Classical Guitar For Dummies

Contents

• Introduction 1
• About This Book 1
• Foolish Assumptions 3
• Icons Used in This Book 4
• Beyond This Book 4
• Where to Go from Here 5
• Part 1: Getting to Know the Classical Guitar 7
• Chapter 1: An Acoustic Guitar in a League of Its Own 9
• Defining What a Classical Guitar Is (and Isn't) 10
• Knowing What a Classical Guitar Looks Like 11
• Recognizing How a Classical Guitar Physically Differs from Its Peers 14
• Beyond Physique: Identifying Other Unique Attributes of Classical Guitar 17
• Player's form and technique 17
• Musical knowledge and skills 19
• Chapter 2: Getting Ready to Play 21
• Situating Yourself 21
• Taking your seat 22
• Supporting the guitar: Leg position 23
• Embracing the guitar: Arm support 24
• Placing your hands correctly 25
• Approaching the Strings with Your Hands 28
• Fretting the strings: Left-hand form 28
• Preparing to pluck: Right-hand form 29
• Stroking the strings: Basic right-hand technique 32
• Tuning Up 36
• Adjusting the string tension to raise or lower pitch 36
• Tuning visually with an electronic tuner 37
• Tuning by ear 38
• Chapter 3: Deciphering Music Notation and Tablature 43
• Knowing the Ropes of Standard Music Notation 43
• The composer's canvas: The staff, clef, measures, and bar lines 44
• Pitch: The highs and lows of music 45
• Duration: How long to hold a note, what determines rhythm, and so on 47
• Expression, articulation, and other symbols 50
• Relating the Notes on the Staff to the Fretboard 51
• Relishing the Usefulness of Guitar-Specific Notation 54
• Fingering indications for the right and left hands 54
• Stepping up to the barre 55
• Taking on tablature, a nice complement to standard notation 56
• Part 2: Starting to Play: The Basics 59
• Chapter 4: One Note at a Time: Playing Simple Melodies 61
• Practicing Notes on One String 62
• Exercising your fingers: Strings 1, 2, and 3 63
• Workin' (mostly) the thumb: Strings 6, 5, and 4 68P
• Playing across Three Strings 72
• Finger fun on the first three strings 72
• All thumbs again on the three lower strings 74
• Cruising through All Six Strings 76
• No thumbs allowed! 76
• Fingers and thumb, unite! 77
• Flowing through Melodic Pieces Using All Six Strings 79
• Chapter 5: Rolling the Notes of a Chord: Arpeggio Technique 83
• Playing the Notes of an Arpeggio: The Basics 84
• Working Your Way across the Strings: The Thumb and Fingers in Order 85
• Keeping it simple: One digit per string 85
• Moving the thumb around 87
• Varying Your Right-Hand Strokes 89
• Changing the finger order 90
• Alternating the thumb and fingers 90
• Adding Harmony to Select Notes 93
• Feeling the pinch with your thumb and fingers 93
• Doubling up two fingers at once 95
• Playing Pieces with Arpeggios 96
• Chapter 6: Practicing Scales in First and Second Position 101
• Introducing Scales, the Necessary Evils 101
• Why scales are important 102
• How you name them: Applying key signatures 103
• Where they start and end: A primer on positions 106
• Playing Major Scales in 1st Position 108
• The one-octave C major scale 109
• The two-octave G major scale 110
• The two-octave F major scale 111
• The two-octave E major scale 111
• The two-octave A major scale 112
• Playing Minor Scales in 1st Position 112
• The one-octave A minor scale 113
• The two-octave E minor scale 113
• The two-octave F minor scale 114
• Playing Scales in 2nd Position 115
• The D major scale in 2nd position using open strings 115
• The D major scale in 2nd position using all fretted notes 116
• The G major scale in 2nd position using all fretted notes 117
• The B minor scale in 2nd position using all fretted notes 117
• Applying Scales in Simple Pieces 118
• Chapter 7: Exploring Musical Textures 123
• Coordinating Contrapuntal Music: Layered Melodies 124
• Playing two melodies in sync rhythmically 125
• Opposing forces: Separating the thumb and fingers rhythmically 125
• Thickening the upper part by adding double-stops 127
• Melody and Accompaniment: Using All Your Fingers 128
• Matching rhythm between accompaniment and melody 129
• Getting creative with the flow: Two parts, two rhythms 130
• Playing Easy Pieces in Different Textural Styles 131
• Part 3: Improving Your Technique 137
• Chapter 8: Flat-Fingered Fretting with Barres 139
• Discovering How to Play Barres 139
• Half barre 140
• Full barre 141
• Practicing Barres in Musical Context 142
• Half barre 142
• Full barre 143
• Playing Pieces with Barres 144
• Chapter 9: Getting a Smooth Sound with Slurs and Trills 149
• Connecting Your Notes with Slurs 149
• Hammering and pulling: Exploring slurs 150
• Slurring in the context of a larger musical phrase 153
• Fluttering a Note with a Trill 155
• Playing trills on their own 155
• Practicing trills in context 157
• Playing Pieces Using Slurs and Trills 158
• Chapter 10: Coloring Your Sound with Tone-Production Techniques 161
