djcozzer
Verified buyer
04/04/25
Great course for entry level to classical guitar
Take 5: Beginner Classical
Accelerated Style-Specific Study Program for Beginner Classical Guitar
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About this course
Contrary to what most people think, you don’t need formal classical training to be able to learn, perform, and enjoy playing classical pieces for family and friends. Whatever style you play, it's easier than you think.
This Easy Classical edition of Take 5 from Andrew Leonard is an accelerated curriculum designed to help get your classical technique up and running quickly without having to struggle through a lot of tedious exercises and formal training. Work through the course and you’ll have a basic classical technique under your belt and five classical pieces in your repertoire!
”I’ve designed this course so you can "skip the conservatory" and head straight for the music. You can use whatever guitar you have and you don't have to read music. All you need to get started is some guitar playing experience (in any style) and a little bit of fingerpicking ability or the desire learn classical fingerpicking on the fly. I’ll teach you five well known classical guitar pieces from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Romantic eras.”
You’ll start the course with a quick primer during which Andrew will introduce you to PIMA, the fingering labels for classical guitar right-hand fingerings and then show you right-hand classical guitar techniques including rest strokes and free strokes. Next, you’ll work on left-hand classical guitar techniques and learn how to position the guitar for optimal playing. You will find the information here useful for any style of guitar playing.
Andrew will then guide you through 5 classical performance studies, progressing from basic to more advanced applications of the technique.
Andrew will explain and demonstrate all of the key concepts and approaches along the way. You’ll get standard notation and tabs for all of the Performance Studies. In addition, you’ll be able to loop or slow down any of the videos so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace.
Grab your guitar and let’s get classical with Andrew Leonard!
This Easy Classical edition of Take 5 from Andrew Leonard is an accelerated curriculum designed to help get your classical technique up and running quickly without having to struggle through a lot of tedious exercises and formal training. Work through the course and you’ll have a basic classical technique under your belt and five classical pieces in your repertoire!
”I’ve designed this course so you can "skip the conservatory" and head straight for the music. You can use whatever guitar you have and you don't have to read music. All you need to get started is some guitar playing experience (in any style) and a little bit of fingerpicking ability or the desire learn classical fingerpicking on the fly. I’ll teach you five well known classical guitar pieces from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Romantic eras.”
You’ll start the course with a quick primer during which Andrew will introduce you to PIMA, the fingering labels for classical guitar right-hand fingerings and then show you right-hand classical guitar techniques including rest strokes and free strokes. Next, you’ll work on left-hand classical guitar techniques and learn how to position the guitar for optimal playing. You will find the information here useful for any style of guitar playing.
Andrew will then guide you through 5 classical performance studies, progressing from basic to more advanced applications of the technique.
Andrew will explain and demonstrate all of the key concepts and approaches along the way. You’ll get standard notation and tabs for all of the Performance Studies. In addition, you’ll be able to loop or slow down any of the videos so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace.
Grab your guitar and let’s get classical with Andrew Leonard!
About the Take 5 Series
TrueFire’s Take 5 courses feature an accelerated curricular approach to help students get up to speed quickly on a particular style or technique. Each Take 5 course starts with a primer on the particular style or technique and then guides the student through 5 performance studies progressing from basic applications to more sophisticated approaches.What you'll learn
- Apply Renaissance performance practice (quieter repeat chords)
- Play a complete classical fingerstyle arrangement of Greensleeves
- Coordinate alternating right-hand fingerpicking with thumb bass notes
- Coordinate right hand fingers (p, i, m, a) for melody and accompaniment simultaneously
- Maintain steady 3/4 time while playing multiple voices
Release date: 08/08/2018 • 1h 44m runtime
Sample lessons
Level 5: Beginner Classical
Lágrima: Overview
Level 5: Beginner Classical
Lágrima: Performance
Level 5: Beginner Classical
Lágrima: Breakdown
What's included
18 lessons • 5 charts
Take 5: Beginner Classical
Take 5: Beginner Classical is designed to allow you to "skip the conservatory" and head straight for the music. You can use whatever guitar you have, and you don't have to read music. All you need to get started is some guitar playing experience (in any style) and a little bit of fingerpicking ability, or the desire learn classical fingerpicking on the fly. Just follow Andrew as he teaches you five well known classical guitar pieces from the Renaissance, Baroque and Romantic eras.
If you already play classical guitar or have taken any of Andrew's other TrueFire classical guitar courses, you'll be able to quickly learn these pieces. By combining the technique and interpretive skills you have already developed, and the concepts taught while learning these pieces, you will gain a deeper understanding of classical guitar playing.
While guiding you through how to play these five pieces, Andrew will help you bring classical guitar music to life. He'll discuss details on phrasing, the use of dynamics and separating the melody and the accompaniment. These concepts will help you develop your own "classical style" and add depth to your playing, no matter what style you apply them to.
