Reddit mentions of Library of Guitar Classics (Library of Series)

I was taught in a group guitar class from the Christopher Parkening books--they're okay as far as method books go (though our class tended to joke that Mr. Parkening must be a raging narcissist with all the glamour shots of him sprinkled through the book).

I eventually discovered the Frederick Noad series of books and immediately fell in love with them. His Solo Guitar Playing 1 book is very meticulous and comprehensive. Most of the pieces include parts for a teacher and student, but its still useful for solo learning. He's also published a several compendiums of period music (Renaissance, Baroque, Romantic era, etc.) that are fun to play from.

The "Library of Guitar Classics" is also pretty good to have around as it is a nice compendium of solo classical guitar works from all eras and from many composers. It'll keep you busy for a looooooong time.

You can't buy a factory made classical guitar that is truly high quality. Yamaha makes great beginning classical guitars. I wouldn't pay over $500 for anything with a "brand name," if you're looking for a nice classical then start looking for luthiers or a dealer in your area that sells luthier guitars(either should let you try their guitars before you buy).


D'addario Pro-Arte strings are generally regarded as the all-around best classical guitar strings, and fortunately they're also the cheapest. Go with normal or hard tension if you like more resistance.


The book Pumping Nylon is a great technical resource for classical guitarists at any level.
http://www.amazon.com/Pumping-Nylon-Scott-Tennant/dp/088284721X

http://www.amazon.com/Library-Guitar-Classics-willard-Series/dp/0825614759/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

^ Volume 1 and 2 of that guitar classics book are great for finding rep out of, they have great music from different eras, composers, and difficulties.


More specifically, studies by Sor, Carcassi, or Brouwer are great for beginning pieces. You can move from there to pieces by Tarrega, Villalobos, possibly some easier Bach like BWV999 or Cello Suite#1. Really anything you want. For best results, seek our recordings and videos of well-renowned(not just some shmuck on youtube) guitarists. Use these to make sure you're not playing wrong notes, inspire your own interpretation, and possibly steal their fingerings if it's a video.

this will probably have a bit of what your book has, but it's worth the look. I have this sucker and it's HUGE. all kinds of good stuff is in there. some Sor and Giuliani variations, and some other really big pieces. There is a Guitar Classics 2, which I can't vouch for other than that its online sample looks nice. and they're only about $20. not a bad deal, in my opinion. I actually got my copy about 7 years ago and it's holding up well.

http://www.amazon.com/Library-Guitar-Classics-willard/dp/0825614759/ref=pd_rhf_se_shvl17

Does the [Library of Guitar Classics] (http://www.amazon.com/Library-Guitar-Classics-Jerry-Willard/dp/0825614759/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464631638&sr=1-1&keywords=Library+of+Guitar+Classics) contain TAB? I couldn't find a preview. I have nothing against TAB, and I'm not an elitist; I just find it takes up too much space on the page and it distracts me.

work through the original Aaron Shearer books (I linked book 1, there are 3, you should at least go through the first two and maybe some of the supplemental ones) . If your classical technique is decent then you will breeze through them pretty quickly but you might pick up a few subtle things like playing rest-stroke with your thumb at the same time as free-stroke with your fingers and vice-versa. Once you are good there there are two books you should buy: Pumping Nylon for the various exercises it has. They are very good if you play them regularly. Then buy The Library of Guitar Classics. It is a big spiral bound book of repertoire that looks like a lot of those piano-rep books. It has music ranging from easy to very hard and from the renaissance period all the way through the romantic era with pieces by Tarrega and Albeniz. There is a lot of really good rep in there. There is also a second volume of the book that is almost as good. When it comes to more modern music buy the Villa-Lobos book and work through some of that stuff. It is a great book that was edited by - if I remember correctly - Frederick Noad. There are also some really good books with the complete Bach cello/lute suites (although some of that can be found in the books I already mentioned).

If you REALLY want to kick your ass, see if you can dig up a copy of the Abel Carlevaro right hand book. It is like the Giuliani 120 studies on steroids. I have never struggled that hard to play an arpeggio in my life! I think it is this book but I am not sure. I had a really old photo-copy of it and I don't know where it came from.

Make sure you experiment with which nail shapes work for you. To start, I would just shape my nails around the contour of my fingers and try playing and see which sides need less or more nail. It will take time to get the perfect shape because everyone has a very small difference in the movement of their dominant hand.

Replace your strings every 3 months or so, I recommend D'Addario strings.

Since you haven't played classical before, I assume you have a habit of sticking your non dominant thumb up so it can be seen above the neck. Try to get rid of this. It should be in the middle of the neck, centered with the palm or pointer finger.

Don't use boring outdated instruction books, as it may bore you and cause you to quit classical guitar, though to be fair some 100+ year old books are still great.

This is a great book that I would recommend in a few months once you are a bit better: http://www.amazon.com/Library-Guitar-Classics-willard-Series/dp/0825614759/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335741059&sr=8-1 another good one that you should get right now is Pumping Nylon by Scott Tennant.

If you can't read music you should start forcing yourself to learn it. It will be very tough for a while but if you keep only reading musical notation you will get good at it pretty quickly.

"And most importantly, have fun!"