I am a guitarist just like you and I am excited to share my knowledge and experience. I was awarded a doctorate from Yale University, performed in Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, taught in international universities and masterclasses and I maintain an active performance career. I say this only to convey that I have passion for both performance and education and through this site I have been privileged to help hundreds of guitarists like you to improve their playing.

There are so many tips and tricks videos out there, thousands of pieces to choose from, and a variety of teachers that range from experienced to novice. This can leave you feeling lost, overwhelmed, and ultimately, frustrated.

The CGC Academy provides you with a guided learning experience that helps you improve step-by-step. You will feel a sense of clarity knowing what to work on next, have the opportunity for feedback, and save time by focusing on what needs to happen right now.

Lessons are taught with a variety of resources to help you learn key concepts:

• High quality video recordings
• PDF sheet music downloads
• Focused exercises to work on and develop your skills
• Audio backing tracks to play along with
• Q&A under each lesson

You can keep track of your progress, mark off lessons as “complete”, and easily navigate back to your current lesson when you log in to the Academy.

There are 20 progressive units which organize the following elements:

• Notation & Sight Reading
• Solo & Duet Repertoire
• Technique & Musicianship
• Scales & Arpeggios
• Practice Tools & Routines
• Theory & Analysis

Each unit represents a set of achievable goals that keep you focused and provide you with the right material to work on.

Starting with a preparatory course (the Fundamentals) the 8 Grades take you from complete beginner material through to intermediate and advanced lessons. Each Grade has a clear set of goals to achieve and if you would like, you can submit a grade exam and get detailed feedback.

You will find a vast library of solo works to study inside the CGC Academy. These solo works come with downloadable PDF editions, video lessons, score analysis, performance examples, and some are provided with full study guides!

Solo works span from beginner pieces to advanced grade 8 repertoire and include:

• Selected studies from Fernando Sor Opus 60, 35, and 6
• Lágrima by Francisco Tárrega
• Bourée by J.S. Bach
• Capricho Árabe by Francisco Tárrega
• Julia Florida by Agustín Barrios
• Allegro by Mauro Giuliani
• Españoleta by Gaspar Sanz
• El Testament D’Amelia by Miguel Llobet

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 balance and voices
• Slurs
• Shifting
• Fingerboard knowledge
• Finger independence
• Speed development

The Graded Duets for Classical Guitar course features a variety of musical styles that are organized in a progressive series that develops your playing. Each piece is offered with sheet music, performance tracks and play along tracks, video lessons, and video performances. 

The extensive library of duets includes:

• Mazurka by Francisco Tárrega
• Moderato by Carulli
• Invention in A minor by J.S. Bach
• Canarios by Gaspar Sanz
• Der Spiegel by W.A. Mozart
• Canone a due liuti by F. da Milano
• Canon by G.P. Telemann

Music theory can help you understand how a piece of music is put together, how you can interpret different aspects, and it will impact general comprehension and memorization. Inside the Academy you will find step by step lessons that start from the absolute basics of reading music to harmonic analysis of repertoire.

Theory lessons inside the Academy cover a variety of topics that include:

• Learning to read music
• Score markings and expression terms
• Scales
• Triads
• Extended harmonies
• Phrasing
• Harmonic analysis
• The CAGED system

Scales and Arpeggios can be incredibly useful in your development as a guitarist and a musician. Not only can they be used as tools to develop technique but they can also be used to explore fingering approaches, work on expressive aspects, and outline harmony on the fingerboard.

Inside the academy you will find a collection of over 40 lessons on scales and arpeggios that feature:

• An introduction to scale practice approaches
• Speed development
• Fingering approaches
• Right and left hand approaches to arpeggios
• Articulation and expression practice
• Rhythmic challenges

1. Personal Coaching Calls

There are several ways for all members to get feedback on their playing in the Academy. These include performance seminars, grade exams, forum posts, and member challenges. However, if you want to get ongoing, immediate, and regular personal feedback on your playing you should consider joining our coaching calls.

Each week you will have the opportunity to sign up for one-to-one sessions with a selection of world class performers at a variety of time slots. You can use this time to ask a specific question, play and get feedback, set practice goals, or get general guidance with your studies. Sessions are fifteen minutes each, you can schedule them up to two weeks in advance and they are open in a wide range of time slots over each weekend.

2. Performance Seminars and Open Mic

All members are welcome to participate and or watch our live performance seminars. Students are welcome to perform a piece, exercise, or whatever they might be working on and get detailed feedback to help them improve. Replays are available in the forum and performance seminars are run every other weekend.

These live sessions are easy to set up (just like Skype only better!) and provide a wonderful sense of community amongst members.

3. Grade Exams

Twice a year you have the opportunity to submit a grade exam. This includes a performance of set repertoire pieces, a practice routine, and also a self assessment of your playing and progress. Not only do you get to enjoy the focus and motivation from this process but you will receive detailed personal feedback on your playing.

4. Progress Journals

By starting a progress journal at the Academy you will be able to watch your transformation over time. It helps you focus on what you need to work on and also provides a great source of positive motivation when you feel stuck. More often than not we are making progress but it is hard to feel that progress. Keeping a progress journal helps keep your perspective on your achievements. As an added bonus you will find that other members are happy to cheer you on with support and feedback if you ask for it.

5. Member Challenges

Making progress on the classical guitar can often feel like a turtle race: it’s a long road that takes discipline and daily work. However, it’s also important to set smaller, more achievable goals to keep you motivated and on track to reach your more long-term goals. To that end, CGC Academy hosts member challenges each season. These challenges only last for three to four weeks, giving you the opportunity to set and stick to small, achievable goals. Each challenge has a different focus: for instance, scales or left-hand arpeggios.

In both the online academy and in-person events we have a family of professional colleagues that share their knowledge and experience with CGC Members. These can be in the form of recorded and live masterclasses, live member workshops,  and teaching at the CGC Summer School.

Current masterclasses include:

Andrew York
Rene Izquierdo
Gohar Vardanyan
Bradford Werner
Dr. Noa Kagayama (Juilliard)
Benjamin Verdery (Yale)
Fred Hand (Mannes)
Garret Lee (Luthier)
GFA laureate, Kevin Gallagher

The community at CGC Academy is one of the friendliest and welcoming on the internet. We love to support one another through the journey of learning music. Members hail from all around the world and many friendships have started here at the Academy.

There have been several groups that decided to conduct local meetups and open mics in their local area bringing guitar enthusiasts together.

Each year the students of CGC have the opportunity to attend an international gathering of guitarists near Boston USA. This weeklong event brings in master teachers and provides a fun relaxed environment for students to hone their performance skills, knowledge, and ensemble skills. The Summer School runs in June each year and is a ton of fun!

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