Classical Guitar Nylon String Guitar Playing with a Flatpick

Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2002 16:39:40 -0700
Subject: Willie Nelson Question

Hello,
I saw on the internet you discussing Willie Nelson's playing on his
classical guitar. I just got one myself and am going to try to learn to
play a few chords. Are chords meant to be played on classical
guitars? What kind of pick should I use?
thanks a million,
Jon Jorczak

Greetings Jon,

Sure, chords can be played effectively on a classical...

The classical is a great guitar to learn on due to the nylon strings being easier to fret and the spacing of the strings being more forgiving.

To start, and since you're learning to chord for now, try using a medium gauge flatpick...not a thin one (too much of a clicking sound) or a thick one (too thuddy)...

Learn to strum in down and upbeats...the downbeat would be a down stroke of your pick while an upbeat would be the up stroke of your pick...

After becoming comfortable with chording, and since you do have a classical guitar, you might also consider learning to play fingerstyle (which is what a classical guitar is designed to do best)...

Mickey