Astor Piazzola is one of Argentina’s most iconic Tango composers. He was a virtuoso Bandoneon player and arranger. Many guitarists play Piazzola’s music which has mostly been arranged for guitar. Some of his most famous works include Libertango, his Four Seasons, Oblivion and History of Tango. I was asked last year to perform at a […]
This is a great way to start your practice or lesson. These are simple exercises which allow you to concentrate on what your hands and fingers are doing. The first two exercises focus on right hand walking, then left hand position and synchronisation. The finger ladder will help you develop strength and independence in […]
Today I’m going to do a follow up video of Concerto De Aranjuez, the previous video was on the rasguedo opening passages. This is the following 8 bars. Let’s discover it together. The end of the introduction, which includes some thumb work and scale work. I’m going to use my thumb to play the […]
This is part one of my new Bossa Nova guitar piece called Pensiero. It has some embellished Jazz chords and effective voice leading while still being at an intermediate level. Harmonically we move through the circle of fifths: Am – Dm 11 – G 11 -Cmaj 9 – E7+ – F7 – E7 – […]
Here is my arrangement of Luis Bonfa’s classic bossa nova hit. It was also performed on a film called Orfeo Negro and was originally called. Maha De Carneval.
Useful Bossa Nova Pattern Using the chord following chords, you can create a useful Bossa Nova Pattern: Am – AmM7 – Am7 – Am6 There is an internal line that is descending chromatically. Follow the video to learn the finger and right hand pattern. Some examples of this pattern in pieces include: Besame Mucho Girl […]
Rumba Strumming is a very useful tool for performing flamenco music. This video will take you through the Rumba technique as used by Paco De Lucia and Gipsy Kings (and many others). The chord progression we are using is Am – G -F – E . We start with a thumb down and […]
The Four Times rule is something you can use to improve the quality of your practice and eliminate small and annoying mistakes that can creep into your playing. Sometimes mistakes do happen when practicing or performing and thats ok but we can definitely minimise them through methods like this one. One often finds that under performance […]
Here is an example of incredible guitar skill and mastery. The great Paco De Lucia performing on Parkinson in the UK. The piece is Almoraima which is a Buleria. Amazing rhythmic control and depth.