Classical Guitar For Dummies E-Book

Jon Chappell

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 363

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

Learn to: * Select the right classical guitar for you * Develop correct hand position and posture * Tune your guitar * Play along with exercises and pieces on the audio CD The fun and easy way¯® to start playing classical guitar! Want to be a classical guitarist, but never had a lesson? No problem -- this hands-on guide teaches you all the fundamental techniques you need to play scales, melodies, and full-length pieces in the classical style. You get plenty of practice exercises to stretch your skills, selections from the classical repertoire, and a bonus audio CD that helps you play along with the music pieces from the book! * Get acquainted with your guitar -- familiarize yourself with the unique make-up and parts of a classical guitar * Start making some music -- play melodies on individual strings, move on to arpeggios, and get your fingers in shape with scales * Ramp up your technique -- play barres, slurs, and trills; handle harmonics; master right-hand tremolo; and venture up the neck to play in the higher positions * Build your classical repertoire -- from Renaissance and Baroque to Classical, Romantic, and Modern, play pieces from the major eras in classical music * Practice makes perfect -- improve your performance with expert guidance through each exercise and piece in the book Open the book and find: * Tips and techniques for playing beautiful pieces * How to read music notation and tablature * Basic finger and thumb strokes * Right- and left-hand techniques * Musical examples, charts, and photos * Music pieces from the guitar greats * The best ways to care for your guitar * A step-by-step tutorial on changing your strings Bonus CD Includes More than 140 recorded performances of the exercises and pieces featured in the book Pieces performed using a count-off, allowing you to play along in time with the music Tuning notes to help you tune up your guitar

Leseprobe

Classical Guitar for Dummies®

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Conventions Used in This Book

What You’re Not to Read

Foolish Assumptions

How This Book Is Organized

Part I: Getting to Know the Classical Guitar

Part II: Starting to Play: The Basics

Part III: Improving Your Technique

Part IV: Mastering Classical Guitar Repertoire

Part V: The Part of Tens

Part VI: Appendixes

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Getting to Know the Classical Guitar

Chapter 1: An Acoustic Guitar in a League of Its Own

Classical Guitar: One Term, Two Meanings, and a Bit of History

What a Classical Guitar Looks Like

How a Classical Guitar Is Physically Different from Its Peers

Beyond Physique: Other Unique Attributes of Classical Guitar

Player’s form and technique

Musical knowledge and skills

Chapter 2: Getting Ready to Play

Situating Yourself

Taking your seat

Supporting the guitar: Leg position

Embracing the guitar: Arm support

Placing your hands correctly

Approaching the Strings with Your Hands

Fretting the strings: Left-hand form

Preparing to pluck: Right-hand form

Stroking the strings: Basic right-hand technique

Tuning Up

Adjusting the string tension to raise or lower pitch

Tuning visually with an electronic tuner

Tuning by ear

Chapter 3: Deciphering Music Notation and Tablature

Knowing the Ropes of Standard Music Notation

The composer’s canvas: The staff, clef, measures, and bar lines

Pitch: The highs and lows of music

Duration: How long to hold a note, what determines rhythm, and so on

Expression, articulation, and other symbols

Relating the Notes on the Staff to the Fretboard

Relishing the Usefulness of Guitar-Specific Notation

Fingering indications for the right and left hands

Stepping up to the barre

Taking on tablature, a nice complement to standard notation

Part II: Starting to Play: The Basics

Chapter-4: One Note at a Time: Playing Simple Melodies

Practicing Notes on One String

Exercising your fingers: Strings 1, 2, and 3

Workin’ (mostly) the thumb: Strings 6, 5, and-4

Playing across Three Strings

Finger fun on the first three strings

All thumbs again on the three lower strings

Cruising through All Six Strings

No thumbs allowed!

Fingers and thumb, unite!

