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In This Course, You’ll Discover:
- Right hand fingering rules
- How to structure dynamics
- How to count musically
- How to play with ease
- How to "bake in" beauty
- How to conceive of the "big picture"
With This Course, You’ll Be Able To:
- Study right hand fingerings
- Explore musical rules
- Practice phrasing
- Practice reducing tension
- Understand preparatory movements
- Solve fingering problems
- Raise your ability to play beautifully
Includes:
10 VideosIncludes PDF Materials
Lifetime Access

Course Level: BEGINNER
This course is at the BEGINNER level. This means that the notes will all be in the open position (so no moving up and down the neck). The rhythms are simple (mostly quarter and 8th notes) and well-explained. And any chords used are common ones. TABs are included for an alternative to music notation. For more advanced players, pieces in this level can be used as a study to improve phrasing and memorization techniques.
About CGS Courses
The courses you’ll find here on Classical Guitar Shed are among the most in-depth, detailed and high-quality classical guitar courses available anywhere. Each course explores a single guitar skill or piece of music. And each course features high-quality HD video with multiple camera angles, as well as one-of-a-kind custom learning materials. This means you always know exactly what’s going on.
Repertoire and skills are divided into small sections or concepts, and worked through one at a time. You’ll get suggestions on varied subjects, which may include:
- How to count and play any tricky rhythms
- How to polish difficult transitions
- How to phrase the music, when to swell or fade
- How to apply advanced phrasing techniques to make the music more beautiful
- How to practice so you learn the piece most quickly
- How to memorize the music more easily
- How to troubleshoot hard spots
- How to avoid common traps that slow players down
- How to make small changes that make big differences
- How to understand the composer’s intentions
- How to choose the right tone quality for each part
- How to make the melody sing
- How to make the rhythm more lively
- How to practice to increase your speed and precision
- How to maintain the piece after you learn it
- among others
When you purchase a CGS Course, you get lifetime access to all videos and materials. You also get full support and your questions get answered via on-page comment or email.
Note: Videos stream only and are not available for download.
Members of The Woodshed Program get full access to all Courses and Study Guides, as well as the complete program, for the life of their membership.


100% Satisfaction Guarantee, Plus…
I want you to be completely happy with your new course. If you don’t feel it’s the best choice for you, email me within 30 days and request an immediate 100% refund.
But a refund isn’t enough. In addition, you can also choose ANY premium course or Study Guide to keep, just for your time. (You can even choose a more expensive course than the one you purchased.)
In the worst case, you’ll learn some new skills without spending a penny. In the best, you’ll have a fun new adventure exploring music and guitar. Either way, you have nothing to lose and much to gain!
Sincerely,
Hi Allen,
Greetings from the UK. I would like to thank you for providing such an excellent resource. The effort and skill which has gone into creating this program is very evident. I started classical guitar a year or so ago with a teacher but was unable to commit to same time regular slots each week.The Woodshed Program was exactly what I was looking for. I have found the site very intuitive and well structured and have taken your advice and started from the very beginning of the program whilst still practising some of the pieces I was already working on. It is clear that I will benefit greatly from these early technical studies. There were clearly weaknesses and gaps in my knowledge even though I am still at an early stage. Once again many thanks for the program and very best wishes.
-Rodger Paylor
I appreciate the organized, well thought out progression of each level, as well as a measurable means to determine when to proceed to the next level. I had burned myself out by pushing too hard and playing beyond where I was comfortable. This course is just what I needed, and I am happy to be back on the road to playing again.
-
Play Bach, J.S./Petzold – Minuet in G: $39
This course on Bach, J.S./Petzold – Minuet in G costs $39
for lifetime access to the course and all supplementary materials
**Become a member of The Woodshed and get full access to this and all courses included in your membership.**
Purchase just this course.
The Woodshed is a complete program to learn classical guitar.
- Access to every course on CGS.
- A step-by-step technique program.
- Access to a massive library of play-along skill-building videos.
- One-on-one feedback and support included.
The Woodshed is $49/month, billed automatically. Cancel anytime, with no contracts. Full money-back guarantee, plus keep this course for free, just for trying it. Learn more here.
After you’ve paid for the course, you can come back to this page and the modules below should be unlocked. You can view and access all your courses anytime on the My Courses page, found in the top menu bar of any page.
Thanks to you (you are my only teacher) in only a few months I've gone from very basic beginner pieces to having just completed learning Bach's Gavottes 1&2 in good form and execution. As a non-classical electric guitarist who has always used a pick and never his fingers, this has been no small feat!
-Gregg Olson

Hi, I’m Allen Mathews.
I started as a folk guitarist, then fell in love with classical guitar in my 20’s. Despite a lot of practice and schooling, I still couldn’t get my music to flow well. I struggled with excess tension. My music sounded forced. And my hands and body were often sore. I got frustrated, and couldn’t see the way forward. Then, over the next decade, I studied with two other stellar teachers – one focused on the technical movements, and one on the musical (he was a concert pianist). In time, I came to discover a new set of formulas and movements. These brought new life and vitality to my practice. Now I help guitarists find more comfort and flow in their music, so they play more beautifully.
Click here for a sample formula.
Frequently Asked Questions
These warm-up and stretching exercises are helping me a lot! Because I’m a software developer I have to stay 8 hours typing on a computer keyboard, so I use my hands a lot during the day. At night, when I have some time to practice the guitar my hands and arms are usually in pain because they have been working a lot during the day, but I’ve found that doing the warm-up/stretching exercises in The Woodshed releases me from this pain and I’m then able to practice after doing them.
You are building a very interesting and working guitar course, because for what I’ve seen so far it really works!
-Ulysses Alexandre Alves
Play Bach, J.S./Petzold – Minuet in G: $39
This course on Bach, J.S./Petzold – Minuet in G costs $39
for lifetime access to the course and all supplementary materials
**Become a member of The Woodshed and get full access to this and all courses included in your membership.**
Purchase just this course.
The Woodshed is a complete program to learn classical guitar.
- Access to every course on CGS.
- A step-by-step technique program.
- Access to a massive library of play-along skill-building videos.
- One-on-one feedback and support included.
The Woodshed is $49/month, billed automatically. Cancel anytime, with no contracts. Full money-back guarantee, plus keep this course for free, just for trying it. Learn more here.
After you’ve paid for the course, you can come back to this page and the modules below should be unlocked. You can view and access all your courses anytime on the My Courses page, found in the top menu bar of any page.
Thanks for your on-going support. I never expected such a personalized approach when I signed up.
-Harlan Friedman