An arrangement of traditional themes of the Flamenco style (palo) Alegrias de Baile (Alegrias for dance) that I acquired during my years of study with Juan Gonz�lez ?Triguito? in Madrid in the late 1960s. The title of the piece that contains bright and happy passages in A major and slower more somber passages in A minor is taken from the name of a popular alcoholic drink that is a mixture of clear anisette (sol) and cognac (sombra). The composition is meant to resemble an Alegrias played in accompaniment to the dance, often performed by a solo woman dancer (bailaora) in a beautifully coloured long flowing dress. The piece finishes with a Macho por Buler�as (finale) that is almost twice as fast as the passages in the introduction and middle parts. There is a long beautiful tremolo passage that rounds off the middle part before the jump into the finale. The piece is recommended for students of Flamenco guitar at the intermediate to advanced intermediate levels.

There is plenty of music sheet for classical guitar of various styles, directions and levels of difficulty. There is also enough methodical literature for all tastes. However, every year there are appearing new schools, methodical collections and exercises. That?s why the art of playing classical guitar is not standing still.

During my pedagogical activity rather often I faced the problem of searching or creating small exercises for a particular technique and solution of a particular problem. What didn?t suit me in the existing studies? First of all, the monotony of technical material (the accent only on the left hand technique of a performer, while the concentration of sound control is mostly in the right hand; a limited quantity of technical methods: arpeggios, chords, passagework technique). Secondly, it?s an amount of musical material. As a rule, the main efforts were aimed to memorize the text, which distracted from the very purpose of etudes, the work on a certain type of technical difficulties.
That is how the collection �Unusual Studies� appeared.
What is their �singularity�?
The collection is conditionally divided into several sections in the order of increasing the complexity of material, and it concludes with three �Concert Studies�. They are distinguished by a more developed emotional atmosphere and rather high level of complexity and size. These studies require a certain level of preparation and can diversify a performer?s concert program. Nevertheless, they are only an addition to the basic material, which is focused primarily on the elementary and intermediate levels of training.
When it comes to the ?singularity?, focus is shifted to the right hand, with the detailed fingering of the right hand. The fingers �p� and �a� are introduced more actively, paying attention to the alignment of their sound, attack power. It is necessary to strive for full equality of all fingers of the right hand, using fingers �p� and �a� not only when playing bass and melody, but also in arpeggio, passaggio technique (in the middle of an arpeggio or passaggio).
- learning to use touches in a high contrast while playing: staccato/legato. This, in my opinion, is extremely necessary to already assimilate at the initial stage of training.
- active use of the alternation in the musical material of open and closed strings. Control over the strength of the sound of open strings, timbre ratio.
- using the high positions of the guitar?s fingerboard with open strings without excessive physical effort .
- rather small size of studies. This allows to concentrate directly on the technical difficulties, rather than on memorizing.

I hope that this collection will help you to achieve the desired result faster and more effectively, will bring not only methodical benefit, but also aesthetic pleasure.

ISBN 9781609743260. This collection is drawn from the Portefeuille Guitarre-Spieler series and is intended for intermediate to advanced guitarists.The works in this collection:Fantasy on themes from Don Giovanni, Op. 28Don Giovanni has long been famous among enthusiasts of fretted instruments for Mozart's sublime use of the mandolin in Don Juans' aria Deh, vieni alla finestra. Mertz himself took note of Mozart's 'mandolin serenade' for he employed as a catalyst a brief quote of the mandolin introduction in his Op. 28 for a modulatory transition based upon the theme. Mertz also included a simple arrangement of the aria as number 76 in his Kukuk, a 'musical panorama' of 136 short pieces.Martha, Op. 16Martha, oder Der Markt zu Richmond by German composer Friedrich Flotow (1812-1883) was first produced in Vienna in 1847. In the second act of Martha Flotow incorporates 'Tis the Last Rose of Summer (Qui sola, verginrosa), a traditional Irish melody to which the poet Thomas Moore wrote lyrics. It was one of the most popular songs of the nineteenth century. In addition to Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Thalberg, guitar composers to produce works based upon the famous song include Giuliani, Ferranti, Holland, and Foden. Preceding Ah! che a voi perdoni Iddio in his Op. 16, Mertz quotes a brief passage from his Elegie.The Prophet, Op. 21Giacomo Meyerbeer was the leading composer of French grand opera during Mertz's professional career. Following studies in Italy, the German composer was chiefly active in Paris and Berlin, although he traveled Europe extensively producing his operas. Le prophete premiered in Paris in 1849 after a long delay due to casting problems. Mertz's Op. 21 was published shortly thereafter.Nabucco, Op. 62 and Rigoletto, Op. 63Giuseppe Verdi's first major triumph as an opera composer was with the biblical opera Nabucodonosor (more commonly known as Nabucco). The opera was premiered in Milan in 1842 and its subsequent revivals throughout Europe spread Verdi?s fame at an astounding rate. Consequently, Verdi was commissioned to compose 14 operas in the following decade. Among these operas was Rigoletto, first produced in Venice in 1851. Mertz frequently turned to the music of Verdi for his operatic fantasies, producing no fewer than four distinct works based on themes from Rigoletto alone.

