Beyond the Basics: Repertoire Recommendations for Late Beginners and Young Classical Guitarists
As children move beyond the initial stages of learning the classical guitar, the world of repertoire opens up in beautiful and inspiring ways. At this transitional phase—when students are comfortable with foundational techniques and literacy—it’s crucial to provide them with material that both challenges and delights.
Over the years, I’ve found a handful of works that resonate especially well with late beginners and young players. These pieces not only support technical development but also deepen musical understanding and ignite artistic curiosity.
A few of my go-to resources include
Shawn Bell’s engaging pieces and literacy supplements, which help reinforce reading skills in a musically satisfying context.
Nikita Koshkin’s Etudes, which offer a special combination of imagination, texture, and humor—perfect for students ready to explore more expressive possibilities.
Tilman Hoppstock’s “Duets for Children and Teachers,” which are not only musically rich but also foster ensemble awareness and mentorship.
Carlo Domeniconi’s Preludes and Klangbild are shorter works that combine evocative soundscapes with accessible technique.
Simone Ianarelli’s Etudes, which are approachable yet musically rewarding, often introduce more contemporary harmonic language.
Leo Brouwer’s Etudes Simples and Nuevos Estudios Sencillos achieve a near-perfect balance between musical depth and technical growth.
The Royal Conservatory Series has carefully curated music that is organized by musical period and meticulously fingered.
And of course, Fernando Sor’s Etudes, timeless gems, remain some of the best pedagogical pieces in the classical guitar canon.
All of these resources are wonderful—but only after the student has developed strong foundational skills.
That’s where structured early pedagogy is so essential.
Over the last two and a half decades, I’ve dedicated myself to developing KinderGuitar, a child-centered curriculum specifically designed for young guitarists. It’s built around intentional scaffolding, sequencing, and musical engagement to set students up for long-term success—not just technically, but musically and emotionally.
Once students complete the core levels of the KinderGuitar curriculum, they’re remarkably well-equipped to approach the repertoire listed above with confidence. Their literacy is solid and their fingers are trained, but more importantly, they possess the building blocks for being musicians.
If you’re an educator who loves teaching children and is passionate about shaping the next generation of musicians, feel free to reach out to learn more about KinderGuitar program. KinderGuitar is slowly growing a small network of licensed teachers who believe that early guitar education can be as structured and joyful as early piano or violin instruction.
Hailing from Finland, guitarist virtuoso Patrik Kleemola recently sat down with Six String Journal to share some insight about his artistry and his journey with music. An active performer, educator, and chamber musician, Patrik is immersed in many projects, from recording whole cycles of etudes to concerts dedicated to one composer. His wonderful YouTube channel highlights his affinity for 19th century music; all performed on exquisite period instruments. His recordings of guitar repertoire across the centuries are wide-ranging though and are just as magically musical and engaging. Hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did.
PERSONAL When did you start playing and why? Or, what drew you to the guitar initially? There was my father’s semi-acoustic guitar in our house while I was growing up and before I entered for the guitar lessons in the city of Valkeakoski’s Music institute I knew some basic chords and how to play the main riff of Roy Orbison’s Pretty Woman. My grandfather from my mother’s side was in his youth an accordion player playing gigs professionally around the time of the 2nd World War and the war between Finland and Russia. Otherwise I’m the first professional musician in the family.
What repertoire do you enjoy playing the most? To me probably the best thing in being “a classical musician” is the great variety of styles throughout the centuries and having a chance to dig in deep to the different styles, musical langueages and the culture. Whether it’s the French baroque style of Lully and De Visée, playing early romantic guitar repertoire by Sor and his contemporaries with an original Lacote guitar, playing Tárrega transcriptions of the great romantic piano literature or commissioning myself new pieces from contemporary composers, the great variety is the most rewarding thing.
What guitar or guitars do you perform on? Strings? This past summer was a special one as I performed many concerts on an original René Lacote (1839) and Jose Luis Romanillos (1979). With Lacote I have done already some video recordings on my YouTube channel (more coming soon!) and I’m looking forward to do new recordings with Romanillos in 2025 and share those with followers of my channel. I also have played for ten years with a Rinaldo Vacca guitar made for me in 2014 and with this I have done many recordings and concerts. I have played a long time with Savarez strings and also have had a good experiences with Thomastik trebles which I use regularly. When playing with Lacote one has to be well aware of the maximum tensions of different strings in order to use them safely on the guitar. I usually use Ambra 800 by Aquila strings on my Lacote. I also try to experiment with gut strings but it’s challenging when playing with nails. However in the early 19th century many played with nails including Aguado, so it should be possible so I keep searching for the best gut strings that work with nail-playing.
