[Guitarwizard]

Hi all..

I'm playing electric guitar since a pretty long time now, but surprisingly I got interrested in starting classical guitar now..
I'm not thinking about being a pro in this, but I'd really like to be able to play a few pieces, as well as being able to read them.

What do you guys think would be the best way to start? Has anyone made similar expieriences?
I have only VERY little expierience in reading, I can do some very basic leadsheets, but that's it.
And what about the long fingernails? Are they annoying when playing electric guitar? And how long would it approximately take, to get decent in reading and playing? I would consider myself as good in electric guitar / metal playing - but I don't know how far this would help me..


Thanx guys!

[Durero]

Lessons with a good teacher is very helpful.

Also check out Learn how to play guitar and order the DVD & book and make sure your teacher understands the materials presented in them.


William Kanengiser has some great learning videos as well - this is a tiny sample:



The fingernails don't have to be very long at all, mine are only a tiny bit longer than my fingertips and don't affect electric playing very much.

How long it takes you to get good at it is entirely up to you, and trying to aim for any specific amount of time is meaningless in my opinion. Like any other skill, it takes regular and frequent practice. I'm sure you'll find that practicing classical guitar will improve your electric playing and overall musicianship tremendously. Best of luck

[rasav]

Reading lead sheets is way more ability than most classical guitarists start out with. In fact you will have no difficulty in finding many beginning pieces where you don't play more than two notes at a time. (Start out with Bach Minuets...It's his mark of genius that any of his pieces will make the rankest beginners sound like a god on any instrument)

Another advantage of classical guitar is that most of the music being over 100 years old is not subject to copy rite law and freely available as tab.

The nail thing is not a very big issue. It is enough to have nails that protrude just past the tips of your fingers.

You will find just as many flavors and styles available in classical as there are in pop...from the earliest troubadour styles through the lute based music of the late middle ages and on into the ages of Baroque, Romance and the wonderful hybrids of Spanish an Europian music from the first part of the 20th century. (ERG knowledge will really come in handy for lute work!)

If you're not going pro, I can highly recommend any Yamaha or Ibenez classical. For a little more the dean Espana line offers cutaways and decent electronics. If you've got money to burn Alverez guitars are great!. Best bet is to buy a yamaha beater and figure out what you want after your comfortable with your playing and know for sure what style you're going for...There's huge sound and construction differences between mainline classical, Flamenco and jazz oriented nylon string guitars.

The main problem I had in getting started was in learning to use my fingers individually and then retraining them to work as a group. (Bitter in fighting between my index and my ring finger ...and don't even get me started on my middle finger's drug and alchahol problems! )


...Just a serving suggestion, not what's reall in the box!

[FanghornFlorist]

Mauro Guliani's 120 studies for the right hand is a good place to start. Each study only uses a G and a C chord, so you can focus on your coordination and reading. Also Aaron Shear or Segovia's slur exercises will help get you started. Both the Shear and Guliani books are very thorough, they go from simple to complicated playing levels, i'm pretty sure Aaron Shear has some other good beginner reading books as well. I've always had to accommodate for two hand tapping, but i keep my nails just over the finger tip. From what i've been able to tell, it's a personal preference, if you do a lot of two hand tapping, you may want to keep them pretty short, otherwise you cannot tap with the fingertip, i use the fleshy part between the pad and the tip. Having slightly longer fingernails will give more volume when needed, though hand position also has a lot to do with that. Length of time is up to you, at least doing flash cards daily is recommended.

[Desecrated]

Originally Posted by FanghornFlorist

Mauro Guliani's 120 studies for the right hand is a good place to start. Each study only uses a G and a C chord, so you can focus on your coordination and reading. Also Aaron Shear or Segovia's slur exercises will help get you started. Both the Shear and Guliani books are very thorough, they go from simple to complicated playing levels, i'm pretty sure Aaron Shear has some other good beginner reading books as well. I've always had to accommodate for two hand tapping, but i keep my nails just over the finger tip. From what i've been able to tell, it's a personal preference, if you do a lot of two hand tapping, you may want to keep them pretty short, otherwise you cannot tap with the fingertip, i use the fleshy part between the pad and the tip. Having slightly longer fingernails will give more volume when needed, though hand position also has a lot to do with that. Length of time is up to you, at least doing flash cards daily is recommended.

Thanks a lot, if you got any more tips like Mauro Guliani, please share them, I'm buying that book the next month.