News

11th December 2011 - SOLO CLASSICAL GUITAR CONCERT by Richard Corr

I'm performing a lunchtime (1.30 - 2.30) solo classical guitar recital this Sunday, 11th Dec. at the Space Art Centre on the Isle of Dogs, London. The Space Art Centre is situated at 269 West Ferry Road, Isle of Dogs, London. It's a great venue for classical guitar + there's also a bar upstairs for a few after-concert drinks (I might need a few before to steady my nerves!).
My programme is as follows:

J. S. Bach: Prelude, Fugue and Allegro
F. Sor: Introduction and Variations on a Theme by Mozart
F. Tarrega: Capricho Arabe
M. Torroba: Sonatina in A
J. Pernambuco: Sons de Carrilhoes

£5 admission (£3 students/concessions)

29th Sept 2011

I'm pleased to report that the new upgraded and improved 2011 edition of Guitar Academy Book 2 is now available. The RRP is £8.50, but for a limited period I am selling the book at the special introductory price of only £7.50 inc. P&P. Many improvements have been made, including:

A better introduction to free stroke with new artwork emphasising the 3 P's: Plant, Push, and Play
New repertoire to help develop the right-hand 'a' finger
New repertoire to introduce three-note and four-note chords
More opportunities to improvise with new backing tracks on the accompanying CD
Many new pieces. The contents page can be viewed here
New high-quality artwork from top artist Peter Ware
The book has been reformatted to more closely match the style and quality of books 1 and 3
CD re-recorded and improved

16th Aug 2011

More good news! Guitar Academy is now available in America and distributed by Strings by Mail. Australian fans of Guitar Academy can buy the books through Alfred Music, the largest educational publisher in the world. They are also available from all good Aussie music shops and from the Music Sales website

8th Jan 2011

Great News! Guitar Academy books are to be available in Australia within a few weeks, distributed by Alfred Music. They should be in Australia in time for the start of the Australian school year.

I've also attached a new review of books 2 & 3 from Classical Guitar Magazine, Nov. 2010. The reviewer, Chris Dumigan, says that he is in 'full admiration' of my books and 'heartily recommends' them. Thanks Chris!

1st July 2010

The new revised 2010 edition of Book 1 will be available from the end of August, in time for the new school term. This book now teaches the tie and the dotted rhythm. There are many new fantastic high-quality coloured illustrations by top artist Peter Ware. My copy editor has also really helped to improve the formatting and text of the book. I am also grateful to Aaron Wolf, an American guitarist and teacher, who gave me a lot of valuable feedback. This book is now better than ever!

Price increases: Many guitarists and teachers have commented on the amazing value of my books. With the full colour, the classy artwork, and the accompanying CD, Guitar Academy is certainly a quality production. With the price increases it remains far cheaper than most other equivalent books. It is also much more thorough and inspirational than other methods. You may be able to find cheaper tutors, but for the price of a single guitar string is it really worth it? Don't compromise on quality, choose Guitar Academy.

PS I have a new guitar and I love it - a Paulino Bernabe. I bought it from Stafford Guitars.

6th May: Book 1 Online: Repertoire

I've decided to put most of the pieces of book 1 online in Sibelius Scorch format: this ingenious software will enable the student to view, listen, and also adjust the speed of the music to a comfortable playing along tempo; this will be particularly useful to students who have trouble keeping up with the performances on the accompanying CD.

3rd May: Book 1 revisions:

