Learn Classical Guitar

How is a Classical Guitar different from the others?

A classical guitar has a different anatomy than regular guitars. It has six strings, with the bass strings made of nylon wrapped in brass wire and the treble strings made from nylon. The body of the guitar is symmetrical and made of wood. It includes no electronics.

This is a photo of one of my classical guitars. I had to edit the picture in Photoshop a bit, that's why all the "rough edges" but it's just here to give you a better idea of how it looks. It's hard to see here, but the strings are nylon and not metal. People sometimes make a mistake and put metal strings on a classical guitar. Don't do this as you can seriously damage it!

Anyway, a classical guitarist is not just a person who plays a classical repertoire. It is also important the way he plays. A classical guitarist plucks the strings with the fingers from his right hand and doesn't use any pick. There are also some recommendations about the position of the body that make a classical guitarist different from other guitarists.

How to Start Learning?

The best way to go is definitely a private teacher. He/she will provide you with personal attention and teach you all the technical points of posture or hand position better than any other method. You can learn classical guitar from books as well, but it will probably take longer and you may develop bad habits that are more difficult to break after a long time.

The main disadvantage about taking up private lessons to learn classical guitar is that they cost $15-$20 an hour. A solution would be to find a teacher that teaches group lessons to 4-6 students at once. This way you will pay much less, as well as benefit from observing your classmates. You can take up private lessons later if you feel the need to do it.

Where Can You Find a Teacher?

His/her qualifications: Is he/she a performer as well? What kind of degree does he/she have? What is his/her teaching experience, in years as well as number of students? Are the students satisfied with the lessons? Does he/she specializes in teaching classical guitar or teaches all kinds of guitar? Although these questions don't necessarily reveal whether he/she is a good teacher or not, you can use the information in your final decision on whether you can learn classical guitar from him/her.

Approach to study: The prospective teacher should be able to clearly explain what you will actually learn from the lessons. If you really want to learn classical guitar, you will easily identify a teacher who seem to provide vacuous entertainments most of the lesson, just point out your mistakes and give assignments or cannot provide much advice other than practicing harder. Be careful not to choose a teacher who doesn't take immediate and firm measures to correct any painful condition that you might encounter.

Usually the instructor that knows what he or she's doing will find certain details annoying and will attempt to correct you. For example -- as we mentioned before, it's very important how you sit and how you position your hands and also the way you pick the strings and the way you hold the chords. These are all factors that a classical guitarist must be very knowledgeable about and it's almost impossible to get it right for the first couple of months if not years. So, if he/she doesn't correct you frequently it's a good sign that he/she hasn't had too much experience (at least not in music school).

As a general advice, try to find a music tutor whose competency you believe in and give your best effort to learn classical guitar from him/her. After several lessons, evaluate whether you are actually progressing – you should actually get what you're paying for.

Although a professional guitar teacher is definitely the best way to learn classical guitar, you may choose other methods too. If you don't have enough time or can't afford private lessons, a theory book can also help. If you are serious about playing better, you should be able to learn classical guitar from a well-written and informative book as well.