Do you have a passion for Flamenco music, but finding it hard to find enough money to pay your bills in this economy, let alone pay for Flamenco guitar lessons in a studio? We have a solution to turn your passion for Flamenco music into more than just a dream! We at the LAGA Online are happy to introduce you to our online Flamenco guitar program. Our Flamenco lessons provide conservatory-quality instruction without the cost of in-studio private lessons.

Dr. Emre Sabuncuoglu and Thomas Foster are two of the most accomplished guitarists on Earth. They have created the Los Angeles Guitar Academy Online's Flamenco course to help people around the world discover the passion for life that they can express through the music of the Flamenco guitar. Their innovative teaching method helps people from diverse backgrounds achieve their musical goals. Emre earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music with a doctoral minor in Flamenco music. He has studied with many of the world's finest guitarists, including the iconic Pepe Romero. Tailoring his lesson to reach each student's learning style, Emre has a welcoming, down-to-earth manner that makes even beginners feel at home. Thomas Foster, a longtime student of world-renowned guitar pedagogue Aaron Shearer, is completing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree under the guidance of James Smith at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. 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 tutelage 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 difficult material with ease and clarity.

Does your heart yearn to play the Flamenco guitar, but tense, stiff hands and fingers make it a painful endeavor? Our world-renowned instructors have developed a unique way to teach you that starts with proper posture and position, a technique which helps you to dispel the tension in your hands and sets your fingers free to express the passion within yourself. Our teachers show you how to make the most out of your lessons and practice sessions! Our Flamenco guitar lessons show you how to have good technique right from the start by emphasizing how important it is to prepare to play with focus, an alert posture, as well as with your arms, hands and fingers relaxed and free from tension. The terminology that Flamenco guitarists use is highly specialized and technical. Our lessons decipher the mystifying words, defining what each term means. Our step-by-step lessons take you from the very basic finger positions and strokes all the way to having the ability to compose your own variations on the all-important compas (rhythm cycle) found in Flamenco music. Find out more detail on what we cover in each level below.

Our instructors at LAGA Online have a mission: to help you experience the same passion that they feel every time they play Flamenco music on their guitar. Their step-by-step process simplifies complicated techniques, explaining confusing terms in an easy-to-understand manner. At LAGA Online, our mission includes making your Flamenco guitar lesson a time you will eagerly anticipate, not just another appointment on your schedule. We make every effort to work around your schedule so that you can concentrate on making music. Our on-demand format makes that easy for you. In this format, we supplement video lessons with exercises, illustrations and an e-book, all of which are designed to maximize your progress by helping you to master the skills, one step at a time. In this format, we provide written-out instructions on one part of the screen, while the instructor demonstrates the new skill on another part. We are also 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. Live or on-demand, the choice is up to you!

Live near LA? We would love to have you visit us in person! For our Los Angeles area students, we offer flexible scheduling, since our studios are located in residential areas. We know you are busy, so we will make every effort to work around your schedule. Comparison of Online Guitar Lessons to In-Studio Guitar Lessons Disadvantages of Online Guitar Lessons : * Less personal contact with the instructors and fellow students * Fewer opportunities for hands-on instruction * Feedback will be via electronic transmission rather than in-person Advantages of Online Guitar Lessons : * The cost of online lessons is far less than in-person * Online lessons save on travel costs, while helping the environment * Students from all over the world can take online lessons * Students who are timid can learn in the privacy of their homes If you live in the Los Angeles area, we welcome you to schedule a free meeting with a member of our faculty to discuss which option would be right for you. If you live elsewhere, we would be glad to speak with you about our online programs. Contact us for more details at www.laguitar.com or by calling us at 1-888-LAGITAR.

Take a look at what you will be learning in our online Flamenco course--just a sampling of what we have to offer will whet your appetite to learn more about the Flamenco guitar. We have included a short video with every level description to give you a brief glimpse of just a few of the pieces that you will learn when you enroll in LAGA Flamenco!