• Creating Tones That Ring like Bells: Harmonics 162
• Playing harmonics 162
• Practicing harmonics in context 163
• Varying the Tone with Vibrato 165
• Playing vibrato 165
• Practicing vibrato in context 166
• Brightening or Darkening Your Sound by Changing Timbre 167
• Implementing tonal changes 167
• Practicing changing tone in context 169
• Tremolo: The Classical Guitar Machine Gun of Sorts 170
• Playing tremolo 170
• Practicing tremolo in context 171
• Playing Pieces Using Tone-Production Techniques 173
• Chapter 11: Scaling the Musical Ladder beyond Second Position 177
• Introducing Scales and Skills in This Chapter 178
• Getting to know the higher positions 178
• Strengthening your technical skill with practice variations 179
• Playing Scales That Stay in 5th Position 180
• The F major scale 181
• The B major scale 183
• The D minor scale 183
• Playing Scales That Stay in 9th Position 184
• The A major scale 184
• The D major scale 185
• The F minor scale 186
• Playing Scales That Require Shifting Positions 186
• The E major scale - one position shift 187
• The A major scale - two position shifts 187
• The C minor scale - one position shift 189
• The G minor scale - two position shifts 189
• Playing Some Pieces Using Scales Up the Neck 190
• Chapter 12: Combining Arpeggios and Melody 195
• Grasping the Combination in Context 196
• Downtown: Melody in the Bass 197
• Playing a melody within arpeggios in the bass 198
• Practicing making a bass melody stand out 199
• Moving Uptown: Melody in the Treble 200
• Playing a treble melody within arpeggios 201
• Practicing making a treble melody stand out 202
• Mixing Up Your Melodic Moves: The Thumb and Fingers Take Turns 203
• Playing a shifting treble-and-bass melody within arpeggios 203
• Practicing making a shifting melody stand out 205
• Playing Pieces That Combine Arpeggios and Melodies 206
• Chapter 13: Combining Left-Hand Techniques While Playing up the Neck 217
• Layering Melodies and Using Barres up the Neck: Counterpoint 218
• Combining Melody and Accompaniment with Barres and Slurs up the Neck 219
• Playing Pieces up the Neck with Left-Hand Techniques 222
• Part 4: Mastering Classical Guitar Repertoire 229
• Chapter 14: Playing Pieces by the Guitar Greats 231
• Getting Acquainted with the Master Guitar Composers 232
• Concentrating on Music by the Spanish Composers 233
• Saying hello to Sor 233
• Tackling Tarrega 233
• Focusing on Music by the Italian Composers 236
• Gelling with Giuliani 236
• Cozying Up to Carcassi 237
• Playing Pieces by All the Master Guitar Composers 240
• Chapter 15: Early Guitar Music from the Renaissance and Baroque Eras 251
• Getting an Overview of the Styles 252
• The Renaissance 252
• The Baroque era 253
• Identifying Some Renaissance Composers 254
• Traditional 16th-century melodies by anonymous composers 254
• John Dowland and other great lutenists 255
• Recognizing Some Baroque Composers 258
• Back to Bach 258
• Getting a handle on Handel 259
• Playing Pieces from the Renaissance and Baroque Eras 261
• Chapter 16: The Guitar Comes of Age: The Classical, Romantic, and Modern Eras 269
• The Classical Era: Mozart's Muse 270
• Getting in Touch with Beethoven, the Classical Hopeless Romantic 272
• Letting the Inside Out with the Romantics: Brahms 274
• Dreaming with Debussy: Music Becomes Modern 276
• Playing Pieces from the Classical, Romantic, and Modern Eras 279
• Part 5: The Part of Tens 289
• Chapter 17: Ten (Or So) Classical Guitarists You Should Know 291
• Andres Segovia (1893-1987) 291
• Julian Bream (b 1933-2020) 292
• Oscar Ghiglia (b 1938) 293
• John Williams (b 1941) 293
• Pepe Romero and Angel Romero (b 1944, 1946) 293
• Christopher Parkening (b 1947) 294
• David Starobin (b 1951) 294
• Manuel Barrueco (b 1952) 294
• Eliot Fisk (b 1954) 295
• Benjamin Verdery (b 1955) 295
• Sharon Isbin (b 1956) 296
• Chapter 18: Ten Things to Do When Shopping for a Classical Guitar 297
• Go Retail if You Aren't 100 Percent Sure What You Want 298
• Bring a Friend Along 298
• Decide on a Price Range Before You Go 298
• Know Your Materials 299
• Evaluate the Construction and Workmanship 299
• Get a Feel for the Guitar 300
• Check the Intonation 301
• Listen to the Sound 301
• Judge the Aesthetics 302
• Determine a Guitar's Growth Potential 302
• Part 6: Appendixes 303
• Appendix A: Basic Guitar Care and Maintenance 305
• Keeping Your Guitar Comfortable 306
• Temperature 306
• Humidity 306
• Protection, both at home and on the road 307
• Cleaning Your Guitar 308
• Changing the Strings on Your Classical Guitar 308
• Step one: Remove the old string 309
• Step two: Tie off the string at the bridge 310
• Step three: Secure the string to the roller 311
• Making Minor Repairs 313
• Appendix B: About the Online Tracks and Videos 315
• Relating the Text to the Online Files 316
• Listening to the Tracks 317
• Watching the Videos 321
• Index 323