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 guitar community?  In fact, due to the dominance of solo repertoire there is seldom a need for sight reading in the professional life of a guitarist so why should it assume an importance equivalent to the practice of technique or repertoire?  These questions are valid, but they are posed with a narrow view of sight reading and its possible functions; the fact that sight-reading is underdeveloped means that guitarists have little choice but to remain in a soloistic mindset.  The inability to read well prohibits quality interaction and participation in an ensemble setting or at the very lest makes the process difficult and drawn out.

Sight-reading has a very helpful effect on a wide range of musical activities; the most obvious being in a first rehearsal or initial reading of a work.  Ensemble rehearsals, studio playing, orchestral rehearsals and accompanying all incorporate the skill of sight-reading. There are, however, numerous benefits that are not as obvious but have as much importance and impact on the musical life of a guitarist.

Teaching

The educational process is enhanced by good sight-reading on the part of both the teacher and the student.  The ability of the teacher to demonstrate a musical passage is dependant on either prior knowledge of the work or the ability to read a passage fluently.  Without an adequate level of reading the teacher loses the vital tool of teaching by example and will have to be more dependant on verbal instruction.  Similarly the student will benefit greatly by being able to play from any point in the score to work on a specific element. All too often in a masterclass setting, a student will be required to play a short passage, and the flow of the lesson is interrupted by the student fumbling through a passage as if it were a completely new piece of music. Williams related his experience in an interview: “Its staggering, I have done classes, summer classes or the odd visiting class that I do and I say ‘play me g# on the fifth string [‘A’ string, 11^th fret] and I have got to wait four seconds for them to find it!”[1] If both the teacher and the student attained an adequate level of reading, there would be a more efficient form of communication and therefore a more productive educational experience.

Rehearsing chamber music

“If you can’t sight-read well you are not listening well to the other players in your ensemble. Because you are so busy with what’s on the page you can’t go to the next level, which is listening to what the others are playing.  … and if, if your chamber music partners can tell you are not listening to them, they are going to think poorly of you and probably of guitarists in general. Why? Because they don’t get that many opportunities to play with guitarists so when they do, they are going to make a judgment about all guitarists.” – David Leisner[2]

“When guitarists play chamber music, like the Boccherini quintet, they learn their part from memory and they go along pre-practiced with the kind of fingering they have been practicing at home and their whole attitude is inflexible because they have been practicing like that. They are not used to picking up the notes and the fingering that fit into the sounds that they are listening to.” – John Williams[3]

What David Leisner , Professor of guitar at the Manhattan School of Music, and Williams are referring to here is the degree of inflexibility that guitarists display in a chamber music setting. They lack a sense of spontaneity and the ability to listen to the other musicians, which is a crucial element of ensemble music. To prepare for a rehearsal the guitarist will often learn their part to a point of memorization that renders them unable to react to the spontaneous creation of music that occurs in an ensemble setting. With a more developed sight-reading ability, guitarists would be better equipped to enter chamber groups and work on pieces as an ensemble rather than as an individual.

Learning repertoire

The process of learning new repertoire is made more efficient and facile through good sight reading.  The ability to contextualize phrasing, understand musical meaning and identify stylistic characteristics means that more time can be devoted to musical aspects of the work rather than simply figuring out where the notes lie. Without an adequate level of reading a student is forced to piece together a work slowly, focusing predominantly on playing the correct notes in the correct rhythm. This piecing together of musical units neglects phrasing and large formal structures in favor of an additive note-by-note process. One of the drawbacks of this approach is that the student does not consider the overall musical form or expression of the work and is forced to make interpretive decisions only once the work has become coherent. Far from being efficient, this process neglects musical considerations early on and can lead to mechanical renditions that are devoid of thoughtful interpretation. An adequate level of sight-reading would enable the student to attain an initial overview of the work from which a logical and considered approach to study can be undertaken. With the ability to make musical and interpretive decisions from the onset of a work, the guitarist is likely to produce a more musically aware result.

The definition of sight-reading versus reading to learn becomes blurred in the case of learning repertoire because at a certain point musical memory begins to affect the reading process. In the initial stages of learning, however, and also when isolating passages that lie in the middle of phrases (or other common musical structures) sight reading plays a definitive role in the learning process.

