Guitar News

Classical guitarist Antigoni Goni performs Vidalita by Agustin Barrios Mangore (1885-1944). This comes via Siccas Guitars and their YouTube channel (go subscribe). Great to see Goni perform this work after hearing her recording of it way back in 2001. Here’s a bit more info on the work via this Naxos recording by Goni and notes by Rico Stover: “The traditional vidalita is a slow, minor key song form dating from the 18th century and cultivated by the gauchos of the Pampas region of Argentina. Barrios created his Vidalita con variaciones early in his career and recorded it in 1914 in Buenos Aires. This work is typical of Barrios’ early period when he performed in cinemas and theatres as interval entertainment.”

Sheet Music with Videos – Werner Guitar Editions has a few videos and sheet music editions of Barrios if you’re interested.

• Minueto in C by Barrios, Grade 5
• Preludio in D Minor by Barrios, Grade 7
• Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios by Barrios, Advanced

The post Antigoni Goni Performs Vidalita by Barrios first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Nicole Payie is a close friend and colleague of mine who is kind, friendly, encouraging, and professional. She has a masters degree in music and teaches privately and at the Victoria Conservatory. These classes are a great opportunity to either start your guitar journey correctly or get some review and feedback to build a better foundation. Plus, she is using my method book and is familiar with my whole series making it a perfect match for my online followers and students. I sincerely hope you will consider this great opportunity.

Class sizes are limited to a maximum of 8 students to ensure individualized attention. Sign up quickly before spots get filled.

→ More information and registration at Nicole’s Site

Current Classes for May 2026

Beginner Classical Guitar Foundations – A set of four online small-group courses designed for beginners who want to build a strong and reliable foundation on the classical guitar. Using Classical Guitar Method Volume 1 by Bradford Werner, students will develop essential technique, reading skills, and core fundamentals in a warm and supportive environment.

Late Beginner Classical Guitar Group Class – A set of four online small-group courses designed for late beginners who are ready to build on their foundational skills and grow as confident players. Ideal for students at the RCM Prep–RCM Book 2 stage (post Volume 1 method books), the class focuses on developing repertoire, refining technique, and strengthening musicality. Through a combination of guided performance practice, informal masterclass-style coaching, and individualized feedback, students will gain valuable experience playing for others while receiving clear, constructive guidance.

Here is a video of Nicole and I playing a duet from earlier this year The post Online Classes with Nicole Payie for Beginner to Early-Intermediate (May 2026) first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Classical guitarist Alexander-Sergei Ramírez and Sheila Arnold (fortepiano) perform the overture to Eduardo e Christina by Gioachino Antonio Rossini (1792-1868), arranged by Ferdinando Carulli (1770-1841) from his Choix de 12 Ouvertures for Guitar and Piano. This comes via Deutsche Grammophon and their YouTube channel (go subscribe). You can also hear this on their 2012 album which you can stream on Spotify.

Great performance by these two artists. Also, it’s wonderful to hear this work on period instruments and the writing clearly gives the guitar room to emerge from the texture at appropriate points. Sometimes in these recording situations the mics are placed to balance the two instruments, but this audience-style mic recording is a more realistic listening experience. When the guitar needs to be heard the piano writing almost drops completely.

The post Ramírez and Arnold Perform the Overture to Eduardo e Christina by Rossini first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Welcome back to the Classical Guitar Corner Podcast. In this episode, I’m sharing a slightly new format—more relaxed, more personal, and designed to fit into the rhythm of real life as a musician and teacher. After some time away, I’ve been rethinking how to keep this podcast sustainable and enjoyable, while still offering something meaningful [...] The post CGC 113 : Gratitude appeared first on Classical Guitar Corner .

Question: How do I not mute adjacent strings with the left hand when playing chords and arpeggios on classical guitar? More specifically, when practicing Giuliani Arpeggios, the 4th string D gets partially muted by my left hand 2nd finger that is playing B on the 5th string. This happens no matter how hard I try to use the tip of my fingers to play. Is it okay to lift the 2nd finger off and place it back when needed?

