Guitar won’t stay in tune
The main reason a guitar will not stay in tune is because you need to allow the strings to “break in” and get used to being stretched out. You may need to tune your guitar well over 10 times before the strings are used to being stretched and stay put in the correct tuning. Another reason is because a guitar will have cheap tuners (the device on the head). Bad tuners will not be stable and may allow strings to unwind.

How to fix:
First tune your guitar 10-20 times to see if it will finally stay in tune. If not then you may need to tighten the screws on the tuners to make sure nothing is loose. If this doesn’t fix the problem then you may need to switch tuners. Take the guitar to a repair shop and have them switch to more sturdy tuners.

Guitar tuning peg doesn’t work properly
If you turn the tuning pegs on the guitar and either nothing happens or a string becomes loose instead of winding tighter then you may have a problem with your tuners. There is a screw with wedges (tuning key bushing) that turns as you twist the tuners on the head of the guitar. Over time these screws may wear out and become unable to turn as you twist the tuners.

How to fix:
You will either need to replace the worn out screw or replace the entire tuning device. When I had this problem and inquired about how to fix it I was told I couldn’t buy the screw itself and instead had to buy a whole new tuning machine device and replace the whole thing! Obviously this doesn’t sound like the best thing to do considering it is just one screw that I needed to replace, so I found a replacement screw and switched it. To do this I loosened the string where the bad tuner was. There is a small screw in the middle of the worn out screw that keeps it from falling off. Remove this screw and save it. With pliers I pulled out the worn out screw (which was pretty tricky to do) and when putting the new one I turned the tuner as I pressed down on the new screw until it snapped into place. I put the little screw back in the middle where it belongs. This was very tricky to do, so it is up to you to decide what you will do. Finding a replacement screw may be hard, so what you can do is purchase a new inexpensive tuning device but just take out one of the screws and replace it with the one thats worn out. Keep the rest in case you have the same problem with another screw. If you do this try to compare to see if the screws match the ones on your guitar.

String pops out
It is common for strings to pop out of their binding areas either while restringing, tuning, or at any other random time. Note this is not the same as a string breaking, but instead it will simply pop out intact.

How to fix:
Strings will pop out of position from either the tuning pegs or the bridge. You must knot the ends correctly or else this will be a recurring problem. On the tuning peg end you may want to put the string twice through the hole. Another option would be to twirl the end of the string around itself. On the bridge end twirl the end of the string around itself tightly and as you turn the tuning peg see that the wrapping doesn’t undo itself. Once the string is tight the wrapping will stay in place.

Julia Florida Tab

Julia Florida Sheet Music/ Tab PDF

Julia Florida Powertab File

JULIA FLORIDA

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Video 5

Video 6

Video 7

Video 8

Video 9

Hints on Julia Florida: This is a very emotional song that is a lot harder than it appears to be. While I don’t think there are any truly difficult sections in this piece, as a whole it is still quite technical and hard to perform to its fullest potential. The piece is mostly played in freestroke but you may bring out the melody more by playing those notes in reststroke. There are a lot of ornamental slides which can easily cause the player to lose track of the beat and make the piece sound disjointed. There are a lot of harmonics throughout the piece, especially at the end, so make sure you perform them correctly. There are a lot of directions to follow in this piece: There is a repeat sign, two different endings, a da capo, and a coda, so pay close attention to the directions. The correct video order is below:

Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
Video 5
Video 4
Video 6
Video 7
Video 8
Video 1
Video 2
Video 9

This is the discussion page for the video lessons for Agustin Barrios’ Una Limosna Por El Amor De Dios, also known as “El Ultimo Tremolo”. The first video is a recording of the whole piece, followed by the webcam lessons. The sheet music, tab document, and Powertab file for this piece are here. When posting questions/comments, please mention which video your question is about. Enjoy!

Una limosna Por El Amor De Dios Tab

Una limosna Por El Amor De Dios Sheet Music/Tab PDF

Una Limosna Por El Amor De Dios Powertab File

UNA LIMOSNA POR EL AMOR DE DIOS

Lesson 1

Una Limosna Por El Amor De Dios Lesson 1 from classicalguitarblogger on Vimeo.

Lesson 2

Una Limosna Por El Amor De Dios Lesson 2 from classicalguitarblogger on Vimeo.

Lesson 3

Una Limosna Por El Amor De Dios Lesson 3 from classicalguitarblogger on Vimeo.