After an introductory primer, explaining the basics of classical guitar playing, we dive right into the five classical guitar pieces. Along the way, you'll learn some classical music history including some of the funny and not-so-funny stories behind these pieces.
The pieces are ordered so that each is a little more challenging than the previous one. Each piece has three video segments: an introduction, a performance and a detailed breakdown explain how to play the piece.
Below, Andrew shares some information on each of the classical guitar pieces covered in this Take 5 course:
Using TrueFire's highly interactive approach, you can easily pause, loop and slow down the playback of any passage, allowing you to learn at your own pace. Guitar tab and standard notation are included for all pieces as is every right and left hand fingering.
So, grab your guitar and let's get started. If it doesn't have nylon strings, set the amp to low and turn off the distortion - it's time to play classical guitar!
If you already play classical guitar or have taken any of Andrew's other TrueFire classical guitar courses, you'll be able to quickly learn these pieces. By combining the technique and interpretive skills you have already developed, and the concepts taught while learning these pieces, you will gain a deeper understanding of classical guitar playing.
While guiding you through how to play these five pieces, Andrew will help you bring classical guitar music to life. He'll discuss details on phrasing, the use of dynamics and separating the melody and the accompaniment. These concepts will help you develop your own "classical style" and add depth to your playing, no matter what style you apply them to.
After an introductory primer, explaining the basics of classical guitar playing, we dive right into the five classical guitar pieces. Along the way, you'll learn some classical music history including some of the funny and not-so-funny stories behind these pieces.
The pieces are ordered so that each is a little more challenging than the previous one. Each piece has three video segments: an introduction, a performance and a detailed breakdown explain how to play the piece.
Below, Andrew shares some information on each of the classical guitar pieces covered in this Take 5 course:
- Greensleeves: I decided to start with this piece because, people always ask classical guitarists to play "Greensleeves". So, you better be prepared! My arrangement of this Elizabethan Renaissance classic has minimal bass and accompaniment, leaving plenty of space for the melody to shine.
- Largo from the lute concerto in D major by Vivaldi: Vivaldi's Baroque era concertos influenced generations of composers. This beautiful slow movement from his lute concerto in D major is one of his most well-known. It's amazing how much music Vivaldi creates using a simple D major scale.
- "Kemp's Jig" is another Elizabethan Renaissance classic. "Kemp's Jig" is a great feel good piece with a funny, possibly ridiculous story behind it. It has a great groove and a little Renaissance improvisation.
- Minuet in G by Bach: This well-known Baroque keyboard piece is easily played on the guitar and gives us an opportunity to play contrapuntal music. Did J.S. Bach actually write it? All is discussed in the video and description.
- "Lágrima" by Tárrega: The final piece is a miniature masterpiece by one the classical guitar's greatest players and composers. This is also the most challenging piece to learn. It was written in the Romantic era and there is plenty of opportunity for expressive playing.
Using TrueFire's highly interactive approach, you can easily pause, loop and slow down the playback of any passage, allowing you to learn at your own pace. Guitar tab and standard notation are included for all pieces as is every right and left hand fingering.
So, grab your guitar and let's get started. If it doesn't have nylon strings, set the amp to low and turn off the distortion - it's time to play classical guitar!
Classical Guitar Primer
In this introductory lesson, I will share with you some of the elements of beginner classical guitar technique and style. First, I'll introduce PIMA, the fingering labels for classical guitar right hand fingerings and thoughts on right hand classical guitar technique including rest strokes and free strokes. Next, we'll cover some concepts of left hand classical guitar technique and how to position the guitar for optimal playing. You may find some information here useful for any style of guitar playing.
If PIMA is new to you: P is the thumb, I is the index finger, M is the middle finger and A is the ring finger.
One thing you may find interesting is learning how a classical guitarist thinks about chords. Beginner classical guitar players do not learn chords the same way other players do: We do not learn to strum open chords; we think about the different voices in a chord shape — the melody bass and accompaniment.
To end the primer, I'll share a few thoughts on what led me to study classical guitar.
As you go through the course, keep in mind you can consult the lesson materials for tab and standard notation. All five pieces have right and left hand fingerings for every note.
Also, you may find it useful the read the introductory text for each lesson. Some is quite extensive and contains information about classical guitar playing, music history listening recommendations and elements classical music terminology.
If PIMA is new to you: P is the thumb, I is the index finger, M is the middle finger and A is the ring finger.
One thing you may find interesting is learning how a classical guitarist thinks about chords. Beginner classical guitar players do not learn chords the same way other players do: We do not learn to strum open chords; we think about the different voices in a chord shape — the melody bass and accompaniment.
To end the primer, I'll share a few thoughts on what led me to study classical guitar.
As you go through the course, keep in mind you can consult the lesson materials for tab and standard notation. All five pieces have right and left hand fingerings for every note.
Also, you may find it useful the read the introductory text for each lesson. Some is quite extensive and contains information about classical guitar playing, music history listening recommendations and elements classical music terminology.
