Your Classical Guitar Input Here

Newbie to the world of classical guitar/music

Hi all :)

I was wondering if any one of you could advise me on the right approach of playing the classical guitar. As mentioned, I'm quite new to playing the classical guitar but I'm not new to the guitar itself. I'm an electric guitar player and have decided to relearn this beautiful instrument once again but in a different form (genre wise).

My questions are:

1) I've noticed that most classical players like Julian Bream, Andres Segovia etc play most pieces with only their index and middle fingers, only using the ring finger in certain pieces. Are most pieces played that way? Do we prioritize the index and middle fingers or does it depend on how each piece is meant to be played? What if I'm learning the pieces from a tab? How can I know which fingers to use?


2) Also, all classical players have their right hand hanging freely when playing a piece. However, is it wrong if I balance my right hand with my pinkie finger, like I've always done so when playing electric guitar? Does it have any effect whatsoever if I was to play it in that position?


I hope someone could help me with these questions as they've been bugging me for a few days now. Thank you so much for the help guys :)


Cheers!! ^^


Hi there,

Most classical guitar players use their index and middle fingers because they are the strongest. Also the “a” finger is used where necessary but the first two fingers would be used in preference on the majority of occasions.

Tab doesn’t usually use the right hand finger indications but there is some move towards it. The best way to work out the fingering is to work through a piece slowly and logically to see what fingerings are workable and common sense ones.

In classical guitar it is not traditional to place the finger on the soundboard because it needs to be free to play the chords and melodic scale runs. Although many guitarists place it there for stability most classical guitarists wouldn’t do this because of the need for flexible movement and that they don’t want to dampen the sound in any way. Nylon strings of the classical aren’t as loud as the steel strings of an acoustic and so they might be dampened more easily if the finger is placed on the soundboard.

I hope this has been of help.

Kind regards,
Trevor M.