Learn to Play Vacances (Demillac) from RCM Level One on Classical Guitar

Vacances (“Vacation”) by Yvon Demillac is a beautiful French piece for classical guitar.

The RCM Bridges Series has many tunes, old to modern, that are fun to play and musically compelling. The early levels especially are must-haves for any classical guitarist.

Watch the videos below for tips on how to practice and learn Vacances, so you play it beautifully.

Click here to purchase the RCM Repertoire and Etudes Level One Book.
(You’ll find many great tunes in this series, and the book is worth the investment.

Click Here for other tutorials from the RCM Bridges Series.

About the RCM Bridges Series:

(From Amazon) Bridges: A Comprehensive Guitar Series serves as the official resource for guitar assessments of the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program. Innovative in its structure, Bridges supports students from the beginner to advanced levels with carefully sequenced repertoire, etudes, and technique. Each of the Repertoire and Etudes books in the series spans all major style periods and a variety of genres, presenting an organized compilation of pieces appropriate for that level of technical development. Nine progressive levels of Repertoire and Etudes scaffold student learning at every stage of musical development. Each book contains a balanced and representative selection of works from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and contemporary style periods. From the classics of Aguado to the modern compositions of Zenamon, Bridges connects students to both essential literature and enticing masterpieces never before found together. The Etudes have been carefully selected to support the repertoire and isolate specific technical and musical challenges, making Bridges an ideal collection and a comprehensive teaching resource.

Click here to purchase the RCM Repertoire and Etudes Level One Book.
(You’ll find many great tunes in this series, and the book is worth the investment.

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.

I also want to thank you for including more video lessons on the Bridges Guitar Series. I have learned to play Calatayud's Waltz. The most exciting thing about having done this is that I sight read the entire piece as I was learning it. Six months ago looking at a sheet of music was like looking at Egyptian hieroglyphics. Learning to read notation is empowering and I appreciate the sensible way you are teaching us to learn to read music.

-Steve Simpler

I am a 61 year old physician, reconnecting with the classical guitar after a hiatus of nearly 40 years. After a couple of weeks [in the program], I’m now producing a much clearer, yet somehow more mellow and beautiful sound. It was really good to feel it happening in my hand, and that it felt more comfortable and somehow “right”, compared to the way I had played before (“curved picking”). The fog started to lift and I found that I was remembering more, and it felt great (also a bit of a relief!), giving me confidence to keep going. Thank you for making your course available - your love of music and the guitar shines through the teaching. I am very happy I found and registered with CGS.

-Brian Davey