Which guitarists/musicians have had the most influence on you? In my early teens the Julian Bream’s Guitarra video series was a fascinating documentary on the history of the Spanish guitar with passionate and colourful performances by Bream through-out the series. Later on the many great pianists such as Arrau, Cherkassky and Lupu interpretating the incredible repertoire written for piano have been an inspiration. Although now as I have been more involved in the research of the early 19th century guitar repertoire, its technique and general approach, I have realized that the improvisational approach and ornamenting the repeats, for example, have been a vital part of the performance practice of the musicians at the time. In general these great pianists, as prime examples of the great musicians of the last century, didn’t dare to touch the “sacred texts” of the great composers. However this wasn’t the way Liszt, Hummel or Sor approached their performances in the early 19th century. I try get closer to this early 19th century tradition although I feel I’m still in the beginning of the journey.
What recording(s) are you most proud of? There are two CD solo recital recordings that I did on the works that I commissioned from the Finnish and Italian composers Perchitarrasola (2012) and Through Green Glass (2015) by Pilfink Records and I’ve also been on other commercial recordings as well. The change in record business industry during the last decade have made me, and many other musicians, to think the reason to put out new commercial recordings. In the meanwhile I’ve released many video recordings on my
YouTube channel including series of pedagogic guitar literature including the complete set of Estudios sencillos by Leo Brouwer, 25 Studies by Carcassi, Sor studies op. 6 and op.35 and selection of 12 Studies by Aguado. During the COVID-19 period I did 18 works by Tárrega, a Baroque selection and rarely performed Sor masterpieces played on Louis Panormo (1838) guitar. I’ve done recordings of Sor duos with my former teacher Timo Korhonen. As an artist I think it’s important to document one’s activity (commercially or not) and the YouTube channel has now over 7000 subscribers so it has gained some following.
What are some up-and-coming projects (recordings, concerts) you are excited about? I’m going to do more Sor recordings on my René Lacote (1839) and later on I will include also other composers from the period. Looking forward to record some of the great 20th century repertoire on the Romanillos in 2025. All these I will be released on the YouTube channel, free for everyone.
The past Autumn has been very hectic with concerts of different programs including solo recitals, chamber music with strings, Concerto by the great Finnish composer Mikko Heiniö for guitar and choir and premieres of contemporary music. Besides playing a lot in Finland I’ll be playing in Italy in December and returning there in March to play in Rome which follows concerts in Germany and Japan. There will be other concerts abroad as well to be confirmed so 2025 will be internationally quite active year for me.
I’m also going to start performing “Soirée Sor” concerts with my Lacote in 2025. Focusing a whole concert to just one composer will be an interesting challenge for me. I’ll be playing works by Fernando Sor from the early Spanish period to the last ones written in Paris. I’ll also talk about the incredible life of this fascinating composer which indeed had it’s dramatic turns, more than once.
TECHNIQUE AND PERFORMANCE How much do you practice? And do you structure your practice in any particular way? Some hours everyday, more or less. At the moment I’ve one year scholarship from the Finnish State so I have one year off from the Turku Conservatory where I work as a lecturer. This means I don’t have to teach so much, so I’ve even more time to expand my repertoire, be active on chamber music and playing concerts. I also try to give some time in my practice sessions to focus on refining the technique. There’s almost always some work I’ve commissioned from a composer so I’m active working with them which is very inspiring, trying to find out technical and musical solutions to textures that are not written by a guitarist.
Photo credit:Tuomas Kourula
Do you deliberately memorize music or have a technique that helps assimilate music into memory? I still strive to play pieces by heart when playing solo recitals although expecially with contemporary works the score is sometimes needed. I don’t trust just to the muscle memory when memorizings works. If I can play the whole piece in my head without the instrument (concentrating mostly to the left hand movements), I’m confident playing the work in public.
Have you published any editions or do you plan to publish your own editions in the future? I’ve been very involved in the prepration of the published works that I’ve commissioned from the composers from the pedagogic literature to solo works, chamber music and concertos. If it’s pedagogic literature (like Etudes by Markku Klami, see the YouTube playlist) then it’s good to have more fingerings in the score. If it’s very demanding contemporary work, then it’s probably approached only by professionals and these cases the less is more when it comes to fingerings.
I have done arrangements of works by Tsaikovski, Sibelius, Satie, Bach and others. I’m thinking to publish these, hopefully soon, with video performances on my YouTube channel.
Do you have a favorite drill or set of exercises you use to warm up? I have certain patterns for both hands taking from here and there that I do if I have just 20 minutes for warming up. If I have more time I might take some of the many technique books I have and do something from there just for the fun of it.
Do you have any pre-concert rituals? The rest is very important so I try have good amount of sleep the night before. I like to have a proper warm-up session on the concert day. I might go through the program during the day, but very lightly and not necessarely all of it. Usually I try to work quite hard the day(s) before and then just let it happen on the concert day.
ADVICE TO YOUNGER PLAYERS What single most important piece of advice about practicing would you offer to younger aspiring players? Playing guitar is work of a long-distance runner. The talent is not enough and it’s also a talent to be able to work consistently and regularly.
What repertoire do you consider essential for young/conservatory students to assimilate? I think in the early 19th century repertoire there are the main technical things that one needs in playing the guitar. However from my experience as a teacher it’s not always the most inspiring material for the young students. Also reading music on the guitar is not the easiest task for young students and often this is also slowing things down. So good mixture of interesting repertoire from the classical tradition and new pedagogic literature that perhaps reflects more closely the music kids hear in their everyday life.
Are you accessible as a teacher? I teach as a lecturer in the Turku Conservatory and I’m available also for lessons online, although the latter I have to do according to my schedules which varies quite a bit.
Photo credit:Tuomas Kourula
TANGENT What is the last book that you read? Favorite author/s? I just ended Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. As I’ve been recently doing a research on Sor and the early 19th century guitar, it has inspired me to read a few books by the early 19th century French authors such as Balzac and Flaubert. Often music that I’m working open doors to choose the literature. Finnish composer Harri Suilamo wrote for me recently two guitar works inspired by the Austrian author Thomas Bernhard and I ended up reading a few books of this fascinating contemporary author.
What is your favorite way to spend time when not practicing? Spending time with my family including our six-year-old son who is such an light of the day.
My goal this morning was to warm up on a particular Fernando Sor study that I love before proceeding to the Gran Solo, then play through some Bach that I’m working on very slowly, and then review a few other short works. Two hours later, I found that I had only been reading Sor studies and a few of his themes and variations. It was awesome. There is something so aurally purifying about only playing Sor for an extended time. Maybe pianists feel the same way about Mozart. Afterwards, Barrios sounds so rich; Bach sounds like a new language; de Falla is extravagant. Ears always open up in unusual ways.
I thought about this while I took a tea break and thought it was worth writing a bit about. Here are some reasons why Sor is so awesome.
Whether you are a beginner, at the intermediate stage, advanced, or even professional, Sor studies are a great way to build reading and interpretive skills while enjoying finely crafted music for the classical guitar. Once your skills are to the point where you can almost play through any Sor study really well the first time, you notice how they are perfect for what they are.
Sor studies shine in their harmonic and structural simplicity. This is a strength (and just how it was in the classical period). Because of this, it allows students to focus on the technique without too much happening UNTIL Sor provides a special musical moment that is hard to not notice. This focuses the student on doing something beautiful and musical while approaching and departing from the special moment. I often think Sor studies are a bit like wandering on a pretty forest path where you are aware that there may be something special up ahead, and if you’re fortunate, you will spot a beautiful flower, see an owl, or find a huckleberry shrub. Those are the moments to enjoy!
Because there are few unnatural hand positions in his studies, when there are, a student is confronted with one problem to overcome and solve. Once this is done, it carries over for many other musical situations in other studies and pieces. It is very clear progress.
Sor studies pretty much cover all the practical technique requirements to push you into intermediate territory as a student. Voice balancing, shifting, thirds, sixths, scales, Alberti bass, arpeggios, slurs, ornaments, tension, and harmonic resolution, all in the context of a musical situation.
