Learn how to play the classical guitar

WELCOME TO THE VAULT
The Archive of Douglas Niedt's
Classical Guitar Technique Tips of the Month
Guitarist Douglas Niedt
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Guitarist Douglas Niedt Vault of Classical Guitar Technique





Learn how to play classical guitar with some of the best
online guitar lessons available.

Receive personalized classical guitar instruction with
guitar lesson videos.

Watch the sample video guitar lesson below of Lágrima by
Francisco Tárrega.

If you don't see a classical guitar lesson video below, go here.
Patience--it will take a few minutes to download.

TAKE PERSONAL VIDEO GUITAR LESSONS WITH DOUGLAS NIEDT

MISCELLANEOUS GUITAR TECHNIQUE TOPICS


1. Marsha to Doug: "You need a bath."
Hand Contrast Baths. Having problems with muscle or tendon pain? Try this.

2. Put An End To Your Guitar's Lap Dance Now
A great way to keep your classical guitar in a stable playing position.

3. Should I Listen to Recordings and Performances of Other Guitarists    

4. Metronome Tempo Markings
File Under: "Lies My Classical Guitar Teacher Told Me." Or, more charitably, "Things My Classical
Guitar Teacher Forgot to Mention--Or Assumed I Knew."

5. Connecting A Single Melody Note To A Strummed Or Arpeggiated Chord
Not too many guitarists do this classical guitar technique correctly.

6. Doug's Rule of Life #17
This rule can be applied to your entire life.

7. Transcriptions and Arrangements
What is essential, is invisible to the eye.

8. Harmonics
These high-def videos show you all the ins and outs of playing natural harmonics, right-hand
harmonics, and artificial harmonics. A very fun guitar technique.

9. Cascading Harmonics for Classical Guitarists
This is probably the best tutorial to found anywhere on cascading harmonics. Thirty musical examples
and 14 video clips demonstrate in great detail how to execute this wonderful guitar technique.

10. How to Read Harmonic Notation
This 28-page guide will help you navigate the murky world of harmonic notation and its contradictions
and inconsistencies

CHRISTMAS

1. Christmas sheet music for guitar Away In A Manger
A gift of Christmas music. Print out the beautiful but relatively easy classical guitar arrangement and
listen to and download his recording of it. The Christmas sheet music is notated in standard notation
and as a Christmas guitar tab.

2. Christmas sheet music for guitar The First Noel
A gift of Christmas music. Print out this easy classical guitar arrangement. Listen to Doug play it. You
can even download the recording for classical guitar. The Christmas sheet music is notated in
standard notation and as a Christmas guitar tab.

3. Christmas sheet music for guitar Silent Night
A gift of Christmas music. An easy classical guitar arrangement  of this classic. Download the
arrangement (in standard classical guitar notation and as a Christmas guitar tab) and download
Douglas Niedt's recording of this timeless Christmas song.

4. Christmas sheet music for guitar We Three Kings
A gift of Christmas music. This classical guitar arrangement can be customized to beginner level,
intermediate level, and advanced intermediate level. Download the arrangement and download
Doug's performance of this beautiful Christmas song. The Christmas sheet music is notated in
standard notation and as a Christmas guitar tab.

5. Christmas sheet music for guitar I Saw Three Ships
A gift of Christmas music. A very playable and energetic classical guitar arrangement (with
recordings) of I Saw Three Ships. Download the arrangement and download Doug's recording of this
classic Christmas song. The Christmas sheet music is notated in standard notation and as a
Christmas guitar tab.    

6. Christmas sheet music for guitar Greensleeves
A gift of Christmas music. Download Doug's classical guitar arrangement of this timeless classic. Doug
gives you the arrangement in standard classical guitar notation and as a Christmas guitar tab. He
also provides an annotated version with detailed instructions on how to play this beautiful Christmas
song. Plus, you can listen to Doug play this beautiful Christmas song and download the MP3 for free.

GUITAR TECHNIQUE EXERCISES

1. How to Practice Guitar Scales and Why.
Do you really need to practice guitar scales? Doug has 19 reasons why you probably should.