Access to a wider repertoire

“I play a whole lot of Scarlatti sonatas. At some stage I wrote 1 or 2 of them out but for the most part, and this includes a lot of other piano music harpsichord violin, I have never written them out at all. I work it out form the piano score, the violin score, remember it and I am happy to read it again when I need to. I can read through a lot of things very quickly and find out if they are suitable. I can tell at a glance, a couple of pages.” – John Williams[4]

With a large portion of the guitar repertoire being unrecorded and unperformed the only way to explore new areas of the repertoire is to read through them.  With a developed sight reading skill a musician can get an overview of the music and make a decision on whether or not he/she wants to invest time in learning the work.  More often than not new works are disregarded simply because they are unfamiliar and the investment of several hours simply to find out what a piece might sound like is too much of a risk compared to the same time being spent learning familiar repertoire.  Repertoire from other instruments is also made readily available through the skill of sight reading.  The guitar has a long tradition of arranging works intended for other instruments and the arranging process, both in selection of works and the process of transferring to the guitar, is expedited by good reading.  Solving technical problems, finding fingerings and deciding on chord voicings are all directly impacted by the skill of sight reading.

[2] Interview with David Leisner, New York, October 10, 2009

[3] Williams interview, Jan 29, 2010

[4] Williams interview, Jan 29, 2010

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 fact. With piano, of course, there is only one place that each note can be played. … I think, on the guitar, first of all, even for individual notes you’ve got alternatives on different strings and you compound that by a factor of two to three to four, any time you’ve got to combine that with other notes. If you have a B and an E on open strings, how many different ways could you play those notes together? … It is more difficult than other instruments, but unfortunately it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it, it is even more reason to do more of it!” – John Williams[1]

The guitar makes chordal and polyphonic demands comparable to the piano, albeit on a smaller scale. Unlike the piano, however, it does not have a linear arrangement of pitches and there are often multiple places on the fingerboard to play one pitch.  The ability to play one pitch in multiple places makes the process of sight reading on the guitar difficult.  This difficulty provides a convenient excuse for most guitarists not to develop their reading abilities and it has developed into a commonly accepted yet completely unfounded notion that sight reading on guitar is virtually impossible to execute on a comparable level to other instruments.  This ignorance holds back guitarists from an essential skill that can greatly enhance many aspects of their musicianship and is attainable, to a considerable extent, by all.

Lack of involvement with other musicians

The combination of a limited chamber repertoire, an isolationist attitude among guitarists and a poor level of musicianship all point toward the fact that guitarists are rarely forced to sight read in group situations and therefore never develop their skills in the area.  The overwhelming majority of guitarists learn solo repertoire, and only solo repertoire, which encourages the practice of music memorization and therefore reduces the amount of experience reading printed music. An upgrading of the standing of guitarists in the musical community requires a greater expectation of a guitar student to learn repertoire with more efficiency and speed.  Sight-reading abilities enhance many learning processes in music and will promote the continued improvement of classical guitarists’ abilities and the reputation of the instrument itself.

Over-fingering of the repertoire

Both John Williams and Jerry Willard expressed frustration at the amount of over-fingering that occurs in the majority of classical guitar music. Williams is adamant that the over-fingering of scores has led to the poor sight-reading ability of most guitarists.

“The problem with sight reading is we keep on having editions for guitar with too much fingering and if you are seriously studying in college with an idea to becoming professional you have got to get used to reading the music without the fingering. I have been on about guitar fingerings as long as I can remember, about thirty or forty years. Every now and then people say ‘you don’t put enough fingerings in your music’ and I am sorry but it’s already too much, it’s a compromise. … It’s ridiculous and it’s only because we have the framework of everything we do on the so-called ‘classical guitar’ from the nineteenth century. People forget that all those early editions of Sor and Giuliani and Beethoven editions for piano, they were published for amateurs, which is great, the more the better of course, but when we are talking about professional students, at colleges, they have got to learn how to do the business properly”. [2]

Similarly, Willard believes that most guitarists will follow the fingerings in guitar music rather than reading the actual notes.

“You have to get through a sea of fingerings to get through to the notes in guitar music and people will tend to read the fingerings over the notes. They will see a ‘4’ and try to do that fingering rather than just seeing the note and putting it in the most comfortable spot.”

