To read and play music, instantly at first sight, is an impressive skill but also one of the most challenging tasks for musicians, particularly with guitarists.
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Beginner
Pattern Recognition in Music
When learning a new piece, it’s important to first scan the music to get an overall feel for its structure, a process called pre-reading. Look for elements like key signature, challenging rhythms and pitches, and musical patterns.
How can I play louder?
The skill of playing loudly is a vital one for our instrument based on the comparative overall dynamic range of the classical guitar.
Beyond the open position
For most beginners, the fingerboard with its 19 frets and 120+ notes is daunting. After mastering the open position, when and how should one begin learning the fingerboard?
Developing alternation with a
Remembrance is a p,i,a,i,a,i arpeggio study. Before playing, make sure you’ve mastered free-stroke alternation on two strings. This requires two important techniques: the sympathetic and opposed finger motions.
Developing the p,i,m,a,m,i arpeggio
The p,i,m,a,m,i arpeggio works most efficiently when organized as two sympathetic motions: i,m,a followed by m-i, with an opposed a,m in between.
Exploring Rest-Stroke Position
Free-stroke position is the foundational position for the right hand. On average, guitarists use free stroke about 80% of the time when playing solo.
Two Etudes–Applying Finger Alternation
Scale practice develops two essential right-hand skills: finger alternation on a single string and finger alternation involving string crossings.
Two Etudes–p,i,m-a,i
An excellent way to begin developing the alternation of a, is with the p,i,m-a,i arpeggio. It’s organized exactly the same as p,i,m,i, only a is coupled with m.
Mindful Learning
This video series, Mindful Learning from the Online Supplement accompanies the 3-volume Shearer Method and represents the cornerstone of Shearer teaching.
New Music: Solace and Lyric Tune
Two new beautiful studies composed by Alan Hirsh featuring rest-stroke melody with free stroke accompaniment–Solace in 5/8 and Lyric Tune in A major. Listen to a recording while you view and download them both.
Three Tools for a Successful Performance
While the art of being on stage as a guitarist can be a mystery, there are clear ways to ensure success when approaching performing. When it comes to performance skills, we sometimes think…
Our Hands, Our Bodies
We often forget that our hands are connected to our minds and the rest of our physical body. In other words, our hands are affected by what we eat, how tired we are, how in shape we are, and how we treat ourselves.
Pre-Reading Using Aim-Directed Movement
Aim Directed Movement” or ADM is a really simple concept that allows the player to see in their mind’s eye, thus creating an“aim” which directs the movement of their hands on the guitar.
“Daybreak” Lesson
Daybreak is an p,i,m arpeggio etude originally composed for the GFA magazine, Prodigies. The article demonstrates how the technique of sympathetic motion as well as approaches of pre-reading and visualization are applied. An informative video accompanies the article.