Songs from Bridges, Level 1, now on YouTube (and here)

Since I frequently teach from the Bridges repertoire books, I decided to video some of the common songs my beginning students play, as a reference. Here are most of the pieces from the Bridges Level One book.

These can also be found as a playlist on the ClassicalGuitarShed Youtube channel.

At times my tempos and dynamic markings differ from the suggestions in the book. If you are just starting out, it is good to follow what is written in your score. Some people are real sticklers for the score and consider it gospel. I am not one of those people (though I always start with the score). Sometimes composers are simply not aware of the best way to play the music they write. Composing and performing are two completely different studies. In general, a good rule is to go with the score unless you can clearly state your reasons not to.

The Bridges Guitar Series is a great set of repertoire books. The first book is called the “preparatory” level, and there are 8 subsequent levels. If you would like to buy the Bridges books, you can find them easily online. Here is one option (not an affiliate link).

Note: Amazon sometimes goes a bit crazy and prices them at hundreds of dollars. This is just some sort of goof-up, so if you see that, just look elsewhere.

Here you go: