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Art of Classical Guitar Playing (The Art of Series) by Duncan, Charles (1980) Paperback
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- GenresMusic
Paperback
First published May 31, 1980
18 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Charles Duncan
49 books1 followerLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 23, 2019
This book is pretty good. 3 1/2 stars really. I don't agree with every technique he describes but his approach to the material is well thought out. Much of his research into other instruments' techniques, such as cello, violin, piano and winds, led to him to apply similar technical principles to guitar. Sometimes this works well but not always. Overall a good read and a book worth discussing. The tips on musicality are excellent as well.
November 8, 2011
If you are studying classical guitar seriously,
GET THIS BOOK NOW.
I think the title could more accurately be "The Craft of Classical Guitar" because Duncan is not instructing the heart.
He shares in this generous book an understanding of the technical work that needs to be practiced. It's this virtuosity that frees us to express music.
Mr. Duncan has an essential understanding of the interaction between the player and the instrument.
He shares concepts through clearly written text, that is supported by useful photographs and diagrams and the highest standard of exercises and music.
the separate physical elements of guitar playing are worked on individually and as a whole.
The idea of unifying the playing of both hands and "rhythmic articulation" and the use of the shoulder and elbow: forearm of both hands, everything!
His understanding of the right hand position, sound production, tone, tambour, nail type, the right arm, wrist, thumb, and arch of the fingers.
arpeggios oh and yes SPEED for those pieces requiring it.
Oh yeah and using weight, gravity, shifting positions, the barre, he didn't leave anything out.
But here's the thing. He writes with a freshness and true sense of sharing what he loves with readers he already seems to respect and trust to work to be their best.
BUY IT!
Don't forget practice doesn't make perfect... Perfect practice makes perfect. So play slowly and error free trying to make a perfect sound in rhythm.
GET THIS BOOK NOW.
I think the title could more accurately be "The Craft of Classical Guitar" because Duncan is not instructing the heart.
He shares in this generous book an understanding of the technical work that needs to be practiced. It's this virtuosity that frees us to express music.
Mr. Duncan has an essential understanding of the interaction between the player and the instrument.
He shares concepts through clearly written text, that is supported by useful photographs and diagrams and the highest standard of exercises and music.
the separate physical elements of guitar playing are worked on individually and as a whole.
The idea of unifying the playing of both hands and "rhythmic articulation" and the use of the shoulder and elbow: forearm of both hands, everything!
His understanding of the right hand position, sound production, tone, tambour, nail type, the right arm, wrist, thumb, and arch of the fingers.
arpeggios oh and yes SPEED for those pieces requiring it.
Oh yeah and using weight, gravity, shifting positions, the barre, he didn't leave anything out.
But here's the thing. He writes with a freshness and true sense of sharing what he loves with readers he already seems to respect and trust to work to be their best.
BUY IT!
Don't forget practice doesn't make perfect... Perfect practice makes perfect. So play slowly and error free trying to make a perfect sound in rhythm.
July 24, 2025
Must read for anyone intending a serious study of classical guitar. Should be supplemented with a technique book such as Käppel’s Bible of Classical Guitar Technique to apply the techniques. It doesn’t matter if the exact technique is applicable for you personally or whether you agree or disagree with the author. In fact, in The Classical Guitar Companion, Berg book explicitly cites and disagrees with Duncan and shows an alternative technique. What matters here, however, is the thought process and attention to detail to be gained for continued application. The last chapter talks about phrasing and interpretation and is quite valuable; albeit on the short side.
I've been working through Kitharologus: The Path To Virtuosity: A Technical Manual for all Guitarists while using Julio S. Sagreras Guitar Lessons: Books 1-3 as my method book. The two complement each other quite well. As mentioned above, Käppel’s Bible of Classical Guitar Technique is also being used as a supplement to secure the techniques hitherto required using the thought process set out in this book. I think I'll be taking a quick detour through Classical Guitar Technique from Foundation to Virtuosity (Part 1): Foundation because it has a progressive approach not found in any other technique book. Having read through half of it; it should help validate the technical gains and help secure the best practices for my own personal requirements.
A few words from the very end of the book seem apt and worth quoting:
“The unglamorous truth, so difficult sometimes to accept, is that the great artists are also thoughtful, painstaking workers.
The achievement of any competence whatever requires a discipline, the higher the level, the more arduous the discipline. If the goal really maters, then it will seem to justify the effort.”
“The truth is that we play, and practice, because we want to, and find the activity gratifying. It is perhaps significant that in more than one language one plays an instrument, whether for fun or for profit. A brilliant performance for a large audience is an exhiliarating experience, especially when a fee is involved; but so is the discovery one morning that one can play the three-octave G scale six metronome points higher than yesterday. In either case, we have met a challenge, surmounted it, and experienced as the happy reward a sensation of personal growth. The study of the classical guitar can be a constantly unfolding panorama of such challenges, filled with possibilities of discovery-and self-discovery.”
