Book Description
Bob Books Set 1: Beginning ReadersTeach a child letter sounds with Bob Books Set 1! With four letters in the first story, children can read a whole book. Consistent new sounds are added gradually, until young readers have read books with all letters of the alphabet (except Q). Short vowels and three-letter words in simple sentences make Bob Books Set 1 a fun confidence builder. With little books, come big success. (TM)
Customer Reviews:
Best for new readers.......2007-09-22
These books are my first choice for new readers. They don't have dynamic pictures so the children stay focused on the words and they keep to simple sounds and short vowels.
Fabulous for Beginning Readers!.......2007-09-16
The entire series is wonderful! It was awesome to see my 5 year old boy read the entire first book all by himself! So far, it has also come up along side the reading program we're currently using, Teach Your Child to Read In 100 Easy Lessons, by Siegfried Engelmann, Phyllis Haddox, and Elaine Bruner. These really are a must have for homeschoolers, and even children who are having a difficult time learning to read in public schools. My mother-in-law is currently using them with my 12 year old sister-in-law who has down syndrome. The books rely heavily on phonics, and are in small bite-size pieces, so young children aren't overwhelmed. It reinforces word families and uses word rhyming to create familiarity with those word families.
Wonderful beginning readers!.......2007-09-06
What a fantastic set! My child loves the books. They are so cute and the progression logical. Highly recommend them.
Builds confidence and encourages independence.......2007-08-31
I bought these a few weeks for my daughter who turns 3 tomorrow. She is already reading the first book entirely by herself. Initially I was disappointed. I thought the books were small and flimsy, until I gave them to her. It turns out they're just the right size for her little hands and the paperback style allows me to fold the book so she only sees the page she's reading. Better yet, they're easy to take places. These books haven't left her side, in the car, to the grocery store and even to bed. She's so proud of herself when she spells out a word and then tries to sound it out. The repative nature of the books allows her to sound out a word on the first page and then recognize it on all the following pages, buiding confidence and sight recognition. Each box contains 12 books with graduating difficulty. It will take a while to master all the books in this box so at the price, its an incredible value.
Slow, easy progression .......2007-08-18
My son is 3 1/2 and just finished the first set of Bob Books and can't wait for more. This series is perfect for him because they stay at a beginner level for so long (silent "e" is finally introduced in the 5th set). I love that the set uses some words that might not be familiar to small children ("keg", "nip") as well as names of characters to encourage reading instead of guessing. As you would expect, there are some awkward sentences, but my son doesn't seem overly bothered by them. And the pictures aren't perfect, but they're cute enough that I can't keep my 18-month-old away from them. I'm very pleased that we chose this series.
Book Description
The Knitting Revolution? What`s revolutionary about knitting today is who is knitting (the new knitters are young women and retiring baby-boomers), what they are knitting (exciting yarns and projects), and most of all, why they are knitting (it feels good: the process, its creative and relaxing qualities, is at least as important to them as what they are knitting). What better time for a fresh approach to the learn-to-knit book?
Join The Knitting Revolution focuses on the knit stitch. With introductory chapters titled The Basics of Knitting, What You Need to Know Before You Begin a Project, and So You`re Ready to Start Knitting, this primer is the closest thing betweeen two covers to a knitting coach. Hundreds of clear, step-by-step photographs take you through each skill. Always the goal is to show you what you need to know when you need to know it. Choices are given, so each knitter can find the way that works best. Then the skills are put to work (and into a meaningful context) in the chapter`s projects. Loads of tips and special attention to details ensure that absolute beginners can complete any of the more-than-30 projects successfully; class, yet fun designs assure that they will want to.Like knitting today, this book is personal, passionate, powerful—exactly what the new knitter is looking for and irresistible to the already-converted.
Customer Reviews:
disappointed.......2007-08-26
Touted to be a simple book. Instructions were not. Be sure to check publisher site for corrections.
The best book for new knitters....and the rest of us!!.......2007-08-02
This is an amazing book. Sally teaches in the most logical way: She has you knitting from the start.
Oh, to have had this, when I began knitting! I can see myself now, trying desperately to do what felt like a dozen things at once. None of that. By beginning at the very start with just the knit stitch (not a dozen others), you can find yourself making some of the most beautiful pieces I have ever seen.
