Classical Guitar for Dummies [With CD (Audio)]

✍ Scribed by Phillips, Mark;Chappell, Jon

• Publisher: Wiley Publishing
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 363
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Want to be a classical guitarist but never had a lesson?Want to be a classical guitarist, but never had a lesson? No problem -- this hands-on guide teaches you all the fundamental techniques you need to play scales, melodies, and full-length pieces in the classical style. You get plenty of practice exercises to stretch your skills, selections from the classical repertoire, and a bonus audio CD that helps you play along with the music pieces from the bookGet acquainted with your guitar -- familiarize yourself with the unique make-up and parts of a classical guitarStart making some music -- play melodies on individual strings, move on to arpeggios, and get your fingers in shape with scalesRamp up your technique -- play barres, slurs, and trills; handle harmonics; master right-hand tremolo; and venture up the neck to play in the higher positionsBuild your classical repertoire -- from Renaissance and Baroque to Classical, Romantic, and Modern, play pieces from the major eras in classical musicPractice makes perfect -- improve your performance with expert guidance through each exercise and piece in the bookOpen the book and find:Tips and techniques for playing beautiful piecesHow to read music notation and tablatureBasic finger and thumb strokesRight- and left-hand techniquesMusical examples, charts, and photosMusic pieces from the guitar greatsThe best ways to care for your guitarA step-by-step tutorial on changing your stringsBonus CD IncludesMore than 140 recorded performances of the exercises and pieces featured in the bookPieces performed using a count-off, allowing you to play along in time with the musicTuning notes to help you tune up your guitarNote: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

✦ Table of Contents

Classical Guitar For Dummies®......Page 1
About the Authors......Page 5
Authors’ Acknowledgments......Page 7
Contents at a Glance......Page 9
Table of Contents......Page 11
Introduction......Page 19
Part I: Getting to Know the Classical Guitar......Page 27
Chapter 1: An Acoustic Guitar in a League of Its Own......Page 29
Classical Guitar: One Term, Two Meanings, and a Bit of History......Page 30
What a Classical Guitar Looks Like......Page 31
How a Classical Guitar Is Physically Different from Its Peers......Page 34
Beyond Physique: Other Unique Attributes of Classical Guitar......Page 37
Situating Yourself......Page 41
Approaching the Strings with Your Hands......Page 48
Tuning Up......Page 55
Knowing the Ropes of Standard Music Notation......Page 63
Relating the Notes on the Staff to the Fretboard......Page 72
Relishing the Usefulness of Guitar-Specific Notation......Page 75
Part II: Starting to Play: The Basics......Page 79
Chapter 4: One Note at a Time: Playing Simple Melodies......Page 81
Practicing Notes on One String......Page 82
Playing across Three Strings......Page 92
Cruising through All Six Strings......Page 96
Flowing through Melodic Pieces Using All Six Strings......Page 99
Chapter 5: Rolling the Notes of a Chord: Arpeggio Technique......Page 103
Playing the Notes of an Arpeggio: The Basics......Page 104
Working Your Way across the Strings: The Thumb and Fingers in Order......Page 105
Varying Your Right-Hand Strokes......Page 109
Adding Harmony to Select Notes......Page 113
Playing Pieces with Arpeggios......Page 116
Introducing Scales, the Necessary Evils......Page 123
Playing Major Scales in 1st Position......Page 130
Playing Minor Scales in 1st Position......Page 134
Playing Scales in 2nd Position......Page 137
Applying Scales in Simple Pieces......Page 140
Chapter 7: Exploring Musical Textures......Page 145
Coordinating Contrapuntal Music: Layered Melodies......Page 146
Melody and Accompaniment: Using All Your Fingers......Page 151
Playing Easy Pieces in Different Textural Styles......Page 154
Part III: Improving Your Technique......Page 161
Discovering How to Play Barres......Page 163
Practicing Barres in a Musical Context......Page 166
Playing Pieces with Barres......Page 169
Connecting Your Notes with Slurs......Page 173
Fluttering a Note with a Trill......Page 179
Playing Pieces Using Slurs and Trills......Page 182
Creating Tones That Ring like Bells: Harmonics......Page 185
Varying the Tone with Vibrato......Page 188
Brightening or Darkening Your Sound by Changing Timbre......Page 191
Tremolo: The Classical Guitar Machine Gun of Sorts......Page 195
Playing Pieces Using Tone-Production Techniques......Page 197
An Introduction to the Scales and Skills in This Chapter......Page 201
Scales That Stay in 5th Position......Page 204
Scales That Stay in 9th Position......Page 208
Scales That Require Shifting Positions......Page 210
Playing Some Pieces Using Scales up the Neck......Page 214
Grasping the Combination in Context......Page 219
Going Downtown: Melody in the Bass......Page 220
Moving Uptown: Melody in the Treble......Page 224
Mixing Up Your Melodic Moves: The Thumb and Fingers Take Turns......Page 227
Playing Pieces That Combine Arpeggios and Melodies......Page 230
Layering Melodies and Using Barres up the Neck: Counterpoint......Page 241
Combining Melody and Accompaniment with Barres and Slurs up the Neck......Page 243
Playing Pieces up the Neck with Left-Hand Techniques......Page 246
Part IV: Mastering Classical Guitar Repertoire......Page 253
Chapter 14: Playing Pieces by the Guitar Greats......Page 255
Getting Acquainted with the Master Guitar Composers......Page 256
Music by the Spanish Composers......Page 257
Music by the Italian Composers......Page 260
Playing Pieces by All the Master Guitar Composers......Page 263
An Overview of the Styles......Page 275
Renaissance Composers......Page 277
Baroque Composers......Page 282
Playing Pieces from the Renaissance and Baroque Eras......Page 286
Chapter 16: The Guitar Comes of Age: The Classical, Romantic, and Modern Eras......Page 293
The Classical Era: Mozart’s Muse......Page 294
Getting in Touch with Beethoven, the Classical Hopeless Romantic......Page 296
Letting the Inside Out with the Romantics: Brahms......Page 298
Dreaming with Debussy: Music Becomes Modern......Page 300
Playing Pieces from the Classical, Romantic, and Modern Eras......Page 303
Part V: The Part of Tens......Page 311
Andrés Segovia (1893– 1987)......Page 313
Oscar Ghiglia (b. 1938)......Page 314
Christopher Parkening (b. 1947)......Page 315
Eliot Fisk (b. 1954)......Page 316
Sharon Isbin (b. 1956)......Page 317
Go Retail if You Aren’t 100 Percent Sure What You Want......Page 319
Know Your Materials......Page 320
Evaluate the Construction and Workmanship......Page 321
Check the Intonation......Page 322
Determine a Guitar’s Growth Potential......Page 323
Part VI: Appendixes......Page 325
Keeping Your Guitar Comfortable......Page 327
Cleaning Your Guitar......Page 329
Changing the Strings on Your Classical Guitar......Page 330
Making Minor Repairs......Page 334
Relating the Text to the CD......Page 335
Listening to the CD......Page 336
Tracks on the CD......Page 337
Troubleshooting......Page 340
Index......Page 341

✦ Subjects

Music;Nonfiction