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Mention ‘Classical Guitar’ and most people conjure up images of dull, uninspiring pieces or demanding exercises, delivered by stuffy, snobbish teachers with a penchant for strictness and discipline.

However, this does the instrument a great injustice. The guitar is one of the oldest forms of musical instrument that we have, and as such there is a diverse and vibrant repertoire available for study.

Whether tackling a moody Baroque piece or something more modern with a Latin flavour you will never struggle to find an interesting and inspiring piece of music.

But why study Classical Guitar in the first place?

Well ignoring the fact that we have several centuries worth of music (right up to the modern day) to draw from, there are numerous very good reasons for studying classical guitar. Here are just a few:

• As a classical guitarist you will learn to play several ‘parts’ together, controlling the tone and dynamics of each part individually like a conductor guiding an orchestra. Imagine a rock band with a bass player, a rhythm guitarist and a vocalist singing a melody. The classical guitarist will combine all of these roles together in a single piece of music, much like a pianist might, with all the same subtle nuances and passion and emotion.

• Learning the classical guitar will develop your fingerstyle techniques. Playing the classical guitar requires the full use of the picking hand to pluck the strings with thumb and fingers. For many people, especially those only used to a plectrum, this is a totally new way of approaching the instrument.

• Learn to read music and understand rhythm better. Many guitarists will learn using tabs, and there is nothing wrong with this (in fact tabs have been around for several centuries too), but tabs alone can usually only give us part of the picture. Often we need to listen to a song or know the song in ‘our head’ to be able to play it correctly when following tabs. Learning to read standard music notation can give us the full picture of the music we are studying without the need for additional aids.

• You may begin to view the fretboard, and even the guitar as a whole, in a totally new way. Often the fretting hand positions are very different to those of rock guitarists. Sometimes these different ideas about how to approach the guitar can indirectly spill over and influence technique and style when playing rock guitar.

• Playing classical guitar is not just about playing classical music. There are a great many classical guitarists who have adapted modern rock and pop songs into a classical style. This gives the advantage of being able to play a song in its entirety, from start to finish, all the parts, on a single instrument. Have you ever been in a situation where someone asked you to play something for them and, because you don’t carry a full band around in your back pocket, all you are able to play is the guitar part to a song, maybe the solo section? The person may be impressed by your technique and skill, but they also may feel that they didn’t really hear a piece of music. Maybe they might not even recognise what you played as the song they hear in their head. A single part on its own is not a full piece of music, it’s just a small chunk of something greater.  However, learning the classical guitar allows you to play that whole piece of music and leave the listener with a true feeling that they just heard something truly recognisable and wonderful.

To enquire about learning classical guitar click here to send a message.

Below you will find some videos of various classical guitarists playing some of my favourite pieces.