Classical Guitar Online Lessons Academy

hi,
I have been playing guitar a couple years now, and I mostly play rock & metal stuff. I’m getting bored with it so i thought learning classical guitar might be the way forward.

does anyone have any suggestions of a good book for me to get?
(for an idea of my current skill level, i can play most metallica songs, a little bit of basic yngwie malmsteen stuff, etc. so im not a beginner or an expert).

thanks.

I was just googling and came across this product hope it helps you

Classical Guitar For Dummies
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 book!
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Classical+Guitar+For+Dummies+[Paperback]&x=0&y=0&tag=klnprk-20

Also check out at Ebay
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574865779&toolid=10001&campid=5336440665&customid=klnprk&mpre=http%3a%2f%2fwww.ebay.com%2f

I just started learning classical guitar on nylon string guitar, and i was wondering how versatile the playing styles and actual guitar are.

It’s not versatile at all. Unless you’re interested in playing classical music it’s the wrong guitar for you. A steel string flattop acoustic guitar is a much. much better choice. The classical guitar can only be played fingerstyle while a steel string flattop acoustic guitar can be played either fingerstyle or with a pick (or both, actually, if you’re good enough).

Many beginners mistakenly start with a classical because someone told them it’d be easier on their fingers and while that’s mostly true it’s still not enough reason to buy the wrong guitar.

The other two responders are telling you what you want to hear but I’m telling you the truth. It’s okay if you don’t believe me because you’ll find out for yourself.

At the moment im learning classical guitar, but i’m having second thoughts, im interested in soloing and the funk/jazz side of guitar, but i’ve been told that Classical is probably the best style to learn, but you have to stick at this, is this true?

Classical guitarists solo, so I presume you mean improvise or write your own solos.

There is no "best" style, it’s all personal preference. Anyone who claims a certain style is superior to another has deep-rooted insecurity problems. You will find masterpieces and virtuoso players in ALL styles.

The problem with classical guitar is that many people who teach classical guitar or write books have very strong opinions about what is "proper" and "correct" and what is not. For example, some teachers think TAB is evil because you’re looking at numbers instead of notes. Well, if you know what those numbers mean, then they read like notes, so what’s the difference? You certainly can’t put the notation for hammer-on, pull.off, string mute or pick scrape using staff unless you want a messy looking page.

What the classical guitarists seem to overlook is that full staff (bass clef and treble clef) was written for piano. There’s one note on the piano for each note on the staff, Staff also works for most instruments like clarinet or harp because on those instruments, you can’t play the same note in more than one position. But on guitar, that one note can be played in many different positions. If you read TAB, someone has already figured out the best position, so TAB for guitar is like staff for piano. Some classical guitarists with many years experience can play directly from staff because they have their "favorite" finger positions for certain notes. But I think TAB is better for the rest of us because if someone has already messed around and come up with logical fingering, why spend your time reinventing the wheel?

So, I found classical guitar rather cumbersome because I spent more time reading staff and then working out the fingering on guitar than I did playing. Because I played classical piano, I almost gave up playing classical guitar because I got so fed up mapping the fingering for guitar. That’s probably what led to metal guitar, however, because metal is based in classical music, unlike rock, which is based in blues.

But regardless of what style music you prefer – jazz, metal, classical, blues, funk – there is one book which slays them all and if your guitar teacher hsn’t recommended it, then get him/her a copy too. The book is FRETBOARD LOGIC SE. It will help you understand the guitar from a non-biased perspective, show you what you REALLY need to know to play well, and then when you want to solo, you have acquired the knowledge and skill to do so.

I’ve read just about every guitar book on the planet and FRETBOARD LOGIC SE is the only one I keep in my studio.

I’m learning Classical guitar, and basically wondering if this will help me with my song writing and Rock/Indie

I like to play music such as Radiohead and Blur, if this helps at all

Cheers x

Learning classical guitar is helpful for rock guitar in many ways, especially since you want to write songs. The theory you learn for classical guitar is directly applicable to all other styles, because you can’t write without using notation.

Most of the greatest rock guitarists have some if not lots of classical guitar in their background, and some, though they came to classical guitar later than their rock careers, found knowledge of it invaluable. Eric Clapton, for instance, played with a pick until he learned classical, and when he discovered the power and control in finger+nail picking, abandoned the pick altogether.

The big things in rock music right now are the European ‘gargle’ metal bands, who are so honest about their classical training that they write full orchestral and choir parts for their rock music, mixing diva-opera vocals with gargle rap.

The list of ‘classic’ rock guitarists who have had classical training is too long to even begin.

The things that make classical so good as fundamental background for rock are:
learning how to practice
Analysis
theory
scales, modes and harmony
musical forms (not everything is verse-chorus-verse-chorus-chorus.)
total knowledge of all 24 frets, harmonics, articulations and modifications (bending, pushing, pulling, playing in tune, etc etc etc)

What is probably least useful for rock, from classical, is partial chord forms. Rock players tend to learn whole chord forms, then finger the whole chord and pick the notes they want to use. Classical guitarists tend to finger only the part of the chords they are going to play.

On the other hand, classical guitarists learn, more than non-classically-trained rockers, how to make every note sound like it belongs next to the previous and following note, regardless of string crossings, fret position, or string tone.