Flowing through Melodic Pieces Using All Six Strings

Chapter 5: Rolling the Notes of a Chord: Arpeggio Technique

Playing the Notes of an Arpeggio: The Basics

Working Your Way across the Strings: The Thumb and Fingers in Order

Assigning each finger to one string

Moving the thumb around

Varying Your Right-Hand Strokes

Changing the finger order

Alternating the thumb and fingers

Adding Harmony to Select Notes

Feeling the pinch with your thumb and fingers

Doubling up two fingers at once

Playing Pieces with Arpeggios

Chapter 6: Practicing Scales in First and Second Position

Introducing Scales, the Necessary Evils

Why scales are important

How you name them: Applying key signatures

Where they start and end: A primer on positions

Playing Major Scales in 1st Position

The one-octave C major scale

The two-octave G major scale

The two-octave F major scale

The two-octave E major scale

The two-octave A% major scale

Playing Minor Scales in 1st Position

The one-octave A minor scale

The two-octave E minor scale

The two-octave F minor scale

Playing Scales in 2nd Position

The D major scale in 2nd position using open strings

The D major scale in 2nd position using all fretted notes

The G major scale in 2nd position using all fretted notes

The B minor scale in 2nd position using all fretted notes

Applying Scales in Simple Pieces

Chapter 7: Exploring Musical Textures

Coordinating Contrapuntal Music: Layered Melodies

Playing two melodies in sync rhythmically

Opposing forces: Separating the thumb and fingers rhythmically

Thickening the upper part by adding double-stops

Melody and Accompaniment: Using All Your Fingers

Matching rhythm between accompaniment and melody

Getting creative with the flow: Two parts, two rhythms

Playing Easy Pieces in Different Textural Styles

Part III: Improving Your Technique

Chapter 8: Flat-Fingered Fretting with Barres

Discovering How to Play Barres

Half barre

Full barre

Practicing Barres in a Musical Context

Half barre

Full barre

Playing Pieces with Barres

Chapter 9: Getting a Smooth Sound with Slurs and Trills

Connecting Your Notes with Slurs

Hammering and pulling: Exploring slurs

Slurring in the context of a larger musical phrase

Fluttering a Note with a Trill

Playing trills on their own

Practicing trills in context

Playing Pieces Using Slurs and Trills

Chapter 10: Coloring Your Sound with Tone-Production Techniques

Creating Tones That Ring like Bells: Harmonics

Playing harmonics

Practicing harmonics in context

Varying the Tone with Vibrato

Playing vibrato

Practicing vibrato in context

Brightening or Darkening Your Sound by Changing Timbre

Implementing tonal changes

Practicing changing tone in context

Tremolo: The Classical Guitar Machine Gun of Sorts

Playing tremolo

Practicing tremolo in context

Playing Pieces Using Tone-Production Techniques

Chapter 11: Scaling the Musical Ladder beyond Second Position

An Introduction to the Scales and Skills in This Chapter

Getting to know the higher positions

Strengthening your technical skill with practice variations

Scales That Stay in 5th Position

The F major scale

The B% major scale

The D minor scale

Scales That Stay in 9th Position

The A major scale

The D major scale

The F# minor scale

Scales That Require Shifting Positions

The E major scale — one position shift

The A% major scale — two position shifts

The C# minor scale — one position shift

The G# minor scale — two position shifts

Playing Some Pieces Using Scales up the Neck

Chapter 12: Combining Arpeggios and Melody

Grasping the Combination in Context

Going Downtown: Melody in the Bass

Playing a bass melody within arpeggios

Practicing making a bass melody stand out

Moving Uptown: Melody in the Treble

Playing a treble melody within arpeggios

Practicing making a treble melody stand out

Mixing Up Your Melodic Moves: The Thumb and Fingers Take Turns

Playing a shifting treble-and-bass melody within arpeggios

Practicing making a shifting melody stand out

Playing Pieces That Combine Arpeggios and Melodies

Chapter 13: Combining Left-Hand Techniques While Playing up the Neck

Layering Melodies and Using Barres up the Neck: Counterpoint

Combining Melody and Accompaniment with Barres and Slurs up the Neck

Playing Pieces up the Neck with Left-Hand Techniques

Part IV: Mastering Classical Guitar Repertoire

Chapter 14: Playing Pieces by the Guitar Greats

Getting Acquainted with the Master Guitar Composers

Music by the Spanish Composers

Saying hello to Sor

Tackling Tárrega

Music by the Italian Composers

Gelling with Giuliani

Cozying Up to Carcassi

Playing Pieces by All the Master Guitar Composers

Chapter 15: Early Guitar Music from the Renaissance and Baroque Eras

An Overview of the Styles

The Renaissance

The Baroque era

Renaissance Composers

Traditional 16th-century melodies by anonymous composers

John Dowland and other great lutenists

Baroque Composers

Back to Bach

Getting a handle on Handel

Playing Pieces from the Renaissance and Baroque Eras

Chapter 16: The Guitar Comes of Age: The Classical, Romantic, and Modern Eras

The Classical Era: Mozart’s Muse

Getting in Touch with Beethoven, the Classical Hopeless Romantic

Letting the Inside Out with the Romantics: Brahms

Dreaming with Debussy: Music Becomes Modern

Playing Pieces from the Classical, Romantic, and Modern Eras

Part V: The Part of Tens

Chapter 17: Ten (Or So) Classical Guitarists You Should Know

Andrés Segovia (1893–1987)

Julian Bream (b. 1933)

Oscar Ghiglia (b. 1938)

John Williams (b. 1941)

Pepe Romero and Angel Romero

(b. 1944, 1946)

Christopher Parkening (b. 1947)

David Starobin (b. 1951)

Manuel Barrueco (b. 1952)

Eliot Fisk (b. 1954)

Benjamin Verdery (b. 1955)

Sharon Isbin (b. 1956)

Chapter 18: Ten Things to Do When Shopping for a Classical Guitar

Go Retail if You Aren’t 100 Percent Sure What You Want

Bring a Friend Along

Decide on a Price Range Before You Go

Know Your Materials

Evaluate the Construction and Workmanship

Get a Feel for the Guitar

Check the Intonation

Listen to the Sound

Judge the Aesthetics

Determine a Guitar’s Growth Potential

Part VI: Appendixes

Appendix A: Basic Guitar Care and Maintenance

Temperature

Humidity

Protection, both at home and on the road

Step one: Remove the old string

Step two: Tie off the string at the bridge

Step three: Secure the string to the roller

Appendix B: How to Use the CD

Using the CD with Microsoft Windows

Using the CD with Mac OS

Classical Guitar For Dummies®

by Mark Phillips and Jon Chappell

Classical Guitar For Dummies®

Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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