Review of Juan Martin's flamenco lessons

Play Solo Flamenco Guitar with Juan Martin (Book, CD, and DVD)   Written by Juan Martin. Instructional book (spiral bound), instructional video: DVD and examples CD for guitar. Beginning-Intermediate. With introductory text, standard guitar notation, guitar tablature and black & white photos. Text language English and Spanish. Designed as a comprehensive multimedia teaching set, this book, CD, and DVD present 42 solos, progressively graded in 6 levels from absolute beginners to more advanced, to suit players of all levels. It contains examples of eighteen different palos (rhythmic forms) of flamenco, with a wealth of melodic falsetas and rhythms. The music for all these is accurately written in notation and flamenco tab (cifra) in the book, and is also recorded on the companion CD. The DVD video contains over 57 minutes of solo music, and also includes introduction by Juan Martin and brief scenes of Andalucia today, which help to place this profoundly exciting and deeply felt music in the landscape of its origins. Juan Martin has succeeded here in showing how even music which is simple and very easy to start with can express the essential sound and emotion of flamenco, to build step by step the skills necessary for the performance of concert solos. Best method I have experienced "After 20 or 30 'Learn to play Flamenco' methods, none of which were successful, it is great to have a method that really works." -- William Chapman from Stockton, CA, July 11, 2007 Authentic & Intelligible, encouraging "Juan Martin has true Spanish flamenco articulation and rhythm, and exposes it here. The dual note/cifra transcription is accurate too, taken with his gentle admonition in the DVD to always play with artistry: Flamenco uses rubatos, ad libitums, and echo/emphasis dynamics. Marvelous combination especially if you [want to] read music well. Good follow-up to --and consistent with-- easier series _Flamenco Guitar Method_ by Fred Nance and Mary Ann Godla (GWM General Words & Music Co., Neil A. Kjos Jr., Publishers, Park Ridge, IL 1973). Most pieces are traditional authentic technique (including nuances like changing plucking finger); some few are "new flamenco" with South American stylistics and rhythms. Se aprende, por medio del castellano natural que se presenta al lado de ingle's, todo te'rmino de descripcio'n de toque. !!Fiable -- el tocaor maestro quiere que se aprenda. Le agradecemos. " -- una candelaria, November 02, 2005 Play Solo Flamenco Guitar with Juan Martin