And for those who, like myself, are knitters now, here is a book full of delicious patterns to relax whilst making....as well as, to use to help friends & family to begin the adventure as well.
Simply the best there is.
knitting book.......2007-07-18
Love this book. My daughters have both requested that I knit them the Einstein Coat.
Jersey girl comments.......2007-05-12
I found the Knit Book to be easy to use.I made the Einstien Coat and love wearing it.Melville explains even the simplest things or complicated things in a way that gives confidence so you can proceed to a completed garment.
The Knitting Experience: Book 1: The Knit Stitch.......2007-03-08
Excellent step-by-step instructions for those of us who are beginner knitters. I have made a sweater from this book that I love and in the process learned a lot about the art of knitting. Highly recommended!
Book Description
- Written for the budding web developer searching for a powerful, low-cost solution for building flexible, dynamic web sites.
- Essentially three books in one: provides thorough introductions to the PHP language and the MySQL database, and shows you how these two technologies can be effectively integrated to build powerful websites.
- Provides over 500 code examples, including real-world tasks such as creating an auto-login feature, sending HTML-formatted e-mail, testing password guessability, and uploading files via a web interface.
- Updated for MySQL 5, includes new chapters introducing triggers, stored procedures, and views.
From the Back Cover
Interested in becoming a master of the PHP language and MySQL database but don't know where to begin? This best-selling book ranks among the most thorough and practical guides in print, covering all of the key concepts and features, and showing you how to effectively integrate PHP and MySQL to build powerful web sites.
The book begins with a vast overview of PHP's capabilities, starting with a survey of the installation and configuration process on both the Windows and Linux platforms. Next, several chapters are devoted to basic PHP concepts, including variables, datatypes, arrays, functions, string manipulation, and processing user input. Other key PHP topics are also covered, including PEAR, session handling, LDAP integration, the Smarty templating engine, Web services, and PDO.
Next up is a presentation of MySQL's key features. You're first guided through MySQL's installation and configuration process, and are presented with an introduction to its storage engines, datatypes, administration utilities, security features, and data import/export facilities. New MySQL 5--specific chapters have been added in this edition, covering triggers, stored procedures, and views. Along the way, you'll gain insight into PHP's assortment of MySQL functions (using both the mysql and mysqli extensions), and learn how to create and execute queries, perform searches, and carry out key database tasks from within your Web application.
What You Will Learn from This Book
- Install and configure Apache, PHP, and MySQL on both Windows and Linux.
- Accept and process information submitted via HTML forms.
- Authenticate users and track user preferences and data using PHP's session-handling capabilities.
- Process web-based file uploads using the HTTP_Upload PEAR package.
- Create your own RSS aggregator using Magpie, and process XML files in amazingly efficient fashion using SimpleXML.
- Use both command-line and graphical MySQL clients to effectively manage your data.
- Secure the MySQL server, creating roles and restricting access even at very granular levels.
- Effectively integrate PHP and MySQL to create dynamic, data-driven web applications.
Download Description
Beginning PHP 5 and MYSQL: From Novice to Professional offers a comprehensive introduction to two of the most popular Web application building technologies on the planet: the scripting language PHP and the MySQL database server. This book will not only expose you to the core aspects of both technologies, but will provide valuable insight into how they are used in unison to create dynamic data-driven Web applications.
Beginning PHP 5 and MYSQL explains the new features of the latest releases of the world's most popular Open Source Web development technologies: MySQL 4 database server and PHP 5 scripting language. This book explores the benefits, extensive new features, and advantages of the object-oriented PHP 5, and how it can be used in conjunction with MySQL 4 to create powerful dynamic Web sites.
This is the perfect book for the Web designer, programmer, hobbyist, or novice that wants to learn how to create applications with PHP 5 and MySQL 4, and is a great entrance point for Apress's extensive spectrum of PHP books planned for 2004.
Customer Reviews:
Definitely not for begginers.......2007-10-02
I never got around to finishing this book because halfway through it I noticed I had not even written a single line of code.The author does not propose any excercises for you to try out what your learned through the book.All he does is list all the functions available in PHP but no examples on how to use them.
I can see this book being useful as a reference after you have programmed PHP for a while, but for beginners that want to get started in PHP for the very firt time I would not recommend it.
