CGC 100 : David Russell

In this lesson

How does David Russell learn a new piece, prepare it for an audience and keep his enthusiasm through difficult practice? This episode captures his answers to students at Yale University’s Guitar Extravaganza, with questions introduced by Simon Powis. Benjamin Verdery hosted the event; the recording is a public question-and-answer session rather than a studio interview.

Russell’s advice is specific and approachable: settle fingerings early, practise remembering deliberately, give performance its own preparation, and keep music in your repertoire that you can enjoy playing well. Across the questions, technical discipline serves a clear purpose—communicating music with confidence and pleasure.

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Originally published in 2020. These listening notes draw on the recorded conversation. Roles, projects, releases and event announcements refer to the time of recording. Practical reflections are suggested applications, not additional quotations from the guest.

Explore the conversation

Use these approximate timestamps to jump to a topic in the recording.

• 9:53 — A beginning built around enjoyment
• 13:47 — Choose fingerings early and memorize deliberately
• 16:47 — Make the musical idea clear to a listener
• 21:13 — Give practice a purpose and a regular place in the day
• 25:05 — Prepare performance by performing
• 32:12 — Use reading and arranging to explore more music
• 36:18 — Diagnose a plateau and protect your enthusiasm
• 43:33 — Explore styles before deciding where you belong

A beginning built around enjoyment

Russell remembers the guitar as part of his father’s happy evening routine. His father was a painter who played for pleasure, and music was present at home before Russell can clearly remember learning it. Records, including Segovia, flamenco and jazz, formed part of that environment.

A period of concentrated practice in his early teens, followed by lessons that helped him correct what he had learned by ear, moved his playing forward. The account joins affection for the instrument with the value of outside guidance: enthusiasm brought him to the guitar, while instruction helped him hear and resolve details he had missed.

For a learner, the useful reflection is to protect both sides of that relationship. Improvement needs careful work, but the pleasure that made you want to play is also worth looking after. That theme returns in his later advice about repertoire and frustration.

Choose fingerings early and memorize deliberately

“So decide on your best fingering as soon as possible.”

— David Russell, 14:38

Once he decides to learn a piece, Russell tries to establish the fingering promptly. Changing a deeply practised movement can be difficult, and an old fingering may return under pressure. This does not rule out a better solution later; it explains why thoughtful decisions near the beginning are valuable.

He also separates intentional memorization from the hope that playing a piece often enough will eventually make it stick. One approach he describes is working backwards through small sections: learn the ending, then the material immediately before it. Each new section leads into something already familiar.

The units need not be whole bars. A phrase or half a bar may be more appropriate, depending on the music. He still plays through in the normal direction to develop the piece’s continuity. Backward section work is a way of organising the learning process, not a replacement for hearing the complete musical line.

Make the musical idea clear to a listener

Asked about musical lines, Russell answers from his perspective as an interpreter and arranger. His priority is clarity: if a phrase has a direction or character, the listener needs a chance to hear it. He compares performance with speech, where saying something intelligibly can be more engaging than speaking rapidly.

Tempo therefore belongs to communication as well as technique. A resonant room may call for a slower, clearer delivery. The fastest speed available to the fingers is not automatically the most convincing speed for a passage in a particular space.

He links this freedom to regular technical work. When the hands struggle to realise an idea, the idea alone is not enough. The practical question is to identify which movement prevents the phrase from speaking, work on it, and then listen again to the musical result.

Give practice a purpose and a regular place in the day

Russell responds to the question of how long to practise by asking how much time is available. He wants a life beyond the guitar, so making the available time effective matters. His examples distinguish technical work, learning and memorizing, and playing through with attention to musical shape.

He describes finding mornings more receptive for learning and evenings more conducive to expressive playing. These are observations about his own rhythm, not a schedule everyone must adopt. They invite you to notice when different kinds of work go well in your day.

A short, defined session can focus attention: what two things will you address in the time you have? He also stresses consistency, particularly to the developing students in the audience. The useful takeaway is to make practice a repeatable activity with a clear task, rather than measuring commitment only by occasional long sessions.

Prepare performance by performing

“So I think it’s better to play easy pieces really well than difficult pieces really badly.”

— David Russell, 27:14

Learning the notes is not the end of Russell’s preparation. Before placing new repertoire in a concert, he plays for his wife, friends or invited listeners. Recording a video creates another form of pressure. These situations reveal weaknesses that may not appear during solitary practice.

