Originally, I thought I could keep up with my Exercise of the Week lesson, but I just don't have the time to be doing that on a weekly basis. So here is a toned down version - the Exercise of the Month. You can expect to see quite a wide variety of exercises here that will help you in many areas of your playing.

I have been studying quite a bit of classical music lately (even bought a classical guitar!). I am always keeping my ears tuned to nice melodic sounding pieces, especially violin solos. When I heard this piece, I knew I had to learn it. It is certainly one of the more difficult pieces I have learned (I am still larning it!). Like a lot of Paganini pieces, this solo involves a lot of position shifting, which keeps you on your toes - I mean fingers!

Like any piece of music, there are an unlimited number of ways to play it on the guitar. Each player should adapt a piece to their own tastes. The tab you see above is simply my personal taste. You might find it awkward, or it might work for you. The point is, I highly encourage that you try to establish fingerings that work for you.

Also note that I didn't indicate whether certain parts are to be played with alternate picking or sweep picking, etc. Play it how you wish. I played it almost entirely with alternate picking, except for a very few spots. I find that alternate picking through arpeggios helps tremendously with coordination when jumping across strings (note that some of my recent exercises have involved alterante picking arpeggios...). That newfound coordination translates to everyday playing as you find yourself able to pick intricate lines that you otherwise wouldn't have been able to play.

This piece is not about ludicrous speed. For one thing, the position shifting does not lend itself to blazing speed, and secondly, if played too fast the beauty of the melody is compromised. The speed I played it at is comprable to the speed with which most violinists play the piece.

Enjoy, and persevere - this is a tough one!

-Brisn Huether