Far too many typos, syntax errors, and gaps in explinations.......2007-09-15
I bought this book on recommendation. I have a background in programming, and I just needed a book to cement together all the concepts I had picked up in developing PHP apps. Less then 2 chapters in the errors became so frequent in the code that the author no longer holds my confidence. Its hard to be confident of his explanation if it lacks the care to make sure its correct.
The writing and explanations, though following a clear format, are at times wildly inconstant in explaining the parts of various functions. Do not recommend.
Full of value.......2007-08-07
I haven't programmed in almost 10 years, but wanted to jump into PHP and MySQL generated web content. I was able to pick and chose throughout this book to bring myself up to speed and have a functional website in a matter of 2 weeks. I was easily able to adapt examples in the book to fit my needs.
This book was really worth the money. I will be referencing to it for a long time to come.
Great reference for all.......2007-07-06
I am a semi-experienced programmer, majoring in CS and currently in my third year. I needed to buy a book to learn PHP for a job and originally went for O'Reilley's _Learning PHP and MySQL_. I quickly realized that was a bad choice, however, because it was way too simple and short and didn't really cover SQL at all. Even as a reference book it just did not suffice compared to Gilmore's _PHP5 and MySQL_ which I borrowed from a friend. PHP and MySQL is covered in great depth, and a thorough index makes this nearly-exhaustive text a great reference book.
**This is likely not a book for someone who has never programmed before** as it uses typical programming language terminology without previous definition. Still, abundant examples and side notes allows anyone with reasonable programming experience to breeze through the book. Reading this cover-to-cover would definitely not be the correct approach, but skimming over the chapters and getting acquainted with the PHP language is something this book makes easy to do when you can simply slow down and go over the examples when you feel you need to, or quickly reach the next section thanks to good organization and text formatting.
If you are looking for a reference book for PHP and MySQL just short of a bible, this is definitely for you. But if you are a complete novice to programming, you would probably be better off coming back to this later or buying it on the side for once you have more experience.
Great starter guide.......2007-06-22
this guide speaks in laymens terms and teached using simple examples. I would recomend this book for grandmothers and professional web admins collections
Book Description
- Popular author Ivor Horton uses his trademark approachable writing style to provide novice programmers with the basic tools as they learn Visual C++ 2005
- Readers will learn how to program in C++ using Visual C++ 2005-without any previous knowledge of C++
- More than 35 percent new and updated material covers the new release of Visual C++, and exercises and solutions help readers along the way
- Demonstrates the significant new features of Visual C++ 2005, providing improved flexibility in developing Microsoft applications in C++
Download Description
Popular author Ivor Horton uses his trademark approachable writing style to provide novice programmers with the basic tools as they learn Visual C++ 2005 Readers will learn how to program in C++ using Visual C++ 2005-without any previous knowledge of C++ More than 35 percent new and updated material covers the new release of Visual C++, and exercises and solutions help readers along the way Demonstrates the significant new features of Visual C++ 2005, providing improved flexibility in developing Microsoft applications in C++
Customer Reviews:
Superb Learning Tool.......2007-09-15
This book is well written and very clear. It is helping me relearn C+ after switching from Borland to Microsoft.
Review.......2007-07-20
I got this book as an introduction and reference to the .Net framework. The book did a quality job of discussing the nuances of Visual C++ as opposed to regular c++. I do wish it made a better distinction between the two. But I was satisfied with my purchase.
Ivor Horton's Beginning Visual C++ 2005 (Programmer to Programmer).......2007-07-13
I think that this book is very good for beginners. It covers in detailes most of C++ language aspects and provides comprehensive examples. So I'd give five starts for C++.
For MFC however, I think that the book isn't complete enough (well that's probably because MFC is huge and it's just impossible to cover everything in detailes). The good thing is that author tries to give the concept of the structure of MFC which sometimes is more important than providing all the detailes about particular language or library. So I'm giving five stars for MFC too.
There was one thing I didn't like though. Some examples on MFC were written as if they just wanted to make it work. For example, "Sketcher" program was ok in terms of OOP but in terms of good organization of your code its readability (for possible future changes) and its efficiency is questionable.
Thus overall I'm satisfied with this book and it's worth the money I spent on it.
Nice introduction to Visual C++.......2007-04-19
I bought this book from Amazon. Its a nice introduction to Visual C++. Ivor Horton gives a gentle introduction to C++ and then leads into Visual C++ Windows programming. The book should be easy for beginners to read and is detailed enough to enable an experienced programmer to write commercial Windows programs.