Answer Summary: The usually fix for left hand clearance issues is to make a series of tiny adjustments to a variety of positions which results in a significant improvement. Small adjustments, sometimes only millimetres to your posture, guitar position, guitar angle, and left hand alignment is enough to create the few millimetres of clearance needed to avoid muting the string below. This is more ideal than lifting the finger unnecessarily.

Let’s explore the adjustments in more detail.

Tips and Lessons Regarding Guitar Position

Check this this lesson on: 6 Common Technique Problems Solved with a Better Guitar Position (video below). My biggest piece of advice for this issue in presented in the this video, all the advice in this video is relevant, but specially see the video at minute 10:18.

Practical Tips

Guitar Position: Double check your guitar position making sure the headstock is around eye level. This might seem a bit high but it’s a general guideline. You can see my Guitar Position Lesson and also my Q&A on Headstock at Eye Level.

Tilt the guitar – Tilt the face of the guitar to a steeper angle (up and down rather than leaning toward you on the upper bout). This is the advice in the video at 10:18 above.

Left Hand Lesson – See my full lesson for the left hand here: Left Hand Position for Classical Guitar.

Play on the tip of the fingers – Playing on the tip of the finger is important but the other factors mentioned in the video are essential to the solution. Playing on the fingertips alone will not necessarily result in enough clearance.

Align the knuckles of the left hand – The left hand must be aligned with the strings otherwise the fingers will come in at an angle which reduces clearance of the strings below. This is more relevant to the 4th finger but still applies to all fingers. This will result in angled fingers on finger 1 and 4.

Curve the fingers – You must also have the neck of the guitar up high enough that you can curve your fingers properly.

A = Curvature at the tips joint

B = Curvature at the middle joint

C = Curvature at the knuckle

A great exercise to practice

A great exercise to practice is a basic four finger placement exercise with open strings below.

• Play the left hand fingers 1-2-3-4 on one-finger-per-fret.
• After each finger play the open string below.
• This will create a situation to check your clearance ability with each finger
• Start in the 5th position but once you feel confident play it at all frets to check your clearance.

Questions & Support

If you need clarification on this particular Q&A please leave a comment below. For new and existing questions please visit the main Classical Guitar Q&A page. If you are enjoying the free Q&As you can support the site here.

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Carlo Fierens plays Andante et allegro by Napoléon Coste (1805-1883) performed on a rare 1855 René-François Lacôte seven-string guitar (Coste’s own model), generously lent by Adopt a Musician (Accornero Collection). This comes via Siccas Guitars and their YouTube channel (go subscribe). Amazing to hear these works, not only on a period guitar but on a model that Coste would have used. Love that bridge style on the guitar and, what I assume, is a platform on the top for resting the picky?

The post Carlo Fierens plays Andante et allegro by Coste on a 1855 Lacôte first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Question: How do I play through a simple mistake in music? For example, I have a habit of when I play a wrong note, I go back and correct it. It may not be a difficult passage, just a simple mistake. Am I just too much of a perfectionist?

Answer Summary: This is a very common issue for musicians and requires a restructuring of your priorities when playing and practicing music. If a simple note mistake is causing you to break rhythm and go back, you are emphasizing the notes as the highest priority and focus. Instead, you need to restructure your priorities and place rhythm, meter, and directional phrasing as the top priority. This is important for both yourself but also your audience and listeners.

Cautionary Note: This advice is for when you make a small random mistake. It is not for a mistake that is happening in the same spot every time which needs to be addressed. Always make sure you are playing music that is at a level and tempo that is appropriate to your skill. Also ensure you are taking enough breaks to be maintaining high levels of concentration when practicing.

Lets explore the ideas in more detail and also cover some activities you can do to re-prioritize the elements in your playing.

Rhythm and Meter as a Priority

In the majority of the music we play, rhythm and meter should be the higher priority musical element you are focused on. All of my favourite performers are on the ones who feel the rhythm and land on the beat regardless if the notes are correct. A break in rhythm or meter is far more noticeable in a performance than a wrong note because it breaks the phrasing, direction, and meter of the work. Whether you are playing in a group or solo for a listener, you are playing in an ensemble where everyone is feeling the beat. The listener and you are connected to the beat and you both want it intact.

