Welcome !

I think most lovers of the Classical Guitar  firmly believe they can
teach  themselves the Guitar and today, with all  of the information
on the Internet, many are also convinced they now have all the
free downloads necessary to piece it all together and somehow
become a player.

Sadly, none of these opportunities contain any real value or truth
because the pieces are disjointed, sporadic in their placement
and only provide the mere perception of hope,  what with little
Etudes and Studies that actually require advanced techniques to
play properly.

Very few ever realize this fact, however.

I thought I could be a self  taught 'Segovia'  in the beginning, too.

I wasn't immune from this phenomenon.  And I wasn't born with
some genetic disposition for perfect technique on the Classical
Guitar, like some Ida Presti-like prodigy.  But I was convinced
I could do it like everyone else does, reading through tons of
music, etc., believing that my playing ability would magically
grow by leaps and bounds 'simply because' I loved the Classical
Guitar.  So I walked down that road for a while, thinking all I
needed was my little bit of God given natural talent and a few
scraps of tips and tricks that I would pick up whenever I could.

And 30 years ago I got pretty far until I realized the Big Dark
Secret about technique that  most teachers don't even know,
let alone teach.  When I realized the scope of the problem
and the lack of solutions available, (even today), it was
mind numbing.  Plus, I had just hit 'The Wall' when all real
progress stopped, dead in its tracks and the future felt very bleak
to me.

( If you don't know about 'The Wall' yet, just keep going like you
have been and you'll find out .....all .....about it. )

And then... it was a slow.... agonizing ......realization of what was
clearly in front of me.  Not only did I have to develop my idea
of how to master my Classical Guitar Technique, I had to learn it
myself,  test it out on myself and then submit an International
Competition audition tape by a deadline in less than two
years of time.  It was my dream back then and I was determined
to get there even if it did mean 10 percent inspiration and
90 percent perspiration.  And that's about the ratio, if you're
wondering.

So I locked myself in a practice room, got motivated and got
to work, no excuses, no 'wimpering and wining' about the
challenge.  No one to 'cry in my beer with', no one to share
a 'mysery loves company' attitude.  No money to buy a plane
ticket to Europe and study with a Legend.  Just me, my guitar,
a chair, footstool and metronome.  I put away all my music and
concentrated on only what I saw as the essentials of technique.

The result was the initial outline of  'The Sakari Method'.

Here is my humble opinion, then and now.

The CG world, in general, is the product of two hundred
years of inbreeding coupled with a sort of amateurism that is now
also deeply entrenched in a self inflicted tradition of symbiotic
mediocrity. 

A lot of concepts to wrap your brain around but it's true !

And if that statement offends you, then perhaps you're caught
up in the middle of it all and don't even realize it.

Seriously, I am very disappointed that only a small percentage of
players ever reach the plateau of excellence that I believe
is available to everyone if only their technique would be pursued
correctly, with a real critical path and not just haphazardly. 

You know, like on every other classical instrument,  Clarinet,
Violin, Piano, etc., etc., etc..  And in case you're a Guitarist
feeling sorry for yourself because the Classical guitar is 'difficult',
there isn't an instrument on the planet that is easy to master.

But musicians do it every day, except Guitarists who seriously lag
behind in the accomplishment department.

One real inspiration to me was a Piano Pedagogy teacher I had
back in Music School.  He didn't even begin studying piano until
he was 17 years old and went on to accompany Horowitz at one
point.  Anyway, one day he was demonstrating a musical effect by
way of a Beethoven Piano Sonata when halfway through, he took
his hands off the keyboard, looked at the class, stunned, and
proclaimed " My God, I'm playing this in the wrong key".

If you ever hear of a Classical Guitarist suffering from this affliction,
let me know, because I want to go study with that person !

So here's the whole story in five parts.  For our purposes here it
is over simplified a bit, but the concepts, I believe, apply all the
way up the ladder of skill levels.   Let me know if you see
yourself in this process of what many Classical Guitarists go
through in their quest of the Holy Grail.

Real Playing Ability !

On the Next Page,  I'll start with the pain inflicting Lie #1:

'Sight read more music today than you did yesterday'

Sakari


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