Once in a while I need a break from playing the guitar. This year I have discovered two possible things to do besides playing music. In July I got my first experiences as an alpinist. I spent a few weeks in altitudes higher than 3500 m and the peak was about 5000 m so I… Continue reading
Found Some Old Footage
I was cleaning up my notes and stuff and found some 7-year old video recordings about me playing a couple of recitals:
New Guitar is Ready!
Just came back from the academy and brought my brand new guitar. My luthier Viljar Kuusk completed it last week but still kept it for polishing. Now I said it’s enough because I have to play tomorrow and the day after. He can continue polishing some other time 🙂 The guitar is special in many… Continue reading
Playing the Carulli Concerto in A
Last week I had a chance to perform the A major concerto by Carulli in front of an orchestra. I don’t play often the concertos but it happens and then it’s like the first time again. This time the event called for a happy classical piece with maximum duration of 10-12 min. So I chose… Continue reading
Frankfurt Music Fair 2011 – classical guitars
Today is the last day of the Frankfurt fair but I just got home and can share some news already. This year my schedule was so tightly packed with meetings that I did not get out of the halls 4.0 and 3.0 and 3.1 at all. The latter is what should interest classical guitarists. Hall… Continue reading
How Popular is the Classical Guitar on the Web?
Often I find myself in conversations where people praise the things that they know about. What do I mean by that? Well, classical guitarists tend to say that everybody knows classical guitar and train conductors say that the security bars at the crossroads are always down. But if you look a bit further than your… Continue reading
Choosing Repertoire for Classical Guitar Students
Twice a year I have to think seriously about the repertoire that my students at the academy are going to play. Luckily, my colleague Heiki took some time in summer to update our repertoire lists. The list goes together with the study program. My students are mainly studying to become guitar teachers so they have… Continue reading
The Sources of Information for a Guitar Teacher
A (guitar)teacher should always know more than the students and often this is the case. However, young people crawl around the Web, talk to many people and have opinion on everything. How to beat them? The only way is to keep reading. Education is a life-time process and if you give up, you’ll be in… Continue reading
The Best Age for Taking up the Guitar
Karlsson on the roof: “..I am clever, reasonably fat man in my best years” Little Brother: “Which are the best years?” Karlsson: “All of them!” You don’t need to be too smart or fat to start learning the guitar although it may help 🙂 But the truth is that all the years are the best… Continue reading
Rhythm, Meter, and Tempo – What Should Every Music Student Know
One important part of a melody is pitch, but just as crucial is a note’s duration or length. Timing in music is essential to structure, expression, and communication. You may have heard the terms rhythm, meter, and tempo, but what exactly do they mean? Let’s break them down and see how they work together in… Continue reading