2. No Girly-Men Guitarists Here
Develop your hand strength by practicing Macho-Monster Bar Chords

3. Stretching Exercises
Making life easier for the player with short or stiff fingers.

4. Arpeggio Exercises--There's A Better Way.
Want to DRAMATICALLY improve your classical guitar right hand technique on arpeggios? Forget the
Giuliani 120 studies or the Carlevaro 230—they're for people who enjoy root canals and filling out
income tax forms. This is a much better way to improve your basic classical guitar technique.

TUNING

1. How to Stabilize Scordatura Tunings
It can be difficult enough to learn how to tune a guitar in standard tuning. Here is what to do on
altered tunings.

PERFORMING

1. What Do Yo-Yo Ma, Christina Aguilera, and The Pussycat Dolls have in common?
Performing With Energy, Passion, and Excitement: It's All About Communication.

2. Pre-Planting At The Beginning of a Piece
Want to have a boffo beginning? Prep the fingers AND the brain. This one is obvious, but VERY
useful.

3. Adrenaline and Altered Perception of Tempo

4. FOR MEN ONLY: No Hairy Arms (or ankles) (Well, ladies may read the last paragraph)

5. Yes, I Exaggerate
One of the elements of performance magic is the use of dynamics. But you must exaggerate your
dynamics.

6. Where Do I Put The Darn Dynamics?
A followup to the previous article above (#5).

7. How to Give a Performance Without Making a Complete Fool of Yourself
This is a very important guitar lesson for the performer.

PRACTICING

1. How to Never Ever Forget a Piece of Music Again
How to memorize a piece using mental practice. Should be part of your classical guitar practicing
routine.

2. Another New Year's Resolution? Not Quite. How About A Life's Resolution!
Inspirational essay to help you get on track with practicing the guitar every day.

3. Set Goals for Every Practice Session
Practice smart. To get great results out of your classical guitar practicing routine, it must have focus.
Here's how to do it.

4. Practicing in Altered Rhythms
Learn how Itzhak Perlman's accompanist practiced. Practicing In Altered Rhythms will turn your
playing around!

5. Practice With Your Eyes Closed
There's a reason people close their eyes when they kiss

6. "The Old Kleenex Trick"
A very LOW-tech solution to hearing yourself better.

7. Talent is NOT the Answer
This month I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that if you follow all my tech
tips and do everything I recommend, you can master the guitar.

The bad news is that it will take 10,000+ hours of focused, deliberate practice to do it. Face the
brutal facts of reality here.

8. Sight-reading
"How do you get a guitarist to be quiet? Put a piece of sheet music in front of him." Not good.
Develop your sight-reading skill. This is a must for every guitarist.

9. "I've Practiced That Spot A Hundred Times. But when I play for someone, I still mess it up."
Heard yourself say this a few times? This may be the missing element in your classical guitar
practicing routine.

CLASSICAL GUITAR RIGHT HAND TECHNIQUE TOPICS

1. Interval and Chord Balance part 1 (of 4)
Part 1 describes how to learn to control the relative volume between two notes played
simultaneously as an interval. A crucial element of classical guitar technique.

2. Interval and Chord Balance part 2 (of 4)
Part 2 describes the guitar technique of how to bring out an individual note of a three or four-note
chord.

3. Interval and Chord Balance part 3 (of 4)
Part 3 describes techniques using the thumb to bring out an individual note of an interval or chord.

4. Interval and Chord Balance part 4 (of 4)
Part 4 shows how to use the guitar techniques described in Parts 1-3 on Luis Milan's Pavane No. 1

5. Right-Hand Finger Alternation. To Alternate or Not to Alternate--THAT Is the Question

6. Rest stroke follow-through.
Basic classical guitar right hand technique

7. Right hand String Crosses. Good String Crosses Gone Bad
Setting up your right-hand fingering to produce good string crosses.

8. Best Artificial Nail System Yet.
You say you broke a nail? Can't grow nails? You have bad nails, period? Man up. It isn't a big
deal any more.

