Drill of the Week #37 – Bach Gavotte Classical Guitar Lesson
Classical guitar – an indispensable element to many great guitarists training. Think Randy Rhoads or Chris Broderick, for example. The music of J.S. Bach has been performed consistently for 300 years and has stood the test of time as some of the greatest music ever written. I consider playing his music an honor and a privilege, and a gift. The cerebral and structural perfection, and the beauty of it’s architecture is what musicians will continue to appreciate for centuries to come. Here are a few tips:
- Follow the right hand fingerings (P-thumb, i-index, m-middle, a-ring). Efficiency of motion is a key element to making the music flow without interruption. If your finger picking is disjointed and inefficient, the flow of the music won’t capture the beauty of the composition.
- Break it up. If you are having trouble learning it at the start, try taking away all the bass notes (thumb notes) and just practice the high notes. Once you have that down, try adding just the first bass note, then the next, and so on.
- Feel it in 6/8. Make sure you feel the pulse in 6/8 – that is, 3 notes per beat (so it feels like triplets). Take a look at the notation and see how the notes are grouped into 3’s. Find the first note of each grouping and feel an accent on that note, and the following 2 notes feel less emphasized. This will help you find the pulse.
Nate from Richards Guitar Studio shows you how to play Bach Gavotte II BWV 995 in this guitar lesson. Refer to the tabs and then use the video for performance tips. Techniques include fingerstyle, two-voice counterpoint, and holding bass notes while playing a melody.
Richards Guitar Studio offers professional guitar lessons in Aston PA. We serve Delaware County PA towns such as Swarthmore, Media, Springfield, Ridley Park, Garnet Valley, and Brookhaven.