For adult players stuck on one advanced piece
The Chaconne. Leyenda. That étude you gave up on. You will play it.
I started classical guitar at 21, years after everyone said it was too late. I've since played the Bach Chaconne, all twelve Villa-Lobos études, Recuerdos de la Alhambra — and built the Micro Study System (one piece, broken into the exact bars that are stalling you) that gets serious adult players there too.
6.62K
YouTube subscribers
21
years old when I started
133
lessons & counting
What a micro study pathway actually looks like
Take tremolo — the most-requested technique on the channel.
- Six foundation drills first
- then three pieces that build on each other:
- Carcassi
- Tárrega's Recuerdos de la Alhambra
- Barrios' Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios
Technique separate from music until each hand is secure on its own, then combined.
That's the whole method, worked through on one real path — every other path on this site follows the same shape.
See the full tremolo path →Not sure where to start?
Five ways into the catalogue, however you learn best.
Not a beginner-to-advanced curriculum, and not a library for every level — just the piece you're already stuck on, solved.
Villa-Lobos
All twelve études, in the sequence that actually works.
Tremolo
Six foundation drills through to Barrios' Una Limosna.
Repertoire Roadmap
A path from Brouwer to Barrios' La Catedral.
Pieces
Full works, taught with micro studies. You approach the piece.
CAGED
Five chord shapes, and the scales built on them.
Looking for one piece specifically?
Gear
A new angle for the channel: real tech tested for classical guitar teaching, starting with the Valeton GP-50 multi-effects pedal.
From the comments
Real YouTube comments, on the actual lessons — from a channel with 6.62K subscribers · 538 lessons · 761,922 views.
I can't believe this is free and doesn't have more views — incredibly helpful, especially given how deceptively tricky the Villano and Ricercare are. It's helped immensely with the whole piece!
This is the best and most detailed guitar tutorial I've ever seen on YouTube. I heard the original song a couple of days ago and it's so beautiful I wanna learn it. I came to the best place here.
My man giving us all those nuanced details often overlooked in instructional videos. Your approach here is quite honestly the very best I've come across.
I've been searching YouTube and the internet for a lesson or a performance of the official alternative arpeggio that Brouwer listed in the score but can't find one anywhere — this is the closest thing I've found.
It is very kind of you to share this variation-by-variation series, and it is exceptionally helpful to me, or to anyone who is learning the Chaconne. Thank you for the time and effort you put into these videos, and for your generosity in sharing your expertise.
I just wanted to say thank you so much for your time. I've learned so much from your teachings. I'm self-taught for 35 years, and you catapulted my classical guitar journey.
Go deeper on Patreon
Scores with fingerings, practice schedules and a monthly live Q&A — for players who want more than the free lessons.
Free Taster
Free
A handful of posts to see how I teach, no cost.
Insider Café
£3/month
A micro study PDF and enhanced score with fingerings for every new piece, plus early access on YouTube.
Luminary
£12/month
Everything in Insider Café, plus a monthly live Q&A with me.
No contract — cancel anytime, direct from Patreon.
I started at 21
"Am I too old for this?" I hear it constantly. Everyone told me serious players start at seven or eight, and that adult beginners never reach a professional level. I didn't accept that. I went on to earn a Masters in Music, spent five years as Area Leader for classical guitar at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and wrote method articles for Classical Guitar Magazine. I've played the pieces I was told I'd never play: the Chaconne, all twelve Villa-Lobos études, Leyenda, Recuerdos. It wasn't talent. It was having a system — the same Micro Study System every lesson on this site is built around.
Years off the instrument?
Whatever is stopping you, you are not starting a curriculum. You are finishing the one piece you are stuck on.
With the Micro Study System and the CGRocks community behind you, you are not alone.
Join the CGRocks community on Patreon