Classical Guitar Repertoire and Etudes - RCM 2018 - Prep Level - Complete Recording

The Royal Conservatory of Music Publishing has long offered graded repertoire books for classical guitar students. Indeed, one of my own students wanted to learn pieces from the Prep Volume (2018 edition) of this series. Working with him, I became interested enough to record all the pieces in the book. A caveat. I’m not associated with either The Royal Conservatory of Music or The Frederick Harris Music Company. No one should assume these recordings are in any way sanctioned by either the publisher or the composers. Rather, they’re my own performances, done for the benefit of anyone who cares to listen. Since recordings of these pieces are easy to find on YouTube, one may wonder why I offer mine. Two answers: 1) It’s convenient to have all the pieces recorded in one place. 2) Hearing a new perspective is always worthwhile. Occasionally I deviate from the printed music—sometimes considerably so. You can decide for yourself whether I’ve in places gone too far. But while fidelity to the printed page has its place, it shouldn’t squelch a player’s creativity. For better or worse, players themselves must bring something to the table. Music should be more than mere finger wiggling. Since this is student repertoire, here are some useful tips: • Don’t ignore rests. (I missed a few myself—sorry.) • Learn about vibrato and tone color. • Avoid unmusically clipped notes. • Damp notes that create unmusical dissonances or clash with the harmony. • Be sensitive to mood changes within a...