You are on page 1of 1

From Argentina, try for starters two charmingly easy albums by the father of the Argentine guitar, Juan

Alais. Six
"Estilos Criollos" (Ricordi BA 9906) will prepare you for Llobet's more advanced exercises in the form, Six Easy
Pieces (BA 9905); slightly harder, is a collection of charming schottisches, polkas and petits valses, tuneful and
seductive and always very much under the hand.
Then try a wonderful teaching book from the excellent contemporary Argentine composer-player Jorge Labrouve,
Easy Etudes (EMT 1493). This is nothing more or less than an introduction to musical form (prelude, theme-andvariations, suite, sonata), using delightfully bouncy Argentine folk rhythms and a modem style. Notation and
fingering alike are particularly precise; you have to work at it to miss the points he's making here. The real trick, of
course, is to make sure the stuff sings and dances, as it's supposed to.

You might also like