Dionisio Aguado (April 8, 1784 — December 29, 1849) was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer. Born in Madrid, he studied with Miguel Garcia. In 1825, Aguado visited Paris, where he met and became friends with and for a while lived with Fernando Sor. Aguado’s major work Escuela de Guitarra was a guitar tutorial published in 1825. Dionisio Aguado has attained lasting fame through his method for guitar, which in various forms is still in print today. It is still reprinted today (Tecla editions). In the “Escuela” Aguado describes his use of fingernails on the right hand as well as his invention of a “tripodion”: a device that held the guitar and thus minimized the damping effect of the player’s body on the guitar’s back and sides. Aguado returned home to Madrid in 1838 and died there aged 65.

Notes
Key Signature: G Major
Time Signature: 3/8
Grade 2: Early Intermediate

Hold/Suspend notes as long as possible.

Excerpt from Dionisio Aguado's Estudio in G

Further Reading
50 Easy classical Guitar Pieces by Jerry Willard.
Another book in my collection. Book is in tabulature. Great for beginner guitar for classical. 50 short songs introducing you to key players of the genre. Works featured in this book includes the many names that influence the classical guitar world. To name a few featured: Fernando Carulli, Napoloen Coste, Fernando Sor, Dionisio Aguado, Gaspar Sanz, John dowland, Robert Devisse, and Mauro Giuliani. This book comes with a companion CD plus a brief biography writeup on the aforementioned maestros.

Tango by Tarrega is not a difficult nor lengthy tune but it is packed with a lot of different guitar techniques-making it worthwhile to learn. Tango contains harmonics, double stop octaves, DGDGBGe tuning , rasguerdo, triplets. slide, hammer, pull offs, etc…. Although Tarrega (Spanish) is not from Argentina-where Tango originates-Tango proves to be a well composed and crafted work.

Excerpt from Francisco Tarrega's Tango

Tips
The tuning is DGDGBE. 2 strings are tuned down from EDAGBE, this gives easy access to doubls stop octaves for the left hand. Tango is in 2 keys. The song is mostly in G minor but it concludes in G major. 2/4 Time Signature.

Tango gets progressively more difficult. as you move along the song. Overal it is a fairly easy piece.

Part A — Bar[1]-[9]
Key: G Minor
Double Stops using the odd tuning Rasguerdo (strum with pima downstroke) only at the second time round

Part B — Bar[10]-[27]
Key: G Minor
High Frets playing use the open string bass notes (D,G,D) to keep tempo.
Use left hand 3rd finger (ring finger) for harmonics

Part C — Bar [28] -[39]
Key: G Major
More notes plus Triplets
High Frets playing use the open string bass notes (D,G,D) to keep tempo.

Further Reading
I learnt Francisco Tarrega’s “Tango” from the Francisco Tarrega Collection in Tabulature by Paul Henry. 14 pieces for classical guitar. Comes with a companion cd with tracks. 64 pages. Paperback

BWV 645 – 650: Schübler Chorale Preludes.

Schübler Chorales is a name commonly used for a collection of six chorale preludes by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 645–650). They were engraved and published in the late 1740s by Johann Georg Schübler, from whom they derive their nickname. The collection is originally entitled Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (”Wake, Awake for Night is Passing“). Uniquely for Bach’s sets of organ works, five out of six chorales in this collection are transcriptions from his cantatas. BWV 645 is transcribe from: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140, movement 4 (tenor chorale). The pieces are composed for a two manual organ with obligatory pedal in E♭ Major. Bach’s abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime. Sleepers Awake tab is transcribed to the key of C making it easier to play on the guitar. This piece is played with many open strings reducing the need for barred chords.

Sleepers Awake is from Cantanta No.140 Ephesians No.5(14)
4/4 Time Signature
C Key Signature
Originally for Organ in Eb Major

Suspend notes as long as possible. Bach uses conterpoints. 2 voices-treble and bass. The 2 voices should be unbroken throughout the song. Play slowly. Add trill at the end of the 2 parts.

