Classical Guitar Lessons and Instruction
Comprehensive Guide to Classical Guitar Technique
Douglas Niedt's (pronounced "neet") mission is to make you a better classical guitarist.
Online classical guitar instruction and lessons on the Internet since 2002.
Douglas Niedt's Classical Guitar Technique Wizard
Introducing the World's First AI Chatbot
for Classical Guitarists
I am thrilled to introduce the world’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chatbot for Classical Guitarists! Get instant, expert answers to your questions on classical guitar technique, how to practice, and tips on performing.
What can the AI Wizard do for you?
Expert Guidance: My Wizard uses generative artificial intelligence but only uses information from my website or information from other websites personally vetted by me to formulate its answers. Therefore, you receive accurate, safe, and thorough answers to your questions.
Personalized Tips: Receive personalized advice tailored to your specific needs and skill level. The Wizard knows over 85 languages, so you can communicate with it in your native language.
Convenient Learning: Access valuable insights and resources anytime, anywhere.
Why is this chatbot unique?
Developed using a customized generative AI app, the chatbot is equipped with advanced technology to provide you with the most accurate and helpful information. Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced player, the chatbot is here to answer your questions about classical guitar technique and help you achieve your musical goals.
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Ask your questions and receive instant, reliable answers.
Enhance your practice sessions and improve your classical guitar skills.
PLAY IT LIKE A PRO™ Gymnopédie No. 1 by Erik Satie
This Play It Like a Pro™ Package is the most comprehensive tutorial for “Gymnopédie No. 1” on the planet. Includes 11 Scores and 39 Videos containing 4 1/2 hours of measure-by-measure detailed instruction.
INCLUDES:
The Complete Annotated Tutorial Score (100 pages, 172 musical examples, with links to 39 videos).
The Structural Form Score.
The Annotated Interpretation Score.
Plus, the piano score, Satie's autograph piano score, Debussy's orchestration, the piano score on one staff transposed to the guitar key, and much more.
Girl from Ipanema—António Carlos Jobim Arranged by Douglas Niedt
The famous song is a bossa nova classic—a gentle fusion of cool jazz and Brazilian samba. It is one of the sexiest songs ever written, a masterclass in consensual seduction.
Standard notation, standard notation + tab, and tab only. $10.00
Advanced arrangement as played by Christopher Parkening, arranged by Rick Foster and revised by Douglas Niedt.
Includes standard notation, standard notation + tab, and tab only. $6.00
Blackbird—The Paul McCartney (Beatles) classic Arranged by Douglas Niedt
Most arrangements of "Blackbird" only include the guitar accompaniment without the melody. Others make a lame attempt to combine the two. This arrangement is unique. It preserves most of the notes and right-hand technique that Paul McCartney used for his iconic guitar accompaniment, it contains the complete melody as an independent part on top of the guitar accompaniment part, the original harmony is not changed, and the phrasing of the melody, as sung by McCartney, is retained. Standard notation, standard notation + tab, and tab only. $10.00
The sheet music package includes TWO beautiful arrangements of the Beatles classic. The ADVANCED version retains McCartney's bass lines, harmonies, and the guitar parts. The INTERMEDIATE version simplifies the bass line and is more fingerstyle-friendly throughout. Both versions are in standard notation, standard notation + tab, and tab only. $10.00
Doug has TWO amazing arrangements of "Amazing Grace." The Gospel-Blues Version has adventurous harmonies and is for intermediate and advanced players. The Easier Traditional Version is meditative and gentle but powerful. Standard notation, standard notation + tab, and tab only. Standard notation, standard notation + tab, and tab only. $10.00
The "Theme from Peter Gunn" was cool before cool was invented.
The song is over sixty years old, and it still completely rocks. Standard notation, standard notation + tab, and tab only. $10.00
Largo (Antonio Vivaldi) arranged for Solo Guitar by Douglas Niedt
In this standalone arrangement for solo guitar, Doug added bass notes from Vivaldi's bass part plus filled in the harmony from the continuo accompaniment and violin parts. It is beautiful on its own without any accompaniment. However, should you need orchestral accompaniment, Doug provides 10 REAL orchestra tracks at different tempos. And IT'S ALL FREE!
Canarios, by Gaspar Sanz, has always been a favorite piece of mine. I made a fantastic Canarios webpage for you. It has four super arrangements of the song (Williams, Parkening, Bream, and Bonell), videos, a 28-minute video tutorial on adding rasgueados to the piece, the original manuscripts, and lots of fascinating information. And IT'S ALL FREE!
Fugue BWV 1000 (J.S. Bach)
—Edition edited and fingered with performance notes by Douglas Niedt
This is my edition of Bach's Fugue (BWV 1000), based on the version for the lute. If you have always wanted to play a fugue, this is your chance! One big thing that makes my edition different is that I color-coded the voices to make it easy to identify which notes belong to which voice. Also, I notated the notes that comprise the subject with square note heads for easy visibility. I also include a host of other goodies on the webpage.
And yes, it's FREE!
La Paloma—by Sebastián Yradier as played by Pepe Romero
"La Paloma" (The Dove) is the most recorded Spanish song in history. This delightful arrangement by Pepe Romero is based upon that by Francisco Tárrega. The free 55-page PDF includes the Romero arrangement, Tárrega's arrangement, Tárrega's handwritten manuscript, versions in the key of A major, and much more. IT'S ALL FREE!
Be Thou My Vision—Arranged for guitar by Douglas Niedt
"Be Thou My Vision" is a timeless hymn, cherished for its profound message and haunting melody. If hymns are not your thing, no worries! The song was originally a Celtic melody with no religious affiliations at all. In fact, I arranged one of the verses as an Irish Slip-Jig. The arrangement takes you on a musical journey, evoking the ancient Celtic origins of the melody while maintaining its spiritual beauty.
Learn to play pieces on a professional level with the PLAY IT LIKE A PRO™ series. The tutorial packages contain several scores, including annotated scores with detailed measure-by-measure instructions with dozens of left and right-hand fingering options and technical advice on how to execute each measure successfully. The supporting videos are not "put your finger here and then put your finger there" type videos. Doug explains measure-by-measure all the technical and musical details required to play the piece on a professional level. The Play It Like a Pro™ format is detailed and comprehensive classical guitar instruction you won't find anywhere else.
Play It Like a Pro™: LEYENDA (Asturias)
By Isaac Albéniz
This is the most comprehensive tutorial on the planet.
Includes:
Six detailed annotated scores (467 pages).
245 measure-by-measure instructional videos.
610 annotated musical examples.
Over 14 HOURS of comprehensive classical guitar video instruction.
MORE OF DOUGLAS NIEDT'S PLAY IT LIKE A PRO™ TUTORIAL PACKAGES
MORE CLASSICAL GUITAR LESSONS
PURCHASE AN ALL-ACCESS PASS
TO THE VAULT OF CLASSICAL GUITAR TECHNIQUE TIPS
"Hello Mr Niedt, My name's Gretchen, and I'm so happy I purchased an All-Access Pass to the Vault. I love your awesome technique tips. I'm amazed how much I have improved my playing. Thank you!"
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR PROVEN STRATEGIES
THAT WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER GUITARIST?
Check out the game-changing tips in my Vault of Technique Tips—I promise they will kick your playing up to the next level.
Purchase an All-Access Pass to the Vault.
It's a one-time purchase of only $36!
You receive full access to:
Over 180 technique tips in The Vault.
Special arrangements of Christmas music
Arrangement of the beautiful Celtic song, Skellig
Comprehensive guide, How to Master the Classical Guitar Tremolo
THE BEST CLASSICAL GUITAR INSTRUCTION AND CLASSICAL GUITAR LESSONS ON THE INTERNET
Have you been playing the classical guitar but not making the progress you desire?
Want to accomplish a lot more during the time you have to practice?
Are the pieces you are playing just not getting any better?
Do you need solid guidance to kick your playing up to a higher level?
I CAN HELP!
My PLAY IT LIKE A PRO™ is a series of classical guitar lessons that will teach you to play pieces at a professional level.
My Classical Guitar Technique Tips are of a level and quality you won't find anywhere else. Read and follow them and you will become a much better classical guitarist.
Online Live Video Lessons. These classical guitar lessons are for everyone, from the weekend hacker to the advanced player. Learn from a master teacher with over 50 years of teaching experience.
The Ultimate Note Recognition Trainer and Introduction to Music Notation. The most in-depth Note Recognition Course on the planet. And it's FREE! Begin your journey on the road to Guitar Fretboard Literacy. Learn to recognize the notes on the musical staff and the basics of music notation.
The Ultimate Fretboard Trainer. The most in-depth Fretboard Training Course on the planet. And it's FREE! It is time to learn your fretboard once and for all. The Ultimate Fretboard Trainer teaches you the notes' locations on the fretboard AND what they look like on the musical staff. Begin your journey on the road to Guitar Fretboard Literacy now.
Sit In With The Rhythm Section. Free specialized rhythm training for the classical guitarist. Deeply internalize a sense of steady time so you can "Hold a Tempo" and "Play In The Pocket". Over 100 free video exercises.
I give you my No-Risk, Nothing-to-Lose, Money-Back Guarantee on anything you purchase on my website. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, I will refund your money. Just tell me why you didn't like it so I can make it better for others."
Douglas Niedt is a successful concert and recording artist and highly respected master classical guitar teacher with 50 years of teaching experience. He is Associate Professor of Music (retired), at the Conservatory of Music and Dance, University of Missouri-Kansas City and retired Fellow of the Henry W. Bloch School of Management—Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Doug studied with such diverse masters as Andrés Segovia, Pepe Romero, Christopher Parkening, Narciso Yepes, Oscar Ghiglia, and Jorge Morel. Therefore, Doug provides solutions for you from a variety of perspectives and schools of thought.
He gives accurate, reliable advice that has been tested in performance on the concert stage that will work for you at home.
Douglas Niedt's GUITAR FRETBOARD LITERACY PROJECT
Yes, you can learn to play the guitar by only reading tablature or playing by ear. But when you confidently know the notes on your fretboard and know what they look like on the musical staff, your musical life will be more fulfilling, and you will be more confident in yourself and your musical abilities. Doug offers two FREE courses to start you on your journey to fretboard literacy.
and Introduction to Music Notation. The most in-depth Note Recognition Course on the planet. And it's FREE! Learn to recognize the notes on the musical staff and the basics of music notation.
The most in-depth Fretboard Training Course on the planet. And it's FREE! It is time to learn your fretboard once and for all. The Ultimate Fretboard Trainer teaches you the notes' locations on the fretboard AND what they look like on the musical staff. This is not a game. It focuses on education and deep learning.
This is the new "lite" version of my deep-learning Ultimate Fretboard Trainer course. Like the comprehensive course, the "lite" version teaches you to connect the names of the notes on the fretboard to what each note looks like on the musical staff. FREE!
DOUGLAS NIEDT'S ARRANGEMENTS AND SHEET MUSIC
In Heavenly Peace, beautiful arrangements from Doug's wonderful Christmas CD
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