9. Right-Hand Planting Technique for Arpeggios

10. The Tambor percussion effect
Watch the high def video demos of this multi-faceted classical guitar technique.

11. The anchor-finger technique
More than you may want to know about this classical guitar right hand technique.

12. Fast guitar scales with "ami"
Do you dream of one day being able to play lightning-fast guitar scales like nobody's business? Well,
lucky you, your day has come!

13. How to Master the Tremolo. Part 1.   Part 2.   Part 3    Part 4 (conclusion)

14. How to Find a Good Right hand Position for the Classical Guitar

LEFT-HAND GUITAR TECHNIQUE TOPICS

1. The Secret (Little Jennifer's Secret) of How to Play Clear Bar Chords
Many guitarists have trouble with bar chords. This guitar lesson will help.

2. The Little-Known Secret of Connecting Your Chord Changes Smoothly
When you're changing guitar chords and it sounds disjointed, use this secret.

3. More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About: Guide Fingers
When you learn how to play classical guitar, guide fingers are important.

4. Slurs ("Hammer-Ons" and "Pull-offs")
Again, when you learn how to play guitar, your slur technique must be top notch. It's an important part
of classical guitar technique. Contains high-def guitar videos.

5. Conquering Guitar Acrophobia: Playing in the High Positions Past the 12th Fret

6. Top Ten Nasty Habits of Guitar Technique Part 1: Allowing Left-hand Fingers to help a bar chord
If your bar chord technique is weak, this is what happens.

7. Ten Top Nasty Habits of Guitar Technique Part 2. Allowing the Helpless Pinky to be Pushed Around

8. String Squeaks and Romeo and Juliet. (How to get rid of string squeaks.)

9. Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On: How to Execute Vibrato, Part 1
These are more advanced guitar lessons on this essential classical guitar technique. Very few free
guitar lessons go this in depth. These articles contain high-def guitar videos.

10. Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On: How to Execute Vibrato, Part 2

11. Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On: How to Execute Vibrato,Part 3
The stunning conclusion--includes what to do if confronted by a HIPPLF. A must read!

12. "Hey Bud, Look Where You're Going" or Look Before You Leap
Here is a guitar technique tip that is very simple but has the potential to improve your playing a lot.
It is one of those things you think, "Wait, that's too simple. There has to be more to it than that."

13. An Underused but Valuable Body Part

14. Nailing Harmonics Past the19th Fret. (It's really simple.)

15. How to Learn to Play a Bar Chord in Under 2 Minutes. Plus, watch Doug's video spoof, "Bar
Chords--The Ginsu Knives of Guitar Playing"
My Fellow Guitarists,

I have so enjoyed providing you with my free Technique Tips
of the Month the past several years. I will continue publishing
the tips but they are now available by paid subscription only.

The good news is a year’s subscription (12 tips) costs only
$24 US. That is only $2 a tip which I think is quite a bargain
for written tips that often run to twenty-plus printed pages and
video tips that run from 15-30 minutes.

The tips already in the “Vault” on my website will continue to
be available for free viewing and downloading.

Don’t miss out on my new technique tips. Subscribe below.

Wishing you the very best,

Douglas Niedt
Be a better guitar player or teacher. SUBSCRIBE NOW!

Purchase a ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to:

DOUGLAS NIEDT'S GUITAR TECHNIQUE TIP OF THE MONTH

Doug's Guitar Technique Tip of the Month will be sent to you monthly. These are the best on the
Internet. No one else's technique articles and videos even come close. Most of the written tips run
over 20 pages. Most of the videos run from 15-30 minutes. The tips are thorough and the
production is excellent. Check out the free tips in Doug's Vault for a sampling.

A one-year subscription (12 tips) is only $24. That is only $2 per tip.

Subscribe now and you will automatically receive my special Christmas package--my new
arrangement of the Christmas carol O Come O Come Emmanuel. You receive the music
and four free videos where I show you how to play the arrangement!

Check it out here.