Category Lessons

David Leisner: Conquering Performance Anxiety

Just reviewing some old articles and came across this one by David Leisner on his website titled: Six Golden Rules for Conquering Performance Anxiety. It is reprinted by permission of the American String Teachers Association, copyright, Spring 1995. This is an excerpt,…

Jérôme Ducharme Lesson on Tres Piezas by Rodrigo

Jérôme Ducharme via his YouTube channel gives tips and tricks on Rodrigo’s Tres Piezas. Ducharme is a GFA winner and teaches at McGill University up in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He discusses ideas related to technique, phrasing, as well as other…

Scott Morris on How to Prepare a Piece

Scott Morris gives a small performance and then talks about how to prepare a piece. Likely best for beginners but surely also a relevant reminder to intermediate and advanced players. This comes via Guitar Salon International on YouTube.  He talks…

Thomas Viloteau on Nails and Shaping

Via the online magazine Si Corde! Thomas Viloteau talks about filing and shaping the right hand finger nails. He shapes his nails in the opposite direction to mine. See my full article on fingernails: Fingernails for Classical Guitar: How I Shape My…

A Lesson on Vibrato by Gohar Vardanyan

Another great classical guitar lesson from Gohar Vardanyan via her sponsor String By Mail. Vibrato is not only a great way to increase your musical expression but I’ve found it to also be an excellent aid to relaxing the left hand for students…

Back Problems on Classical Guitar

Back problems are one of the most common concerns for guitarists aside from hand injuries. Issues range from a sore back due to posture, guitar position, chair height, to footstool use. In this article I will explore back problems in…

Basic Classical Guitar Technique Overview

Basic Classical Guitar Positions & TechniqueAn overview of the photos & diagrams from the siteYouTube Video Link Here is a basic overview of my classical guitar technique visual references all in one video. Hopefully this helps students gain a basic knowledge on how to…

A Lesson in Tone Production by Gohar Vardanyan

A nice lesson from Gohar Vardanyan and her sponsor String By Mail. Here she talks about nails and tone production on classical guitar. Gohar Vardanyan is an amazing guitarist with a clear sound and blazing technique. You can check out my detailed explanation…

Simple Major Scale Patterns for Students

Two free major scale patterns for classical guitar. These are great for students learning their first moveable patterns. Some beginner students just need to get playing their major scales and reading the notation just isn’t getting through. While sprucing up…

Jorge Caballero: A Lesson on Speed for Classical Guitar

An interesting video lesson by Jorge Caballero  about how to play fast and increase your speed on classical guitar. I like his note about the different types of speed. Also, it’s so important for students to know that speed does…

Left Hand Pressure Exercise by Gohar Vardanyan

This lesson brought to you by Strings By Mail and Gohar Vardanyan is great, I wish more companies or artists would give online lessons. This one is regarding Left Hand Pressure on classical guitar. You might also want to check out…