Self taught or Formally taught?

[Trevor B.]

Originally Posted by alohachris

Al

Isn't the idea of the proverbial classical musician regurgitating his master's technique for decades a repugnant one? To creativity & individual expression?

alohachris

Ah yes, the John Williams vs Andres Segovia schools of mentoring. Williams has long believed his main task as a teacher is to help guide a student to his or her own voice. To the latter it was my way or the highway.

BTW - I'm of the Williams school.

[Carey]

Originally Posted by Yanto

Quick update. I’ve now had 5 one hour lessons with a classical tutor. Very highly recommended. So far most of the time has been dedicated evenly between learning to read Standard Notation and dexterity exercises. I’m enjoying it immensely

Excellent!

[Guitar Slim II]

If you're teaching yourself classical guitar, make sure you're working with good materials. If you're a beginner, explore the Frederick Noad and Aaron Shearer method books. Shearer's "Classic Guitar Technique" is one I use with students all the time.

Also, get to know the pedagogical repertoire: The Mauro Giuliani 120 exercises, the 20 "Estudios" by Fernando Sor (collected by Segovia), the 25 Etudes of Matteo Carcassi, from his famous method book. If it's early days in your studies, you may not be ready to tackle anything but the first few Sor and Carsassi etudes, but it's a place to start. The Shearer and Noad methods also include supplementary pieces that are quite a bit easier.

Play and learn the repertoire (real pieces) in these books. It's the most important part.

Also, Frederick Noad has several volumes of graded repertoire, sorted by historical period: The Renaissance Guitar, The Baroque Guitar, etc. Each progresses from easier to more difficult pieces and ranges from tunes for beginners to real concert repertoire.

Finally -- and especially in your situation -- always use reputable, well edited editions (no internet TABs!). One of the most important things you get from an experienced classical teacher is help with fingerings and positions, shifts and slides, etc. In the absence of an experienced teacher, use good editions, fingered by experts, and follow the fingerings.

I am formally taught, but my first teacher (my uncle) taught himself way back in the '50s. He taught himself well, and taught me well also, by being thorough, serious, and going to the real, hallowed source materials. Worked for him, could work for you too...