Tarrega 'Adelita'

Description

In this lesson we'll put together all the parts we've learned. This is the overall form.

1st section in E Minor - repeat
2nd section in E Major - repeat
1st section in E Minor

Once you have learned all the notes and hand positions, once you have a firm grasp on the mechanics of the piece, after you've memorized all the notes, then it is time to play it like a piece of music!
Take your time to navigate the melody in order to play it with a sense of drama, to provide a "story arc" to the piece. This can be accomplished by changing dynamics, fingerpicking attack variations, fingerpicking placement, dramatic pauses (fermatas, ritards, rubato) and rushes, pulling and pushing the tempo in order to provide phrasing variety.

Like many short classical pieces, when I perform it I find it necessary to play it many times over, to repeat it in order to fill up more time. So, I make sure to play it slightly differently on each pass through.

I hope you have enjoyed this lesson on a Tarrega piece. I hope it encourages you to play this and other mainstays of the classical guitar repertoire. Happy playing!