[ambetanterik]

Hi all,

Over the last few month, i've been neglecting my electric guitar, and doing the exact opposite with my classic guitar ( i've got it in my hands for at least 1 hour a day, but on an typical weekday it averages around 3 hours ). I'm really becomming more and more interested in classical guitar, and i have decided that this is what i really want to go for. The sound of this type of guitar + the challenge and fun of the righthand technique does it for me. The problem is that i have no idea where to start. I've tried looking for a teacher but private classic guitar teachers can be found nowhere, so i'll have to depend on myself.

Any tips? Any good songs to get started on? I've been looking at some youtube video's of people playing Air of J.S. Bach, it doesn't look very easy but at least its not too fast. Should i start with that one or are there better starting points?

Suggestions are very welcome.

[jdpaz]

If you read notation there's a lot of free music available:

This guy from Iceland has loads of stuff from easy to impossible.

Here's a great one that every classical guitarist learns.

[ambetanterik]

Little problem there. I read tabs. Now, i can read a little notation but i've never understood how these dots on 5 bars can tell you what notes to fret on a fretboard with about 100 frets.

I've been watching youtube flics of a guy that calls himself "AndanteLargo" and he has a similar website, where he sells music notation but also tabs. But i don't think any of his tabs are beginner-material (i bought his Air tab but i was hoping to find something easier to start with)

Anyway, i also know classtab.org, they have hundreds of tabs, and apparently they have a tab for romance :

http://www.classtab.org/zanroman.txt

So thanx for the tip

edit : after listening to somebody playing this on youtube : double thanx! This sounds great!

[jdpaz]

It's a nice little tune---and not too tough, either.

Kirk did a lesson on it, too---Part I, Part II

Thanks for posting that tab. I've been looking for that Jack Marshall arrangement.

[ambetanterik]

Well, i have the first half memorised, and all is going well with the exception of bar 9 and 10 : my bar chords are good up to fret 5, but apparently when i put a bar on fret 7, the B string isn't fretted properly ( it makes a "plock" sound ).

If i really roll my finger on its side, place it exactly before the fret and apply more pressure than usual it sounds well, but it seems impossible to pull this off in a fast chord change.

This is quite a pain : usually when i encounter a problem, the answer is simply "practice", and then i practice and the problem gets solved. But i don't think its a good idea to ignore this and simply keep going at it. Any ideas/tips?

[Beak]

I've found that if you put the base of your finger (where it connects with the hand) on the bottom of the neck, and use the whole finger to barre (so a good portion is laying off the top) it's pretty... good. At least for me, anywho.

There's tabs for a lot of Joaquín Rodrigo's compositions, and they are bloody good. The faster parts are hard, but if you practice it a lot, it should come to you eventually. He wrote the Concerto de Aranjuez and Fantasia para un Gentilhombre.

For making your own classical compositions, the best thing to have is a very well developed ear. Transcribing compositions, learning them from ear, is a good way to develop said ear. Or so I've heard.

Good luck!

[pHGTRSpider]

Jdpaz,

thanks for the great links in here. I dabbled in classical (self taught) many years ago. These are a good starting point and for me a refresher challenge. Two great lessons from Kirk as well.

cheers, pH

[jdpaz]

ambetanterik, that little bit in bar 9 & 10 is tough. I wouldn't sweat the "plonk", though. It took me quite a while to get through that section with musicality intact.

pHGTRSpider, it was like Christmas morning when I stumbled on that site! Glad you like it.

[skinnybloke]

Good links jd.....AND, I've just discovered "musicality" is a real word!

[ambetanterik]

Originally Posted by jdpaz

ambetanterik, that little bit in bar 9 & 10 is tough. I wouldn't sweat the "plonk", though. It took me quite a while to get through that section with musicality intact.

Good news.

A co-worked of me used to be a guitar instructor, and i presented him with my problem. One of the first attention points he told me to check is the position of my thumb : when i'm barring the 7th fret my thumb should be positioned under the 8th fret, or in this case even under the 9th fret since i have to reach the 11th fret from this barre position.

When i got home i just played this piece as i usually would and then checked where i had placed my thumb : it was under the 6th fret! Bad habit apparently. Simply repositioning the thumb did wonders, when i switch to the chord now i have a 50% chance of getting the note properly ( it was 5% before ), so with some practice i'm sure it will work out.

... i really start to understand why i need a teacher (didn't find anyone in my area yet)

edit : i almost forgot ...

[jdpaz]

Are you holding your guitar in the traditional classical way---with the lower bout cradled between both legs? That will get your body out of the way when playing up high on the neck.

You can see an example here.

[ambetanterik]

Yep, thats the way i play, and indeed, it really makes the fretboard very accessible.

[gagibson]

I just started using The Sakari Method and it's completely tailored to playing classical guitar. It's an online program that starts with making your right hand fingers independent before you even use your left hand.

I'd recommend checking it out

[ambetanterik]

Finally got me a webcam and usb mic, so i was able to record this Of course, the added stress of recording made me miss a note in the last repeat section ... i find it very hard to record : each note you play correctly increases the pressure to play the next note correctly!

http://www.maxforums.org/davy/romance_screwup.wmv

Oh, and i finally found a teacher for nylon/fingerstyle guitar, but he's not exactly local : he lives on the other side of the globe ( webcam lessons )

[jdpaz]

nice!