Carcassi’s claim is that if you accomplish and can play his 25 Studies you’ve arrived as a guitar player.
Mateo Carcassi was born in Florence Italy in 1792, he learnt to play both piano and guitar as a young boy growing to became an outstanding guitarist in his teens.
Carcassi began travelling and giving concerts in 1810 and by 1815 he’d settled in Paris, making a living teaching both piano and guitar.
His reputation grew in 1823 with a successful concert tour to London which led to concerts in many important European cities. A return to London the following year, 1824, consolidated his reputation as both a virtuoso concert guitar player and teacher.
With Paris as his base he continued giving concerts throughout Europe while establishing his teaching practice and becoming a very “in demand” teacher.
I remember reading an interview with the superstar L.A. session guitarist Tommy Tedesco when he was asked how he learnt to play guitar and read music.
He answered saying that he’d worked his way through the Carcassi Method book.
Steve flack
Enter Carcassi’s Complete Method For Guitar
The need arose for an effective teaching method. Subsequently Carcassi wrote his “Complete Method For Guitar”. It was hugely successful and it could almost be said that any “learn to play guitar” book written today is simply an attempt to modernise Carcassi.
I remember reading an interview with the superstar L.A. session guitarist Tommy Tedesco when he was asked how he learnt to play guitar and read music. He answered saying that he’d worked his way through the Carcassi Method book.
Carcassi’s Method takes the student through the various keys and positions with an abundance of pieces to learn and develop as a guitarist and musician.
Once the student has finished the Method book, Carcassi composed 25 Studies to put their skills to the test. A “study” is a piece of music that has an exercise cleverly written into it, so it’s an exercise as well as an interesting piece of music to play.
Carcassi’s claim is that if you accomplish and can play his 25 Studies you’ve arrived as a guitar player.
How Carcassi’s Method Can Benefit The Guitarist.
They are designed to help the aspiring guitar player meet and beat all of the technical and musical problems that the guitar presents us. Even though music has moved on since Carcassi wrote his Method and 25 Studies in the mid 1800’s his method and studies are still of enormous value for us today.
The guitar player that works through Carcassi will see improvement and benefit. Something of Carcassi’s playing ability must get into our fingers as we apply ourselves to these studies.
Steve.