Carcassi Op. 60 No. 1: the scale study in C
The opening eight bars of the first of Matteo Carcassi's 25 Melodic and Progressive Studies, Op. 60: scales in eighths running down from C, then from G, each starting over a bass note. It's the most played scale study in the classical repertoire, and it puts i-m alternation, string crossing and first-position fingering into real music.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with the metronome on, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 120 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 120 bpm
- Starts at
- 72 bpm
- Length
- 8 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
- Time
- 4/4
- Level
- Intermediate
- Plays with
- A metronome
How to play it
The thumb plays each bar's first note and lets it ring; the scale that follows is i and m in turn.
Most bars start with a bass note from the thumb, left ringing under the scale that follows. Bar 1 runs down the C major scale from the C at the B string's 1st fret; bar 2 starts higher, from E on the open top string; bar 3 from G at the top string's 3rd fret; bar 4 carries the line on down to the low A and back up to D.
Bars 5 to 8 do the same in G major, over the low G at the 6th string's 3rd fret, with F sharp at the 4th fret of the D string. The last bar falls to the low G and jumps up to F, leading back to C.
Everything is in the first position: the first finger on the 1st fret, the second on the 2nd, the third on the 3rd and the fourth on the F sharp at the 4th. The fingers take turns, i and m, after each bass note.
Mistakes to watch for
- Two strokes in a row with the same finger where the run changes string.
- Stopping the bass note when the scale starts: it rings on under the run.
- Rushing down the scale. Each eighth gets the same time, and the bar lines don't need a gap.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 72
- 78
- 84
- 90
- 96
- 102
- 108
- 114
- 120
That's 16 loops and about 6 minutes before you're playing at 120 bpm. If it stops being clean on the way, stop the ramp there and loop that tempo until it is. With a microphone or an audio interface you can record while you play instead: Demiurg checks every loop and steps up only after two clean ones in a row, and back down after a poor one.
Questions
How fast should I play Carcassi: Op. 60 No. 1?
The goal is 120 bpm in eighth notes, which is 4 notes a second. Start wherever every note is clean: the player begins at 72 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
What are Carcassi's 25 Études, Op. 60?
Twenty-five melodic and progressive studies by Matteo Carcassi, published in the 1850s and still among the most used studies for classical guitar. Each takes one technique through a short piece; No. 1 is the scale study.
How fast is Op. 60 No. 1 played?
It's marked Allegro, and played well it's quick: around 140 to 160 beats a minute in eighths. The goal here, 120, is a good stage on the way there.
More classical exercises
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