One player performs a solo on the classical (nylon-string) guitar, entered by standard or level and marked out of 100 by an adjudicator.
Classical Guitar Solo is the class for a single player on the nylon-string classical guitar. The entry is one performer and one prepared piece or short programme, played unaccompanied as a rule, since the guitar can carry melody, bass line and harmony by itself. That self-contained quality is why it is run as its own class instead of being folded into a general string class: fingerstyle technique, right-hand tone and left-hand fingering are judged against other guitarists, not against violinists or cellists.
How the class is split depends on the event. One British children and young people's music, speech and drama eisteddfod grades it by standard, in five tiers from a preparatory level through Grades 1 & 2, 3 & 4 and 5 & 6 to Grade 7 and above, with time limits of 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 minutes. A player enters the tier for their current standard whatever their age, and the piece does not have to come from an exam list. A Scottish music festival template splits the same class into numbered levels (2 to 5), then Advanced and Open, and prints no time limit.
A round is calm and short. The entrant is called, settles in the chair with a footstool or support, checks tuning, plays and leaves while the adjudicator writes a comment and a mark. The time limit covers the performance, so a movement with every repeat taken can overrun where a shorter piece played cleanly finishes inside the limit. It is an individual item, open to boys and girls together, with no language attached.
Organisers add the class because the guitar is one of the most commonly taught instruments, and a dedicated class lets a coordinator place every guitar pupil on one scoring scale next to piano, strings and woodwind. On eTalenter it is scored out of 100 per entry, so results by tier can be ranked without any manual adding up.
Where Classical Guitar Solo is run
Classical Guitar Solo appears on two eTalenter templates: a British music, speech and drama eisteddfod for children and young people, and a Scottish music festival. The British template grades it by exam standard; the Scottish one uses numbered levels with Advanced and Open classes. Guitar classes are a regular part of music festivals across the English-speaking world, but this page records only those two templates.
- United Kingdom
- Scotland
Key facts
- Individual entry, open to boys and girls together; no language is set
- The class is for the classical guitar; check your organiser's rules before offering an electric or steel-string instrument
- Graded by standard in the British template (preparatory up to Grade 7 and above) and by numbered level, Advanced and Open in the Scottish one
- British time limits run 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 minutes from the lowest tier to the highest; the Scottish template prints none
- Marked out of 100; the sources print no judging criteria for it, so none are assumed here
- Separate from Electric Guitar Solo and Ukulele Solo, which sit in their own classes on the British template
On eTalenter, Classical Guitar Solo is filed under Music and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 2 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Classical Guitar Solo is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to 3–10 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Classical Guitar Solo
What a Classical Guitar Solo panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Tone: a warm, even sound from the right hand, with nail and finger placement that avoids scratchy or thin notes
- Accuracy of notes and fingering: clean fretting, no buzzing or muted strings, and shifts that land in tune
- Rhythm and tempo: a steady pulse chosen to suit the player, with no rushing through the easy bars or stalling at the hard ones
- Balance of voices: bass, inner parts and melody sounding as separate lines, with the tune clearly on top
- Musical shape: phrasing, dynamics and tasteful use of rubato, so the piece sounds chosen rather than merely learnt
- Time discipline and stage manner: finishing inside the limit for the tier, with a settled posture, a tidy tune-up and a calm exit
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Classical Guitar Solo under Scoring Setup, or start from the full instrumental music competition judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Classical Guitar Solo
How entrants and their teachers usually get Classical Guitar Solo right on the day:
- Pick a piece that fits the tier's time limit and your present standard, and time the whole performance including the tune-up
- Tune carefully before you are called and recheck after the first few bars of the warm-up, as new strings and a warm room both make the pitch drift
- Trim nails and file them smooth before the day; a rough edge shows up as noise in a quiet piece
- Practise the hardest bars slowly with a metronome, then bring the tempo up only when three clean runs in a row are possible
- Play the piece standing up and sitting down for a listener at least twice, using a footstool, so the day's posture is already familiar
- Pack a spare set of strings, a tuner, a footstool or support and a copy of the music for the adjudicator if the organiser asks for one
- Decide in advance how to recover from a slip: keep the pulse, skip to the next phrase and carry on, as a long stop costs more than one wrong note
Frequently asked questions
Is Classical Guitar Solo judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter's templates it's most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
Can I enter on an electric or steel-string guitar?
The class title says Classical Guitar Solo, so a nylon-string classical guitar is expected. The British template has a separate Electric Guitar Solo class, and you should check your organiser's rules for any other instrument.
How long is a Classical Guitar Solo?
It depends on the tier. On the British template it runs from 3 minutes in the lowest tier to 10 minutes at Grade 7 and above. The Scottish template prints no time limit.
Do I have to play an exam piece?
On the British template the pieces need not come from an exam list, and you enter the tier for your current standard regardless of age.
Is it judged individually or as a team?
It is an individual item: one player per entry, open to boys and girls together, and marked out of 100.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full instrumental music competition judging criteria guide, or browse every music competition item.
Try Classical Guitar Solo in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Classical Guitar Solo, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
