Lets begin with some terminology so that reading through the materials will be a little easier. Even if you know a few of these already, read this list from beginning to end because the terminology builds on itself as we go along. The left hand We have four fingers on each hand and one [...]
10 Easy Kuffner Duets – Play Along
December 30, 2012 by
Below are recordings of me playing the second part of several duets by Kuffner! The first of each pair is at full tempo and the second is a bit slower. These are great for a bit of sight reading practice and sometimes its just fun to play with someone else! If you enjoy these duets [...]
Your first melody!
October 20, 2012 by
I use this for many beginners, it is especially great for little kids because they love working on melodies that they recognize. For complete beginners I ask that they play the melody only with the third finger, and shift the hand around to change the frets. I do this because the third finger tends to [...]
Reading TAB for the classical guitar
October 20, 2012 by
Tablature or TAB is a really great way to communicate finger instructions on the guitar, and its simple enough that a beginner can start reading it with very little frustration. There are enough challenges with playing the guitar already without figuring out notation straight away! TAB does have some pretty serious failings and it is [...]
On Making Mistakes
October 20, 2012 by
Wouldn’t life be boring if everything were perfect? I am not going to waste my time preaching that making mistakes is OK and that too many classical musicians are obsessed with perfection. Honestly, I don’t think it will make much of a difference. What I will say is what I love about live performance. [...]
Shifting in the Left Hand
October 20, 2012 by
Once you have had enough with the lower frets, you are going to have to make the big dive into the abyss of the upper positions. Who knows what notes you might find… To get your fingers up towards the twelfth fret and beyond you will have to shift your left hand up and down [...]
Right Hand Preparation
June 11, 2012 by
We had our first introduction to right hand preparation in Right Hand Arpeggios for the Classical Guitar. Now we can look at extending that idea and applying it to a range of scenarios. Right hand preparation offers stability, accuracy and certain articulation possibilities on the classical guitar. Some might argue that it is one of [...]
Right Hand Arpeggios – Part 2
June 10, 2012 by
Right Hand Arpeggios 2 In right hand arpeggios 1 for the classical guitar, we looked at playing an arpeggio going from low to high strings with the right hand fingering p – i – m – a. Playing the arpeggio in reverse – a – m – i – p requires some different movements [...]
Right Hand Arpeggios
June 9, 2012 by
Now that you have learned the right hand position for the classical guitar, lets put it to use. To start off with, lets set up our fingers into the default position with the P on the 4th string (D), i on the 3rds string (G), m on the 2nd string (B) and a on [...]
The left hand position
June 8, 2012 by
The left hand is required to run a lot of tasks while playing the guitar, and classical repertoire in particular makes hefty demands. For this reason it is important to set up your left hand correctly right from the beginning of your development. If you establish a solid foundation then you will put yourself in [...]