Bar[12] Ending of part 1. Series of semiquavers double stops(2 notes).
Bar[20] Only measure with barred chords. A pair of them on fret 3. You don’t necessaily need to barre (2 notes) but I find it easier to barre to sound the bass note.
Bar[23] Hinged Barre chord. Flatten index to rapidly barred the string below (treble e).
Bar[24] Ending of part 2. Series of semiquavers double stops(2 notes).

Excerpt from Johann Sebastian Bach's Sleepers Awake

Further Reading
I learnt Sleepers Awake from Ben Bolt’s book. Mel Bay J. S. Bach for Acoustic Guitar: 12 Solos in Notation and Tablature [Paperback]

Product Description
J. S. Bach is the most sought after composers of all time. He is everybody’s favorite! Best selling author Ben Bolt has inked 12 solos for guitar in this book. Included are moderate to advanced solos in notation and tablature. All 12 solos are recorded in order like the book. The recording can easily stand on it’s own for your listening pleasure, or can be used as an instructional tool. Professor Bolt also includes a copy of Bach’s original manuscript of Partita No. 1 for cross-reference purposes. Includes the following pieces: Sleepers Awake! (from Cantata No. 140), Gavotte, Prelude (from 3rd Cello Suite), Courante (from 3rd Cello Suite), Corrente (from 1st Violin Partita), Bourrée (from 1st Violin Parita), Prelude in D (from 1st Cello Suite), Gigue (from 1st Cello Suite), Sarabande (from 2nd Lute Suite), Gigue (from 2nd Lute Suite), Courante (from 1st Lute Suite) and Fugue.

Johann Anton Logy was a Bohemian aristocrat, Baroque lute player and composer from Prague. Losy composed mostly dance suites, as was typical of his time. Sarabande (It., sarabanda) is a dance in triple metre. The second and third beats of each measure are often tied, giving the dance a distinctive rhythm of crotchets and minims in alternation. The crotchets are said to have corresponded with dragging steps in the dance.

Tips/Technique
3/4 Time Signature. A minor Key Signature.
Not hard to play and short in length. 16 bars. with 2 barre chords. AABB repeat both parts twice.

Bar[1] Hinged barred chord. flatten index finger to sound note (F).
Bar[16] End with trill . hammer on. (music), a type of musical ornament

Excerpt from Logy Sarabande

Further Reading
50 Easy classical Guitar Pieces by Jerry Willard.
Another book in my collection. Book is in tabulature. Great for beginner guitar for classical. 50 short songs introducing you to key players of the genre. Works featured in this book includes the many names that influence the classical guitar world. To name a few featured: Fernando Carulli, Napoloen Coste, Fernando Sor, Dionisio Aguado, Gaspar Sanz, John dowland, Robert Devisse, and Mauro Giuliani. This book comes with a companion CD plus a brief biography writeup on the aforementioned maestros.

The title of this traditional ballad translates as “The Weeping Woman.” The basic story is that La Llorona was a beautiful woman who killed her children to be with the man that she loved. She drowned the children and then, after being rejected ande eventually killed herself. She is doomed to wander, vainly searching for her children for all eternity. Her constant weeping is the reason for her name. In some cases, according to the tale, she will kidnap wandering children or children who misbehave. Though popular in Mexico, the origins of the song and its tragic tale of murder lies in Spain. Due to the freer performance style of folk songs, you may repeat any of the sections as many times as you like. Play at a moderate tempo with ample amount of feeling.

This is a traditional song consisting of 4 sections. The chords are only a handful, mainly Am, Dm, G, F, E7. There are a few hinged chords and double plucks also. Suspend bass note throughout measure.

Excerpt taken from La Llorona (the weeping woman)

Bar[7],[18],[19],[39],[40]
Hinged Barred Chord. Keep 1st finger down (flatten) for beat 2.

Bar[35]
F barre chord at 3rd fret. Position left thumb at the lower end of the
neck to provide more strength to sound the 3 treble notes.

Part B
Arpeggio with some interesting double plucks (every other note)

Part D
Hardest section because of the numerous Barre Chords.