Starting age

Many classical guitarists will have played guitar in a different style before becoming dedicated to the classical style.  Guitar, being one of the most popular instruments in the world, has a kaleidoscope of styles of which very few use standard notation. Because of the lack of standard notation, many skills, such as improvisation and playing by ear, can be highly developed. An interesting parallel that occurs with other instrumentalists is found in Suzuki Method students. With little or no use of notated music, many Suzuki students find difficulty in reading music without having experienced the process in early stages of development. Eventually, these young musicians have to learn to read in order to partake in orchestral and chamber music, which undoubtedly acts as a strong impetus to develop the skill. This integral education that is provided by communal music making is, to a large extent, unavailable to guitarists; they are unable to participate and learn in these settings partly because of the repertoire and partly because the guitarists have not obtained the reading skills to partake.  By the time a guitarist is admitted to a tertiary institution, she/he has not benefited from these important learning experiences and therefore enters with a range of underdeveloped skills.

Education

Poor education is both a cause and a result of the sight reading deficiency in guitar pedagogy. The low expectations of current method books and conservatory courses perpetuates the poor abilities of guitarists to sight-read.  As a result of this education there are few teachers who possess sufficient sight-reading skills to teach others how to read.  This dangerous self-perpetuating circularity has been allowed to exist in universities for far too long and a substantial method and curricular reform is overdue to be incorporated into the conservatory training of a guitarist.  Partly to blame for this gaping oversight in guitar education is the lessened expectation from other musicians i.e. because there are lower expectations from guitarists and other musicians alike, in terms of musicianship, there has been no apparent need to address the blatant reading issue that is particular to guitarists.

[2] Williams interview, Jan 29,2010

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 inclusion of guitar in tertiary level chamber music courses, has engendered a new level of participation from guitarists in chamber music performance. The tendency of guitarists to be solitary figures has permitted poor sight reading skills to go largely unnoticed; however, with the increasing amount of guitarists participating in chamber music, sight reading deficiencies have become ever more apparent.  The memorization of works plays a large role in the life of a guitarist and the use of memorization can supplant the need to have adequate reading skills on any level, let alone at sight.  The dependency on memorization for solo repertoire can yield many benefits for performers, however, in a chamber music setting memorization prior to rehearsal can render a guitarist inflexible and unresponsive to the type of communication that is inherent in chamber music. The necessity of a well-formed sight-reading skill becomes more apparent as technique and performance standards rise to levels comparable to those of other musicians.  And, as Sloboda argues, development of the sight-reading skill is one of the final steps towards integrating guitarists into the musical community.

Despite the dramatic improvement in most areas of guitar pedagogy there are still several areas that remain undeveloped and desperately in need of attention. Sight reading skills possessed by tertiary level students are at an inadequate level to cope with professional level engagements.  It is a deficiency that affects a guitarist’s life and the instrument’s reputation and there is no reason for the level of sight-reading to remain as low as it currently is.

Sight-reading draws on many subsets of skills that can be grouped under the broad term of musicianship.  Rhythmic knowledge, harmonic analysis, stylistic knowledge, score reading, solfège and aural skills are all utilized in the process of sight reading.

The Harvard Dictionary of Music defines sight reading as:

The performance of a piece of music on seeing it for the first time.  Performing at sight on an instrument requires the ability to grasp the relevant technical skills for execution; this should be accompanied by the skills of the ear as well.  The ability to perform efficiently at sight and the ability to give finished performances of distinction do not necessarily go together, and both sought be among the goals of musical instruction.[2]

It is important to make a distinction between sight-reading and reading music with the intent of learning the work for performance.  The goal of sight-reading can vary, but for the most part, a coherent and approximate reading will serve the purposes of initial rehearsals or obtaining an overview of a piece. Rarely is the goal to reproduce the notated music exactly upon the first reading. These situations do exist, in recording sessions for example, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Contrary to this reality is the desire of many guitarists to play exactly what is notated on the page. This can be one of the biggest hindrances to good sight reading as the resulting process of error-correction disturbs the flow and coherency of the music.  Alternatively, when sight-reading is understood to be a rough approximation of the music, the reader is no longer burdened by trying to create an exact realization of the music.  Within this freedom of musical approximation the reader can remove notes, add notes, manipulate rhythms and vary the music as much as needed in order to create a musical rendition that has fluency, coherence, and intelligibility. In a chamber music setting this approach enhances the ability to play with fluency and continuity, and it allows a group to rehearse and study pieces with efficiency and ease.

Reading music for purposes of performance repertoire has a distinctly different goal than that of sight-reading and is more focused on a far more in-depth study of the printed page with the final goal of a polished and informed interpretation.  The pressure of reading while playing is removed in this situation and more time can be taken to decide on interpretive details, resolving technical issues and analyzing musical elements.