Practical Tips:

• Play in an ensemble – Playing with others is the best way to build rhythm as a priority. When you play in an ensemble you have to continue on-beat since everyone else will continue playing. This take time to get used to. Once you get used to that, you can try playing your solo music imagining that you in an ensemble. In a way, when you play for others, the audience is your ensemble since they are feeling the beat with you.
• Improvising – Learning to improvise to a beat, metronome, or with a jam partner is another great way to prioritize rhythm. You can do this by simply noodling melodic lines with a simple C major scale. If you play a wrong note, no problem, just slide it up a fret for a jazzy sound but keep the beat.
• Tap your foot while playing – If your body is feeling the beat you’ll have a better chance at keeping the beat going even if you play wrong notes.

Musical Phrasing Instead of Note-to-Note Accuracy

Once you’ve started thinking about rhythm and meter as a priority you can start thinking much more about directional phrasing and destination points. Music is very similar to language, notes are grouped together into words and paragraphs. A musical phrase might have 20 notes in it which means that individual notes are less important than the phrase as a whole. Once you realize this you can start deciding your destination points which will give you a goal to play toward.

Practical Tips:

• Mark your phrase destinations to play up to– Decide where your musical destinations are in the piece. If you have a singable line it is usually where you would take a breath. You can mark small phrases or larger ones that are more definitive. But it doesn’t matter too much, even mid-beginners can hear how small musical ideas are formed. Once you have a destination point marked in the score (or by memory), practice playing up to that destination point without breaking rhythm if you make a mistake. Keep it small so it’s an isolated experience you can concentrate on.
• Examine the reason for your mistake after playing the phrase to the destination. Make it clear to your brain and hands when it’s okay to stop and examine and when it’s not.

Example of marking the phrasing and destination points in Sor’s Op.60, No.7. Start Small and Make it a Habit

You’ll want the above to become the normal way you practice and play. But this will take time to develop. Start by marking your phrasing or destination points and practice in small isolated chunks. Maybe you will only be able to do this for 5 minutes of your 45min practice session. As it becomes more of a habit you can increase it to 10 minutes and so on until it’s integrated into your playing.

At first this will require concentration to accomplish but later it will become a natural habit.

Questions & Support

If you need clarification on this particular Q&A please leave a comment below. For new and existing questions please visit the main Classical Guitar Q&A page. If you are enjoying the free Q&As you can support the site here.

The post How to Play Through a Simple Mistake in Music first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Dowland’s Foundry with Sami Brown on lute perform It was a time when silly bees could speak, No. 18 from the Third Book of Songs by John Dowland (1563-1626). This comes via The Lute Society on their YouTube in preparation for the Dowland 400 Festival. Wonderful performance and I love seeing the authentic setting of lute accompaniment in the centre, surrounded by singers at the table.

Dowland composed the music but the lyrics are attributed to Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. The “silly bee” carries the meaning of ‘simple’ to describe the life of a courtier. 

• The “Silly Bee”: Represents Essex himself, a loyal servant who brought “wax and honey to the hive” but did not “thrive”.
• The King/Queen of Bees: Symbolizes Queen Elizabeth I.
• The Rival Insects: References to “the lazy drone,” “the wasp,” and “the butterfly” are likely swipes at other courtiers.
• The Moral: The song ends with a cold rejection from the monarch: “Peace, peevish bee, / Thou’rt bound to serve the time, the time not thee”. In other words, subjects exist for the state, not the other way around.

The post Dowland’s Foundry Perform ‘It was a time when silly bees could speak’ by Dowland first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Canadian classical guitarist Marc-Etienne Leclerc performs Grand Caprice, Op.60 by Luigi Legnani (1790-1877). This comes via his YouTube channel (go subscribe). Wonderful performance by Leclerc of this large rhapsodic work that includes…well, everything really. Leclerc released a number of great videos recently, some of which are in connection to his album release which you can buy on his bandcamp or watch on this YouTube playlist.

