Classical Guitar Resources

Solo Guitar Playing 1 by Frederick M. Noad 4th Edition

If you had to choose only one book to learn classical guitar from, this one would be it, without a doubt. There are a ton (and I do mean A TON) of reading exercises to make sure that you can read well. It has exercises at the end of each chapter that you can incorporate into your daily practice as you begin to learn new techniques and understand various musical concepts. Throughout different points in the book, pieces that are performable for friends and family are introduced that coincide well with both the reading difficulty level and corresponding playing ability. And, for each of these pieces, there are performance notes that guide you in the learning process and, at times, brief history lessons on the composers of said pieces. Towards the end of the book, there are pieces worthy of college entrance auditions as well as music for guitar duets, trios and quartets. You will learn music written from almost every century starting with the renaissance era.

Overview: Everything you could possibly need to get started, and then some. Highly recommended if learning on your own.

The Complete Sor Studies by Fernando Sor

You are expected to, at the very least, already know how to read in 1st position. All of these studies are very musical, though very classical in nature (as opposed to romantic). These studies seem to have a way of really challenging the player, unlike the pieces in the Sagreras method, which at times, rely heavily on repeated patterns of arpeggios or melodic phrases.

This book is very similar to the Sagreras method in that it is less so a method book and more so a compilation of pieces that are organized by difficulty. It does not break down concepts, techniques or any of that sort. It is just one piece after the other. Unlike the Sagreras method however, none of the studies in this book have any kind of explanations.

Overview: Great if you’re looking for a musical approach to your learning experience. Not so great if you’re looking to get into the nuts and bolts of guitar playing. Highly recommended if using with an instructor to guide you. Great companion to the Sagreras Method if just for some variety.

Julio S. Sagreras Books 1-3 & 4-6

It is in your best interest that when utilizing this method (less so a method book and more so a compilation of short pieces organized by difficulty) you are doing so with the guidance of an instructor. General guitar techniques are not thoroughly covered, though there are brief explanations before most lessons in the book. Book 1 does a great job of scaffolding the lessons so as not to make the student feel overwhelmed, but going on from Book 1 into Book 2, things get difficult rather quickly. The wonderful advantage of this book is that each lesson is beautifully written in a Spanish/Romantic sort of way and all (minus the earlier lessons) can be performed for family and friends and lengthened with an addition of repeat signs wherever the player finds them necessary.

One of the disadvantages of this book is that the student is expected to know how to read music notation and doesn’t ease the student into notes in higher positions at all. A lot of musical concepts are not thoroughly explained, and are missing altogether.

The Bible of Classical Guitar Technique by Hubert Käppel

Less so a method book, The Bible of Classical Guitar Technique is an enormous resource for exercises of all kinds that help to develop immaculate technique and strengthen the left and right hand. It’s almost too technical in its approach, but that’s exactly its strength. If all you’re looking to do is strengthen your technique, through exercises then this is the book for you. It contains exercises on the following (this is not an exhaustive list): string crossing, left/right hand synchronization, dynamics, scales, reducing nail noise, finger independence, right hand trills, arpeggios, rhythms, slurs, memorization tips, and much more. At the very back of the book, you will even come across practice guides organized by length of practice sessions as well as length of time to spend (to the minute) on a given exercises.

Overview: Extremely technical and exhaustive in its approach. More like a manual on guitar technique; very dry, but unbelievably helpful.