What’s in this lesson?

  • Practice Techniques
  • How to learn a piece of music quickly and effectively
  • Breaking down a piece of music into sections
  • Phrasing, musicianship, theory, technique, and form

If you enjoy this lesson then you will love the full curriculum at the CGC Academy.

Find out more and join the Academy Here

Take Your Practice to the Next Level

The Cornerstone Method and the Grades Curriculum at CGC Academy has all the resources to help you get the most out of your practice:

Practicing Technique

The Practice Routines at CGC Academy provide you with exercises focused on a comprehensive and balanced approach to technique and musicianship.

Exercises focus on the following kinds of elements:

  • Left Hand
  • Arpeggios
  • Scales
  • Right-hand walking
  • Rhythms
  • Chords
  • Dynamics
  • Color Changes
  • Tempo Changes

Practicing Repertoire

The Grades Curriculum at CGC Academy has over 60 progressive solo repertoire pieces and over 50 progressive duet repertoire pieces. Each piece of music has full video lessons with closeup views of each hand, a score you can download, and accompanying materials.

Many repertoire pieces have a Study Guide that helps you break down the various elements of learning a piece of music just as we’ve done above, including:

  • How to identify the key and tempo of the piece
  • Managing the technical challenges
  • Identifying and learning the phrasing and other musical elements
  • Using theory to learn the piece’s harmony and form
  • Practice strategies for each of these elements

Some of the beginner solo repertoire pieces you’ll learn include:

  • Study No. 2 (Op. 60) by Fernando Sor
  • Etude No. 1 by Mauro Giuliani
  • Simple Mambo by Thierry Tisserand

And some of the beginner duets include:

  • Simple Gifts
  • The Daisy and the Wind by Nicoletta Todesco
  • Cançao, trad. Brazilian

Practicing Theory

In addition to learning technique and repertoire, the beginner lessons at CGC Academy prepare you to read notation, practice rhythms, and learn theory and harmony. The Cornerstone Method will help you learn

  • New notes
  • New rhythms
  • New elements of the score and notation
  • Playing in time
  • Practicing musical elements
  • Duets with a teacher (with accompanying audio tracks)

It’s really simple…

We put our heart and soul into this school and we are confident you are going to enjoy being a member. If you find that this site is not for you, you can let us know within thirty days of signing up, and we will give you a full refund. This guarantee means there is no risk in signing up and every reason to become a member right now. Choose your membership below.

Choose your membership below, and get instant access.

Quarterly

$150Quarterly
  • Full Curriculum Access
  • All Downloads
  • Live Performance Seminars
  • Member Challenges
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Annual

$397Yearly
  • $200 Annual Discount
  • Everything from Quarterly Plus:
  • Guest Masterclass Series
  • Grade Exam Submissions
Enroll Now

Annual with Coaching

$797Yearly
  • Full Annual Membership plus
  • One-to-one coaching on a weekly basis.
  • Teachers include: Simon Powis, David Belcher, Niki Todesco, James Erickson, and Sanja Plohl.
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FAQ

Yes! You will be taught how to read music from the very first grade. Clear and progressive lessons will allow you to read with confidence and then develop the ability to sigh read. No prior reading experience is necessary and you will be provided with all the materials as you learn.

Yes, absolutely! The courses start from the very, very beginning. You will learn how to hold the guitar, how to tune, and also how to read music without any prior knowledge.

You might be surprised to know that while members at CGC are both young and old the majority of members are 40+. We even have some members who are well into their 80’s and are making great progress. All are welcome here at Classical Guitar Corner.

This site is for you. I am quite passionate about teaching dedicated amateur guitarists because I believe that music has a wonderful effect on quality of life. It can bring joy, passion, goals, and focus along with a skill that you can share with others. I believe the dedicated amateur will get the most out of this site with its supportive and motivating atmosphere. You are certainly not alone here at CGC!

As a member you will have access to a huge library of resources and this includes the graded repertoire, 20 practice routines, and duets. You can download these individually underneath the lessons on each topic.

The memberships at CGC are never discounted, nor are there sales on the prices. There are two reasons for this: #1 I want to be fair to paying members of CGC #2 I believe the membership rates are already representing exceptional value. The equivalent cost in private one-to-one lessons would be well into the thousands each year and there simply isn’t a price you can put on the quality of the materials and the community on this site.

It is quite simple, if you are not satisfied with the membership I will give you your money back. I am very confident in the quality of these courses and lessons so I am happy to offer this assurance.

The materials in the membership provide years of study and they go up to an advanced level. Sometimes, if a member comes in with prior experience they might go through the early grades quickly as revision.

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