What is Classical Guitar? And how is it different from acoustic and electric guitar?

To play classical guitar well, you need to know:

* how to hold and touch the guitar - form and positioning

* how to move your fingers and hands - efficient, clean, and fluid

* how to learn pieces - reading music, understanding what you see, ingraining, polishing

* how to craft the music so it is beautiful - swells and fades, rhythm, touch

* how to practice so all these skills improve over time and don't go away

At the root of beautiful playing is a solid technique (aka “the way your hands move”). You may have beautiful music in your head, but if your hands can't play it, it won't come out of the guitar.

But bad technique puts a limit on your playing. Speed, tone quality, and control can suffer.

Good technique gets stronger and more instinctive with every practice. It forms the bedrock foundation for your music.

And you may want to understand music so you learn it more easily and it makes more sense. This can help you avoid the excess frustration and dismay that comes with shoddy practice and prolonged confusion.

But playing the notes is not enough. Like an actor bring words to life, we breathe life into our pieces.

And we can do this in an organized way, day in and day out, reliably. Great musicians can play wonderfully in any mood. They do not rely on emotions. Instead, they create music that affects our emotions. This is a trained skill, not an inborn talent.

Playing classical guitar is a long-term study. It's something we do in our homes as part of our days. We play for ourselves, for the quality it adds to life. We may enjoy playing guitar for others, but most of the time we are alone with our work.

There are methods and formulas for great practice. We can use our time well so that see more progress.

We can fix the problems and erase the mistakes. And we can enjoy conquering the plentiful challenges that classical guitar music offers.

If you plan to play classical guitar for any length of time, it is worth it to get help. It's not something we can do on our own, like folk music.

If you would like to hear me (Allen Mathews) playing, visit my other youtube channel:

Or check out these other YouTube videos:

[ropehitch]

Yesterday my wife asked me: what is the difference between your classical guitar and the other <parlor acoustic> that you have? I.E. Why do you need to have more than one guitar? Other than pointing out the obvious physical and sonoral differences...I struggled a bit. I'll definitely get her to watch this video that provides a more comprehensive (and more insteresting and articulate) explanation! Kudos & thanks.

[cooliace]

Thank you so much for this video. I am a beginner using a classical guitar and this video helped me a lot.

[davidramkalawan]

Excellent explanation. It answers all my questions. Thank you.

[gitarisngasal]

I learned classical guitar first before joined in the rock band. It was actually a cover band of any heavy metal or classic rock music. And yes the classical guitar training helps me a lot in any genre. Even I don't work as a musician right now still my ability to learn any kind of music with guitar is adaptable.

[Grry]

My understanding is that the guitar is sometimes also referred to as “Spanish” guitar.
“Flamenco” guitar is essentially the same thing too, but is setup differently (lower action and usually a tapping plate)

The style of playing is what attracted me to it. It seemed you can do a lot more with this style.
But I’m very much a beginner

[VainPassion]

Thanks for the interesting explanation!

[Beadgcfb]

Great topic. What do you think it means to be "classically trained "?

[leathertownguitarstudio]

does cicilio had a yt channel. I'd love to hear what he comes up with

[asadeeshprabhakar]

Sir pls let me know the piece name of.that south american music you played

[rproctor]

What is a classical guitar?
A pain in the shoulder...

[RoyceMusic]

Classical guitar is 4 fingers and add some awesome!

[TheOdontologist]

I wonder if Oscar Peterson would be able to play the classical piano, or Miles Davis the classical Trumpet, or Stephane Grappelli the classical violin, instead of the jazz vrrsions of their instruments. A very contemporary topic indeed.

[earthsteward]

Classical guitars don't go to 11! But seriously, thanks for this. I like all three depending on the song and situation. My wife it Iranian and they prefer nylon string guitars