My First Jury
Updates & Activities
The first time I performed on classical guitar was my freshmen jury. I had just started CG four months before. For those that are unfamiliar with juries, you walk into a room and play for a bunch of music professors. They give a grade that is supposed to influence the grade you receive in lessons […]
Read MoreMonday Motivation: Sinesi Edition
Monday Motivation
“Creativity is making mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” –Scott Adams Today we feature Adrian Ramirez performing Cielo Abierto by guitarist and composer Quique Sinesi. I really enjoy this piece, but had never even heard of Sinesi until a few days ago. Thanks to Brett Floyd for bring Sinesi to my attention!
Read MoreSympathetic Motion
Classical Guitar Technique
This stuff is definitely not my idea. Aaron Shearer talks about it in , and Christopher Berg also talks about it in . Cliff Notes: Sympathetic motion is the idea that as one RH finger moves, it pulls the others along with. The best way to get a sense of what that’s like is to […]
Read MoreLinkage: 5/22/09
Guitar Related Links
The Music Teacher’s Helper blog featured an article about intrinsic motivation in students, and how to foster it. Some great advice for teachers, but I especially like this: “An easy trap to fall into as a piano teacher is to have lessons turning into mistake-correcting exercises. All this succeeds in doing is highlighting a student’s […]
Read MoreDescribe to Memorize
Musical Interpretation and Musicianship
I’m reading a book on Piano Technique at the moment. One of the big things Gieseking and Leimer were big on was visualization and mental practice that’s done concurrently with physical practice. Gieseking and Leimer also give some fairly detailed advice on memorization. I’ve written on this briefly before, but one way to memorize something […]
Read MoreGetting More for Less
Classical Guitar Practice Tips
This is a guest post by Scott Kritzer. Check out Scott’s annual guitar festival Classical Guitar Immersion. In these tough economic times we’re all looking for a bargain. Our guitar playing can benefit greatly from such an attitude. In this article I’ll cover some ideas with regard to practice, lessons and performing that will help […]
Read MoreClassroom Guitar Essentials
Guitar Teaching
This is a guest post from Dr. Matt Warnock who writes the blog Guitar Player Daily. Teaching a classroom guitar course, at either the high school or college level, can be a challenging, though rewarding, experience for any guitarist. While some people may think that teaching a guitar class is no more than strumming chords […]
Read MoreMonday Motivation: Brand-Spanking-New Edition
Monday Motivation
“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.” -Robert Frost Today we feature a newly composed piece from Angelo Gilardino for string quartet and guitar. Very interesting piece with some intense moments. By far the most interesting thing, in my opinion, is that we get to watch/listen […]
Read MoreLinkage: 5/15/09
Guitar Related Links
The wall street journal published a story about Classical Archives. The story explains that Classical Archives is providing a new way to buy Bach online. Classical Archives has developed a system that (FINALLY!) makes sorting by composer the primary search method, and has brought in the some of the same musicologists behind the music genome […]
Read MorePractice Techniques: Changing the Rhythm
Guitar Practice Techniques
Sometimes there are sections that always sound uneven. Altering the rhythm can give a player more control, and help even out those difficult passages. It’s as simple as it sounds. Have a passage in fast 16th notes? Try playing in triplets or quintuplets–the notes don’t have to move faster or slower, the accents just shift […]
Read More