Sor studies force you to work on your sound. If you have a poor tone, your Sor will sound horrible. Cultivating a rich, clear, and sparkly tone will make Sor sound profoundly beautiful.
Here is a link to Mel Bay’s Complete Sor Studies (Ed. Grimes). It’s a nice edition, but I wish it were spiral bound. Here is a link to an edition that I did of a few favorites.
Do you have favorite Sor Etudes? I’ll try and post a few that I really like soon. Stay tuned (ha, ha!).
Every now and then, I find myself in a sight-reading mood and will pull out the complete Etudes by Fernando Sor. I could spend hours enjoying their perfect structure, their ingenuity, or the wonderful musical moments where Sor charms you by introducing a key or harmony you did not expect. Like a calm path in the forest, there may be something out of the ordinary to draw our attention but just enjoying the path in and of itself is reason enough to be there.
Though many of you are probably familiar with the 20 Etudes by Sor that were curated and published by Andrés Segovia, there are many, many more etudes that he wrote that range from simple to profound. Covering so many musical and technical concepts, they are valuable pieces to those fortunate and patient enough to study them. One great joy as a teacher is to introduce one of Sor’s etudes to a student and have them react with excitement or anticipation that they’ll someday extract their beauty from the guitar.
Anyway, enough rambling!
I decided to start pressing the record button while sight reading to eventually compile a series of videos so that younger and less experienced players get to hear some of the etudes I find particularly nice. I’ll include pdfs below and maybe I’ll even make a video or two demonstrating how I like to play them to develop technical flexibility.
I hope these videos help you discover some new nice little gems.
The great Italian guitarist Carlo Marchione likely needs no introduction to a classical guitar blog. A consummate virtuoso, teacher, and arranger, Carlo has had a life full of music and has graced many, many stages across the world. Carlo recently took some time from his busy schedule to share some of his insights and philosophies with Six String Journal readers. Enjoy!
Personal
When did you start playing and why? Or, what drew you to the guitar initially?
I started at the age of 10 to regularly study guitar. In my family, everybody played at least one instrument so it was quite natural for me to come close to music. But it wasn’t until I made a trip to Spain to visit my brother (who was living there by then) that I chose to play guitar.
What repertoire do you enjoy playing the most?
Uff, that’s like asking which food you prefer…I have not really preferences, my programs follow my mood of the moment, my emotional needs, so to speak.
What guitar or guitars do you perform on? Strings?
I play by now a guitar constructed by Daniele Chiesa, with Savarez string on it.
Which guitarists/musicians have had the most influence on you?
Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Mozart.
What recording/s are you most proud of?
I don’t really want to look snooty, but I love all my recordings. Each of them has its strong and weak points and has been done with profound enthusiasm and conviction.
Are there any recordings that you consider have the finest recorded sound for guitar?
The Tilman Hoppstock ones.
What are some up and coming projects (recordings, concerts) you are excited about?
I am excited about any concert or project, if I wasn’t I would not go into it. In the next weeks I will be performing in Berlin and Moscow. As regards to my projects, besides my teaching activity in 4 different Academies in Europe (Lille, Maastricht, Palma de Mallorca and Rome), I am very much into my online activities such as teaching, lecturing and publishing my transcriptions at my Online Shop (www.carlo-marchione.com/shop). It is a great thing which is going fantastically well.
Technique and Performance
How much do you practice? And, do you structure your practice in any particular way?
Due to my super narrow schedule I try to optimize the few time I have at disposal for practicing. I can stay 2 days without touching the guitar and 2 days practicing 8h, it is difficult to make a monthly average from it. To me, it works very well to memorize a piece and understand its structure and then to work on the problematic passages.
Are there aspects of guitar that you struggle with or that you find you are still working on?
Well, all of them, one doesn’t really finish to learn things! Due to the particular shape of my pinkie finger of the left hand, I have always to be very creative in finding alternative fingerings, so, as you see, that’s something I will work lifelong on…
Do you deliberately memorize music or have a technique that helps assimilate music into memory?
As a kid I was always encouraged to read prima vista and learn fast the new pieces. On the top of this, I had a fantastic harmony and composition teacher. This makes possible that I can learn by heart a piece very quickly. For some kind of musical styles (like baroque or classic) I already know it by heart after reading the piece from beginning to end. Natural predisposition, solid knowledge of the music and prima vista reading, that’s the best combination for memorizing a piece fast and good.
