This is the third and final part of this series on how to learn classical guitar in 2 months for beginners. If you just landed here, then you can review the FIRST or SECOND part by clicking on the link.

Section 4: Bass Strings and Thumb Technique

Today we are going to learn about the bass strings. They are strings 6 (E), string 5 (A), and string 4 (D). Here they are on the notes:

We are going to use our right-hand thumb to play these strings. The thumb – which is called P not T in the classical guitar world – can be played Free or Rest Stroke.
For now, we will focus only on the Rest Stroke because it’s easier and give the full tone of the string.

Instructions

• Put the rest of the fingers i,m,a on string 1.
• Do not bend your thumb, keep it straight.
• There should be a distance between the wrist and the guitar, about 7 cm.

Exercise 13

Exercise 14

Playing bass and treble strings

When playing the bass with the rest of the strings, I want you to imagine the piece becoming like the house image.

The ground floor represents the bass, and the upper floor represents the melody, but in the end, there is one family living in the house.

If the Time Signature for the piece is 3/4, then each of them will take 3 counts, because each turn represents a sound. That is, there are two sounds in the note, the first sound, which is the bass, will take 3 notes, and the second sound, which is the melody, will also take 3 notes.

In this example, we see that the bass gets 3 counts (dotted half note), and the melody also gets 3 counts.

But we will not play anything with the bass in the first count, so we had to put a Rest on top of the bass so the time signature in the melody is complete, otherwise, there will be only two counts in the melody and the time signature is considered deficient in this case.

Bass and Treble Exercises

Exercise 15

Exercise 16

The Tie

The Tie is used to link the notes together if we want to extend the time of a note at the end of the bar.
In this example, the first note in the adjacent bar, as if we borrowed the time of the second note and added it to the first note.
It will be difficult at first to see a note and not play it, but with practice, you will get used to it.

And you can associate any rhythm with another rhythm, they do not have to be the same time, but it is important that the two notes be the same tone.

It is also possible to link more than two notes, so one note can be made to last up to 32 counts or more! But this is more in the piano than in the guitar, where the sound of the piano can go on for more than this, but the classic guitar can not.

Ok, time to play a famous tune.

Dynamics Signs

They are signs that you will find written under the staff, which determine how high or low the volume is, in other words, whether we play softly or loudly.

All signs are pronounced in Italian, which is the vernacular language of music, since the Italians were the first to write music, and it remained that way. Here are the most popular terms related to dynamics:

Graduale change in Dynamcis

There are also symbols that express the gradation in the volume. They are (Crescendo) which expresses a gradual rise of the voice, and (Decrescendo or Demonendo) which expresses a gradual decrease of the voice.

Where the meeting of the two lines at a point expresses the decrease of the sound, and the further away the two lines are from each other, the higher the volume.

Let’s give it a try, but first here are all the notes you know so far I put them in one place as a reference to you.

Section Five: Notes of the 4th String (D)

Estimated time to learn (2 weeks)

Tones and Semitones

The guitar is divided into frets, and the space between each fret is called a Semitone, and the space between every 2 frets is called a Tone.

What you need to know now is that the notes B and C, and the notes E and F we call them Natural Semitone, meaning that on the guitar you won’t find a fret between them, and on the piano, you won’t find a black key between them either.

Exercise 17

Exercise 18

Another Note Bank to review all the notes you know.

Camelot (Guitar Duet)

Guitar 1 (Download)

Guitar 2 (Download)

Here is a video of me playing the 2nd guitar:

Dotted Quarter Note

The last rhythm we will study in the series to learn classical guitar for beginners is the Dotted Quarter Note.

The point in itself increases the time of the note by half. If the note has a time of 4 counts, adding the point will make it (2 + 4 = 6 counts).

And if its time is two counts, adding the point will make it 3 counts (1+2). But if its time is one, this will make it (1/2 + 1 = 1 ½) count!

How do you play 1 ½ count? Easy. We will do 3 exercises and at the end, you will know how to play this unique rhythm.

And now to the last song which is very popular, it’s a Lambada! And this is an audio file of me playing the second guitar as your background.

After you can play it correctly and keep the rhythms steady, you can download the file and play with it.

Lambada Audio File (Downlaod)

This was the last exercise in this article series Learn Classical Guitar for beginners.

Now you have the basics of playing classical guitar and can play simple and easy pieces that make you exercise your fingers, and you can even read the sheet music!

I really hope you enjoyed this series of articles, If you did please write in the comments what you liked or disliked, and maybe how can improve it.

Good luck!