I had the pleasure of studying with Simon as an undergraduate at Yale. Prior to studying with him I had played for years but never received extensive training in technique and efficient practice. Simon provided me with the many tools necessary to improve my playing and prepare me for a Master’s degree in guitar performance. He taught me the importance of scales and technical work, and how to be my own teacher. Through his guidance, I realized I wanted to pursue guitar as a career.

I wanted to learn classical guitar with a passionate and experienced teacher who is serious about helping people build a solid foundation. Discovering CGCA and listening to a couple of episodes of Simon's podcast, I thought, this is it. I want to learn at the school. Three years on, I feel truly fortunate to have started my journey here.

My goal was to grow my technical and musical abilities and play pieces I did not get around to in college. I succeeded and learned to play pieces beyond anything I imagined. After four years of study, I passed my Grade 6 exam with really great results. I am also grateful for the community, who graciously uplift and encourage each other. I have made good friends from all over the world. Both faculty and members have made a wonderful impact on my musical development.

Classical Guitar Corner Academy has been a game changer for me. After years of acoustic pop and fingerstyle guitar, I began studying classical guitar in my 40's, but lessons were infrequent. I often dreamed of attending a music school to study a graded curriculum. That dream came true upon finding CGC Academy. I have grown enormously in theory, technique, repertoire, and performance. Last year I began attending my local guitar society and shared open mic performances with confidence and joy. Recently the society asked me to be a featured artist and perform a recital.

I always wanted to learn classical guitar, but it seemed daunting and overwhelming. Then I found CGC Academy. The lessons are easy to follow, the teachers are knowledgeable and patient, and the community keeps me motivated. I am already playing my favorite classical pieces and having a blast.

I had considered myself an intermediate player since university, but family and work took my attention for most of my adult life. Years later, online education brought classical guitar back to my doorstep. I enrolled in Grade 7 and benefitted from the guidance on practice routines and repertoire. I submitted for my exam and passed with encouraging feedback, then spent two years on Grade 8 with the same productive experience. My playing reached a level I had not achieved before. Whether you are a beginner or experienced, CGCA offers a clear and achievable path.

Would it be worth joining? I really did not know. I was a relative newcomer taking up classical guitar in middle age, a bit directionless, so I thought I would try the Academy for a year. That was four years ago. I had no conception of how much being part of this cohort of fellow travellers would motivate and inspire me. It is a living, breathing college community of committed, mature students, all so friendly and supportive. I can't imagine not being a member. Nope. Can't imagine it.

I joined CGC as a beginner in 2022 after an attempt to learn on my own that did not go very far. Not only did the curriculum exceed my expectations, the teachers and community are incredibly supportive and inspire me to keep practicing. I joined just after the Cornerstone Method was released, which set me up for success. I have participated in a grade exam, member challenges, and summer school. There is tremendous value for everyone from complete beginners to very experienced musicians.

Several years of self help method books and online tutorials had left me frustrated with a piecemeal approach. When I discovered CGC Academy with its expertly structured grades 1 to 8 curriculum, a highly responsive staff, and a global community, I knew I had found a new home. Seven years on, I could not be happier. Coaching calls, performance seminars, member challenges, open mics, summer school, and feedback from fellow students and instructors have all served to take my playing to a level I never thought possible.

I was by myself at home on a Saturday playing guitar. Discovering Classical Guitar Corner helped me connect with people and communicate the joy of studying music. I am a lifelong learner and I love to study. The structure and flexibility here encourage my creativity with excellent resources and wonderful people. Connecting with fellow students, listening, and participating, is joyful, because the study of classical guitar is a shared passion.

When I describe the CGC experience I could mention the thoughtful curriculum and outstanding teachers, or the performance opportunities with open mics, seminars, and summer school. But what you cannot learn from the website is the feeling of being part of an international community of musicians who share a love of the classical guitar. It crosses time zones and borders. Sharing our performances means taking the risk of being less than perfect, and we help one another grow. Lifelong friendships have been formed. I joined to improve my playing. I have remained because of the community.

I had fallen into the habit of using tablature, drummed into me from my first lesson at age 11. No music, only tab. Having to back up and learn to read music again was tough. I am very pleased that I can now read a sheet of music without having to stop and pencil in the notes. The structure of the course really helped me, and the advice on how to practice, slowly and constantly, plus how to structure my practice time, made all the difference.

I am a professional musician and picked up the classical guitar last year when tours were canceled. I thought it would keep my hands in shape and inspire me. It has done all that and more. Though I graduated from Berklee, I am starting slow and going through your program. You all have done an amazing job, and I look forward to really understanding the classical guitar and the techniques involved to bring it to life. Pure joy.

