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Estudio in G by Dionisio Aguado

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:39:10 +0000

Estudio in G by Dionisio Aguado (1784-1849)
Grade 2- Early Intermediate
Time 0:56

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.

Sarabande in A Minor by Johann Anton Logy

admin — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:04:28 +0000

Sarabande in A minor by Johann Anton Logy (1645 – 1721)
Grade 2: Early intermediate
Time: 1:00

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

la Llorona Traditional Spanish Ballad

admin — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 09:57:05 +0000

La Llorona Traditional Spanish Ballad
Grade 2 Early Intermediate
Time 2:09

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.

E minor at Midnight by Fernando Sor

admin — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:34:59 +0000

E Minor at Midnight by Fernando Sor
Grade 2Early Intermediate
Time 1:10

Merry christmas, everyone! This short song by Sor, E minor at Midnight is a fine example how expressive a simple tune can be. Fernando Sor is considered to be a key composer from the 19th century. Spanish born in barcelona in 1778. Fernando’s was bought up in a monastery and was taught by a monk. Sor wrote his first opera at 18. One of the best thing I like about sor is that his work is not difficult to play.

Technique
A slow and fairly easy song. 16 Bars. A single barred chord at the end on the second fret. Note the time indicator at the bottom, it is broken down into semi quavers (1e&a, 2e&a etc…) or I was once taught co-ca-co-la.

Excerpts from Fernando sor's E minor at midnight

Tips
E minor at Midnight has notes sparse in nature, suspend the bass in every measure to add texture.

Download Tab

Further Reading
I learnt “E minor at Midnight” 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.

March of the wooden soldier by Fernando Sor

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:00:02 +0000

March of the wooden soldier by Fernando Sor
Grade 2- Early Intermediate
Time 0:55

Most historians often refer to the first half of the 19th century as “the golden age of the guitar”. During this time the guitar enjoyed an unprecedented popularity. Among the most-praised musicians of the golden age of the guitar was Fernando Sor. Audience assembled in masses to see this great guitarist dubbed the Beethoven of the guitar.

Technique
32 Bars. No Barre Chords. No Repeats and plenty of open strings.

Excerpt from Fernando Sor's March of the Wodden Soldier

Tips
March of the wooden soldier is not a hard song to play. You will also learn the basics of right hand plucking (one string, one finger) using pima.

Download Tab

Further Reading
I learnt “March of the wooden soldier” 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.

Lesson in C by Fernando Sor

admin — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:00:49 +0000

Lesson in C by Fernando Sor (1778-1839)
Grade 2- Early Intermediate
Time 1:09

Fernando Sor is considered to be a key composer from the 19th century. Spanish born in barcelona in 1778. Fernando’s was bought up in a monastery. Sor wrote his first opera at 18. Some called him the beethoven for the guitar. Lesson in C is a sample of his work. This is an easy song with minimal movements for both hands ideal for beginners.

Technique
Andante. Moderately slow or walking pace. 32 Bars. No barre Chords. Bass Note suspensions in most bars. There are 2 parts. Play each part twice in this order AABB.

Excerpts from Fernando Sor's Lesson in C

Tips
This piece should be played slowly in an even tempo. Notes are sparse in between so use the suspended notes to fill the void.

Download Tab

Further Reading
I learnt Lesson in C 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.

Andantino by Ferdinando Carulli

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:30 +0000

Andantino by Ferdinando Carulli (1770–1841)
Grade 2 Early Intermediate
Time 1:09

Ferdinando Carulli was born in Naples, Kingdom of Naples on February 9, 1770. Like many of his contemporaries, he was taught musical theory by a priest, who was also an amateur musician. Carulli’s first instrument was the cello, but when he was twenty he discovered the guitar and devoted his life to the study and advancement of the guitar. Carulli wrote a variety of works for classical guitar, including concertos and chamber works. He was an extremely prolific writer for guitar, composing over 400 works for the instrument in the space of 12 years.

