7 Ways to Improve Your Guitar Playing This Summer
Best of the Classical Guitar Blog
Add 15 minutes of practice to your practice day. Micro practice sessions can be extremely effective, and anyone can find 15 minutes of extra practice time! Start a practice log. Why? There are lots of good reasons. Take a day off. We all love to practice, but the rest between practice sessions is just as […]
Read MoreMonday Motivation: Sartor Edition
Monday Motivation
“Purely by hard work, one can become an artist.” -Robert Fripp I had a chance to see Marco Sartor in concert at the Rosario Guitar Festival. He was, simply put, amazing. Great player with a refined sense of musicianship and the technique to convey every detail he wishes. If you have a chance to catch […]
Read MoreAn Interview with Matt Palmer
Interviews with Classical Guitarists
Matt Palmer is a Tennessee native with an extraordinary musical gift. He’s an electric guitarist turned classical and holds degrees from MTSU and Appalachian State and holds a DMA from the University of Arizona. Matt is known for ridiculous scale technique, which he explains in the videos below. I had the privilege to see Matt […]
Read MoreAPSU Summer Workshop: Benefit Concert
Classical Guitar Tips
This Friday, May 28 in Clarksville, TN Stanley Yates, Mir Ali, and Richard Smith will present a concert called “The Beatles to Bluegrass.” Check out the Facebook event to RVSP and for more information. Here’s a bit about the performers: Dr. Stanley Yates, Professor of Music, directs guitar study at APSU. Recently elected to the […]
Read MoreHow to Install a Fret Dot
Classical Guitars (Buying, Care, Maintenence)
Most of us regard our guitars as a part of the family, holding them in high esteem, and since most of us spent a good sum of money on them it’s with good reason. Because of this most of us tend to avoid doing small “repairs” or “upgrades” to our instruments for fear of irrevocable […]
Read MoreMonday Motivation: Aguado Edition
Monday Motivation
“Music is a means of rapid transportation” -John Cage I heard Aguado’s famous Rondo performed in a concert last week, and ended up reading through some of Aguado’s etudes as well. He’s a surprising composer who doesn’t get a lot of credit it seems. Here’s Bream performing Aguado’s Rondo. The video also includes some Bream […]
Read More28 Things I learned in Grad School
Best of the Classical Guitar Blog, Guitar Teaching
The Classical Guitar Blog represents my past two years in grad school pretty well. I started it during my first semester. As I learned things or had thoughts about music, they made it onto the blog. Here’s some of the stuff that stands out to me as the most valuable. On Business If every musician […]
Read MoreMonday Motivation: Baden Powell Edition
Monday Motivation
“Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” -Henry Van Dyke Stepping a bit outside the strictly “classical” guitar stuff this week. This is a video of Baden Powell accompanying himself singing. His son runs a website where you can find a […]
Read MoreVideo Lesson: Beginning Slur Exercises
Classical Guitar Technique, Guitar Slurs
This video covers what I do with student when I’m just getting them started with Hammer-ons/Pull-offs (slurs). I got the basic idea out of Kitharologus: The Path to Virtuosity (aff.) by Ricardo Iznaola, but changed it a bit to suit my needs.
Read MoreNews: Odair Assad Solo Album Now Available
Around the Web
GHA Records announced late last week that Odair Assad’s new solo album is now available. You can check out some information about the CD on the website linked above or by checking out this PDF. This CD includes several world premier recordings: a new sonata from Leo Brouwer, The Red Fantasy by Kevin Callahan, and […]
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