Yet there is a point at which sight reading and reading to learn become very similar.  Several aspects of each activity share similar skill sets and both have goals of a rendition of the music albeit in a different time span. For example, interpreting rhythms, pitches, markings and phrasing are common to both, however, with the memorization process the printed page is used more as a visual guide than explicit instruction.

[2] The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press; 4th edition (November 28, 2003

In my own experience, and in the experience of colleagues, the production of a CD does not turn a monetary profit – at least not in the short term. Everyone will have different expenses for their recording so some will find it easier to break even than others, but for many the creation of a CD is a large investment of money with little return.

So who does buy classical guitar recordings these days?

If your name is not John Williams, David Russel, Julian Bream or Andres Segovia, you will be fighting an uphill battle to sell your CD to strangers in a marketplace that has a tiny demand for classical guitar music. You simply have to ask yourself the question: “When having to decide between Julian Bream or me to download Asturias, who will they choose?”. As an alternative to battling it out in the realm of standard repertoire you might choose to record works that are seldom heard or newly composed. A good idea in theory, however, the average consumer will stick to what they know in terms of repertoire and you will be appealing to a smaller and smaller market as the music becomes more obscure.

So I’m doomed to spend my life with 1000 shiny coasters?

No, not at all. You will sell CDs and downloads to people who know you. “People who know you” is a much larger group than you might think and it is very expandable. A word to the wise, however, be conservative at the amount of CDs you get printed if it is the first time you are going through the process. Many friends of mine have made orders of 1000 CDs because it is cheaper per unit and they had dreams of grandeur. But the sad truth is that they now have piles of boxes sitting in their attic. Do a realistic count of how many CDs you can sell in the first 6 months after printing and go from there. You can always make more…

Who will buy your CDs:

Close friends and family – the inner circle

Even though your mother might be happy that she was mentioned in the liner notes, she might take a dislike if she has to fork out $20 for your new CD. On the other hand it is people like your mother (i.e. close friends and family) who would actually be happy to give some money in support of your career. The choice is yours in this inner circle – my choice has been to give recordings to very close friends and family as gifts, I feel they have given me a ton of support over the years and it is a nice way to say thank you.

When we look outside our inner circle we find a big market of buyers that will be some of your most reliable and appreciative buyers.

Friends.

School friends, sports friends, spelunking friends, larping friends, you name it they will be there for you as a great group to market your new CD. It is really fun to share what your passion is with your friends and they will get pleasure out of being a part of that. Send out personalized emails, have a CD launch and invite them all, announce it on social networks, etc. There is obviously some tact needed when marketing your CD to friends as they might get a bit turned off if they feel like you are spamming them with advertisements. With some tact and patience, however, you can easily sell a large portion of your recordings to a very appreciative group.

Concert Audiences

These people get to know you through a performance they attended. Simply put, if they like the performance and they have some expendable income (which they probably do seeing as they attended the concert) they will most likely purchase a CD. Be sure to let the audience know that you have CDs for sale and price them reasonably – remember it is better to sell 50 CDs at $10 than 5 at $20!

Fans

Fans are people that know you through your music and follow your career. Whether that means they are a fan on facebook, signed up for a website mailing list, or simply come to your concert when you are in town, this group feels a connection with you and this connection is something you should sustain and grow. In the long run, it should be your goal to turn members from all other groups into fans. Fans are not only great because they support you by coming to concerts and buying CDs but they will also spread the good word and do marketing for you!

Afficionados

This group will often include many classical guitarists. There may be a selection of audiophiles who simply love to listen to guitar music, or classical music in general, but for the most part this group is made up of university students, retirees that have taken up guitar late in life and the rarest of all, someone who simply just likes classical guitar music.

I digress…

Here are some of the most contentious guitar topics on the web…

The bestest mostest of all time(est)

Arguments about opinion seem to be a little pointless, but that’s just my opinion. The best guitarist, the best guitar, the best string, Spruce vs. Cedar

Historical accuracy

I once uploaded some program notes that I wrote when I was in my first years of university. The content was written on a little known work by J.S.Bach entitled Chaconne BWV 1004. Wow. Big mistake. I received so many messages from everywhere saying that the information was ‘bogus’ and that the article itself was ‘deplorable’ that I took the article down. Admittedly, the article was of a poor scholarly level and I did not want to spread mis-information, but my first experience with the internet’s very particular style of scrutiny was a little shocking. I kept thinking, can’t we all just get along?

