100 Graded Classical Guitar Studies Selected and Graded by Frederick Noad | Essential Guitar Exercises for Developing Technique and Musicality | Classical Sheet Music for Guitarists Paperback – January 1, 1992

Much of what I learned about classical guitar playing came from Frederick Noad's early editions of Solo Guitar Playing and his marvelous collections by period. I use these books to this day, when I have resumed playing after a very long lapse.This graded collection is exactly what it claims to be, a collection of pieces in rough order of difficulty, providing material mostly along the intermediate spectrum (no virtuoso pieces). That's good for most players, as even advanced players will want to use these to fill out a repertoire. The pieces are arranged in Mr. Noad's typical manner, with a brief word about the piece, careful fingering and positioning, and notes for passages that may be a little more difficult or which require extra attention. In this respect I've never seen arrangements so well done.The book contains a lot of music for the money and a tremendous amount of enjoyment. I do wish it were spiral-bound and would stay open more readily, but there are ways around that. (If you're not particular about book preservation you can carefully cut off the glued spine, and three-hole punch the rest to put in a binder.)If there ever was a 5-star book in the classical guitar category, this, and Mr. Noad's other books, are it.

These are very well known pieces readilly available in other places and probably for free download. However this book gather all of them in a book that makes sense. Some of the pieces are boring and simple, but some are rewarding when you play them. If you are an advanve or even intermidiate player, many of these pieces can be used as a warm up for a more challenging practice. And if you are a beginner, practicing and playing them (even the boring ones) is like a good and balance way to keep learning technique and form from a solid and a good base. Well worth the value.

I really enjoy the pieces that are contained in this book. Even the early, more simple pieces are fun to play. I've read some reviews that the pieces are too hard for people who have little training. I'm sure some people might think a lot of the pieces are too simple. There is an expectation that the person working through this book has worked through beginning reading books, maybe Parkening's Guitar method Volume 1 & 2.Another reviewer stated that the difficulty of the pieces did not increase throughout the book. Again, this isn't true. If you look at the book you can see most of the early pieces are straight forward, played in keys without tons of sharps and flats. As you work your way through there are more complex pieces, more complex timing, more difficult keys.I would recommend this book if you know how to read music and have a bit of experience with classical guitar.

It has much the same music as the Required Studies book, but organized in terms of difficulty. I gave it only 4 stars because it doesn't come spiral bound. I had to spend another $9 to have it bound. The paperback binding makes these thick music books unusable. Another plus is that doesn't have tabs, which in my opinion is a waste of paper leading to an increased page turning count. Go ahead and learn regular music notation. It isn't hard and the knowledge transfers to other instruments, whereas tab only applies to guitar.

Great series of classical guitar studies with a lot of variety. Different keys to practice and lots of small challenges with each piece. I would suggest this music for someone who has already been playing for a year as there are few novice pieces.

Great book! I bought this on a whim to develop some chops, and it was an excellent resource! I have since had several of my students purchase this for our studies.

I don't like this collection.My background: about ten years playing a steel-string acoustic guitar. I've had exactly five lessons (a long time ago). I competently play mostly rhythm and open-tuning, flat-picking. Also, I've had formal instruction on the trumpet and informal (read: mom) on the piano. I saw a good deal on a classical guitar, and I've always wanted to play; so . . .About the book: The pieces are all great . . . But:Nothing in the description states its level of difficulty. I bought it assuming that "100 Graded" meant that it had to start somewhere near the bottom and work up. Nope. Within the first 10 pages, there are studies too hard for me to pick up in a couple of hours. Carcassi/Sor studies near the middle of the book, however, are relatively easy (play on site and 2-3 hours to sound competent). It would be very helpful if the publisher provided a preview of the book's contents.One of the reviewers mentioned this book not needing any notation beyond that provided by the original composers. I disagree. If you want the original composers' versions, they are abundantly available here and elsewhere. Mr. Noad, however, has produced a compilation of studies. Mr. Noad should have provided additional notation or suggestions. After all, anyone can use a copy machine.While on the subject of copiers. The thick binding won't allow the book to stay on my music stand. Instead, I have to use a chair and a thick book to hold it. (not an ideal situation) One reviewer suggested making copies. If I wanted to make copies, I could just print these public-domain studies from the Internet.The book needs a companion CD. The CD doesn't need to come with the book, but one should be available. The music is out there, but it's spread over so many different sources, it would cost hundreds of bucks to buy all of them. I'd gladly pay a few tens of dollars to have this compilation in the order of the book.The are a lot of keys. What's the complaint, right? If you look at Sor's Op. 60, the 25 studies are mostly C, D, G . . . all first/second position stuff. Carcassi's Op. 60 is the same way. In this collection, the keys from one study to the next change drastically. Maybe there's a good reason for this (to change the student's frame of mind from one to the next, etc.), but it's annoying to me. Better would be one or two keys for several studies, and then a change.The studies don't seem to follow a logical path that I can discern: tempo, style, key, etc. I'm not a music teacher like many of the reviewers. Maybe one of them can set me straight.Instead:I suggest printing Sor's Opus 60 (all 25) from the Internet. You can find it for free through Google. (It's public domain and not pirating.) Or, you can buy it here Fernando Sor: The Complete Studies for Guitar. Next, I suggest buying Nicholas Goluses' "SOR: 25 Progressive Studies, Op. 60 / Fantaisie Elegiaque" for $8: Sor: Fantaisies / Progressive Studies. Similarly, you can do this with Giuliani and Carcassi.Lastly, if you can already play a majority of these studies on site because you've had at least three consistent and consecutive years of classical study, then please ignore most of what I've said. You should have stopped reading as soon as you got to the part about my background :p