The Guitar Gymnasium - Volume 2 by Robin Hill

                                       

  At last, The Guitar Gymnasium Volume 2 has arrived!

It's amazing to think that 'The Guitar Gymnasium' was written 20 years ago...this focused on performance and practice, alongside technique and has been very well received around the world. You can read about it here.

The Guitar Gymnasium Volume 2 continues to examine technique in detail with brand new exercises and insights from Robin. This draws on Robin's lifetime's experience of practice to achieve the high level required to perform in concert or record albums.

Also contained within the book are a large selection of pieces. Some of these are original compositions and some are favourites of the classical guitar repertoire. 

All pieces have extensive fingering and interpretative advice. The book also contains many inspirational quotations, some from musicians and some from non-musicians.

The Guitar Gymnasium Volume 2 is available for immediate download from Sheet Music Plus.

Robin Hill's Guitar Gymnasium Podcast No 1 - Right Hand Technique

Today we celebrate the first podcast of Robin Hill's Guitar Gymnasium.
Robin will be making these audio recordings regularly and the subjects will vary widely to reflect his diverse interest and eclectic tastes.


The first one concerns the improvement of right hand technique on the classical guitar.
Robin talks about the 120 right hand exercises by Italian virtuoso guitarist and composer Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829) and gives his personal insight and methodology behind his own approach to this classic work.

Here is Podcast No.1:

'The Scale' from The Guitar Gymnasium - Robin Hill

Some time ago I wrote a post on 'The Arpeggio' and promised to follow up with one about scales.

So here it is!

Scales are a vital part of any practice session and should be treated with respect.

As Andres Segovia once said,

'The practice of scales enables one to solve a greater number of technical problems in a shorter time than the study of any other exercise.'

Below are the first two pages of Chapter 2 of The Guitar Gymnasium.

The entire chapter consists of 16 pages of explanations and guidance, the occasional inspiring quote, 13 original exercises and a few old favourites.

The original exercises have been designed by Robin to achieve many things.
Some are excellent warm-up and stamina building exercises, others concentrate on avoiding awkward string crossings by examining technique.

You can click on the image to enlarge if required.







Throughout the chapter Robin reiterates that the printed fingering in any book is not sacred. Usually there are a number of alternatives and one shouldn't be afraid to experiment.

He finishes the chapter with the demanding scale workout by Nicolo Paganini, 'Moto Perpetuo', which he has transposed from C major to A major and fingered to facilitate fluency and velocity.

As Robin says at the end of the chapter....'Good Luck'

'The Arpeggio' from 'The Guitar Gymnasium'

Robin is frequently asked how he maintains speed, accuracy and fluency for prolonged periods whilst playing the guitar.
Although this may not be what aspiring performers want to hear, one of the answers lies in, 'The Arpeggio'.
The Arpeggio is a basic technique which is encountered in nearly every piece and is an excellent and essential technical exercise.

Even after more than 40 + years as a performer Robin will still practise arpeggios on a regular basis.

Chapter 1 of Robin Hill's, 'The Guitar Gymnasium' focuses solely on the arpeggio and contains 18 pages of explanations, advice, quotes and original exercises.

Today I have decided to show you the first two pages as an example of the approach Robin uses.

Click on the image to enlarge if required.







As Robin says later in the chapter, 'These exercises should be taken at a slow (60bpm) tempo initially gradually increasing the tempo. Practise with a metronome is recommended (but not all the time). The exercises should be played with fluency and technical command, accuracy is paramount.'

Good luck and keep checking in as next we will look at the tricky area of, 'The Scale'....