Learn to:
- Select the right classical guitar for you
- Develop correct hand position and posture
- Tune your guitar
- Play along with exercises and pieces on the audio CD
The fun and easy way® to start playing classical guitar!
Want to be a classical guitarist, but never had a lesson? No problem this hands-on guide teaches you all the fundamental techniques you need to play scales, melodies, and full-length pieces in the classical style. You get plenty of practice exercises to stretch your skills, selections from the classical repertoire, and a bonus audio CD that helps you play along with the music pieces from the book!
- Get acquainted with your guitar familiarize yourself with the unique make-up and parts of a classical guitar
- Start making some music play melodies on individual strings, move on to arpeggios, and get your fingers in shape with scales
- Ramp up your technique play barres, slurs, and trills; handle harmonics; master right-hand tremolo; and venture up the neck to play in the higher positions
- Build your classical repertoire from Renaissance and Baroque to Classical, Romantic, and Modern, play pieces from the major eras in classical music
- Practice makes perfect improve your performance with expert guidance through each exercise and piece in the book
Open the book and find:
- Tips and techniques for playing beautiful pieces
- How to read music notation and tablature
- Basic finger and thumb strokes
- Right- and left-hand techniques
- Musical examples, charts, and photos
- Music pieces from the guitar greats
- The best ways to care for your guitar
- A step-by-step tutorial on changing your strings
Bonus CD Includes
More than 140 recorded performances of the exercises and pieces featured in the book
Pieces performed using a count-off, allowing you to play along in time with the music
Tuning notes to help you tune up your guitar
Table of Contents:
Introduction 1
Part I: Getting to Know the Classical Guitar 9
Chapter 1: An Acoustic Guitar in a League of Its Own 11
Chapter 2: Getting Ready to Play 23
Chapter 3: Deciphering Music Notation and Tablature 45
Part II: Starting to Play: The Basics 61
Chapter 4: One Note at a Time: Playing Simple Melodies 63
Chapter 5: Rolling the Notes of a Chord: Arpeggio Technique 85
Chapter 6: Practicing Scales in First and Second Position 105
Chapter 7: Exploring Musical Textures 127
Part III: Improving Your Technique 143
Chapter 8: Flat-Fingered Fretting with Barres 145
Chapter 9: Getting a Smooth Sound with Slurs and Trills 155
Chapter 10: Coloring Your Sound with Tone-Production Techniques 167
Chapter 11: Scaling the Musical Ladder beyond Second Position 183
Chapter 12: Combining Arpeggios and Melody 201
Chapter 13: Combining Left-Hand Techniques While Playing up the Neck 223
Part IV: Mastering Classical Guitar Repertoire 235
Chapter 14: Playing Pieces by the Guitar Greats 237
Chapter 15: Early Guitar Music from the Renaissance and Baroque Eras 257
Chapter 16: The Guitar Comes of Age: The Classical, Romantic, and Modern Eras 275
Part V: The Part of Tens 293
Chapter 17: Ten (Or So) Classical Guitarists You Should Know 295
Chapter 18: Ten Things to Do When Shopping for a Classical Guitar 301
Part VI: Appendixes 307
Appendix A: Basic Guitar Care and Maintenance 309
Appendix B: How to Use the CD 317
Index 323
About the Author :
Mark Phillips is a guitarist, arranger, author, and editor with more than 35 years in music publishing. Jon Chappell is a multi-style guitarist, arranger, author, and journalist, as well as a former editor-in-chief of Guitar magazine. Phillips and Chappell are also the authors of the bestselling Guitar For Dummies, 2nd Edition.