As he mentions in his description:

Most guitarists are familiar with the 36 Caprices, Op. 20 by Luigi Legnani (1790-1877), but only a few know about the existence of that Great Caprice! This work is very avant-garde for his time, modulating and changing keys more than a dozen times while displaying an incredible array of virtuosity and guitar techniques. It is no surprise though, as Legnani would have been good friends with Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840), the great violinist virtuoso and composer of the 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, all written in different tonalities and displaying a devilish amount of technique as well. Overall, the Grand Caprice, Op. 60 is a fun work full of different themes and musical ideas (not unlike a rhapsody), and remains challenging for even the most accomplished guitarists today…

The post Marc-Etienne Leclerc Performs Grand Caprice, Op. 60 by Legnani first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Classical guitarist Lorenzo Micheli performs his arrangement Geppetto by Fiorenzo Carpi (1918-1997). The work is a celebrated theme from the soundtrack for the 1972 tv show Le avventure di Pinocchio. This comes via Partita Studio in Seoul, Korea on their YouTube channel (go subscribe). Beautiful playing and phrasing by Micheli on this arrangement that he’s presenting for some time. I actually googled it and found a post on this site from 2014 which I had forgotten.

Sheet Music Suggestions: If you enjoyed this work maybe you’d also like these sheet music selections of Spanish melodies in a late-Romantic style:

• Rosita by Manjon, Grade 4-5
• El Noi de la Mare by Llobet, Grade 7,
• El Testament d’Ameila by Llobet, Grade 7

The post Lorenzo Micheli Performs Geppetto by Fiorenzo Carpi first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Voyager from Le Support – I was very excited to try out the new Voyager model guitar support from Le Support. You might have seen my past review of the Le Support Professional model which I absolutely loved. I’ve been using the Voyager exclusively for the past two months and I can firmly say it is my favourite new guitar support. Although I miss some of the weight of the Professional model, I find the Voyager a bit more well fitted to my body and sitting position and it fits in my shoulder bag which is a huge improvement for portability. Here’s the YouTube link if you want to watch it there.

Quick Summary

The Voyager from Le Support is my favourite new guitar support and I highly recommend it. It has the same secure non-slip contact on both legs as the professional model but with a more portable design making this support a winner in terms of playability and practicality.

➔ Buy or learn more at the Le Support Voyager page

Benefits of the Voyager support

• Non-slip contact on both legs (a new essential in guitar supports)
• A more compact and portable design
• Well fitted to the body and guitar
• Transparent acrylic sheet (5 mm thickness)
• Bronze inserts designed to hold the hooks and strap (sold separately)
• Soft rubber edge for comfortable use. 
• Works with 3 suction cups but I also use a fourth one to be extra safe

Le Support Voyager Comparison to the Professional Model Concerns

I love this support and I’m using it exclusively these days so I don’t have many concerns. I do miss some of the weight of the professional model that pulled the guitar down and made it feel a bit more stable but I also like the snug feeling of the Voyager so I think it evens out. The only concern I have is how close it is in regards to fitting my position and guitar. I’m quite short, play a small scale guitar, and like the guitar quite high so the Voyager is right near the edge of the guitar with the far suction cup (second picture above). With some chair heights I put it millimetres from the edge. But that is partly a personal oddity and I think it would likely fit 99% of people just fine. It’s working great for me at the moment.

Recommendations

I’d love to see the Voyager and Professional supports offered in a matte back 6mm thick transparent Perspex like the Guitarlift Ultimate line. Although I didn’t notice much, if any, flex in the Voyager, especially with 4 suction cups in use, I want maximum rigidity and I like the matte black appearance. This is just a personal preference comment and not a criticism as I’m loving the Voyger support.

Le Support Promotional Info

Designed in response to feedback from users of the Professional model, this updated Le Support® VOYAGER offers the ideal balance between stability and portability. The playing feel is very similar to that of the Professional and Etude models, while adopting a more compact and portable design.

Made using a high-quality transparent acrylic sheet (12 x 12 in, 5 mm thickness), it features bronze inserts designed to hold the hooks and strap (sold separately), as well as a soft rubber edge for comfortable use. Laser-engraved logo.

Thanks to its three suction cups, it easily attaches to the back of the guitar (for guitars with French polish, using the plastic films sold separately is recommended).

Le Support® VOYAGER maintains contact points on both legs, providing excellent stability. Compact, it is ideal for guitarists seeking freedom and comfort, both at home and on the go.

Included: four tab suction cups with transparent nylon nuts.

PROUDLY MADE IN FRANCE!

via: Le Support

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New classical guitar albums, editions, gear, compositions, and more for 2026. Submit your content but beware that only a few submissions a year will make the list. I get tons of submissions but due to time constraints it’s pretty much a lottery! Email: bradford@thisisclassicalguitar.com

Finnissy and the Guitar

Finnissy and the Guitar – Complete Works (1966–2022) – Michael Finnissy’s output for the guitar spans almost 60 years of his career and represents an enormous contribution to the repertoire of the instrument from one of Britain’s most significant composers. Published a few days before Finnissy’s 80th birthday, this bold and ambitious album celebrates this day by bringing together all of his works for solo guitar and guitar ensemble for the first time in performances by Finnissy’s collaborators and led by new music virtuoso and tireless guitar explorer Sam Cave.

2026 First Hand Records | Buy & Listen at Presto | Read a Gramophone Review

Women Composers Book 1

Anthology of Women Composers for the Classical Guitar, Vol. 1 by Eva Beneke and Heike Matthiesen (Editors). This anthology presents 20 pieces by women from the 16th century to today. “This three-volume series of guitar music by women composers is a progressive compendium of educational literature with a broad repertoire from the  early 17th century to the present day. For each piece, the editors have written short instructions with rehearsal tips as well as biographical notes on the women composers. The collection covers all levels of difficulty from easy (volume 1) to medium (volume 2) to difficult (volume 3) and is an indispensable addition to lessons and concerts. New discoveries are guaranteed!” Find it at Schott Music Group

Brendan Evans

New Album
Tiento by Brendan Evans – Tiento, the debut solo album of classical guitarist Brendan Evans. The album presents a program of solo guitar works shaped by a long engagement with the instrument’s tradition with works by Francesco da Milano, Eduardo Sainz de la Maza, Joaquín Nin-Culmell, Regino Sainz de la Maza, Antonio Lauro, Maurice Ohana, and Dusan Bogdanovic. Released by Green Flash Music, produced by John Finbury.

Album Info: Brendan Evans, Listen on Spotify, Green Flash Music

Aaron Larget-Caplan

New Edition
Cider Meditation – SATB + Guitar, 2025, audio available, published by the American Composers Alliance.

New Edition
American Patriotic Songs Arranged for Guitar is published by the American Composers Alliance.

New Album
Guitar America 250 – Revolutionaries and Rockstars (Navona Records) • Traditional songs from the Civil to World Wars, Classical works by Bernstein, Berlin, Price (violin-guitar), Hovhaness, Cage, and new works by David Liptak, Ian Wiese, and Paul Simon and Eddie Van Halen. Album info here.

The post 2026 New Releases for Classical Guitar first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Bradford Werner performs Studio No.6 “Soledad” (Omaggio a Francisco Goya) from Studi di virtuosità e di trascendenza by Angelo Gilardino (1941-2022) on classical guitar. This comes via my YouTube channel. Published by Editions Bèrben. The sheet music edition can be found via Bèrben (Edizioni Curci).

This video was performed on a Marcus Dominelli classical guitar with Augustine Regal strings and a Le Support “Voyager” guitar support. See all my gear here.

The post Bradford Werner Performs Studio No.6 “Soledad” by Gilardino first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

João Luiz Rezende is a two-time Grammy nominee, one of the founding members of the Brasil Guitar Duo and was recently named as the Chair of the Guitar Department at the Yale School of Music, where Ben Verdery taught for more than forty years. In this podcast interview, we feature a presentation that João gave [...] The post CGC 112 : João Luiz on Brazillan Music Interpretation appeared first on Classical Guitar Corner .