Have you published any editions or do you plan to publish your own editions in the future?
Some of my transcriptions had been already published in the past (Scarlatti’s Sonatas K.208 & 380, for instance) but, as I mentioned before, in the last years I have been working very much with my online activities and among them there is my own online shop where I publish my guitar solo/ensembles transcriptions. This was possible only thanks to my fiancée, Merce Font, who constantly develops and runs my website. Among many other things, one can find transcriptions, from Schumann to Telemann’s solo flute Fantasias, from Wagner to Haydn or Mozart, Albéniz or Paradisi. We are enormously happy and proud of it!
Do you have a favorite drill you use to warm up?
To me it helps very much a short program with pieces containing tremolo on one or different strings.
Do you have any pre-concert rituals?
Actually, I don’t, but I could never go to play without getting the last “break a leg!” from my sweetheart… : )
Do you do anything to your nails or shape them in a particular way?
Well, I think everybody does it according to the type of nail she/he has. I know just by looking at my nails which must be the length and the basic shape, after this, I polish them until I get a clean finish to have a smooth sound.
Advice to Younger Players
What single most important piece of advice about practicing would you offer to younger players?
My advice would be: get to know as much music as you can, but not only in terms of “I heard the 6th Symphony by Mahler”. Always keep deepening your own knowledge of the harmony and musical form, google and find the score and listen the music with the score, try to make your own analysis, ‘feel’ the emotional-philosophical message of the composer (maybe starting with something easier : ) ). Piano Sonatas by Mozart are true gold for this. It is needless to say that for this generation it is a piece of cake to find scores and recordings on the web. Just catch the chance.
As a second advice, I would like to give to them this: if you want to participate in competitions it is really fine, they are a great spotlight for your carrier, but don’t let them limit you as a musician. I see too often young terrific players traveling with the same 3-4 pieces already years and years. Enlarge your repertoire as much as you can.
What repertoire do you consider essential for young/conservatory students to assimilate?
Among really wonderful things, I still consider the whole studies by Sor like the real “must” of a guitar player.
Why?
Because they teach the student from the very simple ones to deal with articulation, polyphony, phrasing and structure. In particular, they are the best exercises one can do for the left hand. Besides that, they contain true jewels of our repertoire (hence, they are good also as concert pieces).
Recordings that every young guitarist should be familiar with and why?
Complete Cantatas by Bach with Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Bach. I think it is needless to say why. : )
Tangent
What is the last book that you read? Favorite author/s?
Gardiner’s Music in the Castle of Heaven and Clara Janes’ La vida callada de Federico Mompou.
Do you try to stay healthy? Exercise? Follow a particular diet? Have a favorite pre-concert food?
I do really try, but my schedule of life makes it very challenging to keep a structure on that. As a pre-concert food I love pasta or potatoes, they give to the body lots of energy and are not heavy to digest.
Do you meditate in any way?
Actually, I don’t…my best friends in Italy are both top yoga teachers and I meditated with them many times, so according to them, I am really good at it even though it’s not a regular practice of mine. I feel I need a different kind of action. Of course, from time to time I take a time out from my crazy schedule, but I guess you refer to another kind of meditation. I can say that making music is my way of meditating.
What is your favorite way to spend time when not practicing?
I love to stay with my fiancée (she is also musician) and travel together. This summer we have been in Salzburg during the Festspiele. It was amazing! But if you refer to the free time during the day, well, in the free time I listen to music, read music, transcribe music…I do really think I am 24-7 for the music there. Ah, I like to watch series on Netflix, when the time allows it to me (really seldom).
Any things else you’d like to add?
Yes, thank you very much for asking to me to participate to your blog! : )
I’ve just finished editing three of my favorite Fernando Sor arpeggio etudes. It is available through paddle.com. For more SSJ publications check out the publications page.
I have to admit that I may be enjoying Fernando Sor’s etudes too much these days. Many of them conjure a nice summer walk in the countryside with the occasional mildly adventurous detour. A set of favorites that I’m editing will be published soon but I thought I’d post a lesson on one of them and how I have been using it to warm up and build technique. His etudes are ideal in many ways to integrate musicality into technique because listening to the subtleties and manipulations of Sor’s familiar but often charming harmonies is so pleasurable.