Level One begins by providing a firm foundation for your study of the Flamenco guitar. You learn good posture habits right from the beginning. A poised, yet relaxed position helps you ease any tension that may creep in as a beginner learning a new pursuit. We explain basic Flamenco terms in plain language, so you become confident in what must seem like a new language. Learning notation for both the left-hand and right-hand fingers gets you off to a good start. We introduce you to rasgueados, the rest stroke and the free stroke, then teach you how to perform the golpe, one of the techniques that gives Flamenco music its unique sound. The key concept of the compas, the rhythm cycle that is one of the most important aspects of Flamenco music, makes its appearance early in Level One. You begin your first Flamenco piece, representative of one of the most traditional Flamenco forms (palos), the Solea. Falsettas will help you become familiar with the sound of Flamenco music, as will your introduction to the Phrygian mode, which underlies a great deal of Flamenco music. Music theory will come naturally as you learn it as a key component of the music you will be learning. Early on, you learn to think like a musician in our PIT (put it together) pieces--even at this level--by learning to create your own pieces based on the material that you have learned to date.

We begin Level Two with the beloved Spanish folk song, "Malaguena." More sophisticated variations of your Level One techniques make your music sparkle, adding a new concept, syncopation, to vary the rhythms of the music. You will learn the pull-off and hammer-on techniques, and how to employ scales and your growing knowledge of music theory to better find your way around the fingerboard. Arpeggios will become more varied and sophisticated. You will learn about grace notes and hinge bars. Level Two ends with the study of the second Flamenco form, the Seguiriyas. One of the arpeggio-based falsettas you will learn will prepare you for the higher levels, since it uses a common texture and harmonic structure that is seen in forms you will learn in higher levels such as Tangos, Tientos, and Bulerias.

You begin by learning how to play variations based on re-voicings and inversions of the modal degrees. The variations are fun to learn, and teaching you a bit about music theory without the boredom. You will refine techniques to produce increased clarity in your instrument's tones, learning even a greater variety of variations in rhythm and in the use of the golpe. Tremolo drills will prepare the way for you to learn the quatromolo, a technique that is commonly-used in Flamenco music. Bar snaps are introduced in this level, as is that most profound Flamenco form, the Seguiriyas. You will end your study of Level Three by learning the joyful Flamenco form, Alegrias.

Your technique in executing hinge bars becomes refined and perfected at this level, as well as crucial positioning techniques, such as guide fingers, in order to connect your phrases smoothly. You will learn about the rubato--a slight "stretch" of the piece's rhythm. Rubato, an interpretive element used widely in Flamenco music, adds to the emotional pull of the music. We prepare you for some of the advanced techniques, such as the alzapua, by first teaching you thumb drills. After the thumb drills prepare you, we introduce the alzapua itself. We introduce you to Tientos, a Flamenco form which gave birth to more recent styles such as Tangos. Again, we engage your creativity at the end of this level by encouraging you to create your own melodic transitions to connect chords.

Building speed and dexterity takes a center stage In Level Five, as you learn to handle more difficult fingerings with ease, at the same time building your power and expression. Level Five also features bass-line melodies, which lend some variety to the melodic voice. You will encounter the non-rhythmic Granaina, a type of Flamenco music which has no compas. Based on the B Phrygian mode, Granainas will hone your skills at playing variations. Learning to play melismatic music, a characteristic of non-rhythmic Flamenco music, will add one more tool to your considerable repertoire. You will learn your first Bulerias piece in Level Five. Mastery of this form takes your artistry up a notch or two, since Bulerias is one of the most virtuosic forms in Flamenco music. You end Level Five with your first complete Bulerias falsetta.

Your creativity will come to the forefront as we begin Level Six by teaching you to construct your very own Granainas falsettas. Level Six will transform you from technician to artist as we show you how to build upon the skills that you have already mastered. You will learn the form called the Tangos (which, incidentally, differs from the well-known Argentine tango). The Fandangos form takes considerable technical ability. At this level, you will be more than ready for the challenge. Level Six ends as it started it--with an exercise in creativity. The Put It Together (PIT) piece will bring out your inner composer.

Rhythmic variations on the compas of the Tangos compas begin this level, as you put lots of polish on your skills. Speed, dexterity, and theoretical knowledge are all honed at this level. Your memorization skills and your artistry will be put to the challenge as well. Recognition of complicated chordal structures will test your knowledge of fingerboard theory. You will learn the pros and cons of some of the more controversial developments in Flamenco music, namely the technique of some artists to alter the chords so that the music has a more modern sound. Traditional forms are taken to their highest level in Level Seven.

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.