Timothy Kain is one of Australia’s leading instrumentalists. Initially inspired by popular music and flamenco, Timothy Kain’s first classical guitar lessons were with Sadie Bishop at the Canberra School of Music. After graduating, he lived in Spain and England where he studied with Jose Tomás and Gordon Crosskey, and won first prize in the Third [...] The post CGC 111 : Tim Kain appeared first on Classical Guitar Corner .

A final word of advice for my book, Right Hand Fingering for Classical Guitar: Concepts and Case Studies. This is from my book: Right Hand Fingering for Classical Guitar: Concepts and Case Studies. This book aims to give students a basic criteria for justifying fingering choices and gaining confidence in deciding fingering for themselves. The combination of concepts and case studies offers a framework for approaching fingering in both logical and musical ways. Here’s the Youtube link if you want to watch it there.

The post Right Hand Fingering Concepts: Final Advice first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

A lesson on right hand fingering using case studies No.66-68 which are the final case studies in the book. This is from my book: Right Hand Fingering for Classical Guitar: Concepts and Case Studies. This book aims to give students a basic criteria for justifying fingering choices and gaining confidence in deciding fingering for themselves. The combination of concepts and case studies offers a framework for approaching fingering in both logical and musical ways. Here’s the Youtube link if you want to watch it there.

This video covers Examples No.66-68 from the book (Page 54-57).

Video Times

• 00:00 Intro
• 0:51 Case No.66
• 5:06 Case No.67
• 9:48 Case No.68a
• 15:53 Conclusion

The post Right Hand Fingering Concepts: Case Studies No.66-68 first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Question: What is the best way to learn a new piece on classical guitar?

Answer Summary: There are many variables involved in learning a new piece such as understanding the composition itself, the guitar techniques involved, and the comprehension and skill level of the player. Regardless, there are a few steps you can easily follow: research the main musical elements; practice the elements separately and then assemble; practice the sections evenly; examine the techniques involved and practice separately. Lets explore all the variables to get a more clear picture of how to approach a new work.

Research the main musical elements

Before trying to play all the notes in a piece the first thing I try to decide is: what will be my musical priorities and how will I approach the piece? Here are some leading questions:

• Is there a main melodic line to play on its own?
• What will the balance of the different voices be?
• Will the accompaniment be super soft?
• Are there dynamics or articulations involved that need attention?
• Is there counterpoint? Is there more than one independent line to bring out?
• Who was the composer and what does their music sound like?
• Is there research on the piece and composer I can study?
• Period Music – What musical era is the work from and how does that era prioritize different musical elements, concepts, and expressive musicality?
• What guitar techniques are involved and do they need extra practice?
• Are there recordings of the piece I can listen to as well as other music from the era and geographic region (guitar or non-guitar listening)?
• Etc. an endless list.

Practice the elements separately and assemble

This can be anything from a listening examination to a music theory analysis. Or it might just be you deciding what you believe are the musical priorities. In a common Classical era work the above questions might result in some predictable practice methods. A melodic piece with a melody, bass, and accompaniment is a common texture which we can practice in the below order:

1. Practice the melody on it’s own until the phrasing and legato is at a high quality level. You might also sing the melody to really understand it musically.
2. Decide the texture and dynamic balance: bring out the melody the most, then the bass voice, and soften the inner accompaniment.
3. Play the notes together very slowly but try to retain the quality of the individually practiced voices.
4. Raise the tempo gradually while retaining the quality level.

Don’t forget: While practicing in the above way, I might also pick a small phrase and experiment with it at a faster tempo to understand the technique requirements. In other words, take a small section and try to simulate what the end result will feel like. This can help us to understand how long it will take to prepare the work and avoid musical choices that only apply to slow practice tempos.

Examine the techniques involved

Some pieces will require a unique technique element that might need to be practiced separately. Ideally you would already be maintaining most guitar technique in a daily routine but that is not always the case and unique situations often occur.

