Monday Motivation: Stromness Edition
Monday Motivation
“Recognize those little moments that define your success. “Just taking a step is a success. Finishing a great song – even if no one hears it – is a success. Getting into a song competition – even if you don’t win – is a success. A kind word of validation is a success. “When you […]
Read MoreAn Interview with Luthier Dan Koentopp
Interviews with Classical Guitarists
I had the chance to meet Dan Koentopp at the WIU guitar festival. He’s a great guy, and his passion for building guitars comes through in the videos below. You can connect with Dan on Facebook, Flickr, and Youtube. Dan is pretty new to the luthier game, but I’m predicting a bright future. Part One […]
Read MoreTake a Break to Improve
Classical Guitar Practice Tips
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Jørgen Oktober Storm, you can get in touch with him at oktoberstorm (AT) gmail.com Bjørn Dæhlie is a former Norwegian cross-country skier. He has won 8 Olympic titles, 9 World Championships, and contributes most of his achievement to the time off between exercising: the single most important […]
Read MoreMention in Guitar Edge (and Website Updates)
Updates & Activities
This month’s digital issue of Guitar Edge magazine mentioned the Classical Guitar Blog in their Digital Edge column. The Digital Edge features sites that Guitar Edge deems, “worth perusing.” I think this is awesome! Big thanks to the guys over at Guitar Edge for taking the time. New Features If you haven’t visited the website […]
Read MoreNews: David Russell gives a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR
Around the Web, Guitar Related Links
NPR’s Tiny Desk concerts are short performances given by great artists in the NPR office and, of course, video recorded. David Russell was the most recent artist. The set list: Augustin Barrios: Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios Francois Couperin: Les Silvains Isaac Albeniz: Granada He also talks a bit (including one almost dirty […]
Read MoreMonday Motivation: Vincens Edition
Monday Motivation
“The love of one’s art is an aspect of technique.” -Bruce Adolphe Last week at the WIU guitar festival, I got to hear Guilherme Vincens give a lecture and perform. I enjoyed Guilherme’s performance a lot, so I thought I’d share this video of him playing Piazzolla.
Read MorePractice Techniques: Chaining
Guitar Practice Techniques
note: click on the images to view larger versions. One of the most effective ways to learn a piece is practicing small units at tempo, slowing building longer and longer chains of little units. Most of us think of practicing a measure or beat at time, but that is not the way. We need to […]
Read MoreLecture at WIU
Updates & Activities
Here’s my lecture from the WIU Guitar Festival. It just goes over some basic tips on marketing and branding for musicians. The handout for the lecture is here. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming!
Read MoreConcert Review: Gabriel Bianco in Seattle, WA
Classical Guitar Concert Reviews
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Richard Fong, an amateur guitarist in Washington state. French guitarist Gabriel Bianco gave a stunning recital that the Frye Art museum on Saturday, March 27th. Mssr. Bianco won the Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) competition in 2008, and with it a fifty date concert tour of north […]
Read MoreWIU Guitar Festival
Updates & Activities
This weekend, I’ll be at the Western Illinois University Guitar Festival. The festival begins with a performance by Matt Palmer followed by two full days of lectures/workshops and two nights of showcase style concerts. I’ll be giving a lecture titled “The Savvy Guitarist” (a deliberate play on David Cutler’s Savvy Musician) on Sunday morning. Topics […]
Read More