Further Reading
I discovered “La llorona” from Spanish for guitar by Howard Wallach. Contains some of the most popular pieces ever written for guitar, including Malagueña, El Testamento de Amelia, Lagrima and Recuerdos de la Alhambra. Helpful playing tips and plenty of fingerings are included, making this your ultimate source for Spanish guitar pieces. Every piece is written in standard music notation and easy-to-read tablature showing exactly where each note should be played on the guitar.

Matteo Carcassi composed during the period when the guitar is relatively new. He devised countless exercises/songs to introduce the instrument to music lovers. In this piece, Melody in C Major, you will explore where the c major notes/chords/scale on the guitar neck. You will also improve both your left and right techniques at the same time. For the left hand, you will be covering many chords including half barre and full barre chords. For the right, there are several plucking patterns introduced. pimimimi and piaiaiai being the main ones. The ending concludes with an interplay between these 2 patterns. Make sure you save enough energy to conclude the piece in tempo.

Technique/Tips
It is crucial to suspend the bass note. 1,3 of each measure. Let the notes ring. Start slow. It’s not about speed but clarity of notes. Melody in C has no slides/pull off/hammer ons but there are some barre chords to deal with.

Bar[10]-[11] end of bar 10 at fret 7. be prepared to jump to 3 fret in position and in time to sound the bass note(F#).
Bar[2]&[22] These 2 bars are identical in tone. I included 2 different positions to play this measure.
Bar[28] The last stretch. Start with open C chord. I find this section pretty tricky in terms of right hand pattern switches. ( :

Excerpt of Melody in C major by Matteo Carcassi

Technique and Tips

Further Reading
I learnt Melody in C Major by Matteo Carcassi from Carcassi for tabulature. 128 pages going over many plucking techniques and patterns of over 100 songs. Book include an audio companion cd and is ring bound so you can lie it flat.

Jorge Cardoso is a classical guitarist and medical doctor born in Posadas, Argentina in 1949. Milonga originated in the Río de la Plata area of Argentina / Uruguay / Chile and has its roots from various European music. The Milonga was derived from an earlier style of singing known as the Payada de Contrapunto. Payada is deeply rooted to the gaucho culture. A Milonga is a lyrical minstrel song-songs with lyrics that tells stories about real or imaginary historical events. Contrapunto or counterpoint means music in the form of a musicial duel (question & answer). Over time, dance steps and other musical influences were added to the Milonga, eventually giving rise to the Tango. Jorge Cardoso wrote many guitar duets for various instruments. Milonga (uruguay) is a duet for the piano and guitar. Set at a lively 2/4 tempo, often including syncopated musical improvisation.

Part A:
Bar[1]-[14] Arpeggios. Left Hand is complex while the right (thankfully) remains the same pattern. Pay attention to fingering of the left hand to keep chord transition smooth. Play Slow.
Bar[8] To play this arpeggio clean. Keep your thumb at the bottom part of the neck and bend yours wrist outwards nearly at a right angle. ouch!
Bar[10]-[11] Transition of chords. keep pinky on strings(same note) as you move your other 3 fingers

Part B:
Bar[15]-[22] Arpeggios with prominent thumb (bass) action.
Bar[45]-[55] A longer variation of this arpeggio at the closure.

Part C:
Bar[25], [27] Up and down neck movement with some quick pull offs and slides for the left.
Bar[29], [39] Double stops or intervals (2 notes) to keep your right hand busy.

Part D:
Bar[40]-[45] Thumb(Down) and Index/Middle(up) pattern

Excerpt from Jorge Cardoso Milonga (Uruguay)

Etude in E Minor is a fine example of one of many Fernando Sor’s studies which focus on the right plucking hand. A study in the key of E minor at (Allegro Moderato) , played at a moderate to fast pace. This piece is 52 bars long with a 10 barre chords. Memorize the right hand pattern helps. Keep the plucking speed uniform at all time. You can undulate the volume for mood but there are certain notes that must be accented or played loudly. For example the second note of Bar[1] and [2] displayed in the tab image below.

