Tonic and Dominant
Music Theory
Last Week we talked about the chords in a major scale. We discussed how roman numerals work, and how we label chords with them. We also learned that the chord of the major scale are: I ii iii IV V vi vii(dim) The assignment was to figure out the chords in the minor scale. You […]
Read MoreListen to Music
Musical Interpretation and Musicianship
A recent discussion appeared on the Delcamp guitar forum asking how to improve interpretation. The one overlooked aspect about playing music is that a great musician listens to it. In fact, they listen to a lot of it. Guitarists get really caught up listening to our own instrument, which is depressing because many other singers […]
Read MoreMonday Motivation: Juries Edition
Monday Motivation
Mondays. A time to start anew! But sometimes we’re stressed and unmotivated. Today I have juries, a culmination of a long semester. The rep I worked on this semester was Mertz’s Elegy and Brouwer’s Preludios Epigramaticos. Juries are a culmination of a long time spent with a piece. Most time you’re ready to just step […]
Read MoreThe Chords in a Major Scale
Music Theory
A friend, who is probably more intelligent than I can ever hope to be, suggested that I start a column called “Music Theory Fridays” as a medium for talking about this whole music theory thing. Today we’re going to talk about the chords that are found naturally in a major scale. Last week I talked […]
Read MoreYour Body, Your Instrument
Classical Guitar Technique
I’m going to go ahead and make a not so bold statement: people should exercise. We no longer live in an extremely active society, and sitting in a practice room for hours a day probably doesn’t help matters. I love to lift weights and do more high intensity exercises at least 3-4 times/week, but I […]
Read MoreMusician Professionalism
Guitar Related Links
I stumbled upon a really great article about how musicians alienate their audiences. It’s really a humorous guide on how to act like a professional musician, and touches on a few things I’ve spoken about here before. The article is geared towards orchestra musicians, but still rings true for us guitarists–even more so because we […]
Read MoreAn Interview with Scott Kritzer- part 2
Interviews with Classical Guitarists
The final part of an interview with Scott Kritzer. The first part can be found here. — You run a guitar festival every year as well, what is it and what was the reason for starting it? It’s called Classical Guitar Immersion-CGI-this year will be the fourth annual event and it’s on of my big […]
Read MoreAn Interview with Scott Kritzer- part 1
Interviews with Classical Guitarists
I recently had the opportunity to get in touch with Scott Kritzer and ask him a few questions. Scott is a classical guitarist and teacher based in Portland, Oregon. As you’ll see in the interview, his influence extends far beyond Portland; Scott offers distance video lessons. Mr. Kritzer has had the opportunity to study with […]
Read MoreKoyunbaba on Lute
Classical Guitar Videos
Koyunbaba on lute?! I kind of like it. -CD PS: guitar version
Read MoreWhen is it time to perform?
Guitar Performance Tips
I had a strange shift in my guitar playing these fast few weeks. I was pretty on top of doing some intense practice for the past three months, and that suddenly stoped. Go from an average of 18-25 hours/week with my instrument down to about 10ish now is a pretty dramatic change. But I have […]
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