is very reach on examples that are recorded on the CD. Listening to them will inspire you even more. Pieces are performed brilliantly with vivid rhythmical sence and energy. It took me two days to complete the second example that has few bars only but was so diffiicult to perform because of the rich and heavy syncopated rhythm. But once you get into the syncopation and manage to lead the bass with the thumb while syncopating with the other fingers it starts to bring you enourmous pleasure. It was difficult to me to play along with the records, because Nelson plays on full speed, but than I got one of the many avalable applications for slowing down music and it did a really good job. I can only recommend this book!

Ein Buch für Fortgeschrittene oder ambitionierte Zwischendurchspieler. Das Buch bedient sich sehr authentischer Stücke, klärt verständlich und vor allem nachvollziehbar und nachspielbar auf, was Samba von Bossa und Co. unterscheidet. Die beiliegende CD zum Mitspielen darf als exzellente Aufnahme und hilfreiche Unterstützung für den übenden Gitarrero gesehen werden. Meine Empfehlung: Ich würd es kaufen, hätte ich es noch nicht. Spiele selbst seit 34 Jahren Klassische Gitarre, seit ca. 2 Jahren Bossa Nova.