Classical Guitar

Classical guitar is not only a style of playing but it also represents a unique approach to the instrument which is different from all other kinds of guitar playing including Spanish guitar. For example, someone learning to play blues guitar is going to have a vastly different experience than someone learning to play classical guitar, their journeys will be very different. With classical guitar you are entering into a kind of high art, its music has been written by some of the greatest composers the world has ever known. Also, many of the techniques used in classical guitar still very similar today to what they were hundreds of years ago. Even though new and more modern musical pieces for classical guitar have been written to standard technique of playing has remained very much intact.

Even if you have no desire to become proficient at classical guitar it is still valuable to complete a basic study of the style. You will learn much about guitar tone and technique not to mention an enormous amount about harmony and voice leading with chords. This kind of knowledge is useful to all guitar players so you can easily transfer what you have learned from playing classical guitar perfect to your preferred style. Famous guitar players who have already done this include Steve Howe of Yes and the famous country guitar virtuoso Chet Atkins.

Even in the arena of heavy metal guitar we have giant players such as Yngwie Malmsteen and Kirk Hammet of Metallica you have made their careers and signature sound out a deep fusion between electric guitar and classical influences. Many of the phrases, pedal tones and scale sequences they regularly employ within their guitar solos have been directly influenced by classical violin for example. We must also give credit to the guitar player who started all of this off - Randy Rhodes. He is perhaps the finest example of a guitarist who was dedicated to all styles of guitar playing. Even though he his job was as a rock or metal guitar player he would spend hours studying and practicing classical guitar in a very traditional manner. What he learned from classical guitar enabled him to bring new influences into his rock playing and create his own signature sound which many later on adopted and copied.

How To Play Classical Guitar Correctly - Sitting Position

Classical guitar is always played on a nylon string guitar and in a sitting position. There are some rather rigid rules which classical guitarists are encouraged to obey such as your posture when sitting, the angle at which your guitar is held and many right-hand techniques for plucking the strings. the positioning of the left-hand is also concentrated upon in great detail so in many ways learning to play classical guitar is done much in the same way as learning to play classical violin. In the beginning both instruments require that you spend a considerable amount of time simply learning how to hold the instruments correctly. Most teachers regard this as being extremely important because it is only when you are able to hold the instrument in the correct fashion that you will be able to preform the techniques for playing the music correctly.

If you watch the performance of a serious classical guitarist who has been trained correctly you will notice that they sit in a very different way from most other guitar players. Firstly they hold their guitar on the thigh of their left leg (as right handed guitar players) rather than on the right thigh. This is so they can achieve the optimal angle for the neck of the guitar when playing. They also use something called a foot stool which elevates the left leg about 6 inches off the ground.

All of this precision is done to achieve some very specific things. Firstly it enables the player to rest the underside of the guitar on the left leg with the back of the guitar resting against the abdomen. When they place their right arm over the body section of the guitar it creates a kind of balancing act where the guitar is securely held in place at the best angle possible for playing while leaving the hands completely free to simply play the instrument. The hands are not used to hold, balance or secure the guitar in any way. That is not their job, they are there to only play it. To prove this you can remove both hands from the guitar and it will stay perfectly in place with no danger of falling.

Now most people who are interested in learning just a little bit of classical guitar will not go to the effort and bother of obeying all of these strict guidelines simply for how to sit and hold a classical guitar. It really depends on how dedicated you are to learning this style of music. You can still enjoy playing classical pieces on guitar and reap the full benefits of all you will learn from them without having to sit and hold your guitar in the traditional way. It is only if you are going into this style of guitar playing seriously and intend to have it as your principal way of playing guitar that you should take the necessary time to make sure you are doing things absolutely correctly. In this case it will also be crucial that you learn to read music in the traditional way as all of the study materials for classical guitar are written primarily in music notation.

The core points to bear in mind are that your posture should be upright and straight, sitting on the edge of your chair. Your left leg should be elevated off the ground using a foot-stool and you should hold the guitar towards the center of your body. To judge this you can use the tuning pegs as a guide. They should be positioned roughly in line with your shoulder.

Correct Classical Guitar Technique - The Right Hand Position

Once you have achieved the correct body position and you are holding your guitar at the correct angle the thing to concentrate on is your right-hand position. The most import thing is that your index, middle and ring fingers are held perpendicular to the strings so that you can pluck them and achieve the correct tone.

The difficulty here is that your hand as a direct extension from your arm falls at a 60° angle to the strings. However if you were to play with this angle he would not be able to achieve the maximum amount of volume from the strings. In order to get the best from your guitar tone where the melody notes are very distinctive from the base notes and inner harmonies your fingers need to be striking the strings at a 90° angle. This is what is meant by holding your right hand perpendicular to the strings.

