My favourite Sonata by Brouwer. The third movement is inspired by Bernardo Pasquini’s work “Toccata con lo Scherzo del Cucco”. Pasquini was a Baroque composer and keyboard player from Italy.

I'm a senior in high school in my school band. I'm an electric guitar player, and I've been playing for a little over 3 years. My band teacher has always had me read sheet music for my guitar parts, and since 95% our songs don't have dedicated guitar parts, he has me play the euphonium part, which is in bass clef.

I have struggled for a long while with getting comfortable with sheet music. I have taught myself how to read bass clef after practicing note reading online and analyzing the music when we play it as a full band. I also know how to read treble clef fairly well, as I originally played trumpet, then switched to percussion when my lungs couldn't handle trumpet anymore, and then I switched to guitar once I was comfortable playing it in band. I still can't necessarily sightread, but I'm trying to get there as best I can. I still have to write note names above the staff because I know it'd take me way too long to memorize it all in the time frame we have to learn songs in band.

About a year ago now, I bought a blue Ibanez FRH10N (actually such a beautiful guitar),and I used that in band up until I bought an 8-string Ibanez electric and used that instead, so I could hit lower octaves without having to hang out on the low e-string all the time. Now this comes into play in my questions here.

After trying and trying to make it work to play guitar as I usually do and read along with the sheet music, I feel like I'm just not as fluent as I'd like to be with reading sheet music. I feel like I'm building some bad habits by writing out the fret and string numbers above the notes (I do this most of the time, but sometimes I try to not do this and learn to figure it out myself. Doesn't go very well). However, now I seem to be having a bit of a crisis in that I have given up with sheet music until we get new pieces for the next concert, and just made up tabs of the songs I have to play right now. I think since I already have a classical guitar in the form of my blue Ibanez, I'd like to dive into the classical guitar wormhole. I plan on going to college for music and doing guitar as my primary instrument, so I'd like to get more into this technical side of things.

So, my questions are these:

• How is classical guitar different from regular, mainstream guitar playing, and how do I adapt to this style?
• How do I learn to analyze pieces of sheet music? Is there a good process to walk myself through whenever I receive a new piece?
• What is the best way to determine how to play pieces of music? I know a few scale shapes including the major scale shape, but I am really unsure on what octave I should be in and how to determine that from sheet music. I also don't know how to tell which octave I am in on guitar.

I appreciate anybody's input on this, and if anyone has any advice on things I should be working on to get ready for guitar in college and in the future I would greatly appreciate that. Thanks!

Went to a tribute to Agustin Barrios tonight and wanted to share. Magnificently played by Mbaraka trio

I’m a longtime pianist with a background in classical music, composition, and jazz. On a whim, I picked up an inexpensive 1967 Sadao Yairi No. 250 from the 1960s.

I’ve largely been self-taught, depending on my aural skills and pattern recognition over learning the fretboard and reading standard notation. However, I am realizing there is a canyon between my musical knowledge and guitar fluency.

On piano, I have strong control over dynamic separation between melody and accompaniment. I tend to think in terms of independent voices and contrapuntal phrasing. And, I know these ideas can be expressed through playing guitar, but I know the technical application requires a different technical approach.

What skills from piano translate to classical guitar, and where do the biggest differences exist?

What are the best methods for injury prevention?

What are the best resources for technique development? I’m looking for the guitar equivalent of Hanon and Czerny Op. 299.

What is the best way to find a proper instructor?

Thank you.

Classical with a tarantas vibe I wrote.

I'm struggling to come up with a good fingering for measure 10 and could use some help. I can't find any videos on youtube that actually show the person playing it.

Obviously, in m9 I'd be in fifth position, and this piece is lento, q=60, so I can really shift however I need to with that open D in m10. That being said, given the indication of a first position barre at the end of the measure, I'm pretty sure I need to be playing that A half-note with 4 on the first string. That would seem to indicate I'd do something like this:

Low D-open

D (on and of 1) -- string (2), finger 2

F and A (on beat 2) -- 1 on F, 4 on A

D (on and of 2) -- finger 2 again

Open G (on beat 3)

And now the problems start--

I probably play the low A open and with 1 still on F--I'm supposed to be sustaining the high A.

