Andres Segovia-What Made Him So Special?

Andres Segovia- the “most influential classical guitar personalities of the 20th century” according to Wikipedia

Here’s Andres Performing Villa-Lobos Prelude no. 1 in e minor, live in Spain

Segovia’s technique differed from that of Tárrega and his followers, such as Emilio Pujol. Both Segovia and Miguel Llobet (who taught Segovia several of his transcriptions of Granados’ piano works) plucked the strings with a combination of his fingernails and fingertips, producing a sharper sound than many of his contemporaries. With this technique, it was possible to create a wider range of timbres, than when using the fingertips or nails alone. Historically, classical guitarists have debated which of these techniques is the best approach. The vast majority of classical guitarists now play with a combination of the fingernails and fingertips.

You can thank Segovia for the classical guitar being strung up with nylon strings…

After World War II, Segovia became among the first to endorse the use of nylon strings instead of gut strings.[27] This new advance allowed for greater stability in intonation, and was the final missing ingredient in the standardization of the instrument. read more