What an amazing GIFT to be able to speak so clearly with humor and wisdom about what is often the ineffable for musicians - how to play the instrument.

I first saw David Russell play in 1988 at the Williamson Art Gallery Birkenhead UK., I hadnt heard of him let alone heard him play. As i was sitting there waiting for the recital to begin I remember there were way more people in the audience than i had seen before, and in attendance was Stanley Yates... i thought.. holy hell...we're in for something special here...he did not disappoint. It was incredible..he opened with the Handel suite #7 that he had just finished arranging. I was gobsmacked from the opening phrase. Been listening to him and marvelling at his musicianship and generosity for 30 years. He is a gift.

He is 100% correct on both warming up comfortably, not killing yourself and his scalar approach. I used to use chromatic exercises; now I just use excerpts from pieces I know. Also, breaking diatonic scales into 5 note ascending/descending exercises vs covering all 6 strings at once or adding more.

A class act, David is one of the very best at the forefront of purveyors in classical guitar music. Great advice!

Thank you for this interesting conversation !!

Un très grand interprète que j admire profondément

This video is treasure!

David Russell is an incredible virtuoso of erudite guitar

Although I'm no David Russell, I stumbled upon his modular approach to learning guitar as a byproduct of analyzing exactly what do I have to be able to do to play certain difficult passages. I know it's easy to endorse the approach of a great player, but it gives one the feeling of being on the right track to hear what I've been doing confirmed by one of the greats.

So full of valuable insights, thank you David for lifting my spirit once again.

What i would give to take classes with this man. Not just an amazing guitarist, but also a kind man with a lot of pedagogical knowledge.

I wish I can study and coach by this great master ! He is full of humanity and Charisma. Unfortunately he lived half the world away from me ..

This was fabulous, it confirmed a lot of ideas I already had but spelt them out better than I had surmised. I will share this with my students. "Repetition!" :)

The best!

A treat - good advice

A freaking downvote??? Are you serious, mad person?