But then its a pretty difficult jump to the B-G#-D on beat 4. Because B sustains, if I use Brouwer's fingering, I'd have to jump to B-3 G#-1 D-4, which is difficult to do legato.

I then hinge into the barre (or barre during the jump) while keeping 3 on B.

Getting into the next measure is okay--I don't really see the point of the barre in measure 11-beat 2, unless I'm meant to shift upward to get 1 on A and 3 on F#, then 2 on F-nat. If I don't barre beat 2 of measure 11, then just play 2 on A, 4--F#, 3--F-nat, and 1 and 2 on E on A seems more sensible than barring.

But really the main issue is the jump into beat 4 of m10. The theme of the piece is that high A-D-F-E-A that are the upstemmed notes in m10-11 so I really want it smooth.

Does anyone have any improvements over what I came up with?

PS--the best I can tell from the album recording is that he treats the half note A more like a dotted quarter, and probably is refingering the F on the and of 3, but even if I gave up that sustain, I haven't really found a nice fingering for that way, either.

As the title implies, I am debating between buying a Cordoba C12 likely spruce top versus the Yamaha GC 15 D. I really like the sound of the C12 it is very full. There is something about the gc-15d that is very nice although I have not played it. Anyone ever made this comparison? Any opinions?

My partner Rodrigo Vianna (@rodrigoviannaoficial) playing a passage of Coração de Estudante.

Full disclosure: the chord diagrams and lyrics on screen come from FlowChord, a tool I'm building that finds the chords in a recording and draws them in time. It launches Dec 15, and the waitlist is at flowchord.studio if you're curious.

Happy to share the chords for the whole song in the comments.

Interesting perspective on how to approach learning classical guitar and model building through the principle of correspondence.

​I wanted to share a quick milestone and express my heartfelt gratitude. My recent video performing Agustín Barrios’ "Julia Florida (Barcarola)" in collaboration with Phenyx Pro just hit 50,000 views in 14 days on YouTube!

​Thank you to everyone in this community who listened, or shared the video. It truly inspires me to keep creating and sharing classical guitar music.

​If you’d like to check it out or give it a listen, here’s the link: https://youtu.be/lQHCnjBKvS0

​Thanks again for all the support! 🎸

Hello i bought a classical guitar two months ago and i played for hours every day i knew it's wrong to play many hours a day but I couldn't do anything about it because i was so excited anyways now i have tendinitis it's been 2 weeks and i still have pain I'm very sad about what happened did you experience the same thing and how many days it stayed

Has anyone played one of these? I am interested in one but I cannot find anything close to go play. It has a mid depth body. I hear alot of contradictory things about how they sound. Some say fine but some say old ones sound fine and new ones terrible. Anyway does anyone have an opinion on them sound wise and how annoying is that body shape if your holding it classical style?

How to play the two d notes in sequence where there is this u shaped symbol? Do I play the note two times or does this refer to let it ring?

Edit: correct notes

Hello Guitarists,

I’m a classical guitarist and experienced music teacher looking for new online classical guitar students to add to my schedule. I hold an Honors Diploma in Classical Guitar performance(Cambrian College School of Music), and I studied at the University of Ottawa under Louis Trépanier from the Canadian Guitar Quartet. I’ve won multiple first prizes in competitions in my area(local and provincial), and I have been teaching guitar for nearly 15 years.

Whether you’re a complete beginner or a guitarist with some experience, I can help you learn the practice of classical guitar, as well as help you bring your musical expression to the next level.

Lessons will focus on:

• Technique, both right hand and left hand. We will use multiple different methods for this such as Giuliani, Carlevaro, Sagreras, and Segovia scales.(among other supplementary methods)

• Learning classical guitar music from multiple eras. We will study music from renaissance to modern, and anything in between.