Tips and technique
There’s a general beat between 2 adjacent measures (3 beat, 2 beat). For example: 3 beats on bar[1] and 2 bar[2] and so on. (Paimimim-Paim-Paim) (Paimimim-Paimimim). You play these beats with your thumb(P) and suspend these notes.

Bar[1]-[4] The main riff for the song. These 4 bars appears 3 times throughout Etude in E Minor.

Bar[29] reverse pattern. you have been playing one main pattern (paimimim-paim-paim) in this measure, you are introduce with another patterm (pamimimi-pami-pami). This pattern is a mirror image of the former. Make sure you flip back to the original pattern after this measure.

Bar[33]-[33] The ongoing finger plucking pattern you have been playing has be widen.

Bar[14],[20],[42] Flatten finger to form a barre on the treble string (b and e)

Bar[46]-[48] A slight variation of the main pattern with a funky backbeat on the treble e string.

excerpts from fernando sor's etude in E minor

Further Reading
I learnt “Etude in E minor (Allegro Moderato)” from this book Sor in Tabulature. The book includes 58 pieces of music as well as a recorded CD of the entire book. Ben Bolt believes these pieces are the “best of the best” for developing technique, musicianship, and exposing the guitarist to the ingenious musical world of Fernando Sor. Regardless of your current level of expertise, this music will be a joy to learn and listen to.

Randall William “Randy” Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) was an American heavy metal guitarist who played with Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot. A teacher of classical guitar, Rhoads mixed his classical music influences with his own heavy metal style. “Dee” was written for Rhoad’s mother and the track can be found in Ozzy’s fine “Blizzard of Oz” album. I wish there are more classical piece by this masterful guitarist but he died tragically at the age of 25. Despite his relatively short career, Rhoads is a major influence on neo-classical metal players that emerged in the 1980s such as Yngwie Malmsteen, Michael Angelo Batio and Jason Becker, and he is cited as an influence by many contemporary heavy metal guitarists.

Technique
32 Bars. Suspend the bass notes are long as possible.
Bar[3],[20],[32] There are 3 occurrence of harmonics. You can play this bell like effect by gently barring the strings and strumming the notes downwards with thumb.
Bar[24] Please listen to the midi to get the timing since the timing is odd. Make sure to slide and play the double stops or interval (2 note chord) in time before the pull off.

Excerpt taken from Randy Rhoad's Dee

Tips
If you don’t have an classical guitar, you can still play this track with an acoustic. Randy rhoads played this song on the acoustic guitar. If you listen to harmonics he played in his recording, you can clearly hear the pick downward sweep. In any case, this song works equally well on both the acoustic and classical guitar.

Tarrega actually wrote the Nokia ringtone jingle as heard in this song. In Grand Waltz, you will play along the entire neck. You will also play certain parts with the melody in a fixed barred position for multiple measures. Be sure to hold double notes suspension for a full measure (bass/treble). A waltz is in triple time and there are 4 parts to this piece-each offering their own challenge. Finally and best of all you will get to play the famous Nokia Ring Tone.

Part A
Double Note suspension. Longest Part
Bar[4]-[11] Play the melody while holding the barred chords for 8 straight measures.
Bar[14]-[17] Nokia ring tone. Ends with a harmonic. Lightly touch the string and plucK (bell like sound).

Part B
Pull offs and hammer ons. Chord slide. Hardest part
Bar[37] Barred chord pull off is a stretch. Make sure you hold the bass note at 9th fret (after the slide) while stretching your pinky to the 14th fret (pull off).
Bar[44]-[45] Chord slide. keep your 3 fingers locked and slide the chord to different frets.

Part C
Double note suspension.
Bar[50]-[60] Play the melody while holding the barred chords for 10 straight measures. Painful to wrist at first.

Part D
Easiest part.
Bar[70]-[71] 9th to 2nd fret (barred chords) jump from right to left.

Grand waltz by tarrega contains the nokia ringtone

Tips
Play the 4 parts separately until you have reached fluidity. Work on each part and piece them together at the end. Loop each part mulitple times.

Download Tab | Download Midi