Classical Guitar is Like Poetry
I just received a call from Pleasanton CA for a man that has a classical guitar and wants to learn how to read music. Classical guitar can be intimidating to a beginner or advanced guitarist. Just saying the words classical guitar can make a guitarist cringe. My experience is a love and hate relationship with its ups and downs. Beginning level classical pieces sound good but intermediate to advanced can take hours, days or months to master. Listening to a classical guitarist is like listening to beautiful poetry that touches you inside your soul.
There will be intimidating musical terms like technique, pitch, ornamentation, trills, and hammer on and pull offs and rest stroke or free stroke.
For example, you’re picking hand whether you are right hander or left hander is known as PIMA. P is thumb known as Pulgar. You’re first finger is I for India, you’re middle finger known as M or media and third ring finger known as Angular or A. A good finger picking exercise is bracing your right hand Thumb on 6th string or bottom in pitch known as the low E string and practice alternating with I and m right hand fingers using a metronome time keeper which is a free app on smart phone or lap top or I Pad. Start at slow speed of 60 b. p.m. ( beats per minute ) Keep always your Thumb on bottom 6th string and alternate index to media fingers on strings 1, 2, 3, 4 and finally string 5 using FREE STROKE. This means as you pick string keep finger above string and not on it. Meaning Also you should try REST STROKE which means you follow through to next string and come to rest on that string.
Check out MATTEO CARCASSI CLASSICAL GUITAR METHOD or CHRISTOPHER PARKENNING CLASSDICAL GUITAR BOOK ONE AND TWO.