To do this you must to start with your hand at its natural 60° angle and rotate your wrist until the fingers for perpendicular to the strings. Then rest your thumb on the sixth string and your index, middle and ring fingers on the third, second and first strings respectively. This will then give you the standard right-hand positioning for performing all of your classical guitar pieces and allow you to achieve maximum volume and the highest quality of tone from your guitar.

The Fingernails Of A Classical Guitar Player

The fingernails on your right-hand affect your guitar tone enormously. Most classical guitarists grow the length of their right hand fingernails to a very specific length and even own special fingernail care kits containing scissors, clippers, emery boards and abrasive cloths in order to enable to maintain their fingernails not currently at the desired length but also to sculpt their shape and smoothness. It is not an exaggeration to say that classical guitar players are obsessive about their right-hand fingernails and for something to happen to them would have disastrous results on their ability to play guitar as they would wish, at least until they had the time to grow them back properly.

If you have very short nails then it is only the flesh of your fingers which will be striking the strings. This has an immediate and pronounced influence on the kind of tone you will get back from your guitar. This is also referred to as the "color" of your guitar tone. It will sound mellow and soft in its nature. on the other hand if your nails are very long and it is only your nails which are making contact with the strings than the sound you will achieve will be very metallic and sharp. So here we need to achieve another kind of balancing act. The trick is to grow your nails just long enough so that when you pluck the strings it is partly the flesh of your finger and partly fingernail which makes contact with the strings at exactly the same time. This will shape your tone making it well rounded and a nice mixture between quality of attack, note definition and smoothness.

Once you have earned your fingernails a bit longer you will need to shape them say that they are rounded and without any corners or edges. Ideally they should follow the same contour as the tips of your fingers. The next step is to file them and publish them using an emery board. You only need to grow the fingernails on your right-hand. On your left hand your fingernails will be cut short so that it is apparently the flesh of your fingertips which make contact with the strings. Is it essential for you to grow your right-hand fingernails if you want to play or study classical guitar on a part-time basis casual basis? Absolutely not. This again is only if you are intending to make it your primary style of guitar.

Changing The Tone Of Your Classical Guitar Sound

It is possible to change the tonal quality of the notes by altering the angle of your right hand to different degrees against the strings. You can also shift your entire hand position more towards the bridge of the guitar or further up towards the neck. Playing with your hand positioned directly over the sound hole will give you the fullest and richest tone possible from your guitar. The further you move your right hand towards the bridge the brighter and more metallic your tone will become. You will also notice that your guitar will yield less sustain and decay faster. Moving your right hand in the opposite direction towards the neck will result in a smoother and more mellow tone. This effect is also clearly audible on electric guitars with switching from the neck pickup to the bridge pickup.

Mastering how to control and vary the "timber" of your guitar tone is very useful in the performance of classical guitar music. For example, many pieces will have sections which repeat. On the first time through you can use your standard tone while on the repeat you can adjust your positioning to achieve a different kind of tone and therefore add further interest for the listener. You may also choose to heighten the tension or create a climax by playing close to the bridge at specific points during your performance. Sections of the piece which require more delicacy or thought could be played closer to the neck. This is mostly about deciding how you are personally going to interpret the music you're playing however with classical music will often indicate these positions for you as well.

The Left Hand Technique Of A Classical Guitarist

When it comes to classical left hand techniqueit is important to visualize your left hand as a rigid piece of machinery. It gets locked into one perfect playing position and does not change in its foundation. This position is characterized by two things - perpendicularity and right angles. As your hand position moves up and down the neck this foundation remains unchanged, it is only your fingers that move across the strings and frets.

Always make sure that you are making contact with the strings using the very tips of your fingers. Your thumb position hidden at the back should be right in the middle of the guitar neck applying opposite pressure and in line with your index finger position. The pressure you apply should be light. As your hand moves up and down the fretboard your thumb position should always remain in line with your index finger. All of this is done to establish a consistent and perfect platform for your fingers to move and play the notes.

Your arm should move with your hand in order to always allow it to remain perpendicular with the guitar strings. You will find that while playing in the lower section (towards the head of your guitar) your elbow will be kept out and away from your body. The higher you move up the neck with your playing, the closer your elbow will get to touching your body.

In theory it should not matter which string you are playing at any point along your guitar fretboard, your hand position should always look exactly the same. While in other styles of guitar such as blues and rock you'll often see the thumb being hooked over the top of the neck, often to facilitate string bending. This is forbidden in Classical guitar. Your thumb should always stay behind the neck.