Tag: classical music

Top Three Tips for Classical Guitar Mastery

Nicole NealLeave a comment

There are very few of us that have the luxury of being 100% dedicated to the art of classical guitar playing. And even those that are have lives, families, other interests and commitments that must have time devoted to them away from the guitar.

So with this time we have available to us from playing and practice – one hour out of 24 for most of us if we’re lucky – it helps to know what things to really focus on to get the most bang from your practice buck and master (or at least begin to master!) the classical guitar.

1. Find a good teacher and see them on a regular basis

Without a doubt this is this tip that will get you the biggest bang for your buck and set you on the way to mastering the instrument. A good teacher has been there and done it, been through the years of practice, understands the best ways to practice. They can help devise a program (for want of a better term) of learning that is suited to just you, as we’re all different and learn in different ways at different paces. They can provide an objective view point to pick on things in your playing that you’re perhaps not hearing, feeling or seeing. They help you see the woods for the trees. They can provide knowledge and experience that YouTube videos and the like simply cannot provide, honing in on technical and musical elements that you may need to develop or work on further. A good teacher will show to you a world that was previously unknown to you – they will show to you those unknown unknowns technically and musically.

A good guitar teacher is, in my opinion, the number one way to move towards mastery of the classical guitar, regardless of what level you’re currently playing at. And to achieve the greatest advantage from having sought out a guitaristic sage? Take lessons with them regularly – a week is the optimal. Any longer than that and bad habits can start to creep in. Weekly lessons really help keep that momentum rolling and your playing will improve no end.

2. Relax

Learning to relax physically when playing is of the utmost importance – it will make playing feel a whole lot more fluid, a whole lot easier. When you see a great maestro of any instrument or even a sports star, for example, the way they move and play looks effortless. That’s because it is! They’ve done the work, the practice, and now they’re just going with the flow, allowing their bodies to relax and do its thing.

You’ll end up with far fewer injuries and significantly reduce the risk of acquiring them in the first place.

And your tone will sound fantastic too. Less muscular tension, less squeezing the life out of the neck, less hardened and rigid plucking away at the strings will leave more space and energy for producing a beautiful sound.

Learn to relax mentally too (this will hep with the physical relaxation) and understand that things take time. You’ll get there.

3. Enjoy it!

This might sound like a daft one, but you’d be surprised. Some can get so caught up in the day-to-day practice, the habit of it, they just “do” because that’s what they’ve always done. They’re not really enjoying it. They’re not having fun with it. Always make sure you’re having fun with it and it will never be a chore. Sure, there will be times when you’re frustrated, challenged, finding something tricky and so on (this is where a good teacher helps you out), but by and large the over-riding feeling on your journey of classical guitar mastery should be one of enjoyment. I say, what is the point otherwise?!

Keeping Going Through The Frustration

Nicole Neal3 Comments

The LMusA Diploma Journey – Update #4

It’s fair to say that La Maja de Goya is quite a challenging little piece! A fiddly little bugger, with some fantastically gorgeous chord movements that require a little (or a lot of) work. Being a transcription from a piano piece originally that’s understandable I guess.Soundhole B&W

The piece is one of those things that sounds so very simple, deceptively so. On beginning to learn it one realises it is anything but simple and you begin to understand the level of work required to do justice to such a marvellous piece of music.

Not that I ever expected it to be simple to learn – it’s on the LMusA diploma list after all! And not that I ever really wanted it to be simple either. It is through challenges like this (technical rather than musical in this sense) that one grows, develops, changes, takes the next steps in the never-ending journey of improving your technique and mastering the instrument. And it is never-ending really – there is always more to learn or refine and there will always be a piece of music out there to challenge you.

Those little technical knots and niggles I’m coming across are quite a source of frustration. Seemingly innocuous, seemingly simple, yet the execution of these elements is less than desirable at present. This is where I have to tease each one out in isolation and look at what’s going on with my left and right hands. With the left hand are there any extraneous movements going on, alternative fingerings I could use and so on. With my right hand am I playing the correct strings, which fingers am I using, am I preparing the fingers and thumb as I need to be, am I placing the right hand fingers down on the correct strings in sync with the left hand movements and so on.

As I said, La Maja de Goya  is a technical challenge rather than a musical one for me, as the musical direction is pretty clear (to me at least) and I’ve got a number of ideas in my head as to how I want the piece to sound. Which is another source of frustration – I know the music I want to produce, I’ve just got to get the left hand and right hand to help my produce that! And I will. I know that in time, with solid consistent practice, I will be able to play this as beautifully as any other  pieces I play.

And this is where I have to exercise patience. It will take as long as it takes and moving from “point A” to “point B” is never going to be a smooth linear movement. This is where I also have to cut myself some slack that it will come as a result of my efforts (which it always has done in the past so why should it be any different now?!), trust myself, soak in the words of wisdom and guidance of my wonderful teacher Ben Dix, aim to let go of that frustration, breath, relax and keep on working.