Introduction

Fernando Sor was one of the most respected and admired guitarist/composers of his time. He was born in Spain and after a time he abandoned the long-standing family tradition of military service in favour of a career in music. 

Upon reaching a suitable age Sor left Spain and moved to Paris where he would spend the majority of the rest of his life composing works not only for guitar but also for opera, ensembles, choir and orchestra.

Performance Points

One of Sor's lasting contributions to the guitar was his '12 Studies for Guitar Op. 35' from which this particular study is taken. 

The piece itself isn't overly difficult but it does provide the novice guitarist with the opportunity to understand a few compositional and theoretical devices:

• Anacrusis. The etude has an anacrusis or an upbeat
• It uses both the A Aeolian & A Melodic Minor scales
• The tempo indication 'Larghetto'
• Reading two accidental in the guitar sheet music score F# and G#
• Moving several fingers as one