I looked at the free lessons skeptically and then joined for just a month, because what could that hurt. Honestly, I was prepared for the experience to be an utter waste of time and money. I could not have been more WRONG. Now that I am in the middle years of my life, I am excited to refocus my efforts and thrilled to have found this incredible resource.

I love your website, the sense of community, the podcasts, and more importantly I am really making progress. I took lessons 30 years ago, but I realise I was never taught how to practice, and this is making a huge difference. Not getting hung up on little errors while keeping tempo is a new approach for me.

A very late thank you for all the material you have so generously given free access to. I know I have got the best tutor I could wish for, even though you are across the Atlantic from me. I once had a tutor but got really stressed before lessons and had to stop, so this form of distance learning really works for me.

For six months I took beginning lessons from a local instructor. I learned to play, but I suspected I was not learning proper technique. Eventually I went in search of better instruction and took a leap online. Then I found Classical Guitar Corner. At last, succinct and clear explanations of basic technique and, even more valuable, how to practice. Thanks to Simon, I have rebooted my classical guitar career and feel like I finally have a roadmap that will get me to my destination.

I recently ordered your 20 Practice Routines and wanted to let you know how impressed I am. I have many classical guitar books with technical exercises, but yours are absolutely the best I have ever seen anywhere. They are much more thorough and detailed than the ones I was making myself. Thank you for saving me so much time.

I was initially learning the guitar in a very random, haphazard, and unfocused way, so thanks for making these videos. I am finding them very well paced and enjoying the learning process greatly. The strings, and the guitar as a whole, no longer feel as unfamiliar as they did to my inept fingers. I think I am bonding with it.

Your online videos allow me to have an instructor anytime. I really love your calm demeanor and your comments while demonstrating a technique. I am doing your exercises for intermediate to advanced daily and really enjoy them. After I watch your instructional videos I have a calmer demeanor and am less stressed when I practice. Great job.

Love the duet. The first two times I was so distracted by your part that I flubbed my own, but once we were in sync I recorded it and beamed with pride. I live in a small town and really relish the chance to play with another guitarist, even a virtual one. Hope you will keep the duets coming.

I am immensely grateful to have discovered your website. I can only imagine how much effort goes into making the most organized, methodical lessons out there. I have purchased several of your workbooks and hope to start working on Lágrima soon. Please keep those video lessons coming.

I just did the two classes on introductory harmony and chords. I have often been puzzled by phrases like major, fifth, and seventh, and this was a marvellous introduction. I am beginning to know not only how to play some chords but why they are so useful in playing music. One advantage of learning this way is that I can repeat your lessons several times, as I did with these two.

I found you on YouTube, and your videos are the most comprehensive, educational, and fun videos on the classical guitar. I have played guitar for five years and find classical music very enchanting. I am here to learn as much and as often as possible. Thank you for being so awesome.

While I have only recently begun playing guitar, I have worked with a number of online instructional sites, and I sincerely feel you have come up with the best approach to online instruction for adults. I have high regard for the quality of many other sites, so kudos to you and Simon for being the best in a quality field.

I have used other guitar sites over the years, but yours is the only one I have felt I have made progress with. Simon is an excellent teacher who has a way of explaining things, so at last I am starting to understand this strange language called music and enjoying it.

The quality of your video productions, the structured approach, the quality of instructors, and the amazing community all set a very high standard in online education, regardless of the discipline. Even though I have only met a few of them, I feel like everyone at CGCA is family.

I am so grateful for the past year of study at the CGC academy. I have found the quality of instruction and supportiveness of the community to be unparalleled in the realm of online music learning. I will certainly recommend the site to others.

Your podcasts inspired me to pick up the guitar again after a fallow period. In late 2019 my dad, who first inspired my love of music, was diagnosed with cancer. I took my guitar on my visit before he was moved to the hospice and played Lágrima for him. It was the last time he heard me play. He requested that I play it at his funeral, which I did, having spent hours with your tutorials. This piece means so much to me now. Had I not joined CGC I would still not have been playing, and would not have had the chance to share that connection for a final time. I cannot thank you enough.

Before joining I was mostly self taught for over a decade. I could play mechanically, but the musical expressiveness was missing. In just six months the transformation has been unbelievable. The curriculum integrates expressiveness right from the start and even includes duets, which improved my listening and synchronization. But the true gem is the community. I have never encountered a more supportive and welcoming group. If you are wondering whether to give CGCA a shot, I say go for it.

