Classical guitarists, have you ever wanted to introduce rasgueado’s into your playing? The Art of Rasgueado by Ioannis Anastassakis is a recent addition to our store collection and contains a comprehensive analysis of this special technique for both the classical and flamenco guitar. The author goes to great lengths to describe how the rasgueado, or finger strum, can be performed using different finger combinations. In addition, he also includes a chapter on the golpe technique, which involves hitting different parts of the right hand on the body of the guitar to produce a percussive sound. This is the first book [...] Read more
Corner Books
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The Art of Rasgueado
Posted on January 31, 2011 by Elliott Chung
This post was posted in Corner Books, Tom's Guitar Hangar and was tagged with Acoustic Guitars
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Teacher Lesson Enhancements
Posted on January 19, 2011 by Lesley Dawe
Teachers! Are you looking to add something to enhance your lessons, and create excitement among students in your music classroom? If so, then you may want to consider introducing the terrific new series Freddie the Frog written by Sharon Burch, and illustrated by Tiffany Harris.
Suitable for children from preschool through to early elementary, the series does an excellent job at creatively combining musical instruction and engaging students. Students will love following Freddie’s adventures as he travels with his friend Eli, discovering numerous musical concepts along the way.
By introducing the musical alphabet through a story in the first two books The [...] Read more
This post was posted in Corner Books and was tagged with Instructional & Method Books
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Renaissance and Baroque Guitar
Posted on January 14, 2011 by Elliott Chung
Easy Renaissance Pieces for Classical Guitar and Easy Baroque Pieces for Classical Guitar are two books that have recently arrived and are worth visiting us to check out. Compiled and edited by Jerry Willard, an accomplished player and arranger, both books include tablature and a CD and have been designed with the beginning to intermediate guitarist in mind. Both also contain a helpful introduction to the unique rhythm and ornamentation of their respective periods, making them valuable learning tools. Pieces such as Greensleeves, Scarborough Fair, Orlando Sleepeth, Bist Du Bei Mir, Bouree and The Harmonious Blacksmith, plus many more, can [...] Read more
This post was posted in Corner Books, Tom's Guitar Hangar
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The Method in Black has Done it Again!
Posted on January 14, 2011 by Doug Armstrong
Hal Leonard has just introduced the newest addition to its impressive fleet of Guitar Methods with the unmistakable black cover – Guitar Chord, Scale and Arpeggio Finder (00697410). I can’t count how many time I’ve been asked for a good guitar scale book or a good guitar chord book. Well, now there’s a great 2-in-1 option and because many guitarists want to learn how play over chords and eventually learn to improvise their solos, Hal Leonard has included arpeggios too. Probably most useful are the 3 different voicings the publisher has provided for each chord type. Containing over 1,100 chords [...] Read more
This post was posted in Corner Books, Tom's Guitar Hangar and was tagged with Hal Leonard
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Christmas Time is Here
Posted on December 15, 2010 by Elliott Chung
Christmas is just around the corner and it’s time to start practicing your favourite pieces! Three great titles we have in store now are A Guitar for Christmas by Liona Boyd, Christmas Carols for Easy Classical Guitar arranged by Mark Phillips, and The Ultimate Christmas Guitar Songbook published by Hal Leonard. Each of these books is special in its own way and has something to offer classical guitarists at all levels of playing.
If you’re up for the challenge and looking for beautiful arrangements of traditional carols then A Guitar for Christmas is definitely your best choice. The pieces in here [...] Read more
This post was posted in Corner Books, Tom's Guitar Hangar and was tagged with Acoustic Guitars, Hal Leonard, Sheetmusic
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Sight Reading for the Classical Guitar
Posted on October 26, 2010 by Elliott Chung
Daily sight reading is an excellent routine to get into as we grow as classical guitarists. It’s also a great way to add variety and excitement to our practice sessions as we explore new sounds and phrases on the instrument.
Alfred Publishing has a series of books entitled Sight Reading for the Classical Guitar which we carry and that I highly recommend. There are two books in the series – Levels 1 to 3 and 4 to 5. Each book contains a wealth of information and exercises that will improve your ability to read and interpret new material, paying proper attention [...] Read more
This post was posted in Corner Books, Tom's Guitar Hangar and was tagged with Alfred Publishing, Sheetmusic
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If You Are Up to the Challenge.
Posted on October 26, 2010 by Elliott Chung
Guitarists! Boy do I have a book for you if you are up to the challenge. The Brazilian Masters, 2nd edition published by Hal Leonard is a one of a kind book containing South American masterpieces such as Desafinado, Manha de Caranaval, Samba Triste and Silencio de Amor. Luiz Bonfa and Antonio Carlos Jobim are two of the major composers represented in this collection which would be a welcome addition to any serious player’s library. The pieces are both beautiful and perfectly suitable for any public performance from weddings and cocktail parties to formal recitals. Moreover, the unique rhythms, harmonies [...] Read more
This post was posted in Corner Books, Tom's Guitar Hangar and was tagged with Acoustic Guitars, Hal Leonard, Sheetmusic
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A Customer Request
Posted on October 25, 2010 by Doug Armstrong
I wanted to share this email correspondence with all our Cosmo customers out there in Blog Land. Not only were we able to make a customer happy but also I’m reminded that hockey season is indeed in full swing and there’s always a time and place to play such a great song in such a great country like Canada!
Cheers eh! Doug
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I am looking for the Hockey Night in Canada sheet music for intermediate piano - do you have it in stock? I need it for Sunday if possible. Thanks,
Heidi...
Hello Heidi,
We do have Hockey Night in Canada for Intermediate Piano in [...] Read more
This post was posted in Corner Books and was tagged with Sheetmusic
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Motivation
Posted on September 7, 2010 by Elliott Chung
Staying motivated throughout the course of one’s journey with an instrument is a unique challenge in and of itself. We already know that we enjoy learning and playing our instrument of choice, in this case the classical guitar, but what can we do when we start to feel like we’re running out of gas and that inner flame of passion begins to grow dim?
Some things that you can do to re-ignite that flame include:Exploring new repertoire / sounds on the guitar (e.g. the Leo Brouwer studies, Beatles for Classical Guitar, Celtic music)
Videotaping or recording yourself and sharing it with family [...] Read more
This post was posted in Corner Books, Tom's Guitar Hangar and was tagged with Guitar Tips
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Calling all Flautists!
Event took place on August 26, 2010 by Elliott Chung
We’re very excited here at Cosmo Music about our next teacher workshop. On Monday, August 30th we’ll be hosting Susan Heoppner’s presentation of Frederick Harris’s new Overtone Series. This is a graded set of repertoire and study books dedicated to those preparing for their Royal Conservatory flute exams. Flautists across the world have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this series and for those of you in the GTA who are lucky enough to be able to attend such a rare event I invite you visit our web site for information on how to register. I’ll see you here at [...] Read more
This post was posted in Corner Books, Events and was tagged with Flutes, Teacher Workshops