4 extra pages – the book now consists of 48 pages + CD for the same price of £7.95.
The left-hand ‘pinky’: I now recommend playing D (string 2) and G (string 1) with the 4th rather than 3rd finger. I have also commissioned new artwork to illustrate this. This approach helps promote correct left-hand alignment from the very beginning; the knuckles are held parallel to the fingerboard and the 4th finger is encouraged to bend as it should – at the middle joint (the proximal interphalangeal).
New pieces: Delta Blues, London’s Burning, Kookaburra, Russian Song (trio), Rice Pounding (trio), Sword Dance (trio), Rock School (ensemble), Silent Night (song), Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (song).
Aligning the Left Hand: a new daily chromatic exercise.
Twinkle Variations: improvisation on a well-known theme.
Scales: there is now a more thorough introduction to scales.
Ensemble pieces: 4 new pieces with improvised sections included.
Rock School: a new ensemble piece with parts for bass, rhythm, and lead guitars.
Guitar tablature is now introduced in book 1 rather than being left until book 2.
Silent Night replaces Kumbaya as the song to teach the chords of A, D and E.
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door – Bob Dylan’s classic illustrated with specially commissioned artwork.
Time Signatures: an explanation of duple, triple, and quadruple time; this is supplemented by many listening tests on the accompanying CD. With the book's other ear-training tests (intervals and major/minor recognition) the ABRSM grade requirements are now very well supported - GA is the only tutor book that addresses this important requirement.
Sibelius Scorch: this website will shortly include most of the pieces in the book in this format. This will enable the student to view, listen, and also adjust the speed of the music to a comfortable playing along tempo; this will be particularly useful to students who have trouble keeping up with the performances on the accompanying CD.
New artwork: In my determination to enhance the book I have upgraded many of the pictures with newly commissioned artwork from Peter Ware, some of which can be seen via his website.
Reformat: I am indebted to Amélie Handke, my eagle-eyed copy editor, for improving the text and formatting of the book.
There are a great many other minor revisions and improvements. Thanks to everyone who contributed suggestions and constructive advice. It was really appreciated!

28th April 2009: The new revised edition of Book 1 is now available (the old edition has sold out!). Whilst retaining much of the original book, there are many revisions: 4 extra pages, new solo and ensemble pieces, new artwork, and an overall reformat and makeover. I'll be posting up more details of the book shortly. The price remains the same at a very competitive £7.95.

19th March 2009: I'm looking forward to seeing the new revised edition of book 1 which is currently being printed in China. It should be available in this country in May. I'll be posting up more details shortly. My next project is to work at improving this website. I will be adding more tunes to the resources area and also making much more of my books available online via Scorch Sibelius.

17th October: A new ensemble piece showing here (for my Morley intermediate students - use the tempo slider to slow it down for practising): The Trees they do grow High

16th October:

I've just changed my server and am pleased to report that the Sibelius Sorch files on the Resources/repertoire are now working.

5th October: Book 1 revision - any ideas?

Between now and the end of October I'll be attempting to revise my Book 1. I'd really appreciate it if any teachers or students can offer constructive criticism/advice. I'm sure there's plenty of room for improvement. I'll probably be increasing the length of the book by 4 pages to 48 pages. What best to put on these pages? More ensemble? Another song or two? Please email me your thoughts!

As for songs it has been suggested that I include more up to date songs. This is a possibility although it would depend on acquiring copyright permissions, which is an added complication, and expense! I agree with some who have said that Kumbaya lacks the 'cool' factor so necessary in selling songs to today's students. What other 3 chord A, D E public domain song could I replace it with? Hmm... I'll think about it but welcome suggestions.
Some people have commented on the fact that a few of the pages are a little squashed, e.g. p17. This is true and I'll try to remedy this. However, the book is also meant for self-tuition so there has to be a certain amount of text. I personally don't agree with teachers who think 'the less text the better'. Apart from imparting necessary information, a quantity of text on each page helps break up the page + makes it appear friendlier and more inviting.
The left-hand pinky: I have become a convert to starting students with the 4th finger in first position for the notes on the treble strings, D and G. This really helps improve the alignment of the left hand. Consequently I'll be getting my artist to redraw the pictures for these notes. No doubt some teachers will be surprised by this. I suggest they try it with their own students to see the positive results. Any guitar teacher with an awareness of the left-hand alignment problem are advised to give it a go. I'd just like to add thanks to the two guitarists/teachers who put me on to this teaching strategy: Luke Dunlea and Ginette Eady.

2nd October

Resources area: I've made a start here. The flash cards can be downloaded and printed out, and very useful they are too. There are also 22 supplementary student repertoire pieces. These can be printed out and listened to via midi sound files. I'm having a problem with the scorch files not loading properly but promise this will be sorted out very soon.

Book 3: Click on the Book 3 tab to find out more about my wonderful new book.

12th September, 2008

Book 3 is finally published and selling well. I had expected my new website to be up and running by now, with the promised resources area. Unfortunately I've been let down badly by a web designer who seems to have ran off with my money but not delivered the goods. Hmm... some people eh! But I will try to sort things out as soon as possible. My website will definitely be undergoing a lot of development this coming term so keep watching this space!