Just as it states on the cover, Benedict emphasizes dynamics, interpretation, phrasing and form almost right from the start. This wide scope permeates the lessons and lends a lightness and freshness to the lessons that keeps the student wanting more. The pacing of the exercises is carefully constructed and there are no big jumps in difficulty, which is great. Equally useful is his addition of random rhythm patterns at the end of each level. With all the emphasis on tone production, dynamics and interpretation, students (and teachers) often neglect their rhythmic mastery and with Benedict’s inclusion of these random rhythms and his even-handed approach, one is sure to learn something no matter their experience level!

There haven’t been many books that have made my list of instructional essentials but this book and the second volume have proven to be indispensible to myself and to many of my students. The fact that this book just happens to make you a better sight-reader in the mean time is a testament to its transparency and usability. Highly recommended.
Rating: 4 / 5

Quoting from the Foreword of this book, “…it is important to develop facility in reading, recognizing the notes, as well as the bar positions in which to play them, the fingerings, the rhythmic patterns, and any markings of interpretation (dynamics, phrasing, articulation, etc.).”

The beginning guitarist, and even those more advanced, must develop skill in these facits if real progress is to be made.

The excercizes are mostly one-line, easy to read–even melodic–compositions that you will know when you have played them correctly. I particularly like the brief, direct, no-preaching comments the author makes. The book provides a thrifty, interest-keeping tool that now occupies a significant part of my daily practice routines. And, my progress is getting back on schedule.
Rating: 5 / 5

It is perfect for those who are brand new to classical guitar notation or notation in general. The exercises are so well laid out. You would use this book as a supplement to your regular guitar studies, assuming you are learning musical notation. This book will not tell you where the notes are, but delves into the musicality aspect of reading the notation and playing it. Since you can “Look Inside!” you can get a good idea of how the exercises are laid out and how they progress from simple to more challenging. My youngest student using this book is 7 and my oldest is 68 and both are learning very valuable aspects of musical expression.

It looks deceivingly simple at first but it will quickly spotlight areas of musical weakness that need to be worked on. It hammers an area of music reading which is usually the hardest to grasp, and most frequently left out of method books and that is rhythm. Learning what the names of the notes are and where they are on the guitar is not that much of a challenge, but playing rhythmically precise is often the hardest aspect of playing music. It has several pages of pure rhythmic practice dispersed throughout the book (which I wish you could see but unfortunately can’t), which are gold mines for rhythmic practice. As far as I’m concerned this entire book is a gold mine for excellent, practical knowledge for music reading and interpretation. The subsequent book, Levels 4 & 5 is also wonderful.

You will learn a lot if using this book by yourself, but if you use it in conjunction with a qualified teacher, you will get much more out of it.
Rating: 5 / 5