Songs for Spanish and Classical Guitar

By Edina Balczo

Songs for Spanish and Classical Guitar offers 17 guitar technique exercises and 25 songs to learn in the form of a book and video lessons.

Are you a guitarist who wants to improve your repertoire, or are you just starting out and looking for some songs to learn? Do you like improvising against backing tracks with the help of chord charts and scale maps? This book and video lessons package will increase your knowledge of theory, improve your technique, and introduce familiar and original songs to your playlist. The book begins with a series of 17 arpeggio, picado, and stretching studies; but the bulk of the text consists of songs divided into three categories:Christmas/festive songs; Spanish and classical titles, all of them original;and traditional songs from Europe and the Americas. This varied repertoire is both fun and challenging to play. You will find that mastering these songs will help you to improve your barre, arpeggio, picado, and rumba techniques. Some of the songs include scale maps, chord charts, and backing tracks at two different speeds to help you to freely improvise your own melodies against the underlying chord structures.

Titles include:

Festive Songs: Silent Night, We Wish You a Merry Christmas (solo and duo versions), Jingle Bells, Auld Lang Syne, Happy Birthday (solo and duo versions).
Spanish and Classical Songs:Eight Drops of Life, Ophelia Storm, The Castle, Rain, Camino, Journey,Bluebird, Blue Balloons.
Traditional Songs: Greensleeves (UK), Ten Penny Bit (IE), Bella Ciao (IT), Spanish Romance (ES), Cielito Lindo (MX), La Cucaracha (MX), La Bamba (MX), La Cumparsita (UY), Tico-Tico (BR),Tavaszi Szel Vizet Araszt (HU).

The songs and exercises are presented in traditional musical notation and TAB. Start or continue your guitar journey with Songs for Spanish and Classical Guitar!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edina Balczo
• Release date: Jan 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005166854

Edina Balczo

Edina Balczo is a UK-based professional guitarist, who has been playing more than 18 years. She is endorsed by GuitarPro software, and hosts a popular YouTube channel, The Spanish Guitar Hub, which has received millions of views and attracted tens of thousands of subscribers. With her Spanish guitar duo, De fuego, she has recorded and released two albums and performed throughout Europe, including appearances at the Glastonbury festival (UK), Sziget fesztival (HU), Meadows in the Mountains (BG), and Vegfest (UK). She has also performed in special events for Google, Green Peace, and the Commonwealth Nations Ceremony awards.

Book preview

Preface

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I have played the guitar for over 20 years and began playing the Spanish/Flamenco guitar style in my third year of studying this amazing instrument. I chose this style after hearing the beautiful playing of Paco de Lucia while I was still in my teens. Studying flamenco and devoting extensive time to scale studies eventually led to the development of my own personal sound and approach to the guitar. Some years ago, without regret, I abandoned my previous career as a molecular biologist to pursue the life of a full-time professional musician. This was a choice that enabled me to follow my passion and experience the joys of playing, performing, and teaching. Nothing makes me happier than sharing my knowledge and music with my students and YouTube audience or making people smile when I play in live settings. I am very fortunate to be able to perform about 100 gigs a year, travel, and earn a wonderful living in this way.

This book is written for the guitar student, those that are considering becoming a performer, and for those who just want to expand their repertoire. It includes songs that are intended to give joy and make people smile as they are shared with friends and family. How lovely it is to play seasonal songs at Christmas or during New Year’s Eve or other family celebrations – rather than hearing them from a CD player or computer! Please feel free to use any of the music as you see fit, but with the following conditions: The sheet music is copyrighted, so you may not copy (except for your own use) or share it. However, you may upload video files that you create to YouTube (or other social media) provided that you credit the author in the video description. Also, you may play any of these songs without a mention of the author in live settings.

I hope this book will inspire and encourage you to practice more regularly. I believe that the guitar is beneficial for the body, mind, and the soul. It can be played and studied by people of any age. Amateurs and professionals play well into their senior years (for example: classical guitarists like Andres Segovia, Julian Bream, and John Williams, or flamenco players such as Sabicas, to name a few). It may also reduce stress and bring new meaning to your life.

We musicians have a very special connection to each other, which we all feel during a performance or jam session. Few hobbies or professions provide that connection. Personally, my strongest friendships have originated through music. I have a friend of 25 years (who played bass in my first band) that I still meet with every second week. In addition, I still keep in touch with many of my music partners that I rehearsed, toured, and made/wrote music with throughout those years – those were some of my happiest memories. Learn the guitar, build up a repertoire and if so inclined, play and tour with other people and in the process make unforgettable friendships.

This is my second book. It was conceived two years after publishing Spanish Guitar Strumming Techniques. This time I wanted to write something different. Although learning and mastering techniques can be fun, learning songs or performing for others can provide the very best motivation for the guitarist. Many of the included songs were originally arranged and/or composed for my YouTube channel, The Spanish Guitar Hub. However, much