The point is to discover those places while there is still time to address them. A passage that felt secure can behave differently when someone is listening. That information becomes part of the next practice session rather than proof that all the earlier work failed.

Confidence also shapes repertoire choices. Russell encourages students to perform manageable music well and build experience of communicating successfully. Playing for one another regularly can make the act of sharing music more familiar, while giving each player a practical reason to prepare.

Use reading and arranging to explore more music

Russell is open about arrangements that do not work. For each successful transcription, others may have been abandoned because they do not fit the guitar or do not justify further work. Sometimes a programme creates the reason to investigate a particular composer or style.

Reading through music helps him find possibilities. He recommends regular sight-reading with genuinely accessible material, mentioning easy violin studies as one option. His emphasis is on maintaining the pulse and reading at a level where the task is achievable.

Playing with someone of similar reading ability adds a reason to keep going. The broader lesson is to distinguish reading practice from learning a difficult concert work. If every bar requires stopping and deciphering, choose simpler material for the reading session and return to detailed study separately.

Diagnose a plateau and protect your enthusiasm

“You need to diagnose what the problem is.”

— David Russell, 36:32

When a piece stops improving, Russell asks what is actually causing the difficulty. Speed and coordination are different problems. If each hand can manage its part but they cannot work together, repeating the whole passage without changing the task is unlikely to address the specific weakness.

He also questions whether the chosen piece is currently too demanding. Sometimes putting it aside while developing a missing skill is the sensible choice. A difficult piece can remain a future goal without occupying every practice session now.

Alongside challenging work, he urges students to keep a few complete pieces they can play well. Being able to share music when someone asks is part of the enjoyment of being a guitarist. For a large work with a deadline, he recommends manageable sections and concrete near-term goals. Progress and pleasure both matter; an ambitious programme should not consume the enthusiasm that sustains the learning.

Explore styles before deciding where you belong

The final question concerns the range of styles a student should study. Russell encourages exploration, including looking back over previously learned pieces to see where the gaps are. Encountering different periods and musical languages gives a player more information about their own interests.

His story about first encountering Stephen Dodgson’s music shows how an unfamiliar language can initially feel unappealing. Working through it expanded what he could understand and play. Immediate preference is not always the same as long-term value.

You do not need to make every style a permanent speciality. A useful response to the conversation is to choose one accessible piece that broadens your experience, listen carefully to its musical world, and let curiosity accompany the technical work.

Ideas to take into your own music

These prompts are reflections on the conversation, rather than a routine prescribed by the guest.

1. Plan before repetition: examine fingerings and decide what a short section needs before reinforcing it.
2. Practise one ending: learn a manageable final phrase, then connect the preceding phrase to it.
3. Create a small performance: play a complete, comfortable piece for a friend or a recording, then note one useful discovery.
4. Name the obstacle: replace ‘this piece is too hard’ with a specific question about coordination, reading, memory or musical direction.
5. Keep something ready to share: maintain a piece that reminds you why playing is enjoyable.

Original episode notes and resources

The original introduction and resources are retained below. Any time-sensitive announcements belong to the episode’s publication period.

In an unforgettable episode of the Classical Guitar Corner podcast, I had the distinct pleasure of recording the legendary classical guitarist, David Russell in his Q&A at Yale university. Known for his impeccable technique and expressive musicality, Russell has long been an inspiration to guitarists around the world. Our session delved into his illustrious career, offering listeners a rare glimpse into the mind of a maestro.

One of the highlights of our discussion was Russell’s approach to practice and technique. He emphasized the importance of consistent, mindful practice and the value of staying connected to the music emotionally. Russell’s philosophy revolves around finding joy in the process of learning and maintaining a deep connection with the music, a perspective that resonated profoundly with our listeners.

We also explored his extensive discography, discussing some of his most notable recordings and the stories behind them. Russell’s interpretations of classical masterpieces have earned him numerous accolades, and he shared the meticulous preparation that goes into each performance. His dedication to his craft is evident in the passion with which he spoke about his work.

Throughout the presentation David Russell’s humility and generosity of spirit shone through. He offered practical advice to budding guitarists and encouraged them to pursue their musical journeys with perseverance and love for the art. This episode of the Classical Guitar Corner podcast is not just an interview but a masterclass in musicianship and a testament to the enduring power of classical guitar.

Continue exploring

• Hear David Russell’s earlier CGC interview
• Explore classical guitar practice lessons
• Find repertoire to match your next learning goal
• Browse more Classical Guitar Corner podcast interviews