Our 3rd guitarist is studying Classical guitar as a Performance major.

I can only mention Robi from Bitch Boys ...

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when i went to music school as collage student (1972) i studied classical guitar,piano,music composition as well as string,woodwind and percussion technique's i started off wanting to be a composer but end up a surf guitarist. at the time my main electric guitars were a 62 jag and a mustang. needless to say i was consider a bit of an odd ball everyone was playing les pauls and i would show up with my jag and they say you got to get rid of that thing, some one talked me into trading my jag for a Wurlitzer electric piano to play in their soul band.. wish i had them both now....but i must say you can't go wrong learning classical guitar it was one of the best thing i ever did....go for it..

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I had 1 semester of Classical Guitar in high school.
it got to be intimidating, and I decided to get an electric bass.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

I've done a little classical study, mostly 30+ years ago. I never had much of a classical repertoire but I do apply the technique to everything else I've done. I actually worked Mozart's 40th into a band rehearsal this afternoon. No serious classical player loses any sleep worrying that I'll overtake them but the classical techniques I studied were the best thing that ever happened to my playing.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

DuaneEddysMum
Interestimg one...when I wanted to learn to play there were few options...outside of London.It was find a classical teacher or from generally poorly written books.without the benefit of added tapes ,dvds to help.I chose the teacher approach and am thankful for that.

So yes I can sight read and play classical pieces and there is a wealth of beautiful music out there...especially that which has been written for the classical guitar by Terrega,Sor,etc etc...preferable to arrangements of Beethoven,Mozart etc etc.

From this(and holidaying in Spain)I found Flameco now that is really mind blowing incredible stuff. What some players ,some of whom can hardly read....(I am talking about gipsies here some actualy living in caves around Granada the area in Andalusia)........ can get out of a plank of wood still ....and 6 nylon strings is unbeleivable.

So IMO if you can play even reasonable classical guitar you can easily adapt to a pick..

.the other way around.....?????

Of course it is also a godsend if you later become interested in hybrid-pickin,or Rockabilly music.

Have to find a typing teacher Now!!!

DuaneEddysMum
Spot on...Synchro.

As I said before if you have a good solid grounding in classical techniques...reading aside...so many other areas open up to you.

From hybrid/thumb picking and Rockabilly at one end through to Flamenco(my love)at the other.

Thanks D.E.M.

I was very fortunate to have gone through some classical material and perhaps even more fortunate to have found out about the Johnny Smith Approach to guitar (which is for all intents and purposes classical training for the left hand combined with a very disciplined approach to using a pick). I consider myself truly blessed to have been able to study such material.

One thing I feel very thankful about is that it's easier to get good educational materials for guitar than it was 20, 30, 40 or more years ago. The problem is that there is proportionally just as much garbage out there as well. I've seen some training materials that were written by people that didn't know what they were talking about and they perpetuated myths, untruths and some stuff that they seemed to have pulled out of their hat (or elsewhere). I've said it for years, if you want to learn music (not simply how to play a certain style of guitar) find and old school teacher and pay your dues with scales, arppegios, triad inversions and other building blocks. It will be a tough project and will probably take some time but in the end you'll be able to play anything you are called upon to play. I think of guys like Tommy Tedesco who recorded untold numbers of Rock tracks in the '50s and '60s but also did Classical, Spanish, Jazz, Country and whatever else came along and did it well. He knew music, read like nobody's business and had good technique . . . I'm certain that it didn't come automatically . . . he had to work at it.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

DuaneEddysMum
Yes Synchro....the amount and ,more importantly,the quality of the material out there today from beginners to advanced players ....is something some of us could have only dreampt about.

Such is life.

I remember hearing Paul McCartney telling about taking a bus across Liverpool in order to find a guy that knew how to play B7. When I started in '66 there was a passable chord chart in the back of the Alfred's gutiar method book and I bet that I used it for 5 or 6 years.

I think that video instruction is a great tool. For years I've learned by watching other players on TV. I still buy concert videos in hopes of watching the hands of players and trying to get inside the logic of their fingerings.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

I was surprised at how few responses this question received. I thought posting before the weekend I would hear from more players checking into the site here, but I guess maybe there are really this few of us that study classically. Maybe it is intimidating to hear the greats playing with all their decades of practice, but there are so many fun little two minute middle ages pieces that are easy and not unlike surf that I think of any rock guitarist it would be a surf guitarist that would be into it. If anyone is thinking even a little about giving the classical a shot they certainly would not regret it at all. It's not all scales and drills in the beginning.

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oh wow, I forgot about the Fredrick Noad classes.
after I stopped the class in school.
I watched and played along with those for a couple months.
till I just completely gave up, and played my bass exclusively.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Stormtiger
That is probably because classical guitar is a very different animal from surf, or rock. I have played lots of those simple classical pieces from Harvey Vinton's book which all my classically bent friends from college used. I can't think of one piece that is similar to surf in any way, other than that it has a melody. I love classical guitar but I don't find the techniques to be at all useful in playing surf music. I refer once again to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLHR8zaEsA8

What are yew talkin' about? I was waitin' for that feller in the fancy suit to kick his reverb tank. They musta edited that part out.

image

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.