A common example would be a tremolo piece. Maybe you would add extra tremolo exercises to your technique routine to give it a boost. Or a thick counterpoint piece might require you to add extra finger independence exercises. In unique cases you might turn a portion of the work itself into a technique exercise to master a specific situation that is unique to the piece.

Practice the phrases and sections equally

From the first moment you start practicing a new piece, consider assembling the whole piece somewhat evenly and slowly. Do not practice from start to finish or measure to measure.

Phrasing: Consider practicing phrases one at a time so that you are combining your technique and muscle memory with the musicality. You don’t want to develop technique hiccups in the middle of a musical phrase.

Sections: Isolate the most difficult sections and practice those more until you can play the entire work at a very slow tempo. You don’t want to get really good at the first half of the piece while the second half is weak. Consider the big picture by evening out your ability to play all sections slowly and evenly.

Some practice methods to avoid

• Avoid practicing measure to measure. This can result in muscle memory that is not connected to the phrasing and musicality of the work. It’s too arbitrary, instead, pick a musical destination to play up to. One phrase at a time is better than a random measure to measure approach.
• Do not practice from start to finish. Prioritize your work by understanding which sections need more work than others.
• Do not exclusively use or avoid the metronome. I always check my pieces with a metronome to make sure I actually know how to play the rhythms accurately. This is done throughout my practice development of the work. However, in order to play with musicality that sounds natural I also will practice without the metronome. Some pieces, such as those with lots of rubato, do not benefit from metronome practice. But I still check my rhythms and tempo maintence by using it on occasion.

Decide on the timeline

There are short term projects and longterm projects in music practice. When I practice a longterm piece I don’t even play it with all the notes for many weeks. I’ll start with selected musical elements, or experiment with small phrases. I’ll listen to others play the work, read and do research on the work and composer. Anything to start digesting the work without the difficulty of playing all the notes. Once I start practicing the whole piece I will have lots of insights into how to approach it and what I want the end result to look like.

Additional Topics and Lessons

• Practicing and Refining Musical Textures
• Presenting and Interpreting
• Lesson on Practicing
• Practicing & Reaching Higher Levels
• Feel Stuck When Practicing
• Practicing with a Metronome
• Playing Musically on Classical Guitar 

Questions & Support

If you need clarification on this particular Q&A please leave a comment below. For new and existing questions please visit the main Classical Guitar Q&A page. If you are enjoying the free Q&As you can support the site here.

The post What is the best way to learn a new piece on classical guitar? first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Sofia Saggese (mezzo soprano) and Davide Depedro (theorbo) perform Che si può fare (Arie op. 8, Venezia, 1664) by Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677). This comes via Edoardo Lambertenghi’s YouTube channel (go subscribe). Beautiful vocal performance, aria, and accompaniment by Depedro, pure charm.

Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677) was an Venitian composer and singer of the Baroque era, widely regarded as one of the most prolific composers of secular vocal music in 17th-century Venice. Strozzi composed a remarkable number of works, publishing eight collections of music—primarily cantatas, arias, and madrigals. She likely had more secular music in print than any other composer of the era.

The post Saggese and Depedro perform Che si può fare by Barbara Strozzi first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

A lesson on right hand fingering using case studies No.58-65 which focuses on voice separation and thumb use. This is from my book: Right Hand Fingering for Classical Guitar: Concepts and Case Studies. This book aims to give students a basic criteria for justifying fingering choices and gaining confidence in deciding fingering for themselves. The combination of concepts and case studies offers a framework for approaching fingering in both logical and musical ways. Here’s the Youtube link if you want to watch it there.

This video covers Examples No.58-65 from the book (Page 46-53).

Video Times

• 00:00 Intro
• 1:18 – Case No.58b
• 6:03 – Case No.59b
• 9:24 – Case No.60a
• 11:47 – Case No.61a
• 15:09 – Case No.62a
• 19:04 – Case No.63a
• 24:20 – Case No.64b
• 30:38 – Case No.65a

The post Right Hand Fingering Concepts: Case Studies No.58-65 (Voice Separation) first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.