Having spent several summers of my teaching career getting away from the shores of England to visit more exotic climes, I found the Rough Guides essential reading. Since they provided me with a wealth of information concerning my destinations, where I should go and what I should look out for, my copies became well-thumbed commodities that often were passed around a group of weary travellers; one copy, I think, is still in Java, left at the hotel I was staying in for the benefit of other tourists. It seems, however, that recently, the Rough Guide culture has taken on new dimensions, much in the same manner as the Teach Yourself books of the 60s and 70s, and so I wasn't surprised by the series' expansion into the music world. The six books here are representatives of that growth, and although are in themselves relatively informative, they nevertheless are not recommended reading for anyone with anything other than a passing interest or with no knowledge at all. This is not meant as a criticism: in the same way that one would never expect Bobby Fischer to read Teach Yourself Chess, one would not expect a well-trained pianist to benefit from an approach that is scant, journalistic and, from that point of view, relatively uninformative.

There is, however, a remarkable niche for this sort of material. For the hundreds of youngsters who have a desire to become rock stars, but have not yet mastered the guitar, much is of use in these volumes. Introducing aspects that more experienced players take for granted, we are provided with information such as how to choose the right instrument, what its constituent parts are and how to maintain it. On top of this are useful glossaries that provide the correct terminology (how many times have we heard our pupils refer to a sax ligature as a 'thingy'?) and good information about choosing a music teacher, what sort of problems pupils might encounter and hints on practice.

I would not hesitate to buy these for any school library - they are easy to read, well illustrated and provide just the right information for prospective students and parents, those already learning and, of equal importance, could also be valuable reference material for a wider variety of activities, such as the 'keep your kids quiet' end-of-term project!

Janet McClintock