The Online Guitar Store - Classical Guitar Techniques & Musicianship - Taught by Frederic Hand

By learning the essentials of good playing, such as posture, relaxation, fingernail shaping and the correct application of the free stroke and rest stroke, you will quickly become a smoother and more efficient player. As you practice your arpeggios, scales, vibrato, trills and cross-string trills, you'll learn to apply them to beautiful classical-style pieces such as John Dowland's "Lady Hunnsden's Puffe" and a dance by Gaspar Sanz. Hand's own compositions, "A Celtic Tale," "Heartsong " and "Lesley's Song" are perfect examples of the application of classical techniques to pieces in a contemporary setting. This is a lesson that will dramatically improve the playing of both classical musicians and fingerstyle guitarists of other tradition.

Reading musical notation will definately enhance your enjoyment of this work as the scores for all the pieces played are provided in an easy to read booklet with corresponding tablature.

The pace rolls along quite quickly as one would expect with a single video presentation. Some pieces are well above a beginner, or even an intermediate, player's ability. All is not lost, however, as by doing so, Mr. Hand clearly makes his point about the technique and dexterity needed to master an advanced piece like Dowland's, "Lady Hunsden's Puffe", which he plays beautifully.

I have no regrets in purchasing this video. It's very well done and gets rewound quite a bit.

Whether you're just starting out, or somewhere down the road, this tape will be a valuable reference with an interesting range of material that will challenge most players at some point.