The Segovia Scales: Foundations of Classical Guitar Technique
"The practice of scales enables one to solve a greater number of technical problems in a shorter time than the study of any other exercise.” - Andrés Segovia
Is this course for me?
This course will help any guitarist gain a deeper knowledge of the fretboard and greater technical facility
Beginners: all material is accessible (TAB & fretboard diagrams included!)
Intermediate players: move your playing to the advanced level through many technical distinctions and refinements
Advanced players: strengthen your foundations while enjoying comprehensive study materials for ongoing practice and review
What will I learn?
8 left-hand patterns in 24 keys & 8 right-hand patterns - the complete set of Segovia scales
Practice approaches for both hands used by professional concert guitarists to develop and maintain a high level of technical facility, coordination, and control
Musical & technical insights gleaned from hundreds of masterclasses and decades of lessons and mentorships with the world's top concert guitarists
Key takeaways & mindsets that are certain to accelerate growth and make you a more effective and confident musician
Course Samples:
Scale Pattern #1: Two-Octave C Major Scale starting on the 5th string
- learning one octave at a time
- learn and say the note letter names :)
Right-Hand Fingering & Repeated Notes: "im"
- practicing the right hand alone: "im"
- repeated notes: "6 strokes per note" (also, odd numbers = "alternating crossings")
- putting the hands together
Technique Masterclass #1: Thoughts on Free Stroke & Rest Stroke
- right-hand thumb "planting" in free stroke technique (string-below-the-string you're playing)
- advantages of the free-floating thumb in rest stroke
- stationary thumb in rest stroke technique
- maintaining the degree of curvature in the fingers while crossing strings (both stroke types)
- instantaneous relaxation as recovery phase and preparation for upcoming stroke
- base-joint as the origin of motion (tip-joint relaxed, or not?)
- wrist & arm mechanics (rotation as compensation for varying finger length)
- wrist & arm mechanics ("feeding" the right arm, thumb on the wood)
Transposing Pattern #1: Moving the Two-Octave C Major Scale to D♭, D, E♭
- How-to: thoughts on transposing the scales
Practice-Along: All Pattern #1 Scales as a Single "Flow"
- three speeds: half, quarter, and eighth notes at 135 BPM
Part 1 (half-notes):
Part 2 (quarter &: eighth-notes):
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Why practice the Segovia Scales?
Guitarists have an opportunity to hone a great number of technical and musical skills while practicing the Segovia Scales.
Here are some of the areas, if consciously focused upon, that will see marked improvement:
- finger alternation
- coordination & synchronization of the hands
- efficiency & lightness of technique
- articulation (legato and staccato playing)
- shifts
- elasticity and flexibility in both hands
- knowledge of equivalent fingerings
- high register playing
- tone production & projection
- mastery of free stroke & rest stroke technique
- string-crossings (in both hands)
The topics above (and many more) will be addressed in the Technique Masterclass videos found in each chapter.
Remember these words from Maestro Segovia:
"In one hour of scales may be condensed many hours of arduous exercises which are frequently futile."
Complete Curriculum
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Download & Print Your PDFs
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Notation, TAB, & Fretboard Diagram PDFs
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Scale Pattern #1: Two-Octave C Major Scale starting on the 5th string
FREE PREVIEW -
Right-Hand Fingering & Repeated Notes: "im"
FREE PREVIEW -
Technique Masterclass #1: Thoughts on Free Stroke & Rest Stroke
FREE PREVIEW -
Transposing Pattern #1: Moving the Two-Octave C Major Scale to D♭, D, E♭
FREE PREVIEW -
Practice-Along: All Pattern #1 Scales as a Single "Flow"
FREE PREVIEW
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Scale Pattern #2: Three-Octave G Major Scale starting on the 6th string
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Right-Hand Fingering & Repeated Notes: "mi"
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Technique Masterclass #2: Legato & Staccato Articulation in Both Hands
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Transposing Pattern #2: Moving the Three-Octave G Major Scale to F♯, A♭, A, B♭, B
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Practice-Along: All Pattern #2 Scales as a Single "Flow"
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Scale Pattern #3: Two-Octave c Melodic Minor Scale starting on the 5th string
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Right-Hand Fingering & Repeated Notes: "ma"
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Technique Masterclass #3: Left-Hand Efficiency & Ease
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Transposing Pattern #3: Moving the Two-Octave c Melodic Minor Scale to c♯, d, d♯
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Practice-Along: All Pattern #3 Scales as a Single "Flow"
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About this course
- $39.00
- 56 lessons
From Andrés Segovia's Original Preface to "Diatonic Major and Minor Scales":
“Thanks to the independence and elasticity which the fingers develop through the study of scales, the student will soon acquire a quality which is very difficult to gain later: physical beauty of sound. I say physical, because sonority and its infinite shadings are not the result of stubborn willpower but spring from the innate excellence of the spirit.
In order to derive the greatest possible benefit from the following exercises, play them slowly and vigorously at first, more lightly, and rapidly later. In one hour of scales may be condensed many hours of arduous exercises which are frequently futile. The practice of scales enables one to solve a greater number of technical problems in a shorter time than the study of any other exercise.”
- Andrés Segovia