On the negative side, the book has many errors, and in my opinion is a bit misorganized
Informative, but long winded........2007-03-22
I bought this book because I've had little experince with C++ or Visual Studio, and I wanted something that would be in-depth and thorough. While this book is a very authorative resource, it seems that he repeates himself too often. Also he doesn't give enough examples. But all in all it was a good buy for the money.
Book Description
In Learning Web Design, author Jennifer Niederst shares the knowledge she's gained from years of web design experience, both as a designer and a teacher. This book starts from the beginning-- defining the Internet, the Web, browsers, and URLs -- so you don't need to have any previous knowledge about how the Web works. After reading this book, you'll have a solid foundation in HTML, graphics, and design principles that you can immediately put to use in creating effective web pages.
In the second edition, Jennifer has updated the book to cover style sheets and reflect current web standards. She has also added exercises that help you to learn various techniques and short quizzes that make sure you're up to speed with key concepts. The companion CD-ROM contains material for all the exercises in the book, as well as trial versions of Fireworks® MX, and HomeSite™ 5; Adobe ® Photoshop® 7, ImageReady® 7, and BBEdit 7.*
Learning Web Design, 2nd Edition:
- Covers the nuts and bolts of basic HTML and style sheets, with detailed examples of formatting text, adding graphic elements, making links, creating tables and frames, and using color on the Web.
- Explains whether to use GIFs or JPEGs for different types of images, and includes important tips on optimizing graphics for web delivery.
- Provides dozens of web design do and don'ts, to help you make good web design decisions and avoid common beginner traps.
- Contains hands-on exercises throughout the book that allow you to try out new techniques along the way.
Unlike other beginner books, Learning Web Design leaves no holes in your education. It gives you everything you need to create basic web sites and will prepare you for more advanced web work. If you are interested in web design, this book is the place to start. After finishing it, you'll be ready for the author's bestselling companion reference, Web Design in a Nutshell.
* Fireworks and HomeSite are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Adobe, ImageReady, and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
Customer Reviews:
Be sure to get the 3rd Edition!.......2007-09-13
Hi. This is Jennifer Robbins, the author of Learning Web Design. If you are interested in this title, I highly recommend that you get the Third Edition which is now available. A LOT has changed in the way web sites are built since the second edition of the book was published, and I'd hate for anyone to be getting out-of-date information. Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to (X)HTML, StyleSheets, and Web Graphics
Amazing!.......2007-03-15
For those looking to start web design this is the book to get. It says illustrated but it should say illustrations on every page. Very very illustrated. One of my favorite things about this book is after every chapter(when HTML is disscused)it provides an appendix showing you the html tags you just learned. Useful as a reference. This book does not leave you hanging. It teaches you every thing you need to create and understand basic websites. About half the book introduces you to html tags and the other portion is about web graphics. Jenn's style of writting is not boring but is often humerous and cozy. I have created 4 websites after reading this book. Buy this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Excellent resource to get a website up and running.......2007-01-10
I needed to understand how domain names and webhosting worked, plus design, program, test, and implement a website quickly. This book was perfect -- extremely well-organized, with a good Table of Contents and index, excellent examples and helpful (but not overwhelming) reference tables. The book had sufficient detail that I could get graphics loaded and use some CSS to make my text look more professional. I launched a good-looking, no-frills site for a club without any fancy animation, and got it up and running in a less than a month of evenings and weekends. The demo software (BBEdit) was invaluable to getting me started. Good treatment as well of issues with .gif, .jpeg, and .png files, and I feel that I can still learn more from this text should I want to make the site more sophisticated. The discussion of tables was especially clear. I recommend this book for anyone, even if you've never designed your own site or written a lick of html. Those wanting to do online forms to allow users to submit data will need to learn Javascript.
Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to HTML.......2006-11-10
This is this first "How To" book I ever read cover to cover. It works. It is well written, and breaks concepts down without making you feel like a "dummy". It's perfect for a novice like me.
So many things that were a mystery to me were explained. I now can do rollover buttons, animations, add music, etc. But most important is the Web design concepts this book drives home. It teaches how to make a balanced, well structured, and most importantly, user friendly web page. I highly recommend this book.
