In just 6 short video modules, you'll discover:
- The "secret" true nature of reading music notation on guitar.
- How to simultaneously make your work easier AND speed up your reading skills.
- The "organs" that make up the "body" of music notation.
- How to shave months off your practice time, and see sight-reading results more quickly.
- Why "plowing through" is for suckers.
- How to make sight-reading into a game.
- The 8 easy rhythms that form 90+% of all music.
- A simple tool you can use to exponentially speed up your progress.
- Where to find thousands of pages of free classical guitar music online (so you always have fresh practice material!)
- Where to find even more resources to pump up your sight-reading speed.
- How to keep your practice always stimulating - never boring or exhausting.
This course includes 6 video modules with all supplementary materials, sight-reading practice music, and links to further reading and resources (including all the sight-reading practice music you could ever want).
NOTE: This course assumes you already have a basic understanding of standard musical notation (aka "the little black dots"). If you need to learn to read music notation, see this course: How to Read Music for Guitar.Includes:
6 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,
Hello Allen,
I feel my guitar proficiency is improving considerably. Every day I’m exceedingly comfortable with my right hand technique and overall fluency. And my sight-reading has improved as well. Thank you for creating the Woodshed. It’s thoughtful construction and scope and sequence of knowledge and skills has advanced my guitar skills significantly. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
-Michael Immel
I just want to thank you for your lessons. You are helping us to understand how a piece is composed, the parts to analyze and how to do it. You are teaching a lot about how to read and play, and the most important part: PLAY with the music and ENJOY it.
-R. Martinez
Play Supercharge Your Sight-Reading: $19
This course on Supercharge Your Sight-Reading costs $19
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.
For the first time ever, I have achieved great tone on my acoustic guitars. I've been studying fingerstyle guitar and music theory for about one year now. Tonight is the first time, I feel quite satisfied with my ability to produce a nice clear tone when striking the strings with my right hand fingers. By following your training videos in the program, I'm gradually developing my fingerstyle playing ability. KUDOS to you, Allen Mathews.
-Joaquin Kenyon

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 Supercharge Your Sight-Reading: $19
This course on Supercharge Your Sight-Reading costs $19
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.
Your GCS site and The Woodshed community are really super! I am glad I finally joined in, and smacking myself for waiting so long. Thanks again!
-Carol Morin