Question: How can I deal with performance anxiety in music and guitar? Before I give you practical tips and step by step approaches, let’s first look at some misconceptions about performance anxiety. People can often perform a piece well at…
Vladimir Gorbach teaches a technique lesson on practicing scales with a focus on planting and timing as a way to build control, speed, and tone quality. Framing the discussion is maintenance of tension and reflexive relaxation in practice at slow…
Question: What notation software do you use for creating classical guitar scores? I mainly use two software programs for creating music notation: MuseScore and Sibelius, but Dorico by Steinberg is my recommendation to anyone who wants to start using a…
Paul Bizot performs Quatre pièces pour la guitare by Sir Lennox Berkeley (1903–1989). This comes via Siccas Guitars and their YouTube channel (go subscribe). Great performance by Bizot filled with nice motivic delivery, articulation, and orchestration of the guitar soundscape. Emmanuel Sowicz sent me this note…
Music Theory Lesson No.1b: Musical Time (Pulse, Beat, Tempo, Meter, Rhythm). In this lesson I discuss some terminology for musical time including: pulse, beat, tempo, meter, and rhythm. This is an important discussion before we start discussing music notation and why…
Canadian guitarist Drew Henderson performs Suite for Lute, BWV 995 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) on a seven-string guitar. This comes via Henderson’s YouTube channel (go subscribe). Henderson’s sheet music edition will be coming soon via his website. Brilliant and refined performance by Henderson with…
Question: How do I get back into regular practicing after taking a long break from music and classical guitar? After taking a few months off practicing classical guitar (or more) it can be difficult to return to a structured and…
Question: What should I include in my practice sessions for classical guitar? It’s important to develop a balanced practice session for classical guitar in order to both improve and to enjoy yourself. As a basic overview of the practice session,…
Question: How do you know when to upgrade your classical guitar? When your skill set and requirements for either performing, recording, or listening outpace the instrument it’s time to get a new classical guitar. But there are many variables to…
Music Theory Lesson No.1a 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…
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…
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…