Good Beginner Songs?

[dng]

depending on the level of the original poster, I'd suggest to start with Tarréga - Study in E minor before Romance-anonymous...
after that, Sor_Op.35, No.22 in B minor

[simonm]

I would start out with Romance by anonymous.
All classical guitarists play it. It is quite simple in composition and easy to learn.
The reason it is so adored is that you can transfer your technique skills to this piece as you advance. It will be a piece you play your whole life.

My teacher is of the view that this is a quite difficult piece. He reckons about 2-3 years study before attempting this. By learning it too early you cement in bad habits such as poorly executed bar chords. If you compare the number of nice musical versions of this that you hear compared with really awful versions its probably 100 awful to 1 good.

Not sure whether I entirely agree with him or not.

[Michael McGrath]

My teacher is of the view that this is a quite difficult piece. He reckons about 2-3 years study before attempting this. By learning it too early you cement in bad habits such as poorly executed bar chords. If you compare the number of nice musical versions of this that you hear compared with really awful versions its probably 100 awful to 1 good.

Not sure whether I entirely agree with him or not.

When I first started learning that piece, I couldn't do barrechords, at all. Every barred note was always dead. I just kept playing through the bad barres and eventually I figured out the way that "works" for them and now I can do any barrechord I've come across.

However, not everyone learns through repeated failure and for some people it might be too much. But I do still stand by my earlier endorsement of this one; like others in this thread have.

[JohnGrinsted]

Stairway to Heaven is still a classic worth learning well. For that matter, so too is Albatross.

[Orion]

My teacher is of the view that this is a quite difficult piece. He reckons about 2-3 years study before attempting this. By learning it too early you cement in bad habits such as poorly executed bar chords. If you compare the number of nice musical versions of this that you hear compared with really awful versions its probably 100 awful to 1 good.

Not sure whether I entirely agree with him or not.

Personally I would agree with your teacher. Romance is at least a Grade 5-6 (Trinity) piece and is therefore not a beginner piece but instead an early intermediate piece. Is has challenging barre chords and stretches which require a certain amount of solid background in technique before attempting. There is also a risk of straining or hurting your hand (or your wrist or elbow) by attempting these barre chords as a beginner because you will be trying to apply a large amount of force to rectify the dead string sound (which everyone who has gone through learning barre chords will be familier with).

I'm definitely an advocate of trying out advance pieces from time to time as a way of streching yourself. If a beginner wants to start off with Romance then good luck to them. But I would say that Romance (and Adelita for that matter) are too advanced for a relative beginner.

I would agree with an ealier post that Sor's Bm is the way to go for a relative beginner to first dip their toes into the easier end of the intermediate repertoire. Then wait until at least 2+ years of solid playing before having a go at Adelita and Romance. Just my personal view though!

[lagartija]

Go thru some Carcassi, Segovia Sor Study #5, Saltarello (Vincenzo Galilei), Giuliani and some tremolo (Recuerdos de la Alhambra).

Sorry, i really not agree recuerdos de la alhambra is beginner piece...
Maybe a bit easy for those pro, but i don't think easy for beginner,,, or maybe is just me.

I always thought Recuerdos was considered an intermediate piece and not a beginner's piece. It requires well established right hand technique.

[NylonStrung]

If you like popular artists who have done a bit of classical, here are a few easier passages to learn:
4. Mood for a Day by Steve Howe

Really? Beginner? Easier? I honestly don't see Mood for a Day as easy or a beginner's piece, I suppose once you can play it you may look at it as easy but I wouldn't go near it with a barge pole as a beginner. You may as well add Horizons by Steve Hackett/Genesis and Broon's Bane by Alex Lifeson/Rush.

On the subject of Romance by Anonymous. I can see why someone would suggest the 'first' part of that but the 'second' part is definitely not beginner level. I agree with dng, Tarrega's Study in Em is a better place to start as a stepping stone to Romance.

Just an opinion.

[simonm]

On the subject of Romance by Anonymous. I can see why someone would suggest the 'first' part of that but the 'second' part is definitely not beginner level. I agree with dng, Tarrega's Study in Em is a better place to start as a stepping stone to Romance.
Just an opinion.

As an addition to my earlier comment. My teacher said this too.

[Orion]

On the subject of Romance by Anonymous. I can see why someone would suggest the 'first' part of that but the 'second' part is definitely not beginner level. I agree with dng, Tarrega's Study in Em is a better place to start as a stepping stone to Romance.
Just an opinion.

As an addition to my earlier comment. My teacher said this too.

And I "third" Tarrega's Study in Em. In fact in John Mill's Student Repertoire book I think he makes the same point about it being a good intro piece before tackling Romance. Also it is a lovely piece which for me is a joy to continue to play even as I move onto more higher level pieces.

[NylonStrung]

On the subject of Romance by Anonymous. I can see why someone would suggest the 'first' part of that but the 'second' part is definitely not beginner level. I agree with dng, Tarrega's Study in Em is a better place to start as a stepping stone to Romance.
Just an opinion.

As an addition to my earlier comment. My teacher said this too.

And I "third" Tarrega's Study in Em. In fact in John Mill's Student Repertoire book I think he makes the same point about it being a good intro piece before tackling Romance. Also it is a lovely piece which for me is a joy to continue to play even as I move onto more higher level pieces.

Excellent book...and CD.

[Peter_Mortelmans]

Some of the pieces mentioned are not really beginner pieces. I suggest you download from this site:
- D01, D02, or D03 (Since you can play dust in the wind already, I would say. Take D01 to learn the rest stroke, and then quickly jump to 3)
- Carcassi opus 59
- Sor opus 60

that wil keep you busy for a couple of months.

[Vlad Kosulin]

D01 has few nice pieces.
If you want some contemporary compositions of beginner level, look for two books by Paul Gerrits: The Magic Guitar (La Guitare Enchantee) published in 1982.

[Jstanley01]

The first piece I learned was "Andantino" by Carulli in Noad's Playing the Guitar, which is the book I began with as a rank beginner, teaching myself, three years ago. T. Maurice has an arrangement of Carulli's "Country Dance" that's even easier and pairs up with "Andantino" well. T. Maurice also has nice arrangements of "Greensleeves," "Prelude" by Diabelli, "Grazioso" by Aguado and a lot else on a beginner level that, I think, he still offers gratis on his site. In Parkening's Part II, Tarrega's "Estudio" is a great sounding beginner piece too, and so are some of the pieces in the instructional section. All of the above are easier than Tarrega's "Study in E Minor" BTW, and much easier than "Romance" for crying out loud. BTW, at some point, get a teacher.

[gitgeezer]

The Noad book is a good one. I also recommend the CD version of “The Christopher Parkening Guitar Method, Vol. 1.” It introduces progressively more difficult pieces throughout the instruction, then adds an additional repertoire at the end that includes pieces by Giuliani, Rameau, Sor, Carulli, Bach, De Visee, and others.

The advantages of this approach are that (1) when in doubt about what a piece should sound like, you can listen to it on the CD; and (2) if you run into technical difficulties, you can leaf back in the book to where that technique is taught. Also, all the pieces provide thorough fingerings, which are often absent or inadequate in other publications.

NOTE: Parkening saves “Romance” for the more intermediate Volume 2.