Guitar Technique: Intermediate to Advanced (Paperback)

Due largely to the fine playing and missionary zeal of Andres Segovia the classical guitar became increasingly popular among professionals and amateurs throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s, though initially it relied largely on its eighteenth and early nineteenth century repertoire, and was not regarded as a "serious" instrument by leading conservatories and music schools. Even more seriously, for the greater part of this time the quality of teaching available varied from the tentative to the downright incompetent. But rescue was at hand. Together with this primary tutor An Introduction to the Guitar (Oxford, 1971), Quine threw a lifeline to many a solitary amateur faced with the problem of developing a technique adequate to the status of the instrument. Over recent years Hector Quine, formerly Professor of Guitar at the Royal Academy of Music, can fairly be said to have contributed more than most to the return of the six nylon-stringed guitar played with the fingers to the concert platform and recording studio. Through his teaching and example a new generation of young guitarists, both amateur and professional, arrived and matured, including David Russell, one of Britain's best-known virtuosos.

The subtitle, Intermediate to Advanced need not be taken too seriously. Posture, tone production, finger action and a workable practising schedule are basic to would-be players at all levels, and are here explained patiently and in detail. A prime virtue of Guitar Technique is that it provides graded, progressive and, above all, specific information, not only on how the guitar ought (and ought not!) to be played, but also on how to overcome the technical problems and pitfalls that lie in wait for the unsuspecting student. From the outset the author concentrates on the sound of the instrument and what, in the Preface, he calls "musical intelligence". This is a practical, though not didactic, book in its readiness to move from the "how" to the "why" of playing the guitar in the way the author recommends. The chapter on interpretation will, perhaps, be of interest mainly to mature players, but should certainly be read for its wisdom and forthright advice.

It is now impossible to believe that the classical guitar will ever again retire into another of the periods of neglect or obscurity that have regularly dogged its history. Its solo and chamber repertoire is immense and includes contemporary composers of exceptional talent, as well as a large choice of music from the Baroque period to the present day. A substantial appendix by Stephen Dodgson, Writing for the Guitar, is a reminder that, although it has been around in many forms over many centuries, the guitar is, as ever, challenging composers to write great music for it.

The 105 pages of Guitar Technique make it a treasure house for guitarists and, indeed, anyone who wishes to know more about this seductive instrument.