Classical guitar masquerades under a plethora of aliases. Nylon-strung guitar, gut-string guitar, the aforementioned Spanish guitar. On occasion you may even be handed a part that says, ‘acoustic guitar -Latin fills’. Or ‘bossa nova feel, fingerstyle’. You might be surprised to learn that a number of folk who ply their trade as composers or arrangers aren’t appraised of the fact that these are descriptions of exactly the same instrument. Indeed, there are those who write ‘Acc. guitar’ at the top of the music when they can neither differentiate it from a steel-strung guitar nor spell the word ‘acoustic’.
Mitch has wise words on the Spanish, or is it classical guitar?
What unifies this bunch of names, mis-names and etymological inaccuracies is this: the classical guitar is an instrument that requires years of intensely serious study. While others are ripping off their Jo-Bo licks, you’ll be hunched over Carcassi’s Twenty Five Melodious And Progressive Studies, footstool in the correct position and instrument positioned at an appropriately jaunty angle. And you can forget tab. You’ll need to bite the metaphorical bullet and learn to read music. You’ll want a good tutor, if you can find one. And a smidgen of luck. In my own case, I was given two recommendations when I played to Michael Jessett, Professor Of Guitar at The Royal College Of Music at the time. Gratifyingly, neither of them was, “Pack it in, mate”. I made my selection purely on the basis of geographical location and went for the North London option. He turned out to be Carlos Bonell, John Williams’ successor at The RCM. The alternative candidate was south of the Thames. I’m sure he would have made a fine teacher but I later discovered he was better known as a world famous male model. And thus my Vogue career was stillborn purely on the basis of an A-Z Road Atlas.