A good introduction.......2006-08-11
Although I have not plowed through this entire book yet, it is shaping up as one of the books I've been looking for to tie up all the different threads that now make up the task of creating a good website. I may never actually create my business website all on my own, but at least I will have familiarity with the various tools that are currently being used so I can intelligently discuss and understand what the professionals are recommending. One of the toughest parts of learning any new technology these days is the constant improvement and changes going on. It's impossible to guess what may become standard and what may be obsolete by the time I finish the book. Books like this at least give an average person like me a fighting chance to keep as current as possible without continuous formal education.
Average customer rating:
|
A Professional Approach Series: Office 2000 Beginning Course Student Edition (Professional Approach Series)
Deborah Hinkle ,
Carole Tobias ,
Kathleen Stewart ,
Sharon Anne Fisher-Larson , and
Margaret Marple
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Technology Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Networking
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
| Data in the Enterprise
| Home Networks
| Internet, Groupware, & Telecommunications
| Intranets & Extranets
| Network Administration
| Network Programming
| Network Security
| Networks, Protocols & APIs
| Telephony
| Wireless Networks
Office
| Applications
| Microsoft
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
Office 2000
| Applications
| Microsoft
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Accounting
| Business
| Software
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business
| Software
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Software
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Computers & Internet
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0028056000 |
Book Description
Office 2000: Beginning Course from Glencoe's Professional Approach Series equips students with the skills needed to successfully use Microsoft Office. An extensive array of exercises teaches and challenges students, while illustrations of screens and the accompanying icons help them to follow instructions for hands-on practice. Students gain real-world experience by performing many of the same tasks required in business settings. A comprehensive instructional package allows instructors to tailor the program to teaching styles, lab needs, student objectives, and student learning styles.
Book Description
The Beginning Level texts and workbooks are the first of a four- level series (Beginning 1 and 2, Intermediate 1 and 2, Advanced Intermediate, and Advanced) developed collaboratively by leading classroom teachers and linguists of Korean. All series volumes have been developed in accordance with performance-based principles and methodology-learner-centeredness, contextualization, use of authentic materials, function/task-orientedness, balance between skill getting and skill using, and integration of speaking, listening, reading, writing, and culture. Grammar points are systematically introduced with simple but adequate explanations and abundant examples, exercises, and drills. Each situation/topic-based lesson of the main texts consists of two or three model dialogues, narration, new words and expressions, pronunciation notes, vocabulary notes, culture, grammar, task/function, and English translation of dialogues. The workbooks provide students with extensive skill-using activities based on the skills learned from the main texts. Integrated Korean is a project of the Korean Language Education and Research Center (KLEAR) with the support of the Korea Foundation. In addition to the four-level textbooks and workbooks, forthcoming volumes include instructor's manuals, Chinese Character Studies, Korean Composition, Selected Readings in Korean, Readings in Modern Korean Literature, Korean Language in Culture and Society, and A Dictionary of Korean Grammar and Usage.
Customer Reviews:
Too much useless information.......2007-05-26
I'm Korean and bought this to brush up on my language skills. Half the book is filled with a stupid introduction that has nothing to do with the language. The remaining portion teaches things you can learn on television. This is a commercial book for people who want to have it in their bookshelf to show off. This is not a good book to learn from. They don't even have the alphabets listed together on one page that can serve as a reference for writing skills!!!!!!! If you don't have something as basic as that, the glossary in the back isn't going to help you out very much. Returned the book as an unsatisfied customer. Don't get this book - waste of time and money (lost shipping costs).
If you want to Teach Yourself korean, this is the book!.......2007-01-23
I'm so glad I bought this book, because I find it very complete, useful and very easy to understand. It's very well organized and not boring. Excellent introduction, with all the pronunciation rules. The Grammar is very clear and well explained. It has a list of vocabulary,loanwords, the adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, etc, everything well organized.And it has a section about the Korean culture.At the end of the book they have a mini korean- english/ english-korean dictionary. And you can listen to the audio in real player from the website or you can go to the section of downloads of the University of hawaii and download the Mp3 audio for free!! and make an audio cd.So I'm planning to buy all the other series. If you want to teach yourself korean, this is definitively the book!.