Technique
Some single note and double notes suspension. Hold the note(s) for half a measure. In part A, there’s a constant back and forth motion between your thumb and fingers-rocking downstroke and upstroke. Keep your wrist balanced. Part B has more finese plucking. Bar[13]-[16], last 4 Bars-the closure- involves several double thumb (bass) action.

Excerpt from Fernando Sor's Andantino

Tips
Pay special attention to the right hand finger and have each finger play their own unique string.

Full TAB in txt

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.

Easter Hymn Fernando sor

admin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:00:20 +0000

Easter Hymn by Fernando sor
Grade 2 Early Intermediate
Time 1:05

Born in Barcelona to a fairly well-off family, Sor was descended from a long line of career soldiers, and intended to continue that legacy, but was distracted from this when his father introduced him to Italian opera. He fell in love with music and abandoned a military career. In Easter Hymn you will learn how to utilize all your right hand fingers (pima). This song is an easy guitar piece being short in length with notes sparse in nature.

Technique
AABB 2 parts each played twice with different endings. 18 bars in total. There are suspended notes and all fingers will be used on the right hand (plucking) In Easter Hymn, there are several parts where multiple strings must be sounded at the same time (chord). If the 3 strings are next to each other in a group, you can strum the strings with your thumb in downwards motion or pluck all three strings with your 2 fingers and thumb (pim).

Excerpt from Easter Hymn

Tips
Strum with thumb downwards only works if the strings are group next like in Bar[3] above. If there are gaps between strings or you have to play every other string. You’ll need accuracy so pluck each string-strumming no longer works.

Download Tab

Further Reading
I learnt Easter Hymn 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.

Study in G Major by Napoleon Coste

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:00:37 +0000

Study in G Major by Napoleon Coste (1806-1883)
Grade 2 Early Intermediate
Time 0:29

Study in G Major is an easy peice by the french guitar composer Napoleon Coste. This piece is a great practise for a beginner. Napoleon Coste was born in France in 1806 and was taught the guitar by his mother. As a teenager he became a teacher of the instrument, and appeared in many concerts in the region. At the age of 24 he moved to Paris where he quickly established himself as the leading French virtuoso guitarist.

Technique
20 Bars. Suspend the first note or the root of the chord during the scale runs. No Barred Chords. Play the scale in a uniform tempo and end slowly with the chordal finale. There is a single hammer on in which you use your finger on the left hand to hammer the note rather than plucking it on the right hand.

Excerpt fromm Napoleon Coste's Study in G Major

Tips
This study is a good introduction of what a classical guitar can do. They are 2 voices. Study in G Major consist of a ascending and descending of a scale(voice 1) during the bass note suspension(voice 2).

Full TAB in txt

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.

Andantino in A minor by Ferdinando Carulli

admin — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:00:48 +0000

Andantino in A minor by Ferdinando Carulli
Grade 2- Early Intermediate
Time 1:00

Andantino in A minor is an early intermediate song ideal for beginners. This song is easy because the rhythm is constant, there are no barre Chords, and only a few chord shapes to remember. For the right hand, all pima will be used so you will get a good plucking exercise.

Technique
There are 4 parts to this song each with 8 measures. 32 bars in total. In my video, I play this song straight abcd. but Andantino in A minor is actually longer-double the length-as you are supposed to play each part twice (AA-BB-CC-DD). Time signature is 2/4. Standard tuning.

Excerpt from Carulli's Andantino

Tips
Watch out for the right hand fingering for the upward sweep in Bar[20], part C of the song.

Full TAB in txt

Further Reading
Classical for guitar is one of my first classical guitar book. Jerry Synder, the author of the book has categorized 17 songs by grades. From grade 1 (beginner) to grade 4 (late intemediate). Each song comes with a brief introduction which is helpful and informative. In this tab book, you will find many composers’ famous works. like beethovern’s “fur elise” to wedding favorites like “Canon in D” by Pachelbel and “Jesu, Man’s joy of desiring” by Bach to excerise work by Fernando Sor. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an entry level classical guitar book.