Study classical guitar through a unique rote learning approach supplemented by a conservatory-style systematic curriculum. 

Why Should I Study the Guitar with LAGA Online?

Who Will Be My Instructors?

Dr. Emre Sabuncuoglu holds a doctorate (D.M.A., Doctor of Musical Arts) from the University of Southern California's prestigious Thornton School of Music. He has studied with some of the most legendary guitarists in the world, including the renowned Pepe Romero. Tailoring his lessons to reach each student's learning style, Emre makes even beginners feel at home with his down-to-earth, welcoming manner.

Thomas Foster, a longtime student of world-renowned guitar pedagogue Aaron Shearer, is completing his doctorate as a student of James Smith in the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. He, too, has studied with many of the finest classical guitarists on the planet. In 2004, Thomas was one of four players selected to perform for John Williams at the Merida, Mexico Guitar Festival. Thomas, certified in Suzuki under the guidance of William Kossler, has developed a guitar curriculum for children that meets California's strict educational standards. His experience with young people has given him an ability to teach even complicated material with clarity and ease.

What Will I Learn in This Program?

LAGA Classical is a program of LAGA Online that focuses on the study of the classical guitar. We have an extensive library of video lessons which we supplement with sheet music files, articles, tips, and comments on technical and artistic issues. Our library of video lessons grows every year as we add more content. Seven levels, progressing in small steps in order to ensure mastery at each step, take you from the basics of the classical guitar all the way to virtuoso artistry! Along the way, we cover many familiar pieces, as well as music theory, instrument care, mental preparation, and exercises to make learning seem easy. We are excited about showing you some of the skills and pieces that you will learn through our online classical guitar curriculum!

How Will I Learn to Play the Guitar Online?

We have a mission: to help others to experience the same thrill that we feel when we perform classical music. Our step-by-step teaching process simplifies complicated techniques, explaining confusing terms in an easy-to-understand manner.

At LAGA Online, our mission includes working with your schedule to make your guitar lessons a joy rather than a hassle. We provide lessons through our on-demand format, in which video lessons, supplemented by exercises, illustrations and articles--designed to maximize your progress by mastering the skills, one step at a time. This format is a user-friendly and efficient design, in which written instructions, as well as a video which demonstrates the skill, appear on your computer's screen.

We are one of the few online guitar studios who has an actual real-time, live format available in which you can take private lessons with our topnotch faculty members online. Find out more about both of these options available in our online guitar instruction program.

Live Near Los Angeles? Check Us Out in Person!

Los Angeles Guitar Academy provides flexible scheduling for our students looking for guitar lessons in the Los Angeles area. Our studios are located in residential areas, so we can work around your busy schedule. Take a look at our website, then call us at 1-888-LAGITAR to schedule an appointment to meet us in person.

Classical Guitar Course Outline

Our course offers our student a variety of pieces to learn while you are learning how to play the classical guitar. We wanted to give you a brief overview of some of the material that we cover in each level. If you are excited about learning to play, this sampler will whet your appetite for more! Each level description has a link to a short video clip that will show you some of the things that you will accomplish at each step on your road to mastering the classical guitar. In no way are these the only pieces that you will learn--you will learn many more pieces in each level!

Level One:

Level One begins by teaching you proper warm-up technique, posture, hand and finger positions. Getting these basics right is fundamental if you want to build good technique on the classical guitar. Learning how to read music is normally an arduous process using traditional methods. Level One makes this process fun by walking you through the fingerboard--step by step--using folk songs from around the world. We progress through the first position notes, as well as the rest stroke, hammer-on, and staccato techniques. Learning the musical terminology unique to the guitar is important if you want to communicate with your fellow guitarists. We also cover beginning music theory, as well as proper nail and instrument care. You will not be bored, however. Playing beautiful music begins early in our first level, as do techniques to relax the tension that many beginners feel. We want to get you off to a good start!

Level Two:

At Level Two, you will begin to play music from great composers such as Fernando Sor and D. Aguado, as well as traditional favorites such as "Greensleeves." We begin Level Two by teaching you how to play arpeggios in varied fingering combinations. You will begin to understand the importance of tone color and dynamics, as well as techniques designed to make the most out of your practice and lesson times. Glissandos that you learn near the end of Level Two will add flair to your playing. By the end of this level you'll be playing pieces such as this sample from the Level Two repertoire.