I've been working through Kitharologus: The Path To Virtuosity: A Technical Manual for all Guitarists while using Julio S. Sagreras Guitar Lessons: Books 1-3 as my method book. The two complement each other quite well. As mentioned above, Käppel’s Bible of Classical Guitar Technique is also being used as a supplement to secure the techniques hitherto required using the thought process set out in this book. I think I'll be taking a quick detour through Classical Guitar Technique from Foundation to Virtuosity (Part 1): Foundation because it has a progressive approach not found in any other technique book. Having read through half of it; it should help validate the technical gains and help secure the best practices for my own personal requirements.
A few words from the very end of the book seem apt and worth quoting:
“The unglamorous truth, so difficult sometimes to accept, is that the great artists are also thoughtful, painstaking workers.
The achievement of any competence whatever requires a discipline, the higher the level, the more arduous the discipline. If the goal really maters, then it will seem to justify the effort.”
“The truth is that we play, and practice, because we want to, and find the activity gratifying. It is perhaps significant that in more than one language one plays an instrument, whether for fun or for profit. A brilliant performance for a large audience is an exhiliarating experience, especially when a fee is involved; but so is the discovery one morning that one can play the three-octave G scale six metronome points higher than yesterday. In either case, we have met a challenge, surmounted it, and experienced as the happy reward a sensation of personal growth. The study of the classical guitar can be a constantly unfolding panorama of such challenges, filled with possibilities of discovery-and self-discovery.”
July 16, 2020
The Art of Classical Guitar Playing by Charles Duncan contains a virtual potpourri of gems sure to enhance the musicianship of any guitarist.
The opening section on tension and how to channel it to the best advantage leads to the explication of the mechanics of left hand positioning. The emphasis here is on the methods for achieving a secure grip indispensable to effective guitar performance. The section on right hand positioning in Duncan's book provides the reader with a clear and comprehensive series of illustrations for correct use of the right hand.
From a critics point of view it would be interesting and helpful, I think, to garner Duncan's perspective on the contrast (if indeed there is a contrast - perhaps it's all one in the end) of playing off the left of the nail (Segovia) with the Presti school - playing off the right. Narcisco Yepes, I believe, played somewhere around the centre of the nail. Yepes developed to a high art the use of AMI in fast scale passages - although legato may be a different matter.
Actually, velocity in scale playing is brilliantly articulated by Duncan with the use of wedge markers at critical shift points in the scale. The point here is to train both hands to function in unison; something like boxing. The boxer must be conscious of left and right hand coordination lest a slip into the unconscious occur - probably from a horizontal position.
The illustrations from Sor study # 12 (Segovia edition) shows how essential left and right hand coordination is to a successful guitar performance. There are more wedge markers here that are very helpful in understanding key shifting points in this celebrated guitar study.
A good example of the importance of rhythm control is the Sor study # 6 (Segovia edition). Duncan rightly points out that it is essential to stress the upbeat in this work to avoid a kind of lopsided Keystone Cops performance - perhaps not performance but episode.
The correct use of legato, the refinement of tone, together with everything discussed above are but a few examples of the treasure-trove of insights to be found in Charles Duncan's
The Art of Classical Guitar Playing.
...if music be the food of love... then the art of technique must be the wings music needs to soar to the heights.
Louis Lawlor
July 2020
Toronto
The opening section on tension and how to channel it to the best advantage leads to the explication of the mechanics of left hand positioning. The emphasis here is on the methods for achieving a secure grip indispensable to effective guitar performance. The section on right hand positioning in Duncan's book provides the reader with a clear and comprehensive series of illustrations for correct use of the right hand.
From a critics point of view it would be interesting and helpful, I think, to garner Duncan's perspective on the contrast (if indeed there is a contrast - perhaps it's all one in the end) of playing off the left of the nail (Segovia) with the Presti school - playing off the right. Narcisco Yepes, I believe, played somewhere around the centre of the nail. Yepes developed to a high art the use of AMI in fast scale passages - although legato may be a different matter.
Actually, velocity in scale playing is brilliantly articulated by Duncan with the use of wedge markers at critical shift points in the scale. The point here is to train both hands to function in unison; something like boxing. The boxer must be conscious of left and right hand coordination lest a slip into the unconscious occur - probably from a horizontal position.
The illustrations from Sor study # 12 (Segovia edition) shows how essential left and right hand coordination is to a successful guitar performance. There are more wedge markers here that are very helpful in understanding key shifting points in this celebrated guitar study.
A good example of the importance of rhythm control is the Sor study # 6 (Segovia edition). Duncan rightly points out that it is essential to stress the upbeat in this work to avoid a kind of lopsided Keystone Cops performance - perhaps not performance but episode.
The correct use of legato, the refinement of tone, together with everything discussed above are but a few examples of the treasure-trove of insights to be found in Charles Duncan's
The Art of Classical Guitar Playing.
...if music be the food of love... then the art of technique must be the wings music needs to soar to the heights.
Louis Lawlor
July 2020
Toronto
October 26, 2021
Arguably, the best book on classical guitar playing. If only I had this book way back when I first took up the instrument. As others have said, if you haven't read it, GET THIS BOOK NOW.
Want to read
September 1, 2014Gr8
January 1, 2019
an awesome and exhaustive treatise on playing the guitar.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews