Guitar Players, Can You Spot the Difference Between Fingerstyle Guitar and Classical Guitar?

So how is classical guitar playing different than fingerstyle? The simple answer is that there is great similarity, for example you play with all of your fingers plucking strings on your right hand, and most of the time the songs aren’t improvised.

However, there are a few key differences which certainly separate the two. It’s kind of like asking what’s the difference between a Ferrari and a Honda. Well, yeah they are both cars, but the difference is in the details. The three key differences are in the material played, the instrument, and the delivery.

Here’s a run down:

	Classical Guitar	Fingerstyle Guitar
Material Played	Music mostly Italian and Spanish from the 18th century	Music from the 20th century and mainly written in the Americas
Instrument	Played on a well kept classical nylon string guitar	Played on an ofter beat up acoustic guitar with steel strings
Delivery	Played with impeccable technique and exquisite delivery	Often played with guts and glory, impeccable technique optional

And I in no way intend to make this appear to be a Classical Guitar bashing session. There’s some great classical guitar and composers out there, I’m particularly fond of Christopher Parkening’s playing, however as a genre Classical Guitar isn’t for everyone and it carries more limitation in style and practice than does fingerstyle guitar. I like to play both personally, but enjoy more the freedoms of fingerstyle guitar.

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