Contents
Classical Guitar Basics
How to Tune Your Guitar
Classical Guitar Posture
Classical Guitar Hand Position
Classical Guitar Playing Techniques
Practice Exercises for Classical Guitar Playing Techniques
Practice Exercises for the High E String
Practice Exercises for the B String
Practice Exercises for the G String
How to Play Simple Melodies on Classical Guitar
Practice Exercises for the D String
Practice Exercises for the A String
Practice Exercises for the Low (Bottom) E String
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- Classical guitar fingerings and sitting position
- The secrets behind the most popular classical fingerpicking techniques
- Specific instruction on how to play each string properly
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Classical Guitar Basics
The classical guitar has been around for more than 150 years. In that time, masters such as Agustin Barrios, Andres Segovia, and, more recently, John Williams have all helped to establish it as a highly expressive instrument, capable of holding an audience spellbound with its range of harmonic possibilities. Though this guide has been designed primarily for those who wish to learn classical guitar, you can apply the skills and playing techniques covered here to various other guitar styles, such as acoustic fingerstyle guitar.
Practicing Classical Guitar
Make sure to practice regularly and often. Practicing 20 minutes every day is far better than cramming in two hours of weekend practice with no practice time in between.
Finger Soreness and Callouses
If you’re new to playing guitar, you may find the tips of your fretting fingers become sore as you begin practicing. This is completely normal and something all guitarists go through to develop callouses, which make fretting easier.
What Makes a Classical Guitar Different?
The classical guitar differs from standard steel-string acoustic guitars in two important ways:
- Wider neck: The neck is made wider to allow solo tunes to be played clearly and with harmonies.
- Nylon strings: The strings are made of nylon rather than steel to help project a warm, deep sound.
The Parts of the Classical Guitar
The following diagram shows the main parts of a typical classical guitar.
- Tuning pegs: Tighten or loosen the tension on the string when turned. Change the strings’ pitch.
- Headstock: Holds the tuning pegs, three on each side.
- Soundhole: The round hole in the top of the guitar through which the sound of the strings resonates.
- Rosette: A band of wood, typically embellished with mother-of-pearl inlays, that surrounds the soundhole.
- Neck: Holds the fingerboard and connects the headstock to the body.
- Fingerboard: The wooden surface on which you finger (play) notes. Has metal fret wires that mark each fret.
- Nut: Routes the strings to their proper tuning pegs on the headstock.
- Bridge: The part to which the strings are attached. The saddle separates the strings evenly.
How to Read Tablature
Guitarists often use a form of music notation called tablature, or tab for short. It’s a simplified form of notation that shows the pitch (and where to play on the fingerboard), and its stems (or beams) can help you with the rhythm.
The horizontal lines represent the strings of the guitar going from bottom to top, so the top line of the tab is the top E string on the guitar. The numbers represent the frets. For example, a 3 would mean to press the string at the 3rd fret. Tab can also be used to show chords by stacking numbers on top of one another. Here are four notes on the high E string notated in tab.
- Pluck the 1st string open, without fretting a note.
- Press at the 1st fret and pluck the note (F).
- Press at the 2nd fret and pluck the note (F).
- Finally, press at the 3rd fret and pluck the note (G).
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