Classical Guitar Lessons

Without a doubt Mauro Giuliani (1781 –1829) and Matteo Carcassi (1792 – 1853) are two of the most important composers for the classical guitar. They created some of the most brilliant set of etudes (studies) that classical guitarists of all level continue to study and incorporate in their daily routines. In this comprehensive lesson Adam del Monte breaks down a set of five etudes both technically and expressively.

The studies we have selected for this lesson are excellent choices for the advanced-beginner to the lower-intermediate level classical guitarist. You will be focusing on the execution of simple to a more challenging phrases with the proper attention to the tone quality and ease-of-playing. Too often students gloss over this critical stage of their development, and instead they take on the difficult pieces that are beyond their level. Here, we take the opportunity to program a relaxed way of playing using "easier" pieces, while allowing the more skilled players to go back and fix basic tension and bad habits. You will be focusing on arpeggio patterns and exercises, counterpoint voice leading, basic tremolo and the articulation of phrases.

You will be covering the following guitar etudes in this lesson:

1. Etude No. 1 (Op. 100) - Cadenza Maestoso (Mauro Giuliani)
2. Allegretto in A Minor by (Mauro Giuliani)
3. Etude #2 in A minor by (Matteo Carcassi)
4. Etude #6 by (Matteo Carcassi)
5. Etude #1 in C Major by (Matteo Carcassi)
6. Etude #7 in A minor by (Matteo Carcassi)

In this lesson Adam del Monte is playing a classical guitar by the master luthier Erez Perelman with spruce top, Indian rosewood back and sides

The word Lágrima means tear. Francisco Tarrega wrote this piece between 1889-1909, the exact date never having been catalogued. It is his most played piece and many times given as a beginner piece for people starting to play the guitar. However, as easy as the opening bars are, there are some quite challenging passages which involve bar chords and half bar chords that are not easily executed.

There are two stories that are said to have inspired the writing of Lágrima. The first: It is said to have been written while Tárrega was touring in London, and that the English fog and overall lousy weather were at the root of it. The second: It was written as an homage to his daughter’s passing. Either way, the melancholic and delicate characters of this piece is ideal for learning the fundamentals of romantic phrasing and rubato on the classical guitar. You will learn about tone production, sustaining the notes in a lyrical way and the right vibrato. If you are an advanced-beginner to an intermediate level guitarist, this is an ideal piece for you to have under your belt especially for entertaining friends at a party as well as a great encore in a concert.

Adelita and Lagrima have always made a perfect pair. They fall in a unique category of their own in the sense that they are both "simple" miniature pieces but are by no means on a beginner level. Adelita is slightly more challenging than Lagrima due to its tricky B section where we have some tough bar chords and stretches for the left hand.

A very poetic and romantic piece in nature, titled as a Mazurka, a Polish dance in origin, usually quite up-beat, is somewhat sending a mixed message by having the tempo marking set at Lento. Some believe playing it too slowly gives it a completely different meaning and feel, taking it away from the natural character of the Mazurka. This is also an ideal piece to learn about romantic phrasing and rubato. The guitar repertoire is hard pressed to find pieces that pay their respects to the great composers that did not write for the guitar such as Frederick Chopin, Piotr Illich Tchaikovsky and Franz Schubert. We can hear the echoes of these giants in Adelita but in an intimate setting transmitted with the natural poetry of the guitar.

In this lesson you will learn about phrasing, tone production and interpretation in the romantic style. Since the realm of interpretation is not a science, but an art form, this lesson will set you on the path of looking and thinking about romantic music in a way that will allow you to explore your own ideas, after having grasped the main principles. There are some challenging hammer-ons and pull-offs for an advanced-beginner level player that require diligent and patient practice, but they will pay off in the way of advancing your technique.

In this lesson Adam del Monte is playing a classical guitar by the master luthier Erez Perelman with spruce top, Indian rosewood back and sides

Rasgueado, or Rasgeo in Andalusian, is a right hand (if you are right handed!) strumming technique that is distinctly associated with flamenco guitar. Even though this technique has its roots in the classical guitar it is unfortunate that it is not used nearly enough in the classical guitar literature, and when it is, most classical guitarists don’t have much of a foundation in that technique. To quote maestro Pepe Romero: “where does it say in the Sevillanas by Juaquin Turina that you must play rasguedos that suck…”

This 3rd edition of Rasgueado Techniques is 110 minutes of intense video which includes 5 different types of Rasgueados, a Rumba pattern, Alzapua; that crazy wild thing we do only with the thumb that sounds like thunder, and finally the unique sounding Thumb-Noodle Technique. All techniques are broken down in detail, and their application are provided with examples. These are the ultimate tools and techniques you need to play a great sounding rasgueado.

A fair amount of classical guitar repertoire requires a properly executed rasguedo, yet the actual teaching of it and codifying into a detailed method and process is often lacking. This video is as much for a classical guitar player as it is for a flamenco guitarist who wish to once and for all crack the mystery of these elusive techniques. Here you will learn techniques that are not taught in colleges and universities (with the exception of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where maestro del Monte teaches :-D ).

In this lesson Adam del Monte plays an N700 flamenco guitar by Altamira Guitars