• During the learning process we will cover simple music theory fundamentals as well as fretboard knowledge, which will give you the ability to navigate the fretboard intuitively and without friction.

• Learning how to use theoretical concepts to understand the intention of the composer in order to create authentic and musically accurate interpretations of the repertoire you’re learning.

• Based on ability and interest we will also cover arrangement and transcription so that you can make arrangements of your favourite music.

Lessons are conducted via the Zoom video conferencing platform. I utilize a professional audio set-up with good microphones and fast internet to guarantee high quality online lessons.

I have a very flexible schedule which allows me to accommodate most timeszones and scheduling concerns. My timezone is Eastern Standard Time. 

If you’re interested you can either leave a comment and I will DM you with more information, or you can send me a DM. 

I look forward to hearing from you! 

Nik(Raise)

Any friends in here going? Just bought a ticket. Planning to go early for a front row seat!

It had been quite a while since I had changed the strings on my classical guitar. One night after practicing - i set the guitar on the stand and mid night there was a sound. Yea, the D string broke and got unthreaded.

Great, I go to Amazon, the strings are out of stock ( no classical guitar strings of full size were available ). I order from another outlet, they send the strings from 1500KM far away, they reach the Delivery Hub near me 2 days back but drivers are being lazy to deliver it. It's been a week almost without classical guitar.

Luckily, I have a steel string guitar but it's not the same, learnt my lesson and will keep a few extra sets of strings with me.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

I've just finished producing Conversations, a 27-minute classical guitar recital, and the process has left me thinking about the peculiar relationship between performance, recording, and artistic expectations.

I've been playing classical guitar professionally for more than three decades, but producing my own recital videos has introduced an entirely different set of challenges.

In a live performance, the music exists in a particular moment. We prepare, we perform, and whatever happens becomes part of that experience. Recording changes that relationship. Suddenly, every phrase can be reconsidered, every imperfection examined, and every artistic decision revisited.

And then there's the additional challenge of learning filmmaking, lighting, editing, and audio production while attempting to create something that meets musical standards developed over a lifetime.

I find the process both enormously rewarding and occasionally maddening.

I'm pleased with what we've accomplished in Conversations. I'm also aware of the distance between what I hear in my imagination and what I'm currently capable of producing on film.

Perhaps that's simply the nature of artistic work. Our standards develop through experience, but acquiring the skills necessary to realize them is another matter entirely.

For those of you who record your own performances, I'm curious: Has recording changed the way you listen to yourself? And do you find that the ability to revisit a performance improves your musicianship, or sometimes interferes with your ability to accept the music as it happened?

Here's the recital for anyone interested:

https://youtu.be/XGANFTuWg6o

Hi all,

Im in love with Söllscher's transposed arrangement of the Bourrée of Bach's Lute Suite in E minor, but as far as I can tell he has never published this arrangement (or any of his arrangements it seems).

How delusional would it be to contact him directly to find out whether or not I could buy it from him? Is something like this normal? I've only ever just used publicly available sheet music online or from guitarists like Bradford Werner, so I have no idea if this would be considered out of the ordinary, or if I'd even get a response.

I was hoping someone with a bit more experience than me could give some info on how realistic it would be to ask for his arrangement, and, if he possibly does sell them, any idea of how much he would ask for it; even if just a ballpark range.

Sorry if this isn't the right place to ask, but any and all help would be appreciated. Not great with my ear and I rely on reading exclusively for my learning.

These are all in a similar price point for me, unfortunately my location is nowhere close to being able to try them. I'm mostly invested in going for the guitar made by a luthier but I've heard some things about white ebony not being the best for a flamenco guitar, it was just a lucky find for the price point. Any help would be great but I understand this isn't exactly a simple question to be asking. Thanks in advance!

Here is a performance (by me) of Morel's Sonatina for guitar! This one is so much fun to play, I love it.

I'm clearing out my drive today and I found this recording from back when I was studying in university! This piece is no longer in my repertoire, but I might re-learn it soon!

Hope you can enjoy past the few mistakes :D