Apoyando vs. Tirando

This epic tug of war was started by guitar heavyweights in 19th century Paris (More like 7th century Uganda, check your facts mate!) and it still rages in the guitar forums of today. Which way do you tug?

Censorship

Specifically tied to the Delcamp forum is a particularly perturbed pluck of guitarists that feel they have been victimized on the forum. In some cases they claim to have posts removed and in others they have been banned entirely. The cases for and against censorship on the Delcamp forum are strong, but you cant argue with the Mod. Because he has the delete button.

Big Personalities

Some people get a kick out of stirring up trouble, some are passionate, and some just feel the need to abuse but there are a certain few who regularly appear amidst the flames… you know who you are.

Got any good flame stories to share?

Leave them in the comments below.

How did this store get started?

Juan Teijeiro

I started out in “The Spanish Shop” on Fulham Road. It was a little bit out of the way but we did well there. I started to import guitars to sell them to other shops and that’s how it all started. First in Fulham Road and then here, where the store currently is and also just around the corner in James Street, we had a store for ten years. Eric Clapton used to come in all the time, he said he loved the store and he would sit there playing for ages. Once we moved here, that was it, and we didn’t see him anymore. We also started a store over in Warren Street but it didn’t work, there were a lot of people but it just didn’t make money. I couldn’t be at both stores so that meant people just did what they liked. Now we put all of the energy into this store and its doing very well.

What have you seen change in players over the years?

In the 50s I used to go down to a place in Madrid called the “Society for Guitars” and everyone used to go there. Segovia’s wife used to come down and all the famous makers used to come down. You saw the people playing there, and there were a lot of players, and everyone played differently some people even used the little finger. Everything was very, very personal, it was lovely to see. It was lovely to see everyone with different ideas and techniques and now, we have the factory, where everyone plays more or less the same.

What kind of concert guitars are people interested in these days?

Well there is a lot of interest in these new lattice braced guitars. They used to be very, very heavy, extremely heavy, but now they are getting lighter and lighter. There are some people that just don’t want to know because they sound different and they want the traditional sound. But that’s the way it is. Now the guitar, which we sell quite a lot of, is the Dieter Hopf. He worked out a system that he gave to Adalid in Spain so these guitars have a double label Hopf-Adalid  One designed the guitar and the other made it. We sell them like hot cakes. They sell for around 3000 pounds and with some of the others being six or seven thousand, they are very good value.

Why do you think some of these guitars have sky rocketing prices? For instance there are some Smallmans selling in the US for close to 40,000 dollars

Well let me tell you something about that, there are people who collect them. People who have to have a Smallman because they have a Fleta and this and that, they just want to collect them. He doesn’t like that, Smallman, he wants the guitar to go to the guitarist. When one of his customers buys a guitar just to deal with it, he’s not happy. Fleta, was the same way. When I went to put in an order and he knew I had a shop, he wasn’t happy about that. He has so many players waiting so why should he give it to a shop?

What plans do you have for the store?

Well we are going to do the whole place up, new paint new floors, and we have already started. But the one thing about it is we are not going to change the store, many people had something to say about that. Everybody told me “don’t change, leave it as it is” Its like a club here, people can come here, the way it used to be in Spain. You would go into the shop and people were talking, it was normal and that’s what we like here. Anyone can join as long as its about the guitar. We used to have someone working here that was just interested in football, that wasn’t for us it has to be about the music, the guitar. How do you play this, what do you think about that… that’s good for the shop.

The London Guitar Studio is located at

62 Duke Street, London W1K 6JT

Tel: 020 7493 0033

www.londonguitarstudio.com

info @ londonguitarstudio.com

Organization and Students

Festival participants are free to partake in the proceedings for a matter of days or stay for the entire duration. While this offers a lot of flexibility to students it also creates a less coherent student community and you may find this festival more disparate than others. What really makes this festival tick, however, is the camaraderie among students who organize their own outings and the staff who are organized, accommodating and very friendly.

Veronique van Duurling and Veerle D'hoest

Masterclasses

The masterclass lineup at the festival is very impressive with David Russell, Manuel Barrueco, Leo Brouwer, and Sergio and Odair Assad being regular instructors. Students can elect whom they would like to study with in courses that run between two and three days. These courses have a limited enrollment of around 12 people each and the more popular ones fill up quickly, so be sure to apply early. Courses currently cost 175 euros for active participants and 55 euros for passive.  For this price the experience can be somewhat limiting as for 175 euros you only get one hour long lesson with the instructor. So if you want to have several lessons, be sure to have deep pockets too! The real value comes with free admission to all of the festival events once you have registered for at least one course.