Level 1: Beginner Classical
Chances are, if you play classical guitar, you've been asked to play "Greensleeves". So, you better be prepared! Seriously, after a short discussion about its origins we'll dive right into learning this Renaissance masterpiece. Like many folksongs sung today, we do not know who wrote "Greensleeves". There are many theories, including the composer being England's Henry the VIII. Since an internet search will present you with many conflicting opinions, I choose not spend time speculating during this course.
Level 1: Beginner Classical
As you listen and watch my performance of "Greensleeves", you may want to be on the lookout for some of the elements of classical guitar playing discussed in the primer. Can you see free strokes and the use of P, I, M and A? Do hear my use of dynamics — getting louder of softer? You may want to listen again after watching the breakdown, there are a number of elements of classical guitar style mentioned.
Level 1: Beginner Classical
The main focus in learning to play "Greensleeves" is the melody. The arrangement I made uses a very minimal amount of bass and accompaniment notes, so the melody can be easily heard and played. This will also allow you to experiment with dynamics and apply some of the different "classical guitar style" suggestions made in the breakdown. Be sure to stick around for the great performance opportunity suggested at the very end of the breakdown!
Also, keep in mind you are playing a sorrowful song. I always spend practice time playing the melody alone, for each piece I am playing. I do this to make sure I always keep the mood of the piece in mind, make sure I'm playing expressively and using dynamics. I'm always asking myself, "am I using a crescendo (getting louder) or a decrescendo (getting quieter)?" By experimenting with different dynamic ideas, I gain a better insight into the music I'm playing.
Remember, you can consult the lessons materials for tab and standard notation that includes right and left Hand fingerings. Every note has been labeled for both hands. Again, classical guitar notation for the right hand is P, I, M and A and the left hand is 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Also, keep in mind you are playing a sorrowful song. I always spend practice time playing the melody alone, for each piece I am playing. I do this to make sure I always keep the mood of the piece in mind, make sure I'm playing expressively and using dynamics. I'm always asking myself, "am I using a crescendo (getting louder) or a decrescendo (getting quieter)?" By experimenting with different dynamic ideas, I gain a better insight into the music I'm playing.
Remember, you can consult the lessons materials for tab and standard notation that includes right and left Hand fingerings. Every note has been labeled for both hands. Again, classical guitar notation for the right hand is P, I, M and A and the left hand is 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Level 2: Beginner Classical
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) was one of the Baroque era's greatest composers. He wrote over 500 concertos (instrumental pieces for a soloist and orchestra) and standardized the three movement concerto form (fast, slow and fast) that has been used for centuries. He was admired by J.S. Bach who also incorporated Vivaldi's three movement form into his compositions.
Vivaldi's best known composition is The Four Seasons, a group of 4 violin concertos. Each one's title is a different season and they depict events occurring during each season: walking on ice and a summer storm are two examples.
Included in the over 500 concertos Vivaldi composed are pieces for almost every instrument imaginable including mandolin and the now very obscure viola d'amore.
"Largo" from the lute concerto in D major is part of the slow second movement and the orchestra is strings only. Lute music can easily be arranged for classical guitar. Below are two main things you might find interesting:
Vivaldi's best known composition is The Four Seasons, a group of 4 violin concertos. Each one's title is a different season and they depict events occurring during each season: walking on ice and a summer storm are two examples.
Included in the over 500 concertos Vivaldi composed are pieces for almost every instrument imaginable including mandolin and the now very obscure viola d'amore.
"Largo" from the lute concerto in D major is part of the slow second movement and the orchestra is strings only. Lute music can easily be arranged for classical guitar. Below are two main things you might find interesting:
- The lute sounds about one and a half steps higher (3 frets) than a guitar. So, if you want to be authentic, a capo on the third fret will more accurately recreate the sound. Of course, this is not necessary.
- The lute was tuned almost the same as the guitar. The guitar equivalent is, from low string to high string: E, A, D, F# (not G), B and E. Many lute pieces work well in our standard tuning and some of the very complicated pieces are more easily played if you tune the guitar's third string down a half step to F#.
Level 2: Beginner Classical
As I perform Antonio Vivaldi's "Largo" in D major, listen for the rhythmic patterns. There are two: the long-short-long-short groups of notes that start the piece and the even notes. These rhythms will be covered in detail during the breakdown.
+ 11 more lessons
Reviews
23 results
Maartendrenth
Verified buyer
03/12/25
Perfect teacher
Very good teacher explaining everything very well in detail.
christopher6obrien
Verified buyer
01/08/25
Excellent course
Ohio5665
Verified buyer
06/14/23
Great course that shows some of the basic fundamentals of classical guitar by teaching you etudes and songs in the classical style. Andrew Leonard is a great teacher!
Dave58
Verified buyer
11/24/21
Great!
Very instructive course, great fun to play and listen to the explanations. A very passionate teacher. The 5 stars are also for the beautiful classical music pieces that are covered in this course. Highly recommended!
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