Adventures in Fingerstyle Guitar: The Techniques and Arrangements of Alex de Grassi; Larry Coryell's Jazz Guitar, Vol. One; Learn to Play Western Swing Steel Guitar, Vol. 1

Anne, my wife, walked into the room while I was reviewing Learn to Play Western Swing Steel Guitar and witnessed something which--to her--was more terrifying than Jaws, Alien and Jesse Helms rolled into one: a woman playing a triple-necked 8-string steel guitar with a slide. (Now for the mathematically challenged amongst you, that's 24 strings of slide guitar playing country music.) She's recovered now, though it took an emergency infusion of about thirty minutes worth of Grover Washington, Jr. to bring her out of shock. As a professional reviewer, of course, I'm able to sublimate my personal biases and review the program on it's own merits and, all in all, it wasn't half bad (but it was only about half good). Taught by Cindy Cashdollar (which, I strongly suspect is a stage name) of the award-winning band Asleep at the Wheel, this video introduction features excellent playing on the practice songs "Cold, Cold Heart" and "San Antonio Rose," but less than sterling instruction. Cashdollar seems only semi-comfortable teaching and simply walks through the basics without giving viewers much of an overall feel for the instrument. A second volume, which goes beyond the basics is also available. An optional purchase. Aud: P.Alex de Grassi's music, on the other hand I loved (and will never be able to play). In Adventures in Fingerstyle Guitar, the much lauded Windham Hill artist takes viewers through three pretty complex compositions: de Grassi's "Western," "Lost in the Woods," and "The Monkulator." Unfortunately, de Grassi the master guitarist is neither a gifted nor comfortable teacher, and the video cover should have offered some kind of indication that this program was not for beginners (each of the songs requires separate tunings, for Yamaha's sake) and the final and most difficult song"--The Monkulator"--which would brings tears to a good guitarist's fingers, is given short shrift compared to the instruction on the first two pieces. An optional purchase. Aud: P.Larry Coryell's Jazz Guitar, however, offers the right mix of good playing and fine instruction. Over the years, Coryell has collaborated with Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charles Mingus, to name just a few legendary jazz artists, as well as fronted his own bands, notably The Eleventh House. Here, Coryell begins at step one, with properly holding the guitar, followed by an exhaustive guide to practicing scales (minor, diminished, whole-tone augmented, chromatic) and arpeggios, ways to bridge chords and scales, improvisation and soloing, among other topics. Although Coryell occasionally comes across as slightly snobbish and is a bit a of a Greek name-dropper ("just use a 'C' in Mito-Lydian [I'm spelling the first part from sound; the word wasn't listed in my OED] and you'll be just fine. For me it's just 'G'-Dorian"), the basic instruction is both sound and thorough. Two other volumes are also available in the series. Recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)