Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: June 25, 2024

Thank you for your interest in the SBGS Guitar Ensemble! We’ve organized our information in a Frequently Asked Questions document. If you want to know more, we provide a contact email at the end of the document.

What skill level do I need in order to participate?

The announcement from SBGS mentioned that our skill levels are from "intermediate to advanced."  Of course, that can encompass a very wide range of ability. I recommend you go into the shared Google Drive folder linked above, and look through the PDF Scores folder within.  The scores tend to range from 2 to 4 instrumental parts. Some are arranged such that “Guitar 1” takes the highest voice and/or most complicated part, while Guitar 4 takes the base line.  Others trade the melody off between parts as the pieces progress. Still others have no clear easier or harder parts. 

If you feel you can print out a part and learn it over the course of a few weeks of practice, then you can probably fit right in. That means you can read classical guitar sheet music written in standard notation (not tablature, although we could easily produce TAB with the MuseScore sources), and have left and right hand skills sufficient to meet the demands of the part. We’re a pretty friendly crowd, and it’s fine to ask how other people are solving particular sticky spots or fingering a specific passage.

The individual parts for these pieces are probably easier than what many of us would practice and play as soloists.  There’s a good reason for that - it takes a bit of focus to not only play the part, but listen to the other players and blend the dynamics, stay on tempo, etc. Many of the parts are just single melodic lines, arpeggios, or base lines. When all the parts come together right, though, the music is richer and more complex than what any of us could play as soloists.

Where can I find your sheet music?

We maintain copies of our music (both in PDF form as well as MuseScore sources) on a shared Google Drive folder. Everyone with the link has “viewer” access to the folders within. 

The main link is here:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rE9LpDoZVHqjgYaKnbcIhd5OZ-PoQ0z1?usp=sharing 

In it you’ll find

• Audio Tracks for Practicing - this folder contains computer-generated tracks for most of our pieces, for support in working out our parts.

• MuseScore scores - most of our music has been transcribed into MuseScore, a free, open-source music notation program. There may be minor errors in these transcripts that will be corrected as they’re caught. 

• PDF scores - this contains the scores we’re using for our performances, both the full scores as well as individual parts.. 

• Performances - I posted one piece from of our last SBGS Guitar Festival performance. You can find it as “Dos Palomitas” in the scores folders. The sound quality of the recording is not great, but it will give you a sense of what we sound like.

Who is directing the ensemble?

Josh Friedman, a board member of the South Bay Guitar Society as well as a local teacher and composer, has agreed to direct the ensemble this year. You can learn more about Josh at his website https://myteacherjosh.com.

Do I need to be a “classical guitarist?”

There are guitarists who play classical-era music on all sorts of guitars, and there are guitarists who play all sorts of music on “classical” style guitars.  Currently we’re all in the latter category, playing nylon-string instruments “finger style” (without picks).  In theory a steel-string finger style player would be an interesting addition to our sonic palette, so don’t let that stop you from showing up and playing!

What are the logistics of rehearsals?

We typically meet for 90 minutes weekly on Saturdays from 1:00 to 2:30 pm at The Guitarist - 1356 Franklin St, Santa Clara, CA  95050. There will be occasional weekends when either the site is unavailable and/or it’s a holiday. The rehearsal calendar is publicly viewable; any deviations from our usual rehearsal times will be noted there. 

Everyone has their own particular time constraints, and we will collaboratively try to schedule rehearsal times to have the least impact on players’ lives. This can include work, child care obligations, and avoiding horrible commute times. However, it’s unlikely that we can pick a perfect time that every interested player can attend regularly. If we end up on a rehearsal schedule that just doesn’t work for you, we encourage you to remain on our mailing list in case the situation changes.

How do I sign up?

Just show up at one of our rehearsals, and we’ll work out the rest.

What do I need to bring?

Our current space at The Guitarist has plenty of chairs and music stands. Bring your own guitar and whatever sort of support (foot rest, guitar support) you use, as well as your own tuner (a smartphone tuner is fine). 

How much does this cost?

At present this is an all-volunteer ensemble with no participation fees. We encourage participants to become members of the South Bay Guitar Society.

Where does the ensemble perform?

The ensemble usually performs at the annual Guitar Fest sponsored by the SBGS, usually held annually in the Spring. The SBGS leadership has been wanting to expand the Society’s outreach and education efforts, and the ensemble would play a key role in that through performances at community centers and schools. 

How large do you expect to grow the ensemble?

That’s a great question, and the only answer we have at the moment is “larger than what we currently have.” Josh Friedman has written a suite with eight parts for guitar ensemble, and we would like to have at least this many regular players.

I still have questions!

Send an email to sbgs@sbgs.org and we will do the best to answer any questions you have.