Introducing Kids to Guitar: Hal Leonard Guitar Method with Jeff Schroedl

Mrs. G: I love the tried and true Hal Leonard guitar method, and really appreciate the slower pace of this book- 1 note is introduced at a time instead of all the closed 1st position c major notes on a string.

United States on Aug 30, 2023

carolyn m.: We bought a few other of this author’s music books so we bought one for our Grandson who is just getting ready to learn to play guitar 🎸

United States on Feb 14, 2023

Avni: Absolutely worth buying, it will teach you StepByStep

Canada on Mar 04, 2022

Music Mom: I am a licensed school music educator. I have used this method book for over 9 years in my fifth grade guitar classes. I also use the Ukulele Method for Kids. It is my favorite method book and this is why:
1. It is paced well and covers all the basics in a systematic way that young kids understand.
2. The photos are large because that is developmentally appropriate for kids. One of the bad reviews criticized the photos, and they are enormously helpful to the students.
3. I LIKE focusing on the chords first because most amateur guitar players intend to use chord strumming, not plucking melodies. I personally, find the chords easy to learn as a beginner.
4. The SONG CHOICES are awesome! My students learned about the Beatles and some other performers with these more "current" song choices as opposed to folk songs they have never heard before.
The only thing I add as a teacher is the transition from easy "one finger" chords to the full chord fingerings.

I highly recommend this course, especially with a teacher to facilitate the learning. I give this my endorsement after having used it for 9 years in a school classroom. Hal Leonard got this one right.

United States on Jul 05, 2020

Dan: I bought this book to start to teach my boys guitar. Overall it's pretty good. It focuses on the top three strings using chords, strumming patterns and single note phrases on those strings. It's a good intro but as with most intro books it is quite boring and dry. The content is good but don't rely on it alone to captivate a child and keep them intestesed. I use this along with basic rock songs so that my kids actually feel like they can play songs they recognize.

Canada on Mar 05, 2015

JS: I was told to buy this book for my son's guitar lesson. Easy to follow. A good range of songs. Useful CD of tracks. He now wants an electric guitar like the boy in the picture!!

United Kingdom on Dec 27, 2014

J. Wright: Bought this for my 10 year old daughter who is just learning guitar and she has really taken to it.It is set out well and very clearly and the tracks on the CD are really clear.

One minor issue is that the tuning notes are all on one track which means you have to keep skipping back to get the tuning right. I would have preferred each note on its own track but a small issue with such a great book.

United Kingdom on Feb 07, 2014

Mark Norman: This is the guitar tuition resource that, I'm told, is favoured by many, if not most, primary school guitar teachers. Our nine-year-old daughter began lessons at the beginning of this term and given her somewhat butterfly approach to every hobby she's ever had (completely enthusiastic for about five minutes and then, when the novelty wears off, flitting off to the next new shiny pastime) I was a little sceptical whether she'd stay the course.

Nine weeks later, and she's still plucking gamely away - largely, I think, because this book makes it all very straightforward and the kids end up learning to play songs rather than just playing an endless stream of unrelated chords, which makes it all that much more engaging.

The layout of the book and the instructions are clear, easy to follow and logical and even in the course of nine weeks - thanks also to her weekly lesson - we've heard real improvement in her playing. The price makes it good value for money and I'd recommend it as an additional source of support to anyone who's having lessons or as a standalone 'teach yourself' book.

United Kingdom on Nov 20, 2013

dirtsounds: I have taught guitar for 12 years and was very excited when I found this book. After using it, I feel that it has been well thought out and addresses the challenges of teaching children so wonderfully. It is designed to give success early on and quickly. I also bought the Alfred Kids Guitar course book and will say that I absolutely prefer this one. This book starts out extremely simply, as does the Alfred and gets kids playing music right away, but it is much less distracting visually. It also has licensed great popular songs for use in the book whereas the Alfred uses mainly public domain tunes or songs made up for the book. The teacher parts are written out as well as the melody notes to sing along with. The other book only includes strum bars and chords, so unless you use the cd every time, it is not clear what the melody is. I let my 8 year old son start using this book and he loves it. I decided to teach the Alfred book to my 5 year old to avoid competition with his brother but he preferred the Hal Leonard because there is no singing on the cd and he thought the pictures were "stupid." I recommend the listening cd that comes with it. The sing along factor really helps kids....

United States on Feb 13, 2012

snackman: I disagree with the person who says this book is not much different. It is WAY different. Most Kids and beginners books focus on overloading people with notes and boring songs.
This book has notes on first three strings ...that's it! About as much as one can handle in a few months worth of lessons..it is just an INTRODUCTION to notes not a "learn it ALL RIGHT NOW or else!"....
This book's focus is on making music and making music FUN. It starts off with short chords which is VERY different from all the other books out there, most books make you drudge through the notes for months and months until you finally learn how to read...which you never do...and you quit...not ever getting to the REAL guitar job of playing accompaniment And the songs are fun and MUCH different from other books. I highly recommend this book. I have been teaching guitar for over 15 years and have struggled to find anything that really is FUN and educational for young people. This book has a good balance.

United States on Jun 01, 2011