If you want to be tunely, practice afternoonly.

I have to admit something. I haven’t been practicing as much as I would like. I haven’t been practicing afternoonly. In fact, I haven’t been practicing regularly at all lately. I love practicing, and I love playing. It’s one of those things I would do even if it wasn’t my job. But when life gets busy, in order to do it consistently, I need something to practice for. And having something to practice for means having someONE to practice for.  That someone is you. Whoever you are, if you are reading this (or skipping this so you can listen to the music) you are why I’m doing these repertoire reading videos. I just love sharing beautiful music with people.. And if you are inspired by my playing and practicing to pick up the guitar yourself, that’s even better.

As soon as I get a few more things set up, I”ll also be posting teaching videos that I hope will also inspire you to pick up your guitar and practice. I also hope you’ll be inspired to find people to share YOUR playing with. That’s what it’s all about!

I”m gearing up to create a hybrid online course over at Artofguitar.net, on how to become positively dangerous on the classical guitar.
Stay tuned for that. It will combine online coursework with personal attention and group interaction. If you are curious about this, or if you just want some help figuring things out on the guitar, sign up for a free lesson with me here!

This is the second movement of the Dos Aires Pampeanos by Jose Luis Merlin, a real guitar and composition wizard from Argentina. He has an amazing gift for writing touching melodies and structuring them into musical compositions that really deliver the goods—emotional impact combined with engaging rhythmic interest and excitement are hallmarks of his writing style. And his pieces, while they sometimes sound quite technically impressive and even virtuosic, are often easier to play than you might expect. This is because they are so “guitaristic,” so perfectly suited to the instrument.

Get the score to this gorgeous piece here:
It’s published by Tuscany Publications (my publisher.) Dos Aires Pampeanos from Strings by Mail

There is a whole lot of music sitting around in my studio, and I love nothing more than to rifle through it, find something that suits my inclination for the day, and start reading it.

Daily sight-reading is a great idea for developing your skills as a guitarist. It can also be a great joy. There’s no requirement to play through anything that is too far beyond your current capabilities, as long as it challenges you a bit.

I should be clear that for these recordings, I am not sight-reading from scratch.

Most of them I’ve played before, sometimes even learned. I play through the piece several times to get a feeling for it, then I get to work applying various slow practice techniques to clean things up, solidify fingerings and shore up difficult passages. Slow practicing is the best way to learn something fast, paradoxically. Then I record a few takes, and edit and publish my favorite one.  My goal is to get them worked up well enough and quickly enough to provide you with an enjoyable listening experience. I want to get the gist of the piece, and capture its emotional essence.

I realise that sheet music is expensive, but I recommend purchasing a physical copy of music that you love and are serious about learning, if at all possible.

If you get your music online, I still recommend printing it out. There is nothing like reading music from a real, paper score that doesn’t require electricity to view, and that you can mark up and make your own. It’s similar to the joy of reading books and of using bookmarks.

You can purchase the score here:

The score is published by Tuscany Publications (my publisher.)

Dos Aires Pampeanos from Strings by Mail

Do an internet search if you need to find it in your country, or perhaps find a more affordable version.

Happy Listening, Jay