Seven Easy Pieces for Classical Guitar

The beauty and romance of the classical guitar is brought home in this fascinating lesson by one of the world’s top players. Frederic Hand applies the essential techniques that he demonstrated on his first Homespun video to gorgeous music that will be accessible to all guitarists…with practice.

The seven works taught on this video are among the best-known student pieces, and will be within the reach of most guitarists who are familiar with the fingerboard and basic classical technique. “Easy is a relative term,” Fred says. “Playing the classical guitar with beauty and command is a life-long process.”

Fred takes each piece apart, pointing out the possible trouble spots and sharing important tips on technique and interpretation. He demonstrates ornamentation, slurs, rhythmic and melodic subtleties, timbral shadings, the importance of correct plucking strokes and other invaluable pointers.

You’ll start by learning three lute pieces from the Italian Renaissance, each with a different tempo and feeling: the lyrically romantic Vaghe Belleze, the spritely dance Bianco Fiore and the more stately and dynamic Danza. Johann Sebastian Bach’s famous Sarabande is an intriguingly lovely baroque piece, and Fernando Sor’s Study in B Minor is an excellent exercise for your right hand. The sublime Adelita by Francisco Tarrega, with its romantic rubato style and lush harmonies, gives players the opportunity to utilize expressive techniques such as portamento and vibrato, and to become familiar with the guitar’s upper register.

Finally, you’ll learn Fred Hand’s distinguished arrangement of the traditional Shaker hymn Simple Gifts. This homage to Aaron Copeland starts with the basic tune in C, but quickly moves into D, taking on a richly contemporary feeling.

“I have both of the Frederic Hand videos and find the ’Seven EasyPieces’ to be a real treasure. Does he have any more videos indevelopment? I would love to see ’Seven More Easy Pieces’ or ’SevenIntermediate Pieces’ or something like that. He’s great!”
– James Caldwell

“I have your Frederic Hand Seven Easy Pieces DVD, and I just wanted to say this is fantastic for those of us who can not find an excellent classical guitar teacher at the intermediate level. I live near Chicago, and I can find a great advanced level teacher, but need to rely on DVD’s and books to get there. Frederic Hand does an excellent job and is patient. If you make more of this series, I would certainly buy them and suggest them to other guitarists.”
– Steven Ippolito