GuitarSkool

Hello. My name is Holroyd Hammond and this is my site, dedicated to the classical guitar. I began study of the classical guitar over thirty years ago. I had begun playing the guitar even years before that but with a steel string and playing folk music. Then I heard Andres Segovia play and I knew that the guitar was more than an accompaniment instrument: it was a whole orchestra unto itself. I determined then that I wanted to learn to play like that.

It was many years later, after high school and a stint in the Navy, that I enrolled in the (then new) guitar program at the University of South Carolina under the direction of Rod Stucky. I had to virtually unlearn everything I thought I knew about the guitar and start from scratch. I felt like a cripple. I didn’t develop much but I did manage to struggle through the required recitals and academics and eventually earned my Bachelor’s degree in music with guitar as my primary instrument.

I taught some, played at weddings and other intimate type venues and even started a guitar program at Midlands Technical College in Columbia, SC, but I never felt comfortable and secure with my playing and therefore not secure as a teacher. I knew I had the music in me but I couldn’t get it out. Technical problems stood in my way.

Life moved on and making a living and supporting a growing family overshadowed the guitar and I put it away for years, until about two years ago. I decided to begin again in earnest to come to grips with this beautiful, demanding and fascinating instrument.

With steady practice and concentrated effort I began to recognize, isolate and understand the technical challenges that had held me back for so long. What I discovered is the concept of what I call intricate simplicity. What seems intricate and difficult is really simple once you understand the basic principles. After all, masters through the ages have discovered these secrets and have passed them down to us. We simply must understand and follow. No need to reinvent the wheel: it’s been done for us.

With all this in mind I developed my own series of exercises that addressed my specific problems, particularly with the left hand. A foundation principle that I discovered is something I call “The Roll.” This will be the first of the methods that I share with the public.

I will make my work available here soon and I hope my exercises and accompanying videos will help you as much as they have helped me.