There is really something special about learning classical guitar music. It generally has such a peaceful, calming effect on listeners. And the finger technique and agility can be pretty astounding, especially when you listen to some of the masters, like Julian Bream, Christopher Parkening, John Williams (the other one), and the "godfather" of modern classical guitar, Andres Segovia. If you're a fan of classical guitar and have always wanted to learn to play classical guitar, there's never been a better time to start. Assuming you own or can borrow a classical-style guitar (usually they have a slightly wider neck and nylon or gut strings, rather than the steel strings found on electric and acoustic folk guitars), you're all set to begin.
First, Some Basics
As with learning any musical instrument, you need to develop good habits from the very beginning. To learn classical guitar, this means you need to know how to properly hold the instrument and how to maintain proper posture, wrist position, and hand/finger position (for both hands, since they have very different jobs to do). Some time spent building good fundamentals in these areas will really save you time (and possible injury) down the road in your classical guitar learning process, when you'll be playing for an hour or two at a time. There are lots of Internet sites that feature video clips of expert guitarists demonstrating all these fundamentals. Take some time to observe and absorb, and promise yourself that you're going to make a habit of doing the basics the right way, every time you sit down to practice.
Reading the Music
Unlike folk, rock, country-western, or blues, classical guitar music is almost always written in standard musical notation (lines and spaces, eighth notes, quarter notes, etc.). If you never took piano or otherwise acquired a background in reading music, you will need to spend some time with a few basic music lessons. Again, you can probably find these online. You'll need to know which lines and spaces to associate with which strings and frets on the fingerboard (the neck of the guitar). In addition, you'll learn with classical guitar that sometimes the music is also written in guitar tablature ("tab" for short), which is a sort of diagram representing the six strings of the guitar, with numbers representing the fret to be pressed to make the note. Often, the tab is shown below the regular musical notation, to assist you in learning where to place your fingers to play each note.
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First, Some Basics
As with learning any musical instrument, you need to develop good habits from the very beginning. To learn classical guitar, this means you need to know how to properly hold the instrument and how to maintain proper posture, wrist position, and hand/finger position (for both hands, since they have very different jobs to do). Some time spent building good fundamentals in these areas will really save you time (and possible injury) down the road in your classical guitar learning process, when you'll be playing for an hour or two at a time. There are lots of Internet sites that feature video clips of expert guitarists demonstrating all these fundamentals. Take some time to observe and absorb, and promise yourself that you're going to make a habit of doing the basics the right way, every time you sit down to practice.
Reading the Music
Unlike folk, rock, country-western, or blues, classical guitar music is almost always written in standard musical notation (lines and spaces, eighth notes, quarter notes, etc.). If you never took piano or otherwise acquired a background in reading music, you will need to spend some time with a few basic music lessons. Again, you can probably find these online. You'll need to know which lines and spaces to associate with which strings and frets on the fingerboard (the neck of the guitar). In addition, you'll learn with classical guitar that sometimes the music is also written in guitar tablature ("tab" for short), which is a sort of diagram representing the six strings of the guitar, with numbers representing the fret to be pressed to make the note. Often, the tab is shown below the regular musical notation, to assist you in learning where to place your fingers to play each note.
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