Miloš (as he generally is known) needs no introduction to those in the guitar world. More than just a bright new performer, his influence is likely to change the classical guitar world significantly, perhaps more than any player since John Williams – who lit up our ideas of what a classical guitarist was from the 1970s onwards. Miloš goes beyond this and could become a figurehead for an approach to music considered rather leftfield, possibly eccentric, mildly quaint or even dangerous by some.
With the premise of assuming a little, very basic knowledge of music, the book sets off with some good advice, naming of parts, good posture recommendation and an amusing image demonstrating the numerical and letter symbols used for fretting and picking hands respectively.
Music offered here is a mixture of the expected and the refreshing: something for everyone, including many likely request pieces as well as some appealing challenges. Those who know Miloš will not be surprised in a sense perhaps: some unusual delights are expected. Page 13 may raise eyebrows with an all-too-rare demonstration of a tutor book considering from the very start what a student may wish to achieve. This first piece is a one-string arrangement of the first theme of the famous anonymous Romanza, or Spanish Romance as it is called here, with advice from the author to play without worrying about technique at this stage. It is enjoyable, easy (despite covering some very high frets) and recognizable.
Good composers need not make difficulties for the player in order to create excellent music: Miloš knows this well, advocating and practising the enjoyment of technically simple music. As a performer he shows courage and a trust in great music, inspiring self-belief without arrogance. His encouragement of younger and inexperienced players to make their own decisions about tempos and interpretation is stimulating. He makes clear that he regards everyone's musical voice – that all of us have way of playing, an expression that is no one else's – as not only valid but worthy of celebration.
Interpretation seems out of fashion. Technique, consistent pulse and less tangible qualities such as excellence are more recent buzzwords; too seldom do they seem to relate directly to engaging a listener in musical pleasure. This book allows the reader, be they student or teacher, to take full advantage of their own musical potential, whatever their ability. No one is required to be a slave to blind prescription here.
A daily chromatic hand exercise follows, then a little piece using only open strings to explore picking hand (here referred to as right hand) movements. Miloš next features a hymn tune. As with many of the pieces here, it is a Carl Herring arrangement, and in fifth position. While this may surprise some, learning notes associated with C major on this part of the fretboard is both logical and more comfortable for beginners. Thus, already well placed to teach scale patterns and transposition, the book explores D major and G major notes, using the latter in an attractive melody from Montenegro, the author's birthplace.
The conflicts he grew up with there cannot be ignored; the next piece refers to this, the round ‘Dona Nobis Pacem’. It is fitting that encouragement to play together features this early in a book for an instrument too often confined to solo study. There is also advice on creating a beautiful tone, a vital guitar skill often sacrificed in favour of other, less expressive techniques.
Music from various eras and countries helps introduce different composers, musical traditions, technical skills and articulations. Some are very familiar to tutors, others less so, but all are included with a sense of purpose and progress. Succinct text is informative and inspirational. Young players and older beginners will thrive on this and be able to enjoy their playing from the outset while putting music into context, learning some musical history and theory. Harmony, the importance of not only reading music but also taking an interest in chords, appears at the start, the very convenient extended Roman numerals method being used and explained.
Enthusiasm for learning and understanding is just one aspect of this role model's approach. As well as using this as a tutor manual, I hope pupils and teachers will take great pleasure from the messages, finding encouragement to explore and trust in their own musicianship at every level.
Miloš Karadaglić, the Montenegrin maestro
After a pictorial guide to recommended accessories, a valuable glossary (clarifying the boldly printed terms that appear throughout the book) and a simple guide to reading tablature (TAB) notation, the book finishes with a handy reference chart of notes on the fretboard. Online audio and extra material (including duet parts with which to play along, referenced throughout the book) is available via a special website. Volumes two, three and four are due for release soon and, on the evidence here, eagerly awaited.
