Learn to Play Vacances (Demillac) from RCM Level One on Classical Guitar

Vacances (“Vacation”) by Yvon Demillac is a beautiful French piece for classical guitar.

The RCM Bridges Series has many tunes, old to modern, that are fun to play and musically compelling. The early levels especially are must-haves for any classical guitarist.

Watch the videos below for tips on how to practice and learn Vacances, so you play it beautifully.

Click here to purchase the RCM Repertoire and Etudes Level One Book.
(You’ll find many great tunes in this series, and the book is worth the investment.

Click Here for other tutorials from the RCM Bridges Series.

About the RCM Bridges Series:

(From Amazon) Bridges: A Comprehensive Guitar Series serves as the official resource for guitar assessments of the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program. Innovative in its structure, Bridges supports students from the beginner to advanced levels with carefully sequenced repertoire, etudes, and technique. Each of the Repertoire and Etudes books in the series spans all major style periods and a variety of genres, presenting an organized compilation of pieces appropriate for that level of technical development. Nine progressive levels of Repertoire and Etudes scaffold student learning at every stage of musical development. Each book contains a balanced and representative selection of works from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and contemporary style periods. From the classics of Aguado to the modern compositions of Zenamon, Bridges connects students to both essential literature and enticing masterpieces never before found together. The Etudes have been carefully selected to support the repertoire and isolate specific technical and musical challenges, making Bridges an ideal collection and a comprehensive teaching resource.

Click here to purchase the RCM Repertoire and Etudes Level One Book.
(You’ll find many great tunes in this series, and the book is worth the investment.

Hi, I’m Allen Mathews.

I started as a folk guitarist, then fell in love with classical guitar in my 20’s. Despite a lot of practice and schooling, I still couldn’t get my music to flow well. I struggled with excess tension. My music sounded forced. And my hands and body were often sore. I got frustrated, and couldn’t see the way forward. Then, over the next decade, I studied with two other stellar teachers – one focused on the technical movements, and one on the musical (he was a concert pianist). In time, I came to discover a new set of formulas and movements. These brought new life and vitality to my practice. Now I help guitarists find more comfort and flow in their music, so they play more beautifully.
Click here for a sample formula.

I came on board three months ago and I’m loving it more than ever. I have maintained my practice pattern. I’m sticking wholeheartedly with the program as written. That makes it easy to see what I NEED to work on rather than just playing the shiny places I’ve gone beyond…..I’ve learned to focus 100% on what I’m doing that very minute….I’m developing strength in my left hand...I spend time with the videos in the evenings and always find something more to help me. I’m not looking for info anywhere else. Everything I need is right here in The Woodshed. You say “Jump” and I say “How high.” I’m so grateful I found you. You speak in a language I understand.

~ Gloria Mader

-Gloria Mader

Those videos on practicing the piece were just awesome, Allen! I've always thought that learning songs might be something completely different than practicing exercises, but the way you teach it makes it much easier than I thought. I'm positive that joining the Woodshed has been the best investment I've ever done for learning the classical guitar. Thank you so much for these lessons.

~ Ulysses Alexandre Alves

-Ulysses Alexandre Alves

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