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Sight Reading on the Classical Guitar by Simon Powis Part 3 The benefits of good sight-reading The guitar community has survived, even flourished, in the last decades, and it has done so without a good level of sight reading. Why, then, is it important to usher in a new level of sight reading in the [...]
Sight Reading on the Classical Guitar by Simon Powis Part 2 Why does the problem exist? Difficulties of the instrument “To be objective about it, I would say the guitar is more difficult than other instruments because there are more alternatives. So I think one has to face that, it’s not an excuse, it’s a [...]
Sight Reading on the Classical Guitar Introduction “Reading facility is not simply a useful additional skill for a musician to have. It is, in sense, necessary for full membership to the musical community.”[1] Sight reading has a new found significance for guitarists in the twenty-first century. The expansion of the chamber music repertory, and the [...]
Creating a full length CD is a very intensive undertaking. Microphones, audio engineers, hours upon hours of editing, album art work, replication, and remembering to thank your mother in the liner notes. In the weeks leading up to holding that first CD in your hand the prospects of selling mountains of recordings, both physical and [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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