Hal Leonard Guitar Method Book 1 with Audio (1995)

The classic method book, and the one to choose if you want to read music rather than just tab. Will Schmid and Greg Koch's first volume covers tuning, first-position melodies, the C, G, G7, D7 and Em chords, rhythms up to eighth notes and strumming, with traditional songs such as Greensleeves and When the Saints Go Marching In. The tunes are folk standards rather than radio hits, which can test an adult's patience, but the reading skills last. The current edition's online audio can be slowed down without changing pitch and looped, which makes it far easier to practice alone. A left-handed edition exists.