Level Three:

Classical guitar aficionados will love to dig into the selections that they will study in Level Three. The pieces span four periods: the Renaissance era, the Baroque era, the Classical era, and the Romantic era. Level Three features selections by Coste, Krieger, Carulli, as well as a great arrangement of the famous "Lullaby" cancion by Brahms. After finishing Level Three, you will be playing pieces at this level:

Level Three will introduce you to many techniques that are foundational to your artistic formation. We begin Level Three with a review of arpeggios. We introduce two new arpeggios: a five-note arpeggio, as well as a “planted” arpeggio. Planted arpeggios help you to develop a solid left-hand foundation for free stroke playing, with the added benefit of training the flexor muscles of your forearm. Level Three introduces you to grace notes--commonly-found ornaments in guitar music. Grace notes also serve as a technical foundation for trills. After learning grace notes, you will learn how to play trills. Exercises designed to build your technique, such as scales, are emphasized in Level Three. Pieces which utilize those same scales help you build proficiency without the boredom of just playing the scales. We introduce you to vibrato at this level, as well as more complicated rhythmic structures. You will progress in your understanding of music theory, but no dry discussions–we promise–it all relates to the challenging pieces you will learn in Level Three.

Level Four:

We begin Level Four with a stepped-up review of the staccato technique, refining and perfecting it. More stretching and strengthening exercises are introduced. As the lessons become more challenging, relaxation is even more imperative. In Level Four, you will begin to learn your pieces well enough that you can "hear" them in your imagination without actually playing them. Only then will you make musical choices that will improve your dynamics, changes in tone color, and adjustments in tempo, making them sound more natural, as if the music is flowing from your fingers. Development as an artist is an important part of the formative process. To this end, we have included a milestone piece in the standard repertoire for intermediate guitarists.



The Flamenco rasgueado makes its appearance in Level Four, as does the bar technique. Meaty pieces by composers such as Matteo Carcassi, Fernando Sor, Dionisio Aguado, Luis Milan, and the prolific Argentine composer, Jorge Cardoso!

Level Five:

Level Five is all about the polish. We focus on building your artistry through training your ear to hear more subtle differences in tone, as well as teaching you to research the composers' background and culture, which will give you a profound insight into the mind of the people who wrote it. What fascinating stories form the background of these pieces! Your greatly-improved technical ability will allow your music to come alive, so you can communicate a story in song. Higher-position notes give more range to your music; octave harmonics provide panache. In Level Five, you will also learn some advanced techniques, one of which is right-hand harmonics.

An impressive lineup of pieces await you in Level Five. Works by M. Giuliani, R. Johnson, L. Narvaez, D. Scarlatti, J. S. Bach, and more will challenge you to strive for technical and artistic mastery.

Level Six:

In Level Six, you will begin to play many of the great works to build your concert and recital repertoire. Look forward to playing a theme and variations piece by Sor that you will probably pull out time after time for competitions, recitals, and auditions, for this work is a landmark in your development as a classical guitarist. You will enjoy building your repertoire with concert favorites by Tarrega, and the superb Catalonian folk song, "El Testament D'Amelia." You begin Level Six by learning the pizzicato and double pull-off techniques, drill your tremolo technique, build your proficiency at playing chords and in the theory behind the music. We learn how phrasing can impact the music, as well as good mental and physical preparation. Your artistry will grow through applying all of the techniques you have learned up to this point.

Level Seven:

This level begins by refining your skills in music interpretation. You will need them well–polished, for you will learn some of the major works that are in the must-have repertoire of concert guitarists. We will continue to work on concert-level pieces from master composers like Barrios, Tarrega, and F. Sor. We focus on relaxation while you play, for feeling relaxed is crucial to becoming so attuned to the music that it will seem to flow from your fingers. Your will build your familiarity with the instrument, which will lead to gains in your speed and smoothness.

LAGA Classical Now Offering Free Personal Feedback for Online Students

Want personal feedback from one of our world-class faculty members while enrolled in our classical guitar course? All you have to do is to send us a video of you as you play one of your pieces that you are learning in your lessons, or a favorite work that you have worked on outside of your lesson pieces. One of our LAGA instructors will e-mail useful advice on how to improve your technique and your musicality. We allow our online guitar students to submit up to one video every month. Classical guitarists of all levels from beginners to advanced will want to take advantage of this opportunity.

Sign up for a free 3-day trial at LAGA Online.

You will get a link to your free introductory, three-day trial in your e-mail box, ready to begin playing at your convenience–a $39.95 value, yours FREE for the asking.