Once you master his etudes, there are many possibilities for expansion but I’m going to use Etude Op. 35, Nº9 to illustrate how I like to use it to develop right hand technique. Here is a read-through for those of you not familiar with it.
First Step
Try to build flexibility into your right hand by playing the etude as written with the following right hand patterns:
piai, pimi, piâi
Variation 1
Once these are reliably developed, you’re ready for some fun. Use the following pattern to help develop the weaker alternation with these patterns:
piaiaiai, piamamam, pimimimi
Variation 3
Or, another option could be to explore moving out of a right hand arpeggio position into a more right hand scalar position with:
piaiamim, piaiaimi, piaiamia, piaiamam
Variation 4
Or, if you are feeling musically creative, explore adding a note to complement the melody within the key:
Variation 5
Change it up a bit to get in your triplets:
Or, if you prefer:
pimamiamiami, piamipamiami, etc…
There are so many places to go with these little gems. Fun!
Dutch guitarist extraordinaire, Enno Voorhorst, took some time out from his busy schedule to give Six String Journal readers insight into his personal and musical life. From eating bananas before a performance, reading García Márquez, to his upcoming project of recording late Roland Dyens’s Concerto Metis, hope you enjoy this as much as I did!
Personal
When did you start playing and why? Or, what drew you to the guitar initially?
I was thirteen when I got my first guitar and was immediately sold. I had played the violin for 6 years already, so the development went very quickly because of this advantage and that was of course very stimulating.
What repertoire do you enjoy playing the most?
My repertoire preference is music with nice melody lines. I see the guitar more as a melodic instrument than as a chordal instrument. A piano or harp can’t influence the sound after playing, nor do they have much the sound variety that a guitar has! This is the same like all other melodic instruments.
What guitar or guitars do you perform on? Strings?
I play a Simplicio model moderno copy from 1930. It is made by Federico Sheppard and it has a double soundhole on both sides of the fingerboard. I like the sound possibilities and the clear full bass. For that I use Savarez Corum hard tension.
Which guitarists/musicians have had the most influence on you?
Of course my first teacher influenced me the most, Hein Sanderink. He came from the school of Ida Presti and was very concerned with a good sound but he is also a fantastic and clever musician. After that, I studied with Huber Kappel and had masterclasses with David Russell who both influenced me a lot. Kappel because of his expression and Russell because of his mastery and open mindset.
What recording/s are you most proud of?
Every next recording I think is the better. My last recording is the most mature; Bach, Pärt, Desprez. I think here I played the most freely and expressively with a program that suits me well.
Are there any recordings that you consider have the finest recorded sound for guitar?
This is hard to say. As a musician I listen to the music first and when I like it I also like the recording but I know that I’m probably not objective…
What are some up and coming projects you are excited about?
In September 22-25 2017 there is a Camino Artes festival where I will perform a new duo with Laura Young. David Russell will also be there to celebrate the 500th concert in this series of concerts for the pilgrims walking towards Santiago the Compostela in beautiful old churches. After that I will record a CD of Roland Dyens’s music consisting of many solo pieces and his Concerto Metis with one of the best string orchestras of the Netherlands. I’m really looking forward to this as a tribute to this great person, friend, and unique composer.
Technique and Performance
How much do you practice? And, do you structure your practice in any particular way?
Yes I practise a lot, still 4 hours a day or more. It depends on the concerts I have to play and the programs I have to prepare. I also play in two duos what I like very much for the repertoire; one with oboe and one with the viola. Great combinations!
Are there aspects of guitar that you struggle with or that you find you are still working on?
Technically, many problems have been solved over the years, but relaxation always remains an important issue. Of course relaxation of the whole body, but also of the fingers that have nothing to do. This gives the possibility to prepare the next finger movement. A well prepared finger is half the work!
Do you deliberately memorize music or have a technique that helps assimilate music into memory?
I like to memorize the music because it settles better in my brain that way. A memory is actually an association you make with notes, rhythm, harmony, movement, etc. The more associations you make the better it is, so a good understanding of solfège and harmony is important. Playing a piece from memory should be an automatism!
Have you published any editions or do you plan to publish your own editions in the future?
