Charango Method Perfect Paperback – February 18, 2010

For the beginner through advanced intermediate player. As a guitarist with 30 years of experience, I was able to skip through the first few chapters pretty quickly, but the charango is still a relatively new instrument to me, and there's plenty for me to work on in the rest of the book.This book is very thorough and logically constructed. It covers a bit of the history of the instrument, the necessary rudiments of music and music notation, scales, melody, intervals, chords, and fingerstyle and strum patterns.Clear explanations are given for traditional rhythms and their use, the exercises are easy to understand and progressive, and -- best of all for me -- there are a number of traditional and modern pieces for charango, employing the various techniques taught in the lessons.I agree with the poster who said that, if you are working without a teacher, this is the book for you. Even if you have a teacher, this would be a very useful supplement to have. I've seen more than a dozen charango method books, in Spanish, English, and some combinations of the two. This bilingual book is, hands down, the best one out there right now.If you really want to play charango, buy this book.

I'm still working my way though this book - and there's a lot to go through - and am very pleased. The presentation is very clear and thorough, supported by audio examples of every lesson on the accompanying CD. The book covers in detail three basic rhythmic patterns - Huayno, Bailecito, and Cueca - and variations. Included are exercises and popular songs illustrating these styles. It also covers various strum and finger picking techniques. About half the book is devoted to a repertoire, which appears advanced. You can download a CD's worth of music playing these pieces. The book is in Spanish and English, with the two languages side by side. The emphasis is on Andean music and styles, and why wouldn't it be? As far as I know, this is the only charango book available in English, and it is very complete. Since I'm American and plan to use the charango mainly with music I know, I am supplementing my studies with materials designed for the ukulele, since the two instruments have much in common - but they are not the same, of course. (BTW - I really like my charango and am playing quite a lot.)

Excellent book. I would have given it 5 stars if a little more guidance was given on proper left hand fingering techniques.

Got this method after having a charango for about 6 months. It is amazing! I've worked through method books for several other instruments, including guitar and saxophone, and this is among the best written methods I've ever used. The layout and order of exercises couldn't have been done any better, and the repertoire is fantastic. Only complaint is that the download of the repertoire doesn't include versions of the songs without charango (or with the charango panned to one side) - would be nice to practice them without having to play over another charango.

Any serious charanguista who isn't lucky enough to take lessons should have this book! I've been looking for a book like this for 10 yrs! Has everything you'd ever want from a Charango method book:1. Transcriptions of traditional rhythms2. Comes w/ CD of professional playing the various exercises and songs3. Transcriptions of actual songs to add to your repertoire4. Clear, precise instructions in both Spanish and English.This is a must-have for any serious charanguista wanting to improve skill level.

Wow! What a comprehensive book this is! I had expected a basic method book, but this one includes an extensive history of the charango, an abundance of practice music, and access to a free online compilation of the songs being played by skilled charango players (so you know how they're supposed to sound). It's a history, teaching, and practice book all in one. All contents are in Spanish on one page and then in English on the next.

Don't waste your money on the Kindle version. It doesn't come with audio and is almost unreadable. I wish there were a way to get a refun.

This book is great, it covers so many aspects of playing and has a big section of complete songs to learn. I've had a charango for many years, but this book got my interest in the instrument revitalized. It seems like a pretty complete guide for learning. The accompanying CD is all in spanish, but there's an index if you don't know how to count en español.

The charango is a fascinating little instrument with its unusual re-entrant tuning, which allows particularly rich chords and rapid melody playing, with a sound that is something like a cross between a ukulele, a mandolin and a harp.This excellent book is a perfect introduction to the instrument, with its background introduction and 200 carefully graded and clearly explained exercises, most of which are demonstrated on the accompanying CD. These cover strumming, scales, arpeggios, melodies and much more.Amazon doesn't provide the `look inside' feature for this book at present but, if you go to the Mel Bay site, you can browse through over 40 pages, which will give you a good idea of the scope and style of the book. You can also download over an hour's worth of virtuoso charango music, whether or not you decide to buy the book.I recommend this as an introduction - the music is superb and varied and worth listening to in its own right. I've hardly stopped playing it. The second part of the book consists of the charango parts of all 22 tracks together with a bonus piece not included in the download. Even if you can't play the pieces you will learn from seeing how they are done and appreciate them more.I thoroughly recommend this book. There is something for everyone in it, whether you are an absolute beginner or a virtuoso, or simply interested in learning more about this marvellous versatile instrument.

Currently the best book out there for the charango in english and spanish so this give a good lead in to knowing the spanish equivalent for chords and notes.

This is a dual language book where one column of print is in Spanish and the other - in English. All pictures have dual inscriptions too. Attached CD has all exercises with minimal vocal annotation in Spanish and they have a written translation in the book but it is not really needed because all phrases are pronounced distinctly and understandably.The book may be good for the total beginner in string instruments practice as I am, there is no real notation, only strum and finger patterns and chords. Decoding is easy and audio helps a lot to understand what is written and expected to be done in the exercise. It is not as good for somebody who hopes to learn how to play any music with charango chords, because the book does not teach the theory or principles of harmony.Inside the book one can find a secret URL to the publisher's site with an archive of several compositions played by a professional band with charango accompaniment. The music and renditions are really nice, this bonus is very welcome and inspiring.On the same web page the publisher offers an electronic version of the book which costs equally to printed media. If I knew that it was available, I would have chosen the e-book because the softcover is not a very convenient format for daily learning.Overall, the book proved to be useful and valuable for my purposes.

Ich habe mir das Buch gekauft, weil ich endlich lernen wollte, mein in Peru gekauftes Charango ordentlich zu spielen. Ich hatte damals beim Kauf des Charango ein kleines Heft und eine DVD zum Lernen mitbekommen, welche aber nicht wirklich hilfreich waren, daher hab ich mein Charango die letzten 5 Jahre die meiste Zeit ignoriert. Auf der Suche nach einem geeigneten Buch bin ich auf dieses hier gestoßen und bin wirklich absolut begeistert! Soweit ich weiß, gibt es im deutschsprachigen Raum nichts Vergleichbares bzw. einfach gar nichts und auch im englischsprachigen Raum wirds schwierig. Dieses Buch ist zweisprachig, Spanisch und Englisch, und ist die perfekte Einführung ins Charango-Spielen, sowohl für Anfänger als auch für Fortgeschrittene. Mit über 200 Seiten ist es sehr umfangreich, alles ist sehr gut und verständlich erklärt und mit der beiliegenden CD mit knapp 100 Tracks zum Mitspielen kann dann nichts mehr schiefgehen. Nach einer Einführung mit Infos zur Herkunft und Geschichte des Charangos gibt es Informationen zum Stimmen, zur Haltung und zur Art des Spielens, bevor es dann mit den Kapiteln zu Rhythmen, dem Spielen von Akkorden und Melodien ans Eigentliche geht. Ich kann es nur wärmstens empfehlen!

I'm from Germany and to me this book was the only solution to learn anything about the Charango!There's no book about learning the Charango in german language.I really like this book because there is a lot of Charango in there.From its history to most mainly used chords to rhythms and strumming techniques.From Beginner to Pro.Also there's a CD included with soundfiles and lessons from the book to play along.In my opinion the best book for learning the Charango!PRO:+ Most Chords+ Rhythms+ Strumming techniques+ Play alongs+ CD-Lessons+ Charango historyNo CONS