The guitar studies of Fernando Sor (1778-1839) have long been valued highly among the indispensable elements of a guitarist's training. Many prominent virtuosi attribute a large portion of their development to the diligent study of these works. Sor's studies address an impressive array of technical and musical topics, including proper left-hand fingering, training of the right hand, interval and chord formations, scales, arpeggios, repeated notes, ligados, barring, natural harmonics, control of note duration, balance of melody versus accompaniment, and the handling of contrapuntal voices. A careful study of these pieces will lay the groundwork for a solid technique and build in the control necessary for the expression of their musical concepts.

In preparing this edition, David Grimes worked with Sor's original publications and some alterations that appear in those studies that Napoleon Coste chose to include in his Méthode complète pour la Guitare par Ferdinand Sor. Furthermore, Mr. Grimes has corrected misprints, modernized the notation, and rectified some inconsistencies. Finally, some developments in technique since Sor's day have been incorporated in this edition.