🎯 Sor, Carcassi, or Giuliani? — pick your starter etudes
If you were starting your etude journey today — or starting a student on theirs — which collection would you reach for first? 🎸
- 🎼 Sor Op. 35 — clarity, voice-leading, Classical-era discipline
- 🎼 Carcassi Op. 60 — singable melodies, idiomatic for the guitar, beloved entry point
- 🎼 Giuliani Op. 48 — bravura, virtuosic patterns, right-hand fluency from day one
💬 Pick one. Tell us:
- Why that one?
- Which etude from the collection would you start with?
- Did your teacher start you somewhere else? Did you wish they'd picked differently?
Bonus: if you'd argue for a different collection entirely (Brouwer Estudios Sencillos? Aguado? Coste?), make the case.
This thread is going to be a future student's roadmap. Let's make it a good one.
7 replies
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For myself, I would actually prefer Sor Op 60. I'd pick Sor just because I am so in love with his elegant musical style. I think Op 60 would be better for a beginner than Op 35, as there are more simple studies at the beginning of the opus.
Back when I was in college learning classical for the first time, my teacher used a book of 100 progressive etudes that was a mix of Sor, Giuliani, and Carcassi. It was compiled by Frederick Noad. Does anyone else remember that book? Mine was so worn out that the pages were falling out.
I haven't taught guitar for years, but if I did, I suppose I would want to give the student a bit of input about what to work on. I don't think I would start them on any of these sets of etudes until some basic skills were acquired, typically through a method book.
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I recall my very first guitar lesson from a teacher at a local music store used the "Mel Bay Classical guitar series " method books. When I found a "real" classical guitarist in the neighborhood who studied with a concert artist, he agreed to teach me.
I recall him starting with Carcassi 25 Melodic and Progressive Studies (Op.60) along with some Giuliani arpeggios and some easy Renaissance pieces; and Segovia scales. I believe it was a little later when he introduced Sor studies (Segovia edition ).
Along the way, it was primarily the repertoire he used for teaching music history, technique and musicality.
I was fortunate to have found this guy, as I was his only student. He taught me the way he was trained. We covered most the the pieces I wanted to play at the time, plus essential repertoire he included from various eras. I would not have changed a thing about the materials used at the time.
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Of these 3. Carcassi would get my vote. Because there is an idea and technique trained in each of them except the last.
I never played an etude with a teacher, barely had one.
I have played through a number of Sor and Giuliani etudes and most of Carcassi
My own opinion is that these old methods could be put away—- there are better methods to train technique and musicalityI think methods like Sagreras, Carlevaro- maybe Pujol - and some Brouwer etudes would be better choices for students in 2026– and Ernesto Garcia de Leon
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As a beginner level guitarist, my preference (my personal taste) is someone not on the list. I really enjoy the Sagreras lecciones. They appeal to my ear, and they appear to be truly progressive.
I would rank Giuliani and Carcassi equally (no preference) and really don't care for Sor, although I've learned some of his studies.
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Years ago David Tannenbaum recorded a 2 disc set titled “The Essential Etudes” consisting of Carcassi Opus 60, the Segovia compilation of Sor etudes and the Brouwer Etudes. He also published a book of commentaries on each of the composer’s etudes. For clarity, the books don’t contain the music, just the commentary. I relied on excerpts from this material for my serious students for years. Last I checked everything was out of print but it’s worth looking for.
More recently I’ve enjoyed Christopher Berg’s “The Classical Guitar Companion” which covers similar ground in a much more comprehensive and well organized manner.
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Of the 3 mentioned I would prefer Sor. (I like the music, but I’ve also read his guitar method). At present I am going over the Sagreras lessons again. These go nicely step by step. I would certainly recommend starting with the first one and so on. When I had guitar lessons the teacher only used one book of Sagreras lessons. Actually some Brouwer studies would have been very welcome….