What song got you interested in classical guitar?

[Tony Done]

Nick Drake's version of "Cocaine Blues", because it happened to be the song I was fixated on when I was recently reunited with my Colombian requinto. Since then I've done a nylon string conversion on a reso, and got very taken with Chet Atkins and Mark Knofler ad libbing "House of the Rising Sun" on a Del Vecchio and a classical.

[ewalling]

Originally Posted by KenW

Doug was my teacher. He is a great teacher, as well.

Well, you can tell your fine teacher, if you're still in contact with him, that his rendition of "Away in a Manger" inspired a hardcore steel-string fingerpicker to go out and buy a classical guitar!

P.S. And buy his book of transcriptions including that piece.

[Identiferent]

Silvio Rodriguez "Ojala". I know it's not really a classical song, but he only plays a classical guitar. Growing up, my father always played his music- he actually inspired me to learn to play guitar in the first place.

[sausgirl]

Any piece by Fernando Sor.

[MorganConcert]

A relative new comer to the nylon-side - but the seed was planted years ago by Rik Emmett (Triumph) with his solo instrumentals including Minor Prelude, Fantasy Serenade, and Petite Etude. I learned these on electric with zero form... and in middle age I am finally going deeper and working on technique, etc. Still early days though. AGF is a great source of further education/inspiration -- a great place to discover new (to me) music and learn from others!

[bbrown]

Francois Couperin's "The Mysterious Barricades". I think it was Bream who was playing on an old cassette given to me by our South African choir director, at St. Alban's Church in Richmond, Virginia.

That tune pretty much made me weep, I thought it was so emotional and beautiful.

The second would be Sylvius Leopold Weiss' "Passacaille" (AKA "Passacaglia").

I play both on my Collings dreadnaught

[redir]

Originally Posted by harpon

For me it was mostly mechanical- a long time ago I broke two fingers on my left hand bicycle racing. when I started playing guitar later in llife, I first got a steel string because I always liked the sound.

At first I could hardly finger anything on it, so I eventually got a classical for the wider spacing in hopes that I could play that better. It helped, but then shortly after that in the mid-90's I discovered I could take a classical guitar course at L.A. city College for only $30 a semester- hardly more than a single private lesson.

So I went there for several semesters every Saturday morning where I got my real start, I found I took to reading for guitar better than for piano and been playing since.

But the talk of Mason Williams and Classical Gas above is also relevant here. I LOVED the song, and since my hobby was Super 8 film in the early 70's I HAD to use it for some film background.

I did this film in college, and had the song synched up with a reel to reel tape deck when I showed the film- this is only the final end part:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivQx1DhgO7Q

Petty well worn now- and the track is from a 45 and the original 1/4" reel to reel and then dubbed onto vhs and then caputured to digital and downloaded to youtube so it's not the best audio.

Sweet! Former bicycle racer myself, dangerous sport, that.

I still enter the occasional masters race, cyclocross and mountain bike races.

If you post any more old vids like that on youtube pm me. I love that stuff.

[fitness1]

Always loved the sound, but I credit an Ottmar Leibert DVD I bought about 10 years ago with a constant reminder I wanted that sound in my arsenal.

[gnr87rules]

The unforgiven By metallica.james hetfield is my hero

[Trevor B.]

Originally Posted by Mooh

J. S. Bach. The man was a genius and I love his music as much now as I did as a kid...maybe more.

What turned the tide for me was J.S. Bach's, little "Prelude in D minor" on the Julian Bream plays Bach album.

[kauffmds]

I really don't remember what first attracted me. My Grandmother played the piano from the age of 3, so I was exposed to all genre of music, from the time I was born. My Grandmother didn't care which instrument was chosen, but she firmly believed that everyone should play something.

I love classical music and I love the guitar, so I combined them.

[brad4d8]

I think it was 1973, I was visiting my kids and ex-wife and spent a lot of time with an old folk playing buddy who had done master classes with Segovia and Parkening. He lent me two pieces of sheet music, the prelude to Antonio Lauro's Suite Venezolana and Bach's Little Prelude. I promptly learned to play them on my little Gibson LG-1 and was hooked. For the next 20 years or so, I played classical almost exclusively. Lately, only steel string as I'm playing in a folk trio and don't have time for the classical as well. Oh, well, retirement is not too far away.
Brad

[drplayer]

Ironically, it was actually jazz (Earl Klugh's Christina) and rock/pop (Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven) that brought me to the classical guitar. Through that, I came to know of Segovia, John Williams, Christopher Parkening, and at the time, a young classical prodigy that trained in my hometown at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Jason Vieaux, among others...

[johnny196775]

chopin's waltzes.

[Vognell]

Vivaldi- Concerto for Lute (Guitar), two Violins and Basso continuo in D major, RV 93- II. Largo

As performed by John Williams of the Seville Concert DVD. Actually, that whole DVD, but this tune in particular.