Competition

Sanja Plohl

In addition to the classes there is also and international competition that is open to all class participants. The turn out for 2010 was strong, perhaps due to the free choice of repertoire, and consisted of two rounds of twelve and twenty minutes duration.  Prizes include a concert guitar by Jose Ramirez and a return concert in the following festival. This years finalists included 1st prize Sanja Plohl (Slovenia) 2nd Prize Mircea Stefan Gogoncea, and 3rd prize Veronique van Duurling (Belgium). Mircea started the proceedings with a very colorful and mellifluous rendition of Tansman’s Variations on a theme by Scriabin followed by the virtuosic Capriccio Diabolico by Tedesco, then Sanja played Aguado’s ubiquitous Rondo in A minor and after breaking her nail bravely went on to carve up Rodrigo’s Sonata Giocosa. Veronique opened with Sor’s Mozart variations and ended the competition with two movements from Domeniconi’s everwool – Koyunbaba

Concerts

Concerts in the festival are as diverse in content as they are in location with performances from Pepe Romero and Ignacio Rodes to Placebo and Deep Purple to Paco de Lucia and Joan Manuel Serrat. If you have an equal interest in rock legends and Flamenco then you will be in guitar heaven here at the festival. With seven venues housing the different concerts, you might find yourself doing a fair bit of walking but with Cordoba being a small city the furthest venues are only a short taxi ride away. With student status you gain free access to almost all the concerts, which is a great deal.

Accomodation

Cordoba is spattered with little hostels that are close to the festival buildings but for a couple of reccomendations:

Hostel Sanata Ana – around 35 euros per night with air con, tv, wi-fi and a nice bathroom

Hostel Plateros – around 28 euros with breakfast air con wi fi and bathroom.

Plateros is one of the nicest places to stay that I saw during the festival as it has a quiet street with an outside restaurant and is right across from one of the concert halls.

Getting there
Cordoba isn’t serviced by an international airport and the easiest way to get there is by taking the AVE train from Madrid/Malaga. The AVE is a high speed train that will take you directly to Cordoba from Madrid in under two hours. After purchasing my first ticket from the Renfe site on the web I found out that its about 50% cheaper if you just turn up at the train station. Its the low season in Summer so you will most likely get a seat without reservations.
From other cities, like Granada or Seville there are regular buses that are cheap and effective.

Rant. No 1

I own a very lovely Paul Sheridan guitar, which is a lattice-braced instrument. After a concert there is always someone who wants to admire the guitar and asks some questions. Fine. The very human instinct to touch things when we see them is understandable and for most that ‘do not touch’ sign in a museum is like a red rag to a bull. But, when I am standing there face to face telling someone that the soundboard is very thin , so thin that you could easily puncture it with your finger, and they proceed to bang on it like a drum, I can’t help but get a little peeved.

Rant no.2

As I am writing this I am 27 and I have spent the last 8 years in higher education receiving a bachelor degree, masters and doctorate. So when I am performing for a private concert and after playing a Bach sonata the organizer comes up to me and says “we really just wanted some Gypsy Kings, could you play something like that?” I can’t help but get a little miffed.

Rant no. 3

Things that are not funny after the 100^th time

“What have you got in that case? A machine gun? Hahaha”

“What do you mean you don’t know Hotel California?”

“Do you mind doing it for free? It will be good practice for you!”

“Ewwwwww, look at your nails!”

“Oh that’s a nice hobby, but what do you really do?”

“It cost your life saving huh? Can I have a go?”

Let off some of your own steam below…

I had a bad habit several years ago of sharing my frustrations and self critique with people after the concert. The day I realized that this was a behavior that I needed to change was when a kind member of the audience came up to me and paid me a wonderful complement.  She told me that she saw …*insert famous classical guitarist here* live in concert and thought my performance was better! I proceeded to tell her how wrong she was and how terrible my concert was. This was bad for several reasons. Not only was I undermining this person’s artistic judgment I was also ruining their memory of the concert. Furthermore, after berating myself for a little while, I found out that this person organized a concert series in Europe… whoops. So all I really achieved through my negativity was negative results. Since then I have been working on my outlook following all performances, good and bad, and I have come up with some ideas that I follow and you may consider trying if you suffer from a similar “Eeyore effect”

Just because we might feel disappointed with our performance doesn’t mean that everybody was.

