PLAY CLASSICAL GUITAR

UNIT 1

CONTENTS

1 About the Classical Guitar 11

Right and Left Handedness 11

The Method 11

What sort of guitar should I learn on? 13

The Classical (Spanish) Guitar 14

About the Spanish Guitar 14

The Nails 15

2 GETTING STARTED 18

Holding the guitar 18

Tuning the Guitar 20

The Tuning Fork 21

The Open Strings on the Stave 22

Starting to Play 24

The Rest Stroke (Apoyando) 24

Alternating Fingers – ‘Walking on the String’ 26

3 READING MUSIC 29

The Stave 29

The Musical Alphabet 30

Note values 31

Examples of time signatures 32

Alternating fingers – Rest Stroke 33

Playing with an Accompaniment 34

Repeat alternating fingers to different backing 34

Playing ‘Echoes’ 35

Rest stroke using Middle and Annular fingers 35

Introducing Minims and Semibreves 36

Minims and Semibreves with Middle and Annular fingers 38

Echoes 39

Crotchet Rests 39

Repeats 39

The Tie 39

New time signatures - 2/4 and 3/4 40

Greensleeves 41

4 THE ‘BASS’ STRINGS 43

Playing with the Thumb 43

‘Echoes’ on the Bass strings 44

Exercises using thumb ‘rest’ strokes 44

Introducing Rests 45

Exercises with rests 46

Exercise in ¾ time 47

Playing the bass strings with the fingers using rest stroke 48

Combining thumb and fingers 48

Greensleeves played with thumb and fingers 48

5 NOTES ON THE FRET BOARD 50

The left hand 50

Notes on the first string 51

The ‘finger per fret’ rule 52

Second string notes 52

‘Echoes’ exercise on the E and B strings 54

Fretting finger exercise 54

Notes on the G [3] string. 54

Tempo and Dynamics 58

Three tunes on the treble strings 59

Ode to Joy 60

Cannon 61

Evening song 62

6 THE MAJOR SCALE: SHARPS AND FLATS 64

About the Major Scale 64

Sharps and Flats 64

Tuning Break 66

Notes on the first string 66

The Natural 66

Notes on the B string 67

Notes on the G string 68

The Chromatic Scale 69

Octaves, tones and semi-tones and the theory of scales 70

Key Signatures and the Key of G major 71

G Major Studies 71

The Chromatic Scale in G 72

The Northern Lights 73

7 Minor Keys, Dynamics, Dotted Notes and Ties 75

Dotted Notes 76

Ties 76

Relative Minor Scale 76

Em Study in ¾ time 77

Tone and Dynamics 77

Tempo Markings and Metronomes 77

Other Musical Directions 78

Three final pieces 78

Plaisir d'Amour 80

Scarborough Fare 81

Liebestraum 82

8 What next? 84

APPENDICES

FAQs 86

GLOSSARY 88

A Further Note On Nails 93

Recommended Listening 95