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Plan a visit to Uppsala’s October festival, with classical concerts, young talent and a guitar fair across the programme.

Released on 28 August, Ilumina brings together music by six composers, with a booklet and listening links for repertoire explorers.

Bradford Werner performs Studio No.15 – Canto di primavera (Omaggio a Igor Stravinskij) 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.

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Carreiro-Williams Guitar Duo with Jose Carlos Carreiro and Torrin Williams perform Preludio from Violin Partita No.3 in E major, BWV 1006 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), arranged by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943), and then arranged again by Torrin Williams. This comes via their YouTube channel (go subscribe). They also have a score available.

An arrangement of an arrangement! Great performance and a joy to hear the well-known work reimagined. Very intricate and well worked out performance.

Looking for some Bach to Play? Check out some of these works with sheet music, video performance, and lessons.

• Suite in E Minor BWV 996 by Bach (Complete), Advanced
• Cello Suite No.2, BWV1008 by Bach (Complete), Early-Advanced
• Bouree from BWV 996 by Bach, Grade 6, Free
• Prelude in D minor, BWV 999 by Bach, Grade 7
• Prelude, Cello Suite BWV 1007 by Bach, Grade 7
• Prelude in E Major, Lute Suite BWV1006a – Advanced
• Air ‘On the G String’ BWV 1068 by Bach, Grade 4
• Bist du bei mir (Be thou with me) by Bach & Stölzel, Grade 6
• Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring BWV 147 by Bach, Grade 4
• Minuet in G, Anh.114 by Bach/Petzold, Grade 4
• Sheep May Safely Graze, BWV 208 by Bach, Grade 6
• Sinfonia (Arioso) from Cantata BWV 156 by Bach, Grade 5

The post Carreiro-Williams Guitar Duo Perform Preludio BWV1006 by Bach first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

A new performance of Vivaldi’s Concerto in D, RV 230, with a direct link to John Williams’s freely available score.

Croatian guitarist Filip Mišković wins first prize in Benicàssim, with Luka Lovreković second and two awards for Francisco Luís.

Bluvenduo’s September 2026 Naxos release features duo transcriptions of Schubert, Franck, Rachmaninov and Schumann.

The 2026 Japan Guitar Competition names Misuzu Iwasaki second and Taichi Fukazawa third, with no first prize in its professional division.

Second annual edition at Van Cliburn Concert Hall, Texas Christian University. Concerts, competition, masterclasses and workshops; artist and concert announcements are being released during 2026.

Thirteenth edition featuring solo and chamber concerts, masterclasses, luthiery talks and book presentations. Participants include the Hera and Orishás quartets. Follow the programme for each venue.

Concerts with Goran Krivokapić and Lovro Peretić, nine competition categories and masterclasses at the Academy of Arts and Culture. Consult the organiser for applications and individual venues.

Published programme runs 5 October–7 November, marking Manuel de Falla’s 150th anniversary. Classical and flamenco concerts include Fabio Zanon and Carles Trepat; check each venue and ticket listing.

Tenth edition with concerts and an international classical guitar competition on 4 October. The wider programme includes Yamandu Costa. Check the programme and competition rules separately.

Tokyo’s live competition rounds take place on 5–6 December; applications have closed and the advancing field is announced.

A 19 November lunchtime recital in Bath pairs Sor and Regondi with Schubert song transcriptions.

Liying Zhu performs the second movement, Passacaglia from Tres Piezas Españolas by Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999). This video comes via GuitarCoop and their YouTube Channel (go subscribe). Excellent performance by Liying Zhu with great phrasing, colour and texture control. In particular, her ability to bring out the theme even in the most complex passages is a joy to hear.

Looking for Spanish Repertoire?

Check out our Spanish Classical Guitar Sheet Music along with video performance sand lessons.

The post Liying Zhu Performs Passacaglia by Rodrigo first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

The Alessandria competition runs from 21–26 September, with finalists performing Rodrigo alongside I Musici di Parma.

Felixstowe’s 12–13 September festival brings concerts, guitar makers and composition to Harvest House on the Suffolk coast.

Question: Why can’t I play with a metronome? I don’t know why but find it to be distracting. I have tried the clicking ones and the blinking lights. Tapping my foot also distracts me. 

Answer Summary: Playing with the metronome is something that sometimes needs progressive practice to develop the skill in a natural way rather than just turning it on and playing your pieces. The main advice here is that you want to feel the beat internally and then play along with that internal beat rather than trying to beat-match with precision.

Start simple by learning to tap your foot to music and then progress to playing open strings to the beat of music. When you start using the metronome begin with simple exercises and even rhythmic divisions. You want it to feel natural, relaxed, and casual so a slow progressive plan is helpful. Let’s explore this in more detail below with a 10 step plan. Don’t move to the next step until you feel confident.

How to Play with a Metronome – Video Lesson

Here’s the YouTube lesson link in case you need it.

