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Music Theory Lesson No.1 for Classical Guitar: Pitch Direction and Letter Names. I’ll be teaching classical music theory lessons and relating it to the keyboard, guitar, and notation to see the implications of music theory on the instrument. This first theory lesson might seem rudimentary but it’s the essential first step in orienting ourselves to both music notation and our instrument.

Pitch

The word pitch describes how high or low a note sounds. This is literally governed by the rate of vibrations producing it, in this case, from the strings. A classic organization of high and low pitch groups is the vocal comparison of soprano, alto, tenor, bass, which are classifications of singing voice, based on the range of pitches a voice can comfortably produce. Soprano being the highest, then alto, then tenor, and bass being the lowest.

The below content is all explained in the video.

Pitch Direction on the Piano Keyboard

High and low pitch direction on the keyboard is quite simple. The keys to the right get higher in pitch, the keys to the left get lower in pitch.

Pitch Direction on the Guitar

High and low pitch direction on the guitar is a little bit more complex.

• On a single string, frets from the head of the guitar toward the bridge get higher in pitch
• On a single string, frets from the bridge to the head get lower it pitch.
• Additionally, playing across the strings gets higher in pitch from the low E to the high E string.
• You can also travel across the fretboard combining the two ways.

Pitch Direction in Music Notation

High and low pitch direction in music notation is quite simple. Notes higher up the staff get higher in pitch and notes lower down the staff get lower in pitch. The staff is the five lines which we will discuss in the following lessons.

Letter Names in the Musical Alphabet

The Letter Names in the Musical Alphabet are ABCDEFG 

These repeat continuously getting either higher in pitch or lower in pitch.

CDEFGABCDEFGABC – Continuous on keyboard

CDEFGABCDEFGABC – Continuous on Guitar

As you can see below the letters on the white keys of the piano repeat from one C to the next. The C higher than the first is one octave higher but you don’t need to know this terminology yet.

There are actually 12 pitches in the musical alphabet when we learn about accidentals (sharps and flats) but we’ll cover that in a future lesson. But as a basic intro, the white keys of the keyboard are CDEFGABC and the black keys are the accidentals (sharps and flats). You don’t need to remember this, it will be covered in a future lesson.

See the video above for a demonstration of continuous lettering on the guitar.

Hope you found that helpful. Find more theory lessons on the Music Theory Lessons page. If you need any clarification on this particular lesson please leave a comment below.

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Daniel Schatz performs his arrangement of Agradecendo by Brazilian composer who’s best known as Pixinguinha (1897-1973) [Alfredo da Rocha Viana Filho]. This comes via Schatz’s YouTube channel (go subscribe). Agradecendo was likely written with the piano or for a general instrumental ensemble in mind, but it is fundamentally a choro piece. Really nice crisp and clean articulation and rhythmic delivery by Schatz but not without a nice sweet touch on occasion.

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I already play guitar, where should I start with classical guitar?

If you’ve already played guitar before I usually recommend students still start from the beginning with my Volume 1 method and use it as a 5-10 minute review before continuing with their usual content. This way you can fill any gaps in your learning. As you become more familiar with reading notation and my materials you can increase the amount of time and slowly transition into a structured and full routine. If you find the material super easy, great! Take the opportunity to play with a new level of refinement and reexamine your technique and musicality as if for the first time.

However, if you feel that it’s way too rudimentary you can go to the curriculum page or the sheet music page and explore some different grade levels until you find an appropriate fit. There are some free pieces from a variety of grades to quickly check out your skills. I always recommend you pick a grade level below where you think you are so you can aim for a higher level of refinement as well as making your practice sessions easy and enjoyable.

Once you find a general level to enter, you want to build a routine via my Curriculum for Classical Guitar. This is an outline of the different grades and levels to proceed through along with details on materials needed and practice advice.

Questions & Support

If you need any 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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Question: What are grade levels in classical guitar?

Grade levels help classical guitar students find repertoire that is close to their musical and technical skill level. They are helpful in finding pieces to play that will be successful and manageable. But music is a flexible art form and categorizing music in this way can be problematic. Much of the time, a grade level is very flexible depending on your desired tempo and level of refinement. Higher grade material isn’t better music and doesn’t mean you are a better player. Remember that pros play from all levels and you should often play from lower grades to play musically well. With that in mind, we can use grade levels successfully to progress methodically toward higher achievements in music study.

I generally group the grades into some basic areas:

• Beginner – This level often includes a beginner method book teaching the basics of reading and playing melodic material and arpeggio textures. My Volume 1 and 2 method books cover this level and even dive into some grade 1 material to prep the student.
• Early-Intermediate (Grade 1-3) – This is real classical guitar playing but without much awkward fingering, stretches, upper positions, or barre technique. Often, Grade 1 can be a transitional grade bridging the beginner method books to the first three grades.
• Intermediate (Grade 4-6) – This level includes all the main guitar techniques but the scope of the pieces and technique level is manageable if the student’s technique is in good order.
• Late-Intermediate (Grade 7-8) – This grade includes some advanced technique work but the pieces tend to be manageable in length. Increased tempos can turn many of these works into advanced pieces.
• Advanced (Grade 9-up) – There are many factors that can make a piece advanced including scope/length of the piece, musical maturity of the work, awkward shapes or stretches, technique requirements, and extended or irregular techniques.

Please see my Curriculum for Classical Guitar – This is an outline of the different grades and levels and how to proceed and learn classical guitar with details on materials needed and practice advice.

I highly recommend you play lots of music from lower grades. For example, I have my grade 4 students play a lot of grade 2 pieces to work on musicality. Students who perform well might have worked on that piece for a whole year or more, played in lessons, masterclass, for friends, family, and smaller concerts. They’ve had success and failure and worked through it. All your ambition and goals should be related to playing music well rather than progressing to the next grade. Find good music that just happens to be playable for you. You might want to see my lesson on Six Misconceptions About Grade Levels in Music Studies (video below).

Questions & Support

If you need any 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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Welcome to this week’s Classical Guitar News Roundup, where we share the latest releases, announcements, and upcoming events from the world of classical guitar. Mudita Classical Guitar Concert Streaming Event A streaming classical guitar...

Pièces caractéristiques pour guitare, Op.123 (1964) by Belgian composer Jean Absil (1893-1974). Performed by Bradford Werner. I’m trying to feature more music by modern and contemporary composers and external publishers on the site and this is a great piece to start with. I’ll be adding all ten movements to this post over the next few weeks so check back often. The sheet music is by Editions Henry Lemoine.

Jean Absil (1893–1974) was a Belgian composer, organist, and teacher known for his modernist style blending neoclassicism with modal and polytonal techniques. A student of Paul Gilson, Absil composed symphonies, concertos, and choral works, and served as a professor at the Brussels Conservatory, influencing generations of Belgian musicians.

Jean Absil wrote a good number of guitar works primarily for Nicolas Alfonso, a prominent Belgian guitarist and pedagogue. Alfonso was one of the leading classical guitarists in Belgium during the mid-20th century and collaborated with several composers, including Absil. I suspect this work was also written for him but I haven’t found any additional information yet.

Pièces caractéristiques Op.123 (Pieces and Youtube Links)

• Prélude
• Invention
• Pastorale
• Humoresque
• Valse
• Cantilène
• Scherzo
• Chant du soir
• Pavane
• Tarentelle

This video was performed on a Marcus Dominelli classical guitar with Augustine Regal strings and a GuitarLift Ultimate support. All my gear here. Subscribe to the free membership newsletter and if you’re enjoying the site you can consider supporting it.

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The classical guitar, with its rich history and expressive capabilities, has been graced by extraordinary musicians who have shaped its sound and elevated its status. Its six nylon strings have whispered intimate lullabies, thundered...

Classical guitarist Eva Beneke performs her transcription of Prelude from Suite No. 3, Pieces de Clavecin by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (1665-1729). This comes via Guitar Salon International and their YouTube channel (go subscribe). Played on a 2024 spruce and Indian rosewood guitar by Silvia Zanchi. You can read more about Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre at her wiki page. Excellent exploratory pacing in the performance by Beneke with a particularly nice rhythmic delivery rarely so successful on guitar.

The post Eva Beneke Plays Prelude by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Question: Is there a curriculum for classical guitar?

Yes, This is Classical Guitar and Werner Guitar Editions have a structured curriculum for classical guitar that you can learn to play from and follow from grade to grade. It is ever-expanding as we are always adding more to it each week. All of our books have videos to help you learn and give you context on how to study. You can find all the information about learning through the site on the following page:

Curriculum for Classical Guitar – This is an outline of the different grades and levels to proceed through along with details on materials needed and practice advice.

You can also find individual lessons and special topics at the Lesson Page. New content gets added constantly to help you learn and clarify student questions. There will even be a fully structured theory section to learn music theory along with your guitar study.

A quick summary of the curriculum

This is just a simplified version of each level. See the Curriculum for Classical Guitar page for more information on extra materials and upper grade levels.

• Classical Guitar Method Volume 1 – This is a free 100 page method for absolute beginners with video lessons for each page. If you are new to classical guitar this is great place to start.
• Classical Guitar Method Volume 2 – This is the follow up to Volume 1. This book trains students to play in different keys as well as various scales, chords, duets, and solos.
• Late-Beginner Collection: This is a free supplement to Method 1 & 2 giving students enjoyable extra material to refine their skills before moving into the graded levels.
• Grade 1 Repertoire Lessons – This series of books have dedicated lessons for each piece helping to guitar the student into the intermediate levels.
• Grade 1 Repertoire Supplement – Ten additional pieces to play.
• Grade 2 Repertoire Lessons
• Grade 3 Repertoire Lessons
• Grade 4 Repertoire Lessons
• Grade 5 Repertoire Lessons
• Grade 6 Repertoire Lessons

If you need any clarification on this question and answer please leave a comment below or ask a new question at the Classical Guitar Q&A page.

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Luthier Website: dominelliguitars.com
Marcus Dominelli Guitars are based in Victoria, BC, Canada.

I’m very happy to share with you my new Marcus Dominelli classical guitar. This is a small scale double top classical guitar with bearclaw spruce top and ziricote back and sides that I commissioned. The guitar is absolutely stunning and the sound has a glowing elegance along with good balanced across the strings. The combination of the smaller scale length and body along with the spruce and ziricote has resulted in a clear elegant sound with a focused clarity along with the responsive playing benefits that many double tops offer. I’m not always a big fan of double tops as I feel some luthiers are leaning too heavily toward creating a loud instrument at the expense of other qualities. Dominelli’s double tops strike an excellent balance between having a responsive guitar while retaining more of the natural sound that one can get from a nice tonewood. I’m super happy with the result and how you enjoy it in my future performances and videos. Here’s the YouTube link if you want to watch it there.

If you have any questions or want to ask me about my experience with Dominelli guitars feel free to contact me or leave a comment below.

2025 Marcus Dominelli Classical Guitar

• 630mm scale length with slightly smaller body
• Bearclaw Spruce soundboard
• Ziricote back and sides
• Double Top
• Elevated fingerboard
• French Polish
• Honduran mahogany neck
• Indian Ebony Fingerboard
• Ziricote Armrest
• Gotoh tuners
• 51mm nut width
• String spacing nut 42mm
• 12 hole bridge

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Italian classical guitarist Leonardo De Marchi performs Toccata Ritoccata by Marco De Biasi (b.1977) on a 10-String Guitar by Fabio Zontini. This comes via the Omni Foundation online series and their Youtube channel (go subscribe). Intense performance to match an equally intense composition. Below is some info on the work via the YouTube description:

The Toccata Ritoccata by Marco De Biasi (1977) is one of the few pieces in the guitar repertoire that was originally written for the six-string guitar and subsequently adapted for the distinctive ten-string instrument devised by Maurice Ohana and Narciso Yepes. The Toccata shares the fate of Ohana’s own famous Tiento, which was also adapted for the ten-string guitar from an initial six-string version.

The instrument designed by Ohana and Yepes has certain characteristics that define it not merely as an extension of the six-string guitar, but as an instrument in its own right. Firstly, its overall extension is lower than that of the traditional guitar. Secondly, the unique re-entrant tuning on one hand ensures a noticeable increase in sympathetic resonance and considerable sustain, and on the other hand allows for the creation of chordal masses of great harmonic richness and notable sonic impact.

Given these premises, it was inevitable that the two versions of the Toccata, despite having the same formal structure, would differ in certain details designed to optimize their idiomatic rendering on the target instrument. The large dimensions of the ten-string guitar’s neck, as well as the different and more complex management of dampening by the performer, required a slight adjustment to the initial tempo (set at 120 bpm for the dotted quarter note) and a management of articulations different from the six-string guitar. In some places, clusters have also been inserted in the bass register to enhance the excellent resonance capabilities of the ten-string guitar.

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Is there a technique book for classical guitar?

Yes, the technique book is called Classical Guitar Technique: Essential Exercises, Scales, and Arpeggios by Bradford Werner. It’s a full technique book with 122 pages and video lessons for all the content. It includes progressive exercises and tips as well as practice routines for different levels. The book guides students from grade 1 to advanced levels.

More information on the book: Classical Guitar Technique: Essential Exercises, Scales, & Arpeggios.

The book fills an important place in our Curriculum for Classical Guitar. This is an outline of the different grades and levels you can proceed through along with details on materials needed and practice advice.

Here’s a summary of the contents of the book:

Practice Routines, Tips, 100 Open String Exercises, 120 Giuliani Arpeggios, Selected Scales (Major, Minor, 3rds, 6ths, Octaves, 10ths), Slur Exercises, Shifts, Finger Independence, Alignment, Stretch, Barre, Tremolo, Common Harmonics, Speed and Relaxation, and more.

The book focuses on essential exercises for the development of classical guitar technique. All the exercises from the headings of the table of contents progress from easy to advanced in a progressive format. Although this is a book of exercises rather than a method, I have included many helpful tips throughout the book to aid students. As with all my materials, the video lessons are an added educational advantage.

Intended for beginner to early-advanced classical guitar students (approximately Grade 1-9). As a basic prerequisite students would have completed both Volume One and Two of my beginner method book series or an equivalent. There are a number of exercises in upper positions that include accidentals, therefore, additional reading experience is required if you wish to study the entire book. The inclusion of fingering, string numbers, and position marks should make the exercises easy to understand. The 100 open string exercises should be very accessible to beginners and advanced students alike.

Questions & Support

If you need any 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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Giovanni Masi (guitar),Elena Branno (Oboe), Raffaella Cardaropoli (cello) perform Aria Op.146 from Concerto da Camera by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895–1968). This comes via the Omni Foundation online series and their Youtube channel (go subscribe). The technical opus number is Aria Op.146a and is a 1968 arrangement for oboe, cello and guitar based on the second movement of an earlier work, the Concerto da Camera (1950), and is dedicated to Margaret Aue and Dorrye Roettger. Beautiful performance, not much to the guitar part but I always love the texture of guitar with wind instruments and the low of the cello adds even further depth.

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