Why Study the Classical Guitar with LAGA Online?

Our founders started Los Angeles Guitar Academy's online division to share the joy of playing the classical guitar with people from all over the world. We teach classical music as fine art--but as an art which is accessible to everyone!-

To make playing the classical guitar appealing to more people, we at LAGA Online have developed a system designed to make learning easy on your hands and easy on your budget. Our technique keeps tension at a minimum, freeing your hands and fingers to function as they were designed. Furthermore, the online format helps hold down costs–making classical guitar lessons more easily affordable.
 

Who Will Teach Me?

Dr. Emre Sabuncuoglu holds a doctorate from the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. He has studied with some of the finest guitarists in the world, including the legendary Pepe Romero. Adapting his lessons to accommodate each student's learning style, Emre has a welcoming, down-to-earth manner that makes both beginners and experienced musicians instantly comfortable.

Thomas Foster, a longtime student of the esteemed guitar pedagogue, Aaron Shearer, is completing his doctorate as a student of James Smith at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. Thomas has studied with many of the finest classical guitarists in the world. In 2004, Thomas had the distinctive honor of performing for John Williams, one of the finest guitarists in modern history, during the Guitar Festival at Merida, Mexico. He has a passion for communicating complicated material in an easy-to-understand way. He was certified in Suzuki under the tutelage of William Kossler. Furthermore, he developed a guitar curriculum for public school children that meets California's stringent educational standards.

 

What Will I Learn?

LAGA Classical focuses on the study of the classical guitar. We supplement our systematic, conservatory-style curriculum with our unique kinesthetic rote method, ensuring success for all kinds of learners! Our huge library of video lessons is augmented with sheet music files, articles, tips, and helpful comments about technical and artistic matters. This library grows even larger as we add more content each year. LAGA Classical allows you to progress step-by-step, ensuring that you will master each skill before you move on to the next. These comprehensive lessons begin with the basics and end with virtuoso artistry! You will find the path to be familiar, as we cover many well-known classical pieces. You will learn music theory, instrument care, mental preparation, and exercises to make learning seem easy. We select the pieces in our curriculum to give you a thorough grounding in techniques for both your left and right hands, as well as in musicality and interpretive skills.

How Will I Learn?

We feel driven by our mission: to help you experience the same thrill that we feel when we perform classical music. We simplify complex techniques through our step-by-step teaching process, and define perplexing terminology so you can concentrate on the music itself.

At LAGA Online, we want you to enjoy your guitar lessons--not worry about your next appointment. Our mission includes working with your schedule--because stress about where you need to be next is a less-than-thrilling experience! We offer an on-demand format--video lessons, supplemented by exercises, illustrations and articles. Our on-demand program will help you to master the skills one step at a time. When you sign up, you will be able to access our easy-to-use video platform containing the video lesson menu, as well as written-out instructions and tips.

LAGA Online is one of the few online guitar lesson programs which has a real-time, live format available. In this program, you will take private lessons with one of our world-class faculty members online--in the privacy of your own home!

Decide which of our options suits your needs best, sign up, and start making music!

 

In the Greater Los Angeles Area?

If you live in or near Los Angeles, come visit us in person! In addition to online classical guitar lessons, we also have private guitar lessons in our instructors' studios and in students' homes. Our guitar teachers offer their students flexible schedules, since our studios are located in residential areas. We make it our priority to work with your schedule to make your guitar lessons a joyful experience.

Our Course Outline

We thought you might want to get a brief glimpse of some of the material that we cover in each level, just to whet your appetite for learning the classical guitar. Each level has a link to a brief video that will give you an idea of what you will accomplish at each level. In no way are these the only pieces that you will learn--they are just a sampling of what we have to offer! 

Level One:

 

Learning about the basics is foundational to getting off to a good start. Level One covers warm-up techniques, posture, as well as hand and finger positions that will relax you, avoiding the pain that most students feel when they begin studying the guitar. Learning how to read music is normally a laborious process using traditional methods. We make reading music fun by walking you through the fingerboard--step by step--using folk songs from around the world.