Step 1: Tap your foot to music

Start by listening to some pop music with a regular beat. Don’t put on classical music yet, try something easier and obvious with drums and a consistent beat such as the Beatles or equivalent. Learn to tap your foot and clap to the music in a relaxed and natural way. Don’t worry about being precise, just feel the music first and then start tapping.

The goal is to make it a natural experience. For example, when sitting at the table eating lunch with music on, without thinking about it, you start tapping your foot to the music. That is the natural feel we are after. You want to reproduce that natural infusion of the beat in your body to your practice room sessions.

Try this with a variety of different popular styles of music that have a strong and obvious beat.

Step 2: Play an open string to the same music

Once you feel comfortable tapping along with the music, grab your guitar and play an open string instead of tapping your foot. Use the same music you were listening to before. The way you were tapping before, play the open string in the same way. It doesn’t matter if the pitch matches or not, you just want to feel the beat rather than try to match it intellectually.

If you have trouble, try tapping the beat with your foot eight times followed by playing the open string eight times. Playing the string is just another way of tapping. You can experiment with tapping to the beat with only your index finger on a table or the top of the guitar first.

Step 3: Play an open string and tap to the same music

Now try tapping your foot and playing an open string to the beat while listening to the music. Remember to feel the music first and then start tapping. You don’t want to try to beat-match with precision, instead, just casually feel the beat for awhile and then begin. Again, start with just tapping and then add the playing. You’ll be tapping and playing at the same time.

Step 4: Tap to the metronome

Set the metronome to approximately the same tempo as the music you were listening to; anything close is fine. Pretend the metronome is a wonderful piece of music, feel the beat and tap to it. Don’t beat-match, just listen to it and start tapping in a relaxed and casual way. We want this to feel like Step 1: natural, relaxed, and casual.

Step 5: Play an open string with the metronome

Similar to Step 2, play an open string to the beat. Feel the beat first as if the metronome was a pop song and then start playing. If you start trying to beat-match you aren’t feeling the beat. Stop and go back to a previous step.

Step 6: Tap and play with the metronome

Similar to Step 3, tap your foot along with the metronome beat and add the playing of the open string simultaneously. You’ll be tapping and playing at the same time on each click. If you can’t do this, go back to a previous step. Remember, feel the beat first, the way you did in step 1, and then start.

Step 7: Tap and Play rhythmic figures with the metronome

This step is very important. You want to feel the beat but play various rhythms over it. Start very simple and then progress to a variety of rhythms. You may have to stay on this step for a few weeks or months (I still do this everyday with scales and other technique exercises).

Start with tapping the beat with your foot as quarter notes and playing eighth notes on an open string.

Try with triplets

Try sixteenths

Variation with Tap

Dotted Figure with Tab

Repeat all with tapping your foot to the beat and playing the various rhythms.

Step 8: Play simple technique exercises with the metronome

You can now progress to playing simple technique exercises with the metronome. Start with something simple such as a one octave scale playing each note on the beat. You can then try playing the scale in eighth notes, triplets, and sixteenth notes. Even try dotted figures.

The reason you want to use an exercise is that you may not be ready for the variety of rhythms encountered in repertoire. Exercises are usually short, consistent, and can be looped (repeated).

Step 9: Play beginner method book pieces with the metronome

You’ve made it! You can now play with the metronome but don’t push your multitasking abilities too far too fast. For 5 mins a day play a beginner method book piece with the metronome. This is have more rhythmic and playing variety than an exercise.

Step 10: Work your way up to your level

Slowly playing more challenging pieces with the metronome during a dedicated part of your practice session. For example, if you are a grade 3 player, play a few pieces from grade 1 and then a few from grade 2. This might take days or it might take months but just do it for 5 minutes a day as a dedicated skill building session.

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The post How to Play with a Metronome – 10 Step Lesson first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Finnish lutenist Tuomas Kourula along with sopranos Anneliina Rif and Maikki Säikkä performs Ohimè, dov’è il mio ben? (SV 140) by Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) via the Turku Early Music Society and their YouTube channel. Beautiful performance by Kourula and love vocal duet with theorbo, both visually and musically here. “Ohimè, dov’è il mio ben” (SV 140) is a famous vocal duet composed by Claudio Monteverdi and published in his Seventh Book of Madrigals (Il settimo libro de madrigali) in Venice in 1619.

Here’s the YouTube description:

When Monteverdi writes a duet, you know it’s going to be something extraordinary. This one has for long been one of our favourites, and we have performed it in many concerts over the years. It’s difficult to say exactly why we like it so much – it probably has to do with the beauty of the dissonances and their resolutions, and the way tension keeps mounting until the end, and the great release in the concluding bars.

“Ohimè” is based on the ancient Romanesca ground or chord progression, but it is here so stretched out and modified that it may be difficult to notice this just by listening. Still, the connection to this well-known ground lends a strong foundation to the duet, giving it structure. We thank the Maaria parish in Turku for the opportunity to film in their church!

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