Here is a study of how to play the chord shapes and shifts, as well as tremolo technique for Tárrega's classical guitar masterpiece "Recuerdos de la Alhambra."]]>
From the Spring 2017 issue of Classical Guitar | BY RHAYN JOOSTE La Catedral by Augustín Barrios (1885–1944) is a programmatic piece that instantly captures the imagination of most who hear it, and as such sits at or near the pinnacle of pieces that classical guitarists yearn to play. Although it was originally composed in 1921, when the Paraguayan guitarist/composer fell ill while touring western Uruguay, the piece’s famous opening Prelude in B minor was added 18 years later, debuting in […]]]>
From the Fall 2017 issue of Classical Guitar | BY RHAYN JOOSTE Tango en Skaï by Roland Dyens (1955–2016), is a short, quite famous showpiece that will put your technique to the test. This lesson will cover how to approach this challenging work and also how to achieve more authenticity in your tango performances. Published in 1985 by Henry Lemoine, Tango en Skaï was one of Dyens’ concert improvisations until it was suggested he actually set it down. The title […]]]>
From the Summer 2016 issue of Classical Guitar magazine | BY RHAYN JOOSTE In this digital era of crafted, “perfect” performances, there is a constant motivation for guitarists to be musically and technically better. Striving to achieve ever-higher plateaus involves playing studies, lots of studies. Therefore, it is worth appraising your approach to learning studies. Are your studies played one after the other, in hopes that the mere process will help improve your technique? This article, focusing on the great Brazilian […]]]>
BY RHAYN JOOSTE | FROM THE FALL 2019 ISSUE OF CLASSICAL GUITAR Invention No. 1, by J.S. Bach (1685–1750), is a short keyboard piece which makes for an excellent entry into Bach’s music. This lesson will explore keeping time, playing in a duo, melodic variations, and ornamentation. OVERVIEW Invention No. 1 was probably first composed around 1722–1723 in Cöthen, Germany. The piece arose out of a very simple need: Bach was trying to teach his second child, Wilhelm Friedemann (1710–1784), […]]]>
BY RHAYN JOOSTE | FROM THE SUMMER 2019 ISSUE OF CLASSICAL GUITAR Etude No. 23, by Matteo Carcassi (1796–1853), is a terrific idiomatic guitar study. This lesson will explore its slurs, left-hand equal strength, and right-hand thumb control, with inspiration from a select—but by no means exhaustive—set of superlative 20th century guitar methods. As most guitarists tend to accumulate these books, this article will highlight how to gain more mileage out of your method collection. OVERVIEW Today there is a […]]]>
BY RHAYN JOOSTE | FROM THE SPRING 2019 ISSUE OF CLASSICAL GUITAR Prelude (better known as either Asturias or Leyenda) by Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909), is probably the best-known virtuosic guitar piece not originally written for guitar. This lesson will explore its expressive use of the Spanish Phrygian mode, selecting editions, right-hand speed, and left-hand legato. OVERVIEW Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual was a Catalan by birth, and a true Romantic with a penchant for self-promotion. By the time […]]]>
BY RHAYN JOOSTE | FROM THE FALL 2018 ISSUE OF CLASSICAL GUITAR Danza Caracteristica, by Leo Brouwer (b.1939), portrays a quintessential Afro-Cuban dance through the idiom of modern guitar. This lesson will explore coordination, artificial harmonics, and 20th century Cuban music. OVERVIEW Brouwer is a conductor, arranger, guitarist, and arguably the foremost modern Cuban composer. He composed his first pieces in 1954 at age 15. Since that point he has produced a steady flow of music that has included solo […]]]>
BY RHAYN JOOSTE | FROM THE SUMMER 2018 ISSUE OF CLASSICAL GUITAR Etude No. 23, taken from Op. 38 by Napoléon Coste (1805–1883), is a right-hand study of epic proportions. This lesson will explore its fine control, thumb dampening, and intervals. OVERVIEW Coste was ahead of his time and one of the few guitarists whose influence stretched from the Classical period into the Modern era. After arriving in Paris around 1830, at the apex of what’s sometimes called the Golden […]]]>
From the Winter 2017 issue of Classical Guitar | BY RHAYN JOOSTE Study V by Radamés Gnattali (1906–1988), taken from his 10 Studies for Guitar, is a concise etude that pays homage to Brazilian folk music. Celebrating the viola caipira—a northeastern Brazilian guitar—the piece includes modern techniques such as percussion and pizzicato. This lesson will explore Brazil’s African heritage while discussing rhythmic displacement, open-G tuning, and modern right-hand techniques. OVERVIEW Nineteen years separate Gnattali, a third-generation nationalistic composer, from Heitor […]]]>