Very Usefull for Korean 101.......2006-11-14
I am currently taking Korean 101 in college, and this is the textbook we are using. The textbook is very affordable and very easy to learn from. Perhaps most important is the books usefullness as a vocabular and grammar reference. Here is a short list of some of the parts of the book:
-An introduction to Korean
-An explanation of the Korean alphabet (easy to learn)
-Short sections on Korean culture
-Dialogues at the begining of each chapter and throughout the chapters
-Online audio files of each dialogue and vocabulary list
-Clearly organized vocabulary lists (by word type and subject)
-Usefull Korean to English and English to Korean dictionary
-Very usefull grammar reference at the back of the book
I found the explanations very clear, and the chapters well organized. The references are especially usefull for looking up words or grammar usage. Although there is not as much Korean culture mixed in as there is in French textbooks that I have used. I don't see this to be a problem since there is plenty more up to date cultural information online. Information about how culture influences the language is mixed in, which is important for understanding concepts like which form of speech to use (honorific, polite, etc.), as well as using "Our brother" instead of "My brother."
Additionaly and perhaps most important is the fact that no romanization is used except perhaps in the introductory chapter.
There isn't that much audio from the book online, so I would really suggest either talking with someone who knows Korean, or listening / watching something in Korean, but that's true for any language. However, vowels are really important and you're likely to mess them up if you don't have someone correct you.
My friend Leo says the cover is ugly, but I disagree.
From an English teacher living in Korea.......2006-11-05
Wait!....If you are actually going to go to Korea for any length of time, I would suggest getting Korean Language One instead. You can find it at any major bookstore in Korea. It's published by Seoul University (the Harvard of Korea) and costs 15.000 won, ten dollars less than the University of Hawaii book. It covers more material, and while there aren't as many explanations, the vocabulary is more applicable (the U. of Hawaii book has a lot of college-related vocabulary that isn't that useful for the rest of us.)
I didn't think that using the real files from the U. of Hawaii website was that difficult, but I have internet access at home. It would have been nice if they had made them downloadable MP3s so I could have put them on my iPod, burned them to CD, etc.
Overall, though, I agree with the other reviewers: this is the best Korean language textbook available in the United States.
The Best Korean Textbook Series in English.......2006-07-26
I won't be the first or last to say this, but the Integrated Korean series is hands-down the best Korean language learning series available in English.
The structure of the Beginning 1 textbook is intelligent and well thought out, particularly in combination with the workbook and the audio supplements available online for free from the University of Hawaii Press. Beginning with a thorough introduction to Hangul (Korean writing), including useful exercises in how to write it with the correct stroke order, the textbook moves at a steady pace through new vocabulary and grammar forms, making sure to reuse vocabulary and grammar from past chapters as you move forward. Occasionally certain exercises introduce supplemental vocabulary, such as a list of college majors, which is then gradually reintroduced more formally in later chapters and books.
My one caveat is that you will find these textbooks difficult at times if you don't know any Korean speakers of whom you can ask questions. The books are clearly meant to be used in a classroom setting — much of the vocabulary is about schools, dormitories, etc. — and many of the exercises have one or two items, usually toward the end, that push the limits of your understanding of a new grammar form, or that require supplemental explanation from a teacher.
That said, I have been able to progress steadily with these textbooks in a way that was simply beyond me with any other available series. If you're serious about learning Korean, Integrated Korean is the way to go.
Customer Reviews:
A good kick-start.......2007-05-15
This book gave me a good kick-start. I had played around on the mandolin a little in the past, but not for 10 years or more. The book really paced me through some exercises and helped me build skills starting with simple scales and ending up with full-fledged songs and solos.
Most songs and exercises in the book include both musical notation and tablature, to help you see how to play the song (which frets, which fingers to use).
The accompanying CD has audio that lets you hear how the scales or songs are supposed to sound, which can be helpful.
I found the book so useful that I've bought the same author's intermediate-level book.
I am enjoying this book and CD.......2007-04-02
I already have some music experience with the guitar. Someone gave me a mandolin so I decided to learn how to play it. I didn't want to spend the time or money with private lessons but desire to teach myself to play this small instrument. This Beginning Mandolin book and CD by Greg Horne fits the bill. I have been using it daily for several weeks and I seem to be progressing quite well. The book is very detailed and describes the basics of music reading as well as playing this particular instrument. The beginner can go as fast or as slow as necessary to learn the concepts. I would recommend it for beginning mandolin players with or without previous music experience.