Our perception,  from the performer‘s point of view, as to how a concert went is severely distorted through our own subjective perception. Unrealistic expectations, fears, stress and a predominant focus on the negatives means that we are likely to be a poor judge of how a performance came across to the audience. One audience member might be attending their first guitar concert, one might be out on a first date and has more on their mind that just your Scarlatti, one might be a seasoned musician, one might be your brother… you get the picture. Point is, people will respond to your performance in different ways for different reasons and if they enjoy it, don’t sabotage yourself, and them, by taking away from that enjoyment. Accept compliments with gratitude and humility. It will make everyone concerned feel better.

I saw the sign

In regards to practice and repertoire concerts are invaluable insights into what needs more work. If you missed some passages, lost good tone during difficult passages or felt tense in your hands after long pieces, you should take note of these things and address them in your practice sessions. The famous line “it sounded better in the bedroom” highlights the fact that normal practice sessions are void of some crucial aspects that we need to address in our playing. Namely, performance anxiety. Just because a passage is working when you are warmed up and calm doesn’t mean that it will work in the concert hall. So treat these slips in performance as valuable insights to what needs work.

Get a grip

Was it really that bad? Probably not. And if it was? So what! Negativity can breed fear, anxiety, stress and it is an easy hole to fall into. Confidence on stage is an elusive trait and you are definitely not going to attain it through self deprecation. Focus on what was good about the performance, think about compliments you received and give yourself some positive affirmations.

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 is to us. It’s no wonder, then, that we don’t want some burly stranger throwing our beloved around on tarmac and that we put up a bloody big fight to keep the guitar with us when we get on a plane!

I have heard horror stories about instruments that were damaged and destroyed from being checked in on flights. From disintegrated cellos that fall off luggage belts to punctured guitar soundboards that fell victim to curious security officers (John William’s Smallman!), fragile and very expensive instruments that have survived world wars and social uprisings stand little chance once ‘checked in’. I almost feel that the fragile sticker is sometimes a red rag to a very bored and angry bag handler. But that’s just me being cynical…

I have clocked up hundreds of hours of flying time by now (being from Australia has boosted my stats) and I have learnt a few strategies for getting my guitar on board. I am happy to share with my fellow guitarists some tips and I hope it means a safer journey for the little pluckers.

Arm yourself with knowledge

Airline policies differ in regards to carry on luggage so do yourself a favor and find out which airlines are guitar friendly. Here are a few examples:

American Airlines

• Small musical instruments may be carried onboard the aircraft providing they meet existing carry-on size requirements and fit in the overhead bin or under the seat in front of you. Case dimensions may not exceed 45 dimensional inches (width + length + height), except for guitars which may be brought on board only if they can be safely stowed in an overhead bin or approved stowage location in the cabin.The instrument is considered the passenger’s one allowed carry-on bag. A personal item is allowed in addition to the instrument.

Delta Airlines

• Guitars and other smaller musical instruments, such as violins, will be accepted as your free carry-on baggage item on Delta operated flights¹. These items must easily fit in the overhead bin or other approved storage location in the cabin, based on available space at the time of boarding. If adequate space is not available, then the item must be checked and fees will apply.

United

• You can carry on one guitar or similar or smaller sized musical instrument, which will count as your one carry-on item. The musical instrument, which may exceed 45 linear inches, must be able to be stowed under the seat in front of you or in an overhead bin or another approved stowage location. If space is unavailable prior to departure, the item must be checked as baggage

Continental Airlines

• Musical instruments can be carried on board or checked as baggage. If necessary, a seat can also be purchased for an instrument. Carried on Board: A small musical instrument can be carried on as a personal item. If the musical instrument appears too large or irregularly shaped to fit under the seat or in the overhead compartment, it will not be accepted for in cabin stowage.

Southwest musical instrument carry on policy

Mind your attitude

The people at the airport (flight attendants, security etc.) are the one’s in charge and even if you think you are legally/technically in the right, the buck stops with them. Instead of acting aggresively and demanding that your guitar is worth a bazillion dollars (bad idea, trust me) be polite, courteous and respectful. Airport staff have a tough job and they deal with many grumpy and tired people daily, if you show a little kindness and good cheer they might be inclined to reciprocate the favor (this works for everything else in life too). You will be surprised how far your smile will get you, on a flight I had down to Charlotte NC the pilot actually took the guitar into the cockpit with him!

