Hi Chris, This a good question. Method books are fewer in number than lute tutors. As you probably know, there are three ways of playing the guitar - strumming, plucking and mixed-style. I've entertained thoughts about writing an online tutor with videos of techniques, etc. It would be a lot of work (and for no financial reward - but that's not really important). In the meantime, there are two books for you to hunt down, both by James Tyler.
The first was published by Chorus in Finland and was worked on by our resident Finnish guitarist, Timo Peedu. I have it somewhere, but can't find it to give you the title. Anyway, I think it is long out of print. I think it was called A Brief Tutor for the Baroque Guitar. The second is Appendix 1 from a book co-authored by James Tyler and Paul Sparks, The Guitar And Its Music - from the Renaissance to the Classical Era (Oxford Early Music Series). The appendix is 'A Brief Guide to Reading and Interpreting Baroque Guitar Tablatures'. It discusses the Alfabeto System of chord symbols and strumming patterns, ornaments, etc. There are no pieces to learn. For that you need to get some editions. Gaspar Sanz is always a good place to start. He has simple grounds with chords and strumming patterns. Timo Peedu has some excellent editions available for free from this page: [1]http://rmguitar.info/scores.htm and on his Ning network page: [2]http://earlyguitar.ning.com/profile/TimoPeedu - if you don't know about the Ning Baroque Guitar network, you should join. Do you have an instrument? That is usually the main barrier to progress! Student baroque guitars are hard to come by. There are some Mexican guitars which have 5 double courses and could be adapted into a reasonable-quality student baroque guitar. Maybe someone else could chime in here. Good luck finding a teacher. If you have any more questions, just ask. Rob MacKillop [3]www.songoftherose.co.uk (has some baroque guitar videos) 2008/8/25 Chris D <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hello all, I'm wondering if someone can recommend a good way to approach baroque guitar for the complete novice. I'm an intermediate level lute player and read staff notation (viola da gamba and recorder) but no guitar experience. I've built a serviceable orpharion, and thought, why not tackle a baroque guitar. Any recommendations as far as good introductory method books, teachers in the Pacific Northwest, etc? Thanks, not sure if this is the right site to address this question as most of the current discussion of tunings etc is completely over my head. Christopher -- To get on or off this list see list information at [5]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. http://rmguitar.info/scores.htm 2. http://earlyguitar.ning.com/profile/TimoPeedu 3. http://www.songoftherose.co.uk/ 4. mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