16 Missing pages.......2007-03-29
Really liked the the cd but the book was missing pages 17 to 32 and pages 65 to 80, what a mess to learn from a very incomplete book! Do not buy this book and cd if pages are missing!
If you must play mandolin..........2007-02-01
Mandolin seems to be a seriously limited instrument, worse it is tuned in reverse of the bass. How confusing. If you insist on playing the mandolin anyway, this book is pretty darn good. Be aware that some space is wasted on how to read notes on the staff and other stuff you may already know,
Mandolin is a beautiful instrument, if you really must play it, this is probably a really good place to start.
Fantastic introduction to mandolin.......2006-12-27
This book is a short but sweet introduction to techniques both universal to music and specific to mandolin. Not a page of the book is wasted; the book is aimed at people with no previous experience, and I think its greatest strength is the pace and the very logical order of lessons and techniques that are taught.
Like many novice musicians, I am eager to "dive right in" and start sounding like a pro, but that takes time, hard work, and practice. Many books focus too much on theory or basic drills for reading standard notation, practicing rhythm, etc. I find myself skipping through those books trying to find "the good stuff" so I can actually play a song.
On the other hand, many beginner books ONLY include simple songs and melodies, knowing that most of us just want to play some music. However, the flaw with those books are that they skip over important drills and basics required for learning or composing new music once you are done with the songs in the book.
Horne's Beginning Mandolin book includes a little bit of both -- basics and composition interspersed with short rhythms and traditional melodies for practice. In this way you are exposed both to the songs and fun licks to make you feel good and enjoy the music you are making even as a novice, as well as the core concepts and techniques that will be required for composing your own music, jamming, or taking it to the next level of difficulty. I find that this variety makes it very easy to pick up the book and start playing -- you won't want to miss a drill or lesson in the book, so it's very useful to just go through the book in the order it is presented. On the other hand, I just got finished with another session of practice using this book -- I have played through it once and "learned" all of the basics, but it's also great as a tool to refine those basics and master them. I have owned the book for a year and although I am 100 times better than when I started, I am still mastering some of the book's skills before I move into the Intermediate level (which I have also purchased)
Another nice feature of the book is that it logically progresses through different musical styles to build your repertoire and introduce a variety of scales, licks, and progressions that build on previous styles from folk music and fiddle tunes to blues, bluegrass, and finally into rock.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I only wish there were more books with such a simple, logical, yet robust sequence and variety of drills for other instruments. (I have yet to find a guitar book as well-paced and comprehensive for beginners as this book is)
Customer Reviews:
C'est bon.......2006-04-08
The setup of this textbook is pretty standard for college-level language books. An added bonus would be that the page numbers are spelled out in French next to the numerals (giving the student extra practice on pronouncing numbers).
The language used in the text is clear and simple and, if the student is really determined to learn French, they can do it with this text (or, at the very least, get a working knowledge of the language). You can also get glimpses of French culture from the snippets throughout the book.
The accompanying workbook/lab manual is very helpful in strengthening your knowledge and usage of French through extra exercises and is a must have with this textbook.
Very good course. - Donna Di Giacomo
Book Description
Anyone with a knowledge of basic chords and guitar scale fingerings can dig right in and start learning to play jazz right away. Spanning from the major scale and basic triad theory all the way up to extended chords and the modes, this book features a full-length etude or song to go with every new concept introduced. Beginning Jazz Guitar breaks the age-old tradition of dry, intimidating and confusing jazz books, and provides an actual step-by-step and enjoyable method for learning to play in this style. Clearly organized into easily mastered segments, each chapter is divided into separate lessons on harmony or improvisation. All music is shown in standard notation and TAB, and the CD demonstrates the examples in the book. 96 pages.
Customer Reviews:
Complete and accessible.......2007-09-09
DVD/book combo make this introduction to jazz guitar very complete and accessible for even the most novice player. Doesn't get much better than this.
Excellent Intro to Jazz Guitar.......2007-08-15
Jody Fisher deserves a lot of credit. He's written an accessible introductory jazz tutorial with progressively skillful lessons that address both melody and chordal harmony. Believe it or not, this is a rarity in jazz instruction books - I find they are often elitist and condescending. Fisher instead is both welcoming and inclusive.
