HairyBear

allright well i just learned the fingerpicking style and i want to learn how to play classical music.How long does it take to learn something like that and the best way to begin?.Iam in love with that sound

stackny

I would HIGHLY recommend a teacher if you can afford lessons.

If you can't, first thing you gotta do is grow out your nails and shape them correctly. Theres some great books out there on it as well as videos on youtube. Nails are a work in progress for a while and they are high maintenance. The technique is quite different from a lot of other styles so I would get a book or video on this also.

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HairyBear

Iam currently broke so thats not a option.Ive been picking the string without my fingernails and it seems to working fine, ive been letting them grow though to see if it makes it easier or not. Ive been picking chords lately just for practive i guess but iam definatly gonna recieve lessons as soon as possible.

I love that sound. Iam hoping that by June ill be able to play like decently. Dont ask me why i put that smiley there, it just seemed like it fit. lol

Dan de man

i too started to fall in love with the classical sound
i started on Bouree in e minor by JS bach YouTube - Lute Suite Nr.1: V Bourree in E minor by J. S. Bach
the intro is fairly easy but the rest get a little harder
it took me as beginner to classical guitar about 1 1/2 months to learn the peice by heart and fluently

Deckham

That's great, man - post it up , I'd love to see/hear it.

HairyBear

Well i havent been using my nails, i let them grow but i dont like playing with them. I like my fingertips better it seems? Does that really mattter? lol

Rustee

Like with most things, it depends on how far you want to take it. You can devote your entire life to the genre and still have room for improvement. In my case, I stuck with fairly simple studies and easy melodies for at least a year or so. Also, I had already been playing guitar for over 10 years before attempting classical, but before that I finger-picked only with my thumb and index finger, so in part I started as a true beginner.

I never took classical lessons, instead learning purely from books and the web. Though obviously a teacher would be beneficial (provided the teacher is competent), don't let that stop you from getting started on your own.

And even though I now grow and maintain my nails, I didn't for the first 3 or 4 years. Eventually I tried it out and liked the tone and increased volume, though I still don't grow my thumbnail. It is usually preferred to play with nails, but again, not mandatory. Check out this article on some of the history of the debate. But notice the last few sentences of it: And finally, LearnClassicalGuitar.com is a good place to turn to, and it has lots of beginner lessons...many with video examples. For instance, this piece was the first classical piece I ever learned (though I got it from a book), and it really helped me break in my previously unused fingers.

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54thovi

Classical Guitar is wonderful. You can get a decent Yamaha CG-151S guitar for about $350.00. There are also some nice spanish ones as well in the under $700.00 range. To get a good sound you will need to grow and take care of your nails. They don't have to be real long either. Some don't play with nails at at but you can control your tone a lot more with them. You will also need to learn to read music. It isn't real hard. If lessons are out of the question I suggest either the Christopher Parkening method books or the Frederic Noad "Solo Guitar" book. THey coast about $20 books. Be forewarned, there is a lot of discipline in classical playing as to the correct way to sit and hold the guitar. Follow those ways even though you don't for other styles. It will help you play easier and better.

Enjoy,
John