I’ve been taking electric guitar for a couple of years , and I am planning to learn classical guitar .
Would it be a waste of money and time if I take both lessons ?
I’m not losing interest in electric guitar ( instead I LOVE IT ) , but I am also interested in the classical guitar .

try http://guitarmanual.typepad.com and get the ebook there also are videos on there as lessons, the ebook is 93 pages and 8 chapters covering everything a beginner would need, open chords, barre chords, power chords, chord inversions, major minor and pentatonic scales, how to stay in key, modes, techniques, music theory specific to guitar, and much more, good luck

I am a beginner guitarist and I am interested in learning Classical guitar

What are the right steps to learn?
and any advice on learning Classical guitar?

(I have no money for lessons)

I would be interested in knowing just WHAT classical guitar you have. I have an Alvarez Classical Guitar and there is a big difference between playing it and playing my Martin Custom D.

You will need to build callouses and that is hard to do with nylon strings. Even though I play my Classical Guitar an hour a day, I still play one of the acoustics for 15 minutes to 1/2 an hour a day just to keep the callouses on my fingers.

If you have no money for lessons, I don’t know what to tell you. Having a teacher is very important, especially at your stage because that is when you will build up a ton of bad habits that you will have to unlearn later.

At the very least LEARN TO READ MUSIC… the really interesting stuff is not available for free transcribed into TABS… so you really need to be able to read music.

Other than your guitar, you need a guitar tuner AND a Metronome because playing classical guitar is more demanding than strumming on a cheap acoustic.

As I said earlier… If you can’t afford a teacher… then I don’t know what else to do for you, because you are already doomed to failure.

I play the drums, and over the past year or so, I’ve really come to love the bass. Especalu after listening to Muse songs nonstop. I want to learn the bass, but all I have is a classical guitar lying around at home. I don’t know anything about guitars and notes and chords. But I do know how to play the drums and read drum notes very well. Can I learn the bass by using a classical guitar, and is it possible to learn online?

Bass is absolutely nothing like guitar, and very little will transition from guitar to bass. While playing the guitar will help you figure the notes on the fret board, there is nothing else that transitions from it to bass.
A typical bass has four strings, tuned EADG. These strings are much thicker than guitar strings, and are much lower. The neck on a bass has a much larger scale length, having up to twenty four frets as opposed to the classical guitars around 18 or 19, and the frets on the bass are also larger, and more spaced out. Basses also usually play just one or two strings at a time, making you a lot more mobile when playing, whether than simple chord shapes on a classical guitar.

I was wondering if classical guitar is good to learn and if it was not a waste of time to find a teacher to learn classical What are the benefits of classical guitar. Is there another style worth learning. Classical guitar has some nice pieaces, but what are its benefits?

Well, technically, a classical guitar is actually a type of acoustic guitar, and any kind of music can be played on it–though I don’t think a hard-driving rock song meant for a loudly amplified electric guitar would sound quite right. Classical guitars usually have nylon strings and a slightly wider neck than other acousic guitars. The wider neck makes it easier for more intricate finger positions, especially if you were playing classical or advanced solo pieces. Likewise you could play classical music on another type of acoustic guitar–or even electric guitars (though of course the effect would be changed due to the tone of the instrument).

Now what would be the benefit of taking guitar lessons and starting with classical or traditional pieces?
For one thing, you actually learn to read sheet music. Not everything is available in tabs, and tabs don’t indicate the how long a note or chord is to be played. If you were trying to actually play something you had never heard before, it might be a lot of guesswork involved concerning the correct rhythm. Standard notation also gives other helpful information on how the music is to be played.

In addition to solo pieces, you can also use your classical guitar to accompany singing or other instrumentalists using basic chords.

I have an classic guitar and I am a beginner, I would like to teach myself how to play it, as I can’t afford to spend money. I don’t know any strumming techniques and I’ve forgotten the chords. I would prefer to learn chords rather than tabs. Any help anyone could give me would be great!
Thanks!

I’d personally recommend justinguitar.com.

The site offers over 500 well-structured and free lessons from one of the most influential guitar teachers in the online world.

These set of lessons could be extremely helpful for learning the basics, strumming techniques and chords:

http://justinguitar.com/en/BC-000-BeginnersCourse.php
http://justinguitar.com/en/CH-000-Chords.php
http://justinguitar.com/en/RH-000-RhythmGuitar.php

I am somewhat of a beginner with classical guitar. What songs would be good to learn? Also, can I get sheet music for it too (not tabs)?

I’ve been playing guitar for 8 years and I know how to use my fingers but classical hasn’t been my style so I want something that’s maybe on the intermediate level.

Try Bach’s Bouree in Em — it’s a famous Classical piece originally composed for lute; here is a link to some sheet music: http://www.sandiegoguitarlessons.com/sheet/bouree_in_e_minor.pdf

You could also give "Asturias" a try — it’s a traditional piece and is quite the bit tougher. I don’t know of any sheet music, but it shouldn’t be too hard to find, it’s a rather famous piece.

You can learn but the technique and feeling is not the same as nylon string classical guitar. Far from it. While the fingering and chording is the same, classical guitar playing is better played on a nylong string, not a steel-string.