Fisher assumes you already know the basics of guitar mechanics (and are probably self-taught) and are a decent enough musician to want to learn to play something with more musical sophistication. He respects the reader in a way that most jazz authors don't. He also presents an amazing variety of scale fingerings in different positions - while also placing them within useful musical contexts.
All the examples in the book are also included on the DVD, along with some video lessons. Somewhat surprisingly, the video lessons elaborate on the content of the second volume of the series, not the present volume. Furthermore, the audio quality of the video lessons isn't very good - the overall volume is too low and there's too great a disparity in volume between the music and the instructional information. While it's nice to have a DVD instead of a CD, I'd rather have seen the DVD with the volume it seems to have been intended for and would have preferred better audio quality. That is the only reason why I docked this book one star.
Regardless, this is one of the most useful guitar tutorial books I have ever seen. I was already an experienced electric guitarist when I picked up this book, but I improved tremendously as I worked through Fisher's excellent tutorials. If you already have a few years experience playing blues or melodic rock and want to explore the wonderful world of jazz guitar, this is the book you ought to buy. I can think of no warmer welcome to improvisation.
Finally...the right method for Jazz!!!.......2007-07-17
What else can I say? I am a Blues/Rock self taught guitar player, and I have been trying to get into Jazz for 3 years! I did a summer workshop that got me so frustrated when I realized that I was simply not able to follow the bands because I just did not speak the language (I also have to admit that the students were a bunch of jazz snobs belonging to a sort of superior species of musicians...).
This book has allowed me to enter the world of Jazz (trying not to become a snob). It is a strange feeling to review some things that I almost already knew, but all of a sudden, it just makes sense. I don't know if it is also because I was getting ready after having gone through some of those concepts, but anyhow, this book was the key. I moved on to the second of the series, but I come back very often to this one too. As the author says, "a lot of material is covered", and it will take more than a couple of exercises to master it! One small flaw? The tunes which illustrate the different chapters are not really exciting...
Good book with some flaws.......2007-06-12
This book is a great overview of the basics of Jazz for the beginner. By the end you'll have learned lots of theory and the necessary tools to apply the theory (diatonic harmony, modes, etc.). However, I really can't give this book 5 stars for a few reasons. 1. The backing tracks that come with the book are terrible, it's just one guitar strumming along with no variation and no drums or bass and no matter how smokin your solos may be, it just isn't exciting to play with. 2. He overdoes it with the chord voicings he wants you to learn. The whole first half of the book is just filled with voicings for tons of chords. I'm a pretty experienced player so I knew many of the voicings but even I was overwhelmed. No way can anyone learn all of this in one go. If you try to learn every voicing you wont ever finish the book. He also gives you chord forms with no root so you have no idea where to play them. Overall though, Fisher has written a great book for beginners. I would try not to get too caught up in learning every last bit though because it's pretty imposisble for a beginner. He should've mixed in some rhythm/comping excercises to make it more exciting.
Where's the Jazz?.......2007-04-25
I didn't find this book helpful at all. None of the example in the book sound even remotely like jazz. All this book has you do is play a bunch of boring chord tones and scales. Since so much of it is based on major chords, there is no bluesy sound to the examples. Souless and rote. Just the opposite of jazz.
Books:
- Bobbi Brown Living Beauty
- Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification
- Case Histories: A Novel
- Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies: Issue by Issue Responses to the Most Common Claims of the Left from A to Z
- Danse Macabre (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 14)
- Darcy & Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberley (Pride & Prejudice Continues)
- Deception Point
- Dosage Calculations
- Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebook Set (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Three Book Slipcased Set)
- Eat Healthy, Feel Great
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Paying for College Without Going Broke 2007
- History: Fiction or Science
- Books into Film: The Stuff That Dreams Are Made of
- CAMPAIGNING FOR NAPOLEON: The Diary of a Napoleonic Cavalry Officer
- Cultural Moves: African Americans and the Politics of Representation
- Heart of a Dog
- Growth & Reproductive Strategies Of Freshwater Phytoplankton
- Introduction to Quickbooks Pro 2001 Student Edition with CD's 2002
- Determining the Economic Value of Water: Concepts and Methods
- The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture
Bob Books Set 2-Advancing Beginners
Bob Books Set 3- Word Families
Bob Books Set 4- Compound Words
Bob Books Set 5- Long Vowels
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
