Reviews by Andrew Kerensky
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This reviewers rating 
This is a good one to get. I have approximately all of the Guest Spot series for alto sax (20?). My favourite is the Latin, but this one would be in my top 5. 'The Air That I Breathe' and 'How Deep Is Your Love' really work and sound good. Not all vocal tracks work as instrumentals but Guest Spot generally get it right!
This reviewers rating
Lovely latest release from Guest Spot and unlike one or two other Guest Spot play-a-longs this one is very accessible for intermediate Sax players. I particularly liked 'Careless Whisper' and 'Feel'. I'm not convinced by the Sax version of Kylie's 'Can't get you out of my head'. It seemed too sythnetic but all the other tracks were fine.
This reviewers rating
What an absolutely wonderful book! A must for any classical guitarist! Most of the tunes are fairly accessible to students in their first year of playing. They are a beautiful collection of very pleasant melodies in this book, arranged in progressive level of difficulty. The last 10 or so tunes require more technique and are approximately grade 3-6 in difficulty. I would encourage all budding guitarists to add this one to their collection, and before long you'll be playing some very classy tunes.
This reviewers rating
This is by far one of the better methods for the Saxophone. Plenty of illustrations and a largely graded approach to playing. There is a fingering chart at the back of the book. A great starter for the total novice or first year player. From start to finsh i think this book would take approximately 2-3 years to master and bring a player up to grade 5 standard. The backing tracks on the accompanying CD are excellant too!
This reviewers rating 
The ABRSM Real Books should not be confused with the more famous 1970's 'Real Books'now published by the Hal Leonard. The ABRSM Real Book is aimed more at the student market looking to do exams with the ABRSM. However having said this, I've actually taken the ABRSM Real Books along to gigs because there are some really nice and not well explored tunes in them that sound fantastic. There are modern jazz compositions as well as great jazz standards. The downside with this book is that it has only about 100 tunes compared to the 400+ found in the original Real Books. Also its not by any means cheap. Unlike the Real Books I think more time and effort has gone in the ABRSM Real Book to ensure their are less errors. The Bass Clef edition for example is actually written so that the notes fall into the range of a trombone player for example, not always the case with the Original Book. Another nice touch with these books is the background info footnotes after each song which again show that the books are from an education body. Personally I'm glad I have these books (I have the Bb,Eb,C and Bass editions) purely because I have access to some fine tunes that are not in the original Real Books. However if I had to choose between the ABRSM Real Books or the Original Real Books I'd go with the Legally produced 6th Editions of the Real Books purely for the greater variety of content.
This reviewers rating
A nice introduction to Classical Guitar basics, plenty of illustrations, explanations of posture, Tirando and Apoyando and the PIMA fingerstyle. A very visual approach to learning, and progess is kept very gradual. However the music theory section on pages 14-15 contains more info than is really needed for this level. Still a good method including a chord finder chart and a very useful further reading list to such books as Frederick Noad's First book of Guitar.
This reviewers rating
Excellent backing, top notch quality. My only hang up is I'm a Grade 8 (ABRSM) alto sax player and some of the tunes are tough to play even for an advanced player. I think Guest Spot may need to rethink about who actually buys these books and make the pieces a little more accessible for intermediate horn players! Having said this, there are some fun pieces on this series of which I didn't have any problems playing, although if you're new to Guest Spot try an easier book first. As always, the backing quality is excellent.
This reviewers rating
Many of these tunes are very accessible for the new player, i purchased this book for my daughter and have played many of the tunes myself although i'm an advanced trombone player. This book is a great way of introducing early renaissance/baroque pieces to novice players.
This reviewers rating
This is a much less daunting and more approachable book than Noad's 'Solo Guitar Playing Volume 1'. Noad keeps it simple with straightforward explanations and illustrations that are aimed at the student in their first year or so, volume 1 is actually in 3 parts. I think covering these 3 micro books would be a good way of getting into the heavier 'Solo Guitar Playing' which is in two volumes.