ISBN 9781609742546. Here is a book for guitar students who wish to develop their instrumental capabilities to the point of mastery. This book, while not a method, is an attempt to help students internalize the most important aspects of practicing and performing music: Mechanism, the set of acquired reflexes that makes playing the guitar possible; Technique, the procedures to follow in order to master a given passage or overcome a given difficulty; and Learning a Mechanism or Technique, the process of acquiring a reflex or of mastering a passage or overcoming a specific difficulty. The exercises strive to ingrain proper techniques and mechanisms both physically and mentally, making the interpretation of music as natural to the guitarist as walking. The author encourages the student to conquer musical difficulties through critical and intelligent analysis rather than mere repetition. These techniques are intended to return the indispensable feeling of creative playing to musical work, having freed the student from consciously focusing on the physical aspects of playing. Musical examples are in standard notation only.

An arrangement of traditional themes for the Flamenco style Siguiriyas for solo Flamenco guitar based on material I gathered in my studies in Flamenco guitar in Madrid in the late 1960s. I call the piece Llamas Negras (Black Flames) as the dance for Siguiriyas is often performed by a woman dancer (bailaora) dressed in a long flowing black dress, her hands twirling above her head likes flames. Such were the performances I witnessed at the Flamenco tablao La Zambra where my guitar maestro Juan Gonz�lez ?Triguito? played. Siguiriyas is the most tragic of all the serious (jondo) styles of Flamenco for guitar. The piece moves therefore at a moderately slow pace, although there are passages where the tempo increases for dramatic effect. The piece is in the Phrygian modal of D minor and notated in standard 6/8 time. Siguiriyas embodies par excellence what Manuel de Falla called the ?sonidos negros? or black sounds in Flamenco!

ISBN 9781609745578. This anthology contains nineteen of the most popular Gilbert and Sullivan classics arranged in easily sight-readable versions for beginning to intermediate classical guitarists. All the favorites are here, ranging from sentimental ballads such as 'Little Buttercup', 'Willow, Tit-Willow' and 'There Grew a Little Flower', to more up-tempo 'patter' type pieces such as 'Oh! A Private Buffoon', 'Kind Sir You Cannot Have the Heart' and 'A Policeman's Lot'. The aim has been to provide both a useful teaching resource and a light-hearted alternative to the more 'serious' music of the classical guitar repertoire. All the pieces lend themselves extremely well to the common idiomatic textures of the classical guitar. A variety of melody and accompaniment styles are employed, including block chords, arpeggio patterns and passages of double-stopped thirds and sixths. A number of the pieces are in easy first position format, while others explore the common higher positions. The standard guitar keys are utilized (C, G, D, A, E) but there are occasional more challenging temporary modulations to 'difficult' keys, such as E flat major. There are also instances of drop-D tuning, which is often required in classical guitar playing.

Here is a lovely arrangement of the popular 1974 tune, "Feelings" made famous by Julio Iglesias, Shirley Bassey, Petula Clark to name just a few! The piece works really nicely for solo classical guitar, and is not too difficult to play. Fingerings of tricky passages are given for both right and left hands. There is another version available with tablature for non readers.

ISBN 9781513469041. 8.75x11.75 inches.

Composer/arranger Owen Middleton delivers the goods in these intermediate-level, idiomatic arrangements of 21 traditional hymns and patriotic songs for solo classic guitar. The book includes optional parts for cello and flute in supporting and lead roles. Written in standard notation only, a few tunes feature altered tunings. Light left-hand fingering is provided for the more challenging passages as well as access to online audio for each piece.Middletons years of experience as a choral singer and composer for the guitar and piano shine through in these tasteful settings; his awareness of voice-leading concepts, inner parts, and basslines often gives these time-honored melodies a modern twist.