Lesson: Slurs on Guitar by Matthew McAllister

Matthew Mcallister - Lesson, Slurs on Guitar

The amazing Scottish guitarist and teacher Matthew McAllister gives a lesson on ascending and descending slurs (hammer-ons and pull-offs) on guitar. This comes via the excellent Siccas Guitars and their constantly updated YouTube channel.  Bravo to both. 15 minute discussion and lesson including tips on technique, musical reasons for slurs, and more. Great video with split screen showing multiple angles of the fingers. Siccas really is leading the game as far as online videos go. If you’re looking for a technique book you can check out my review of classical guitar technique and exercise books.

If you are looking for technique books I’d recommend my 20 Favorite Exercises (PDF) (simple with videos), or via Amazon Tennant’s Pumping Nylon (simple but very memorable), Shearer’s Slur & Stretch (organized), or Izaonola’s Kitharologus (progressive but very intense).

Bradford Werner
Bradford Werner

Bradford Werner is a classical guitarist and music publisher from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He originally created this site for his students at the Victoria Conservatory of Music but now shares content worldwide. Curating guitar content helps students absorb the culture, musical ideas, and technique of the classical guitar. Bradford also has a YouTube channel with over 94,000 subscribers and 13 million views. He taught classical guitar at the Victoria Conservatory of Music for 16 years and freelanced in Greater Victoria for 20 years and now dedicates much of his time curating content online and helping connect the classical guitar community. See more at his personal website.

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