Fingerstyle for Beginners

Improve Fingerstyle with Classical Music

So many great fingerstyle guitar exercises come from Classical Music.

There are literally hundreds of great books and pieces that you can use to improve your fingerstyle guitar, whether you play a Classical or Acoustic Guitar.

The fingerstyle approach is usually the same for both Classical and Acoustic guitar, so you can definitely steal from the classical repertoire to make some fingerstyle “Gains.”

Today I am going to show you this beautiful piece from Mauro Giuliani from the Papillon Op.50.

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Video Lesson

Why Mauro Giuliani?

Info about this piece

Mauro Giuliani is probably one of the most recognized guitar players and composers of all time.

Born in Italy in the 19th Century, Giuliani was a guitar player, singer, composer, and cellist.

He wrote over 150 compositions for guitar and was considered a great virtuoso.

I personally love his Rossinianas and Variation on a Theme of Handel.

Really also famous for the 120 fingerstyle guitar exercises for beginners.

The Fingerstyle Exercise

The exercise we are checking out today is a variation on a simple theme in C major.

The piece is pretty short, but perfect if you want to improve your fingerstyle technique and musicality.

It consists of a series of variations on a simple theme, which will be developed mostly rhythmically.

Here’s a snippet of the first part of the Theme and Variation.

How to Practice

Fingerstyle Guitar Tips

When I approach this type of classical piece with my students, I really like to focus on two main aspects.

The technical approach and musical interpretation.

Even though we are performing a short piece of music, it is of paramount importance to give your best to improve as many things in your playing as possible.

The Technical Approach

Each variation will become rhythmically more challenging.

As the rhythm becomes more articulated, the plucking hand will also become more challenging.

I suggest you practice one variation at a time following the same fingering shown on the video.

Don’t double pluck with the same finger. That would be counterproductive.

The Musical Interpretation

Musicality is a key high performance.

As you become better at playing every single variation, start considering playing the piece with different dynamics.

Use forte and piano (loud and quiet), crescendo and diminuendo (getting louder, getting softer).

Each variation should be played with a different emphasis.

Good luck!