Sample Lessons

How To Use This Course

Who is this course for?

This is an introductory course designed both for complete beginners and for those who have already learned to play a different style such as folk or rock guitar and would like to know more about the techniques and music for playing the Spanish Guitar. The technique taught here is that of the Segovia / Williams school of playing.

How are the lessons presented and do I need to read music?

The course does not teach music notation or theory, and assumes a basic knowledge of this on the part of the student. All the studies and exercises are presented both as music notation and as audio and video files, with notes for playing and explanation. Each lesson is thus presented in two parts:

1	This contains music notation and audio files, and for chords graphic images for the left hand.
2	This has video files, graphics and notes for playing. Each video is produced in two formats, a simple video streaming format (100 kbs, 160 x 120) which is not such good quality but will play in the browser, and a higher quality WMV file (360 kbs, 320 x 240) which can be downloaded and played in the Windows Media Player.

Why are the lessons in 2 parts?

This is to help you learn each lesson thoroughly and to give you the maximum support for each new lesson. You should study Part 1 of each lesson first. Read the music notation and listen to the audio file to familiarize yourself with sound and notes. The audio file also has a better quality than that of the sound in the video lessons. When you have done this go on to Part 2 and play the videos which demonstrate the techniques and hand movements required visually.

You can save the "better quality" video on your own PC by right clicking the mouse and selecting "Save Target As..." to download and save the video file. You can then play it as many times as you like.

You can also save or print any of the pages in the course. To print any image file (such as the music notations) first right-click the mouse on any picture and save it onto your PC. You can then print the image with any graphics program (such as Paint under Accessories).

What order should I do the lessons in?

This is basically a progressive course so you should follow the course in the order which is presented. Some aspects of Unit 2 may seem more difficult than Unit 3, but this is because you are introduced to some key techniques you will need to master and know right from the start. This includes the use of the barre in the chord of F major, and the change of position of the left hand in the scale of C major. You will not need to use these techniques in studies until later units in the course, but if you begin practising them from the start your hand and fingers will develop the needed strength to handle this in later units.

How long does the course last?

This really depends on whether you are a complete beginner or you have already learned to play some chords. The course is in 6 Units, and you can reckon on spending about 6 months to work though it assuming that you can practise for 1 hour each day.

The last 2 units may take you more than 2 months, and the earlier units may not require so much time to work through.

Minimum PC requirements

You need a PC with multimedia capabilities and a connection to the internet. The streaming videos will probably not work with a 56K modem (they require a speed of 100KBS), and need a broadband connection. Everything else can be accessed OK with a modem, however, although the time taken in downloading the WMV videos will depend on your connection speed. The audio files can be played on a modem if you have the Real Player plugin installed.

The sound is best played through speakers rather than headphones - the sound of the guitar is better.