“McCartney goes straight to the heart of all great guitar playing: rhythm. To do this, he starts the book with the motivating factor that drives so many students to purchase a guitar: the joy of playing. McCartney’s book has the student strumming and playing chords within the first two chapters. Furthermore, he dispenses with the [belittling] “Mary Had a Little Lamb” exercises that characterize so many beginning guitar books, and gets students right into playing blues, folk and classical rhythms before they begin the more difficult process of reading music. That aspect of guitar playing is certainly not neglected: chapters 2 through 7 provide a fresh and innovative approach to teaching reading, chord theory, etc. – after the students already have a good working knowledge and ability in fretting, strumming and fingerpicking. This is utterly refreshing! Students are given the tools to play immediately, and then given the theory to take their playing to a more complicated level after they have already developed a warm understanding of the physical aspects of playing the guitar. This differs greatly from the majority of beginner’s books which push theory over joy, and text over the actually art of playing. The theory and textual aspects are there to support the playing; the playing is not there as an after-thought to the theory.

‘A Rhythmic Approach to Acoustic Guitar’ is the best beginner’s book for learning guitar that I have encountered in over 30 years of playing [and teaching] guitar. I highly recommend it for students who wish to get up and play acoustic guitar as quickly as possible.”

John Bormanis, Phd.

A Rhythmic Approach to Acoustic Guitar

10/31/2011: New CD Project! Click here to watch the video!

Welcome to BenMcCartney.com!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you’ll take a moment to look around, visit with me, and learn a little about what I do as an artist and educator.

It is the goal of this site to provide the highest quality promotional, educational, and musical guitar-related content available.  Whether you are looking to hire live music for your event, learn more about playing the guitar through instructional videos, backing tracks, and sheet music, or download recordings and manuscripts of new music, this site aims to suit your needs.

I have added free downloadable staff paper, TAB paper, and blank chord charts, to assist you in your notation needs.  Just click on the text for the type of paper you want to download! You can find those on the Download page, too!

I am pleased to announce the launch of my new publishing company, BPM Publications! It is dedicated to publications for guitar. Currently, you will find editions of Ferdinando Carulli‘s 24 Preludes, Op.114, Matteo Carcassi‘s 25 Melodious and Progressive Studies, Op.60, Isaac Albéniz‘s Leyenda-Asturias, and my own beginner to intermediate acoustic guitar method book “Guitar Mastery: A Rhythmic Approach to Acoustic Guitar,” which covers basic music theory, strumming, finger picking, and sight reading. This is my first book in the Guitar Mastery series, with others coming soon!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions.  I look forward to hearing from you!  You can email me at Ben@BenMcCartney.com.

Cheers,

Ben

The above photo was taken by Gene Ragel during my faculty recital at Pima CC West Campus on September 20th, 2009.  The recital was a grand success.  There was a full house, with an attentive and engaged audience present.  To see the performance, click here. I have posted each of the selections below on the Video page!  The program was as follows: