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Question: Does the headstock have to be at eye level for classical guitar?

Having the headstock of the guitar at eye level is a guideline that helps to ensure a healthy 45 degree angle or steeper for your guitar position and provides an easy to remember tip for quick positioning. However, it’s only a starting point and generalized tip, not an absolute rule. Some players will have the headstock higher than eye level and some will have it lower. Variables such as the player’s height, guitar size, chair height, guitar support will decide how much this guideline is followed.

Keep in mind that I am promoting the modern classical guitar technique so there can be differences if you look back 25 years or more.

Let’s look at my playing position in the below three photos. I am quite short and as you can see the headstock is at or above eye level regardless of whether I’m using a foot stool or various guitar supports. It’s actually a bit higher with the guitar supports but not by much.

See my full lesson: I have a full dedicated lesson on Sitting and Position for Classical Guitar so check that out first as it has tons of tips and photos with diagrams for much more context. I’ve included the video and a few pictures below.

Let’s look at some professional guitarists. Below you can see Adam Cicchillitti (left) and Steve Cowan (right). Adam’s headstock looks at eye level or below. Steve’s looks quite above eye level.

Below Hao Yang’s headstock is quite a bit above eye level.

Below, Drew Henderson also has a headstock position at or above eye level.

Below, Rebeca Oliveira has a headstock position above eye level.

Below, Lorenzo Micheli (left) and Matteo Mela (right) are a bit different. Lorenzo is a bit below eye level whereas Matteo is above.

As you can see from all these videos, the general guitar angles are all similar but the exact position of the headstock varies slightly. Continue watching the videos I post of pros on the site and you’ll see guitarists of all sorts of heights and body types. Watching all the different players will give you a generalized view of classical guitar positioning.

Questions & Support

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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)

• I. Prélude
• II. Invention
• III. Pastorale
• IV. Humoresque
• V. 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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Thomas Viloteau performs Chôro No.1 by Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) with a Le Support guitar rest which he designed. This comes via his fantastic YouTube channel (go subscribe). As he mentions, “Heitor Villa-Lobos…composed fifteen Chôros between 1920 and 1929 for various instrumentations.”

Wonderful performance and fun interpretation with driving rhythm, beautiful phrasing, and variety of articulations and jazzy additions. The performance really breathes new life and flavour into the piece. Brilliant!

The post Thomas Viloteau Plays Chôro No.1 by Villa-Lobos first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Question: How proficient should I be at a piece before I continue to the next one? For a bit more context on this question, the actual question asked was: When using your method books without an instructor, how proficient should I try to be with the pieces in a lesson before I continue on to the next lesson?

The answer to this question has a number of variables based on the level of the student and the repertoire. Let me explore the variables and give some practical tips to help you. Here’s the YouTube link if you want to watch it there.

Accepting Mistakes Based on the Level of the Student

With beginner students in my Volume 1 and 2 method books, I don’t worry too much about mistakes as long as their sitting and hand positions are healthy and on the right track and they are playing musically. The more advanced the student is, the more I will start to require less mistakes in their playing. 

There are exceptions. If a student, regardless of level, makes a mistake in the same spot in the music every time they play it, I fully examine the cause. If you are self-learning, I highly recommend you do the same. For example, if you make a mistake every time the 4th finger is used, that is a mistake that must be corrected and examined to discover the root cause. In contrast, if a beginner student is making a few random mistakes due to the multitasking nature of music, that is more acceptable. 

The Number of Mistakes

Making one or two mistakes in a piece is fine but make constant mistakes indicates that the skill level of the music is overpowering the skills of the student.  Adjustments to both the level of the repertoire and the skills of the student must be made.

Tempo Considerations

As with mistakes, I don’t worry too much about a student’s tempo at the beginner level. At whatever tempo they can play the music well is perfectly fine. As the student becomes more advanced, I consider tempo more and more. Especially at the grade 4-6 range where I really want to start refining skills and examining any issues getting in the way of reaching desired tempos.

So, when to move from one piece to the next?  

When a piece can be played with a reasonable amount of confidence, at a comfortable tempo, with not too many random mistakes, it is likely time to move on to the next. Again, if the mistakes are occurring in the same spot each time, more examination into the cause is needed before moving forward. That said, pieces within each of my books are usually around the same level but have different textures and compositional styles so it’s not exactly true that each one is more difficult. They are just different and require new skills.  

Also, I rarely have the student stop playing the piece altogether after moving on. They will likely continue to play the previous piece as they start learning the next. In fact, I usually review all the pieces in a book with my student as they progress onward. On rare occasions I might have students leave a piece outright if I think too many bad habits have formed and the psychological outlook is negative. Then a fresh start with a similar piece might be needed but this is rare in my studio where I’m keeping a close watch on the student.

Do you have a teacher? 

Students studying with a teacher have it a bit easier. The teacher can decide if the student has reached their maximum potential with a work, or if an educational objective has been met. That said, most self-study students will know if they are comfortable and proficient with a work. They can sometimes be too easy or too hard on themselves but the above indications can still be observed. 

Performance Considerations

If a student is planning to perform the piece a much longer process of development is often needed and requires many trial and error mini-performances to work out what will be best for the piece in performance. 

Advanced Students

If a student is more advanced, let’s say grade 6 and above, the issue of refinement and technique proficiency is much more important. Ideally, students would be perfectly balanced in their skills up to this point but I have rarely if ever seen this to be the case. It’s kind of just a part of being human. Therefore, specific refinement in certain areas need to be concentrated on and practiced either with the piece or through technique and “cross-contamination” pieces. As in, there will be much practice and work to be done outside of the piece at hand. An array of technique exercises might be needed to improve a skill, more pieces with a similar texture at lower levels might be needed to raise musical skills.

Don’t Worry

You should regularly review pieces and not just move from one to the next. Therefore, you don’t have to completely done with one piece in order to start the next. You just want the overwhelming number of tasks to be reduced so you can practice proficiently without dedicating all your time to one piece. 

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 When Should I Move on to the Next Piece of Music? first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.