Alfred Music Publishing Invites Music Makers of All Ages To Play Guitar

As individuals throughout the world experience times of economic strife, music making becomes a way to delight in the moment and experience good times at a good price. Alfred Music Publishing, the No. 1 educational music publisher in the world, invites music makers and music enthusiasts of all ages to go back to the basics by learning to play guitar with new quality educational guitar products. Alfred Piantodosi, a composer and musician, founder the company in 1922, and since its inception, Alfred Music Publishing has remained dedicated to helping people learn, teach, and play music. In 1928, Sam Manus, a violinist who had provided background music for silent movies, purchased the company. Alfred Music Publishing has been owned and operated by the Manus family, spanning three generations. Morty Manus, Sam's son and a clarinetist and pianist, began working for the company in 1950. Inspired by the need of quality music education products, Morty oversaw the development of an instructional series for accordion, and soon followed it with Alfred's Basic Guitar Method. Recognized for over 50 years as the best-paced and most comprehensive guitar method, Alfred's Basic Guitar Method, has introduced 3 million beginners to the joy of playing guitar, and has undergone recent revisions to maintain its validity and excellence. The newest revision to the series includes a book focused on scales and modes. Alfred's Basic Guitar Scales & Modes, (http://alfred.com/alfredweb/front/ProductDetail.aspx?itemnum=%20%20%20%20%2032551&pubnum=0), is now offered in an updated and expanded edition that features a new layout, making it easier to ready and quicker to learn. This guide contains guitarists a plethora of knowledge, including the best chords to use with each scale and mode, associated musical styles, interval patterns, standard music notation and TAB, neck position diagrams—all with examples that demonstrate practical application. Alfred's Basic Guitar Scales & Modes book is now available for $8.95. Alfred also offers many products geared specifically toward the younger guitarist. One popular series is Alfred's Kid's Guitar Course. This fun method series teaches children as young as 5 years old to play songs on the guitar right away. Available in two separate levels or has a complete pack, Kid's Guitar Course comes complete with activity pages of the Notespeller, and include accompanying CDs, so there is never any doubt about how the music should sound. Each lesson of every colorful page is explained in plain language that's easy to understand; plus, three irresistible guitar experts—a clever, classical dog, one cool, jazz cat, and a friendly alligator who loves the blues—keep your attention focused by pointing out what's important on each page and help you learn by making music fun. As Alfred is a family-owned and operated business, the importance of family resonates throughout the products. This series is no different. The included accompanying CDs are also enhanced, containing extra content that will help any parent become an effective guide for their child—even if they've never had any musical training themselves. Alfred's Kid's Guitar Course is the first step toward a lifetime of musical enjoyment, and is presented in many different formats, including Level 1, (http://alfred.com/alfredweb/front/SearchResult.aspx?keywords=30608%6031992), book, CD, and DVD pack—available for $19.95; Level 2 (http://alfred.com/alfredweb/front/SearchResult.aspx?keywords=31994%6031993), book, CD, and DVD packvavailable for $19.95; or get Levels 1 and 2 with the Complete (http://alfred.com/alfredweb/front/SearchResult.aspx?keywords=32142%6032141), book, CD, and DVD pack—available for $34.95. Enjoy this series along with the Kid's Guitar Course Music Writing Book (http://alfred.com/alfredweb/front/ProductDetail.aspx?itemnum=%20%20%20%20%2033226&pubnum=0), that guides a young musician through their first composing journey. Containing 32 pages complete with 6 staves widely spaced on each, the music writing books provide a complete writing guide with all the basic knowledge a young composer needs to know, including information on how the notes on the staff correlate with a piano, time signatures, stem placement, dynamic signs, tempo markings, accidentals, and more. Kid's Guitar Course Music Writing Book is now available for $3.50. In addition to its vast educational guitar catalog, Alfred is the proud distributor of works from the National Guitar Workshop. Guitar Together (http://alfred.com/alfredweb/front/ProductDetail.aspx?itemnum=%20%20%20%20%2030304&pubnum=0), is a recent new release from the National Guitar Workshop's approved curriculum, and is designed for children ages 6-9. Providing a good way for parents to spend time with their child, this fun and easy guitar method features lessons for both the parent and child. Using the carefully organized lesions in this book, the parent will stay one step ahead of their child and become an expert teacher in the process. Guitar Together displays the basics like how to hold the guitar, play notes and chords, and read music. This wonderful book and CD set also tips for buying your first guitar and fun quizzes, games, and puzzle to make learning fun. It also includes duets, so parent and child can perform together. Guitar Together is now available as a book and CD set for $16.95. "Alfred is committed to education. We take pride in all our publications, but we are especially proud of our long legacy of quality educational titles." commented Link Harnsberger, Alfred editor and author. "We have been the leader in music education for generations and that continues today. All our products continue to offer the quality instruction that people expect from Alfred, and it is important to us that our commitment to quality will continue for generations to come."