Alfred's Kid's Guitar Course 2: Guitar Book, DVD & Online Video/Audio/Software

Book 2 respects young learners' need for immediate musical success while systematically expanding their technical foundation. The three animated guide characters (a classical dog, jazz cat, and blues alligator) create genuine personality on the page without condescension, and the integration of video, audio, and interactive software means students stay engaged across multiple learning modalities.

Playful and encouraging without feeling childish. The animated characters bring personality while the real performances on the DVD show that these songs and skills lead somewhere real. Students experience the satisfaction of reading new notation and mastering new chords quickly, building genuine confidence.

Young guitarists completing Book 1 who are ready to expand to fuller fretboard navigation and a larger chord vocabulary. Parents and music teachers working one-on-one with elementary and early middle school students will find the plain-language explanations and video support make lesson planning straightforward, even without advanced guitar training.

• Watch the DVD demonstrations before assigning a new lesson so you can model correct hand position and strumming technique; students will internalize posture faster by seeing it demonstrated than by reading descriptions alone.
• Use the software to slow down tempos on chords or passages students find tricky; isolating a single example at half speed often unlocks clarity that full-speed listening doesn't provide.
• Have students play along with the audio tracks once they've learned a song, starting with the accompaniment and gradually removing it so they develop independence from the recording.
• Reference the on-screen notation in the video when introducing new notes on the fourth, fifth, and sixth strings; seeing the fretboard, tab, and staff notation simultaneously accelerates the connection between written symbols and physical location.

This book works best as a structured six-to-nine month home study course for students taking private lessons or participating in after-school guitar classes. The DVD and online resources make it ideal for group instruction settings where you need visual and audio support for students progressing at slightly different paces.

• Reading notes on the fourth, fifth, and sixth strings
• Playing new major and minor chord shapes
• Interpreting tempo markings and dynamic symbols
• Listening critically to pitch and rhythm using audio examples
• Coordinating right-hand strumming with left-hand chord changes