"Torre Bermeja" Isaac Albéniz for Guitar

Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909), Spanish composer and pianist, was an important representative of Spanish post-romantic music. He is positioned within the Nationalist trend, but at the same time represented the Spanish vanguard of the 20th century.

Torre Bermeja (published in 1888) was originally written for piano. It  was released in a set of piano pieces, his "12 Piezas Características, Op.92". It has been transcribed for guitar by many after Miguel Llobet's version. After years of studying this piece I have come up with this version, which I consider to maybe not be the best, but very practical with right and left hand indications.

I have noticed that most transcriptions deviate from the original score (E/Em), and this is the reason I'm posting my version in the key of D/Dm. Here's a link to the original piano version:

http://www.free-scores.com/download-sheet-music.php?pdf=4260 so you can compare and notice the many differences found in most versions, for example, the change in the direction of the opening arpeggios (bars 2-13).                                                                                                                              

SIMPLE MELODIES FOR NOTES ON THE 1ST STRING

This is the first of a series of simple melodies and traditional songs for guitar. Only E, F, and G will be played in the first position (I), with the exception of F# and G#. Over the last 15 years I've been collecting melodies which you'll encounter through various post. As a guitar/music teacher I have yet to find an attractive group of pieces for my beginner students located all in one place. This is my objective as well as

sharing my findings with both teachers and students alike.

Some examples have a Guitar 2 part and others don't. I usually accompany my pupils in class as soon as it is musically possible.

If you decide to play the melodies, I suggest singing/humming them first. Important note to the guitar teacher: there are no indications for right and left hand fingerings, tempo, musical phrasing, timber, etc. The musical parameters that need to be worked on should be determined by the professor.

SIMPLE MELODIES FOR NOTES ON THE 2ND STRING

This is the second of a series of six posts that I'll dedicate to Simple Melodies and Traditional Songs for 1 or 2 guitars. E, F, and G from the 1st string are now combined with B, C and D of the 2nd string. Everything except Campanitas and the Catalan Folk Song should be played in the 1st position (I).

The goal here is to present to the teacher and student and attractive group of melodies located all in one place. If you decide to play the melodies, I suggest singing/humming them first.

Important note to the guitar teacher: there are no indications for right and left hand fingerings, tempo, musical phrasing, timber, etc. The musical parameters that need to be worked on should be determined by the professor.

SIMPLE MELODIES FOR NOTES ON 1ST, 2ND AND 3RD

This is the third of a series of six posts that I'll dedicate to Simple Melodies and Traditional Songs for 1 or 2 guitars. E, F, and G from the 1st string are now combined with B, C and D of the 2nd string and G and A of the third. Everything except What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor? (pos. II) Flintstones should

be played in the 1st position (I).

The goal here is to present to the teacher and student and attractive group of melodies located all in one place. If you decide to play the melodies, I suggest singing/humming them first.

Important note to the guitar teacher: there are no indications for right and left hand fingerings, tempo, musical phrasing, timber, etc. The musical parameters that need to be worked on should be determined by the professor. I also suggest improvising the accompaniment using what is written as a framework.

SIMPLE MELODIES FOR NOTES ON THE STRINGS 1-4

This is the fourth of a series of six posts that I'll dedicate to Simple Melodies and Traditional Songs for guitar. Notes from all four strings are present (the new notes introduced from the 4th string are D,E and F) and everything can should be played in position I. The goal here is to present to the teacher and student and attractive group of melodies located all in one place.

If you decide to play the melodies, I suggest singing/humming them first. Important note to the guitar teacher: there are no indications for right and left hand fingerings, tempo, musical phrasing, timber, etc. The musical parameters that need to be worked on should be determined by the professor.

SIMPLE MELODIES FOR NOTES ON THE 5TH STRING

This is the fifth of a series of six posts that I'll dedicate to Simple Melodies and Traditional Songs. A, B, and C of the fifth strings are now combined with the notes from the 4th string. Ode to Joy should be played in position II and the rest in the 1st position (I). The goal here is to present to the teacher and student and attractive group of melodies located all in one place.

If you decide to play the melodies, I suggest singing/humming them first. Important note to the guitar teacher: there are no indications for right and left hand fingerings, tempo, musical phrasing, timber, etc. The musical parameters that need to be worked on should be determined by the professor.

SIMPLE MELODIES FOR NOTES ON THE 6TH STRING

This is the last of a series of simple melodies and traditional songs for guitar. Over the last 15 years I've been collecting melodies which you have encounter through various post. As a guitar/music teacher I have yet to find an attractive group of piecesfor my beginner students located all in one place. This is my objective as well as sharing my findings with both teachers and students alike.

These two examples don't have a Guitar 2 part but  I usually accompany my pupils with chords making the music much more appealing. If you decide to play the melodies, I suggest singing/humming them first.

Important note to the guitar teacher: there are no indications for right and left hand fingerings, tempo, musical phrasing, timber, etc. The musical parameters that need to be worked on should be determined by the professor.

Mauro Giuliani 120 Arpeggio Studies for Classical Guitar

Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829), along with Fernando Sor, was considered to be one the greatest guitar virtuoso from the early 19th century. He also played the cello and was a prolific composer.

These exercises (published in 1815) thought out principally for the right hand get progressively harder and all studies are listed with their original number next to them. It's amazing how the right hand only uses a simple alteration between C Major and G dom. 7th chords over three bars of music.

I have posted a selection of 8 exercises which I think are the ones that represent an advanced standard of right hand technique. I fell that this group summarizes all that should be achieved all in a nutshell. Whichever set of exercises you decide to work on, we should always take into account important musical factors like dynamics (p, mf, f, cres., decres.), articulation (staccato, legato, accents), tone control (tasto and pont and everything in between), tempi (slow/ fast, accelerando/decelerando), texture and most importantly voicing (placing emphasis on the bass, middle or upper voices as determined by the music).

Here are some suggestions for developing a solid right hand arpeggio technique: play the exercise on open strings, combine free and rest stroke, establish rhythmic precision and alteration (change the values from long to short and vice-versa), play any series of exercises sequentially as if they were a concert piece, use two different chords and always be observant and listen to yourself, and treat the exercise as if it were an important piece to be performed in front of an audience and/or microphone.

http://www.stormthecastle.com/classical_guitar/Collection/120studies-for-right-hand.pdf