Instructional Video/DVD Review

Song Xpress Yuletide Tunes Vol. 2

Yuletide Tunes Vol.2

• Deck the Hall
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
• Here Comes Santa Claus
• Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Instructor Magda Hiller takes over for the second volume in this series, and the change in pace of the video is immediately noticeable. Hiller tends to move much more slowly than Anthony, explaining how to play even the most basic of chords. She also provides more detail on how to strum each of the tunes, something Anthony tends to gliss over. So, if you're a novice guitarist, you might find this edition more user-friendly than volume 1. However, if you've got more experience, you might find the directions a tad tedious.
The choice of songs on Volume 2 is again very good, and the explanations of each are equally fine. The difficulty level of the tunes vary slightly. "Deck the Hall" uses a plucked (rather than strummed) style, and might prove to be rather difficult for novices. "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas", similarly, might be overwhelming for beginners, as it contains a large number of chords, many of them being somewhat unusual.
My only qualm with Volume 2 was the lack of a performance by Hiller of "Here Comes Santa Claus". Song Xpress videos almost always include the instructor playing a complete performance of each tune they teach, so it was conspicuous by it's absence.
Despite that minor flaw, Yuletide Tunes Vol. 2 should provide guitarists will all the information they need to confidently perform each of the four tunes on the video. Hiller's explanations are good and thorough, and should answer any questions that may arise when learning the material. And again, the $9.95 list price makes the video that much more attractive.

Buy Yuletide Tunes Vol.2 from SongXpress website.

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