wordpress stat

The top five topics that set off classical guitar flame wars on the internet

flame-war

A ‘flame war’ for those of you who are unfamiliar, is a heated discussion that can easily devolve into childish mud-slinging. The anonymity of the internet has made flame wars all too common and you just have to read the comments of any given you tube video to find remarks ranging from stupid to down [...]

The London Guitar Studio

Juan

When I was studying at the Royal Academy of Music I supported myself by page turning and ushering at the Wigmore Hall. The favourite part of every shift, however, was walking down after the concert to the London Guitar Studio on Duke street. Juan Teijeiro was always a friendly face that let me try out [...]

Cordoba Guitar Festival

Cordoba-Article-3

This year marked the 30th anniversary for the Festival de la Guitarra de Cordoba. With more than 30 performances over a range of styles, classes in a variety of genres and multiple performance venues, this is one of the most varied guitar festivals in Europe. Located in the Andalusian city of Cordoba, participants of the [...]

Let off some steam!

O.K. the gloves are coming off and I am going to let myself rant for a little while. I had a slightly annoying week and I would like to share that annoyance in a therapeutic manner. Rant. No 1 I own a very lovely Paul Sheridan guitar, which is a lattice-braced instrument. After a concert [...]

Give your fingers lungs

handy

In masterclasses and lessons I have come across passages that the student simply does not play musically. Even with repeated attempts to convey the shape and phrasing of the line students sometimes have a very difficult time understanding musicality. Until they sing. Almost by magic, when I ask a student to sing a melody, they [...]

Leave no note behind…

Dropping notes is most common right before a shift

Our ears can often play tricks on us and one of the harshest truths we have to come to terms with as guitarists is…we don’t always sound as good as we think we do. By no means should we become hyper-critical of our own playing but in order to improve we must be aware of [...]

Making the most of a bad situation

eeyore

As I settle in for my 5 hour train ride from Washington D.C. to New Haven I am thinking about the performance last night. It was not a soul crushing disaster, but it was far from my best performance. I had memory slips, some pretty poor phrasing in a couple of new pieces and I [...]

Getting your guitar on the plane as carry on luggage

logo

I believe I am not alone when I say, I am in love with my guitar. The bond between guitar and guitarist is forged by hundreds of hours spent together in a passionate discourse. Spouses, partners and parents are often bewildered by this strange relationship and don’t seem to understand how precious the wooden box [...]

Slur Scales

Slur-Scales-1

Feelin Slurry? Here are some slur scales that I came up with that really give a good work out to the left hand and also are quite fun to play! You will notice that the scale takes on a pattern (except in first position) that can be repeated. Once you have completed one slur scale, [...]