Hello folks! I hope you all are doing great. Today our topic of discussion is Spanish guitarists. Don’t you love them? Well! Who doesn’t love the guitar? However, these Spanish guitarists are great at expressing their emotions through the guitar. In addition to this, their ability to listen to every sound coming out of their instrument is commendable. Furthermore, these Spanish guitarists are also best known for creating a plethora of sounds that they hear in their heads through their guitars.
Moreover, in this article, we have mentioned about 15 such great Spanish guitarists who have the ability to slur, slide, pick up and down, play with the guitar, use a slide, and play with so many types of dynamics and other things that no can actually think of replicating ever. Hence, without any further delay how about diving straight into the list of famous Spanish guitarists of all time?
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1- Andrés Segovia
Andrés Segovia was extremely popular and a grammy award winner. He had a net worth of $5 million. However, he was only 6 when he started playing guitar with the help of another guitarist named Agustinilo. Later he decided to become a self-taught guitarist because of a lack of economic resources he couldn’t have afforded an instructor. Although, he was a very workaholic. Throughout life, since he started playing guitar, he practiced it for around 5 hours a day even in his 80s. That’s commendable! and because of this, he is one of the best Spanish guitarists.
2- Fernando Sor
Mr. Sor was a very known personality as he was a classical guitarist and composer. However, people also know him as “Beethoven of the guitar”. In addition to this, his contribution to the studies of classical guitars is highly admired. Why are we saying that his work was highly admired? It is primarily because all of these works are even used today, and the new artists benefited from this. One of the very surprising facts about this Spanish guitarist is that it was during his retirement that he composed numerous of his excellent works.
3- Tomatito
His actual name is Jose Fernandez Torres. The musical genres that he follows are jazz and Flamenco. Since the 1980s he has been actively playing guitar. It was an absolute blessing for him to grow up in a musical family where two members were guitar players. Till yet he has produced around 6 solo albums and has won the Latin Grammy award twice. In addition to this, he is globally recognized for playing guitars that are only made by Manuel Reyes and uses strings by Savarez.
4- Miguel Llobet
To begin with, Miguel was a classical guitarist known for his extraordinary performances on stage. The only musical genre that he followed was classical music. It was in 1938 when he died. However, his notable acts for the betterment of classical guitar music were largely admired. Furthermore, He was trained as an artist, revealing a talent for painting, and continued to paint throughout his life. Apart from this, His earliest musical training was on the violin and the piano.
5- Francisco Tárrega
Not just a guitarist but he