For example:

Scenario 1

Cordial flight attendant- I’m sorry sir but you cannot take your guitar on the plane, it’s over the carry on allowance.
Yngwie Williams – What?! I just saw that lady take on a giant sombrero and a a chihuahua in nappies and you won’t let me take this on? This guitar is very fragile and worth a lot of money so I need to take it on with me.
Irritated FA – You will have to purchase a separate ticket for your instrument then sir.
YW – You have got to be kidding me, I have taken this with me on hundreds of flights before. I will not take no for an answer.
Cue intimidating baggage handler and security – guitar gets put in the hold with a dash of spite – result: the most expensive set of toothpicks you will ever own.

Fail

Scenario 2

Cordial flight attendant- I’m sorry sir but you cannot take your guitar on the plane, it’s over the carry on allowance.
John Ghandi – Would it be possible to see if it will fit in the overhead storage or in a cupboard? If it doesn’t I understand that it needs to be checked.
Cordial FA – Well, it isn’t a full flight so you can see if it fits. What kind of guitar is it?
JG – Classical
CFA Oh! I love the Eagles.
Cue slight regret that you could have been a rock star if you stuck with electric – get on board and fly with your precious – result: relief.

Win!

Be discreet

You guitar is oversize, there is no way around it, so don’t bring attention to it!
The first hurdle is the check in desk. I know it sounds silly but I will always try to get served by the happiest looking staff member, even if it means letting people in the line go in front of me. Grumpy check in people seem to love sticking to the rules so I avoid them if I can. When you approach the desk have your passport and paperwork ready and in front of you so they have something to look at while you quickly put your guitar on the ground. If they ever ask about your guitar or if you have other carry on luggage, don’t lie – express line to the cargo hold. However, they rarely ask about carry on luggage, they normally ask if you have anything else to check in, which of course… you don’t.

Security is the next hurdle, but to be honest its the least of your worries. The security checkpoints are more interested in guitars that break without baggage handlers, if you get my gist. Just don’t put any prohibited objects for carry on in there. Things like music stands (a.k.a. sniper rifles) will always warrant a luggage search so keep that in your check in baggage if you want to keep unwanted hands away from your guitar.

The waiting lounge can be a minefield when the flight is full, attendants will hover around looking for oversize bags to check early so I advise keeping a good distance from the gate. When presenting your boarding pass make good eye-contact and have your passport and boarding pass ready. Keep your guitar to the other side than the attendant or on your back. When boarding the plane the first thing to look for is the type of overhead bins they have. If they are long , with removed dividers and doors that open upwards, you are set to go but if they are the individual drop down bins you’re in trouble. The only option in this case is to quickly find the first class/crew cupboards. These cupboards are located in different places on different planes but they are always close to the entrance (that’s were the posh people sit you see). If you get it in there, run like the clappers because once its in, its in. No self respecting flight attendant would ever move what they think is first class baggage. If you can’t find it, then politely ask an attendent to help out.

If it doesn’t work out, well, you tried your best.

Practical Issues

Know what kind of plane you are flying on.
Some planes simply will not fit a guitar in the overhead. Small commuter planes can barely fit normal carry on bags let alone your favorite fleta. Look at your itinerary and google the planes that you will be on. If you are on a Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767, 777, Airbus A320, A321, A 380 you will be fine. Dash-8, Embraer CRJ-700 or Embraer ERJ-135 save your time and sanity and just resign yourself to checking your guitar in. Of course, you might consider changing your airline/flight in order to avoid smaller planes.

The smaller your case the better your chances.
One of the biggest benefits of fancy shmancy cases like Accord is that they are small and form fitting to the guitar. This means that they look far less bulky than a Hiscox type case and stand a better chance of 1. being accepted and 2. actually fitting.

Insure your guitar
If you have invested a lot of money on your guitar then for heavens sake get it insured! Bad things do and will happen so if you cannot afford to buy another instrument then you cannot afford not to get insurance. There are several insurance companies out there that insure musical instruments and you will want to go over their coverage policy in detail. Be sure to check that your instrument will be fully covered for replacement and repair during all forms of travel.

Have a travel guitar
I am not talking about one of those coat hanger deals, rather, if you are going on a trip that doesn’t involve Wigmore Hall debuts why not buy one of those pink sparkly guitars in the store window to spare you and your guitar unnecessary stress?

Take up the ukulele.

Share some of your own tips and stories below and in the forum