@@andrewmorley6559 I have certainly thought about it. Larry teaches from Vol 1 quite a bit as required by Berklee. If I can be honest…if a player is at the level ready for Volume 2…as an adult player, there are just so many better uses of time. Leavitt doesn’t teach ANY pop tunes, jazz standards…classical…with limited time left on this earth I would much rather learn pieces by Bach, Villa Lobos, Satie, and - for method - Barry Galbraith’s Daily Studies and Bach Inventions books offer so much more. For Jazz I’d rather dig in to Joe Pass arrangements; Django; Metheny’s books (especially Guitar Etudes), Berklee’s Jazz Standards for Solo Guitar by John Stein…Ted Green’s Chord chemistry book…Naturally Fred Noad’s Book 2. I’m sitting here looking at Leavitt Vol 2 (BTW his classical etudes for pick style guitar book is amazing) and it’s really a question of - would that really bring a student closer to performance of beautiful guitar arrangements? How much does Leavitt’s book 2 REALLY move the needle vs getting gig-ready and going through some great advanced harmony courses (Rick Beato comes to mind) … Ohhhh it’s a tough one for sure and I’ve often considered it. Maybe I’ll do a few pages worth of vids here and see if it gets any views. Thank you!

Yes, they were the "60's surf", it was a set of 3 from the duncan custom shop. Ridiculously good. Just ridiculous...and this was back far before covid and inflation when things were normal.

Very few. There are a couple pieces of each book that are so pleasing to the ear, I will do so , so that I can just grab my guitar and relax in the backyard. But no, not generally.

@@andrewwheelerguitar I agree. They are very pleasing to the ear. Especially pieces like Senorita

@@scharrsilicio thank you for the tip! Will do! Didn’t think of that.

This is only my opinion, but, it plays wonderful, feels so good in the hand, easy to play, and sounds great. It's not a cheap sound for ME, but that's only me. Remember, this is a special guitar used to make a sound in the room without needing an amp. The speaker in the body is 10 watts and is VERY small so you must understand it will never sound like a regular size guitar amp. Yes, this guitar plugs into a traditional guitar amp as well, and sounds excellent through it.

Glad it was helpful! There are so many fun and useful things about this guitar I will absolutely be doing a much more thorough review - I am curious to hear it plugged into an amp. I think this guitar is a “sleeper”.

What is the scale length?

@@John666Galilee It is a regular size, 38" guitar, but made thin and light for travel with a sleek body contour. The scale length is 24 and 3/4 (24.75) inches

@@davejohnson-yi2rk i started. I have some Book 3 videos done. It is just incredibly, incredibly time consuming and with summer students, work, camps/clinics, vacation etc., crazy time right now. But yes sir, I promise, I am 100% committed to book 3. Labor Day this fall will be the perfect time.

@@davejohnson-yi2rk here you go, it’s a start :) I put 12 videos in kzfaq.info/sun/PL5de5JcsUqg9ivUy9Kw4Ygb5MrT7XVzj0&si=3qvxFAUsSvwmgELc

Very welcome!

@@CameraLaw thank you so much!! I love doing these videos after a day of teaching, and very often I reflect on wishing that my teacher growing up had offered me some insight as to why these exercises are what they are. You really really made my day by that statement and I hope that we can continue our learning journey together. Kindest regards, Andrew.

It is two cameras, sir. Camera 1 was on me, and camera 2 was a still photo that I inset in the right side of the screen over my left shoulder using iMovie. So, no, it would not be reversed as it was just a photo of the amp as I was playing so you can see the settings. so, no green screen. Thanks for checking out the video!

@@andrewwheelerguitar not a left-handed guitar?

@@iuutoob no, it is not. I forgot to de-select the “mirror image” check box in my camera recording computer app

@@iuutoob interestingly, my students like “mirror image” when we meet online. They say it helps it make better sense in their minds in a live 1-1 lesson online. They prefer to see our guitars facing the same way. So it’s kind of my default on that particular camera

Thanks for the thumbs up! It's hard to tell when trying to assist guitarists via a platform like this. The main complaint that I've heard from students over the years is....Mel Bay doesn't explain a darn thing. So.....what's a "one" chord? Why are we playing these notes in the song? Do they mean anything? So.... you're right....this is all about finding a balance between not enough info and too much. I'm definitely just having fun with making this content, and like to think about who may be watching it. It's impossible to know, really. And thanks again for your time!

Thank you. It was a Gibson Keb Mo blues king (or blues master, I can’t recall). I miss it!

Thank you for commenting! I teach both Hal Leonard and Mel Bay. Mel Bay book 1 = Hal Leonard books 1 and 2. But, Hal Leonard is more fun. Mel Bay is more advanced the theory and application, but Hal Leonard stops along the way to teach you fun things. Either way, they are both excellent systems, and congratulations on this most important step in your guitar playing. I wish you a lifetime of joy!

Thank you!

Great question! I usually do play them as barre chords but I’m pretty confident that is not what MB intended, but who’s to say. I think they make a lot of sense as barre chords but I did not play the as such because he did not write the barre chord indicator along the top of the music he will do in later volumes

Thank you so much. I bet you can tell, it is my favorite in the book :)

I have a book one video, as well, if you’d like - like this one, where I play the examples

No problem either way. The guitars are equal for this learning. But remember this method is for plectrum-style.

Thankyou😍🙏🏻

Noted. It sounds quite loud from my phone. However, I will continue to experiment with better recording equipment. I am hoping to save some money for higher quality equipment. The problem with lapel microphones - Also called “lavalier” microphones, is that they remove the guitar, because they have “background noise removal”. I promise to keep working on solutions.

No problem either way, the plectrum style guitar will work with nylon or steel. Both are equal for these studies.

❤okay🌈

Thank you! and thanks for watching. I will soon have a full video on this completed with instruction :)

@@andrewwheelerguitar sweet! Dotted eighth notes are tricky!

Thank you for letting me know. I will fix the mic for the next one :)

@@andrewwheelerguitar 😍🙏🏻

You bet! This is fun. Thank you for watching.

Here is the regular edition - (Amazon US) Modern Guitar Method Grade 1 a.co/d/h5qkOk8 I prefer to focus on digging into the small edition and really looking at the value of each item and move through the series more quickly. You will get better faster. If you use the expanded you’ll spend much more time in Level 1 but have more fun doing it. So, whatever your personal learning goals are.

@@andrewwheelerguitar Got it, thanks! for the reply.

Thanks so much!!

Not sure what I’m missing? (WHY Mr. Bay has us not stick to the pattern is beyond me, but, maybe just to keep us on our toes) Phrase 1 cde-def-efg-g Phrase 2 gab-abc-bcd-c Phrase 3 cde-def-efg-g Phrase 4 def#-f#ga-agf#-g

You’re welcome! 😊

Yes sure, [email protected]