There have been some publications. At the moment I do not take the effort to have more transcriptions published because of a lack of time. But I’m happy to share them with anybody who asks me by mail. The guitar world is small and I like this feeling of connection with each other.
Do you have a favorite drill you use to warm up?
My warming up consists of some scales, slurs, and arpeggios. Furthermore, playing tremolo pieces relaxes and balances my right hand and helps the left hand find the strings more precisely.
Do you have any pre-concert rituals?
I eat one or two bananas.
Advice to Younger Players
What single most important piece of advice about practicing would you offer to younger players?
Never lose the joy in playing, so play the pieces you love. When you don’t feel like practicing something, first do what you desire to do. The guitar is your friend and not the opponent.
What repertoire do you consider essential for young/conservatory students to assimilate? Why?
The studies by Fernando Sor are definitely very important because of the quality of counterpoint, structure, and refined harmony and melody.
Recordings that every young guitarist should be familiar with?
Listen as much as possible the music you love over and over again. All music, not only guitar! I listened to Glenn Gould playing Bach very often or the duo Presti/Lagoya.
Tangent
What is the last book that you read? Favorite author/s?
The last book I read was Ida Presti Her Art about the life of Ida Presti. It is written by her daughter Elisabeth. It is very interesting to read how the guitar developed after the second World War. One of my favorite authors is Gabriel García Márquez with his magic realism…
Do you try to stay healthy? Exercise? Follow a particular diet?
I like to go running with my dog in the woods behind my house and that gives me energy. I think that good health is important to play an instrument on a high level, not only physically but also mentally.
“Denis Azabagic demonstrated his unbelievable guitar playing skills, sincere love for music, professionalism and passion…” – CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM
A GFA winner, seasoned concert artist, accomplished chamber musician and recording artist, Bosnian guitar great Denis Azabagic, needs no introduction to the classical guitar world. But, what often escapes even the most devoted afficionados may be the hidden gems among the pile of guitar videos on youtube.
I recently came across Denis’ Mastering Guitar Technique Series [scroll down a bit after linking]. Though you have to pay for each video, the lessons range from slurs to tremolo to scales and in my opinion are worth hundreds time what he is charging ($1.99!). Each video has a tremendous amount of insight and practical advice. If you’ve not heard Denis play, check out the video below of him playing brilliant renditions of standards by Sor, Bach, and Asencio, and then check out his technique series!
This is the first Artist Spotlight piece where I hope to share a bit of news about very high level guitarists, highlight some of their videos, and point you in the right direction to explore their musical world.
The first artist I’d like to feature is Spanish guitarist, Ricardo Gallén. I met Ricardo briefly in 1999 at a guitar festival in Granada. He was teaching masterclasses as Eliot Fisk’s assistant and while I played for Eliot in that festival, I realize now that I missed an immense learning opportunity by not having taken a class from Ricardo!
Ricardo Gallén has been praised by countless great musicians, critics, and colleagues as a supreme virtuoso with an intense and wide-ranging musical intellectuality. The great Cuban composer and conductor, Leo Brouwer, has said that Gallén possesses, “great creativity and virtuosity that is felt only by looking at his hands.” Besides performing and teaching all over the world to high acclaim, he is becoming known for his recordings and performances of music by Johann Sebastian Bach and in particular, his lute suites.
For a long time, the standard recording of the great John Williams was the required listening as an introduction to these works but I would venture to say that Ricardo Gallén’s recording holds equal footing on many levels and perhaps even surpasses it in his highly nuanced and stylistic interpretations. Another strength that Ricardo possesses is his range in interpreting music from the great classical period guitar composers, Mauro Giuliani, Fernando Sor, to premiering new contemporary works by composers like Leo Brouwer.
Here is Ricardo’s webpage and his Facebook page for more current news on his musical activities. Below are some links to his recordings and a few beautifully filmed videos. Hope this inspires you all!
I have to admit that I may be enjoying Fernando Sor’s etudes too much these days. Many of them conjure a nice summer walk in the countryside with the occasional mildly adventurous detour. A set of favorites that I’m editing will be published soon but I thought I’d post a lesson on one of them and how I have been using it to warm up and build technique. His etudes are ideal in many ways to integrate musicality into technique because listening to the subtleties and manipulations of Sor’s familiar but often charming harmonies is so pleasurable.
Six String Journal 