Lesson 4

Una Limosna Por El Amor De Dios Lesson 4 from classicalguitarblogger on Vimeo.

Hints on Limosna: This is one of Barrios’ masterpieces, and one of his most popular compositions. This is a tremolo piece, so look in the “Exercises” and “Technique” sections of this site for more info on playing a proper tremolo. This is a very dramatic piece, so add emotion to your playing. There are many bars, thus the player must be used to them or else the pain will be unbearable. Additionally, there are many big stretches and weird fingerings, and as such this piece is only recommended for advanced players. While still very hard, I suggest playing Recuerdos De la Alhambra first, which is another tremolo piece on this website, but it is not as difficult or “extravagant” as this piece.

This is the discussion page for the video lessons for Francisco Tarrega’s Capricho Arabe. The first video is a recording of the whole piece, followed by the webcam lessons. The sheet music, tab document, and Powertab file for this piece are here. When posting questions/comments, please mention which video your question is about. Enjoy!

Capricho Arabe Tab

Capricho Arabe Sheet Music/ Tab PDF

Capricho Arabe Powertab File

CAPRICHO ARABE

Lesson 1

Capricho Arabe Lesson 1 from classicalguitarblogger on Vimeo.

Lesson 2

Capricho Arabe Lesson 2 from classicalguitarblogger on Vimeo.

Lesson 3

Capricho Arabe Lesson 3 from classicalguitarblogger on Vimeo.

Lesson 4

Capricho Arabe Lesson 4 from classicalguitarblogger on Vimeo.

Lesson 5

Capricho Arabe Lesson 5 from classicalguitarblogger on Vimeo.

Lesson 6

Capricho Arabe Lesson 6 from classicalguitarblogger on Vimeo.

Lesson 7

Capricho Arabe Lesson 7 from classicalguitarblogger on Vimeo.

Hints for Capricho: This is a Serenade, and as such needs to be very emotional. Many players take liberties with the tempo to make it more emotional and unique (tempo rubato). There are sections in freestroke that have accented notes, which require the player to switch between freestroke and reststroke very quickly and seamlessly. There is also a lot of repetition in this piece, so follow the directions in the videos very carefully. The video order to perform this piece is as follows:

Video 1 Measures 1-4 twice, then continue till end of lesson.
Video 2
Video 3, Ending 1
Video 2
Video 3, Ending 2
Video 4
Video 5
Video 6
Video 7

Mabelita Tab

Mabelita Sheet Music/ Tab PDF

Mabelita Powertab File

MABELITA

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Video 5

Hints on Mabelita: This is a short and simple song by Barrios, so those who are fans of his may wish to learn this piece first as they improve to his more difficult compositions. There are a lot of bars and awkward stretching, but nothing too bad. While the piece should be played in freestroke, you may add reststrokes sparingly to accent certain parts, especially single melody lines. There are a few repeated sections in this piece, so pay attention to the instructions in the videos. Below is the video lesson order of this piece:

Lesson 1
Lesson 2, ending 1
lesson 1
Lesson 2, ending 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 3
Lesson 5
Da Capo, repeat everything again from the beginning and end.

Minuet Tab

Minuet Sheet Music/ Tab PDF

Minuet Powertab File

MINUET

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Hints on Minuet: This is a pretty simple piece appropriate for beginning players. Other than going up the neck during certain parts, it stays in first position throughout. There are many five string chords in this piece that require the right hand thumb to pluck two strings together. To do this simply rotate the thumb so that you pluck two adjacent strings at once. Connecting the eighth notes is crucial in making the piece flow smoothly. Always master the piece in a slower and steady tempo before trying to play it in a faster speed.

Villancico de Navidad Tab

Villancico de Navidad Sheet Music/Tab PDF

Villancico de Navidad Powertab File

VILLANCICO DE NAVIDAD

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Video 5

Video 6

Hints on Villancico: This is a simple, but very expressive, piece of music. While there are a few tough fingerings, overall it is a very attainable piece for advanced beginners and intermediate players. The hardest part of this song is to make it expressive, which is done in several ways: Add vibrato to the song to make it more expressive. Play in tempo rubato and make the ornaments clear sounding. The ornaments can easily trip up the tempo of the piece, so practice the song without ornaments at first, then add them later. There is a repeated section at the beginning, so follow the video guide below to play the correct order of the videos:

Video 1
Video 2 Ending 1
Video 1 (Without measure 1)
Video 2 Ending 2
Video 3
Video 4
Video 5
Video 6