Problem with learning fur elise's second movement on guitar

Question

I am trying to learn Fur Elise on classical guitar using this video:

as a reference. I am doing quite well in the first and third movements as they are quite easy to play, however a specific part in the second movement(1:44-1:47) just bums me out. I mainly play acoustic fingerstyle, so I am kinda uncomfortable with some picking techniques the guy used in this video. Should I completely follow his way of playing or should I figure out what's best for myself?

Answer 1

I assume you’re referring to bars 32-33 which are repeated in bars 34-35 and also that your question is focused on the right hand. I haven’t played much classical guitar and it’s been a while since I’ve done it regularly but I recall seeing tricky fingerings like this many times in classical guitar pieces. The thing to do is go to around 6:45 where it is played slowly and shown with sheet music and fingerings. 33 and 35 in particular are a little tricky because of the fingering combinations.

When you break things like this down you can find logic in the fingering selections that were made. You can also decide that there is something you would rather finger differently as well, there is usually more than one good way to do things. One example of this might be say, in the first 2 beats of bar 33 instead of:

i p m i m i m a

you can play the first E on the B string 5th fret and play:

i m i m i m i m.

I suggest trying it his way very slowly and see if it starts to become more comfortable. Ask yourself why that fingering was chosen, it usually aids in a position or string transition. Experiment with your own and if something else works better for you why not?

If you are aspiring to be a serious classical guitarist you will need to be able to do these techniques which may seem awkward at first but have a method to their madness. If you’re just enjoying yourself playing classical guitar then well, find what works for you and enjoy yourself!