CGC Academy is a wonderful place to learn classical guitar with instructors who are top notch musicians and passionate teachers. I started at the very beginning and have worked through the curriculum at my own pace. The main reason I joined was a one to one Zoom call with Dave Belcher, who toured the website and explained the optional activities. Having that personal contact before joining made me feel CGC would be a friendly, respectful community where I could get help when I needed it, and it has been all of that.

I played steel string and electric for years, then stopped for over a decade. After the usual YouTube University study that leaves you more confused than when you started, I researched learning online. I chose CGCA for the top notch teaching method and the incredible communication from staff, and I was not even a student yet. I did a trial month and was blown away. The quality and depth of the instruction was mind blowing, my fear of sight reading turned out to be unfounded, and the other students are spectacular. CGCA is the best online classical guitar instruction I have seen.

I had only played classical guitar briefly as an eight year old, then later played other styles, mainly self taught. Many years passed, and I was not really improving. So I decided to try classical guitar and searched online. I got to a point where I could progress no further. The lessons are simple yet effective, and you go at your own pace. There are masterclasses by international performers, a vast technical library, and a community that makes you feel you have finally found your people. I am very happy I found Classical Guitar Corner.

The pre recorded video lectures are fantastic and I keep revisiting them. The graded repertoire has exposed me to great music I can play at my level. The grade exams help me structure my goals and give useful feedback. The live meetups, the specialized masterclasses, and the one to one feedback from teachers have all been extremely useful. The whole community of learners and teachers is welcoming and encouraging.

For three years I dabbled in courses and books, but what I was missing was a structured curriculum and a pathway. CGCA has provided this and so much more. The comprehensive curriculum has given me many new skills and an ever increasing knowledge base. Live seminars are abundant, the instructors are devoted, and there is a global community of supportive students. It is a place where friendships are formed and an investment that keeps providing rewards.

As a late starter with an anxiety disorder who lives in a remote part of the world, I was looking for a friendly, supportive, and informed community of classical guitar lovers. CGC turned out to be all of this and more. The program is clearly set out, and the instructors are well qualified, encouraging, and available. I can progress at my own rate, and the invitation is there to take exams, join group sessions, or simply hang out in the background and learn by watching others.

The Classical Guitar Corner Academy is perfect for me, as someone in my mid thirties with a full time job and no prior musical background. The curriculum is robust with everything I need to learn from the beginning and at my own pace. I am so glad to find a supportive community as I dedicate myself to this journey.

As a complete beginner, I joined CGCA looking for information about how to structure my practice time. I found that and so much more. CGCA is a constant source of inspiration and education. I learn something new with every interaction with the incredible, supportive community of learners and teachers.

I started learning classical guitar in the 1980s, progressed randomly, performed poorly in early exams, and finally felt defeated. Roll forward over 30 years, and I found my way to CGCA. It provides a clear, structured approach with tutorials from the basics to Grade 8, expert tutors, and a wealth of resources, exactly what I needed. More than that, it is a community of learners from across the globe. This time round there is real enjoyment and the belief that yes, I can play classical guitar.

Over two years I tried several online platforms, but they did not meet my expectations. Then I found videos of CGC students performing at a summer school and thought, I wish I could play like that. So I joined. I have passed Grades 1 and 2 and am preparing Grade 3. Everything on CGC is made from the heart, on a high academic level, with a gentle approach to every member. The most important thing for me was the chance to meet other players, share thoughts and emotions, and reflect on my own practice. CGC is a great experience from people to people.

I can honestly say that joining CGCA has been one of the most rewarding pursuits of my recent retirement. It is as if a long delayed dream of attending music school is being fulfilled. CGCA offers a clear, step by step approach to technique, repertoire, and theory. Simon's instruction is easy to understand, insightful, and friendly, and the library of resources is incredible. Most importantly, I think I am steadily improving and taking on increasingly complex pieces with confidence.

Joining this program has been the most helpful thing I have done to further my study. I have used private teachers too, but CGCA supplies everything in an organised, graduated order from beginner to fairly advanced. There are video lessons, downloadable repertoire and routines, performance opportunities, and optional coaching and summer school. It is the closest thing to being in a conservatory that I could imagine, and an unbeatable value compared with anything else I have tried.

What influenced my decision to sign up were the sample videos. Simon was knowledgeable, articulate, passionate, and sincere, and so are all of the CGC teachers. Even though I had played electric guitar for years, there were holes in my education. Within a few weeks my skills developed. I was reading music. I was reading rhythm notation. The video lessons are clear and concise, and the members are always there to lend support. Learning the classical guitar has been life changing thanks to CGC Academy.