You will learn the first position notes, the rest stroke, hammer-on, and staccato techniques in Level One. We teach you to communicate with your fellow guitarists by teaching you the musical terminology unique to the guitar. You will learn proper nail care, as well as basic music theory right from the beginning. Even at this level, you will not be bored, because you will learn to play beautiful music--not the contrived tunes that many entry-level programs offer. Finally, we teach you methods to relax the tension that many beginners feel. Level One gets you off to a good start!

Level Two:

At Level Two, you'll already be playing pieces from great composers such as Fernando Sor and D. Aguado, as well as much-loved familiar pieces, like "Greensleeves." In Level Two, you will learn how to play arpeggios in various fingering combinations. Tone color and dynamics are important parts of your development as an artist. Level Two is your introduction to those key components. You will continue to learn more about relaxation techniques designed to help you enjoy your practice time. We end this level by learning how to play glissandos–adding even more flair to your music. By the end of level Two, you'll be playing pieces on the level of this sample from our Level Two repertoire.

Level Three:

Classical music buffs will enjoy the selections we study in Level Three. The pieces cover four periods of music: the Renaissance, the Baroque, the Classical, and the Romantic. Level Three has selections by Coste, Krieger, Carulli, and a great arrangement of Brahms' famous "Lullaby" cancion. When finished with Level Three, you will be playing pieces at this level:

Level Three will introduce you to many techniques foundational to your development as an artist. A review of arpeggios begins Level Three. Then we introduce two new arpeggios: a five-note arpeggio and a “planted” arpeggio. Planted arpeggios provide you with a solid left-hand foundation for free stroke playing, as well as training the flexor muscles in your forearm. Level Three introduces you to grace notes--common ornaments in guitar music. Grace notes are a technical foundation for trills, as well as being useful in their own right. Building on that foundation, we introduce actual trills. At this level, we stress scales and other exercises to help your technique. Scale studies never become boring, for alongside of the scales, you will learn pieces which incorporate these right into the music. You will learn vibrato in Level Three, along with rhythmic structures which are more complex than the ones you have previously learned. You will enjoy the more challenging music theory that you learn in Level Three, because it will relate directly to the pieces that you are learning.

 

Level Four:

Level Four starts by reviewing your staccato technique, then taking it to a higher level. Because the pieces you will be learning will become more difficult, you will learn more about how to stretch and strengthen your fingers and hands. One of the most exciting developments at this level will be your growing ability to learn your pieces well enough that you can hear them in your mind, even without a guitar in your hands. This ability will help you to make choices that help your dynamics, tone color changes, and tempo adjustments to sound natural, not contrived. You will continue to refine your artistic development, since you will reach an important milestone in the intermediate repertoire.

Level Four will also introduce you to the Flamenco rasgueado and the bar technique, which will be important additions to your technical arsenal. You will study great works by Carcassi, Sor, Aguado, Milan, and even the prolific Argentine composer, J. Cardoso!

Level Five:

 

Level Five will focus your attention on refining your artistry by helping you research the background of the composer and his or her culture. Understanding the story behind the music makes it come alive in your mind--which comes through in your performance. With your considerable technical arsenal--which at the end of this level will include right-hand harmonics--you will now be able to translate that understanding into your playing. Higher-position notes give you more range; octave harmonics produce gorgeous tones. Level Five's intensive repertoire study will challenge you with works by M. Giuliani, R. Johnson, Narvaez, Scarlatti, Bach, and many more.

 

Level Six:

 

In Level Six, you will build your concert and recital repertoire by learning many important works written for the guitar, including all-time classics by Tarrega, an important theme and variations work by F. Sor (a landmark piece that guitarists use in competitions and auditions), as well as the gorgeous Catalonian song, El Testament D'Amelia. You will learn the double pull-off technique, as well as building your proficiency in playing chords and in your tremolo technique--a major milestone in learning to play the classical guitar. You will learn what an impact phrasing can make on your music. More knowledge of music theory, of physical and mental preparation for performance will make Level Six an important building block on your journey as an artist.

 

Level Seven:

 

In this level, you will refine your interpretive skills, preparing yourself to perform many pieces that are the gold standard for concert and competition performances. Works by master composers such as Barrios, Tarrega, and F. Sor will challenge you to become one with the music. Your speed, smoothness, and familiarity with the instrument will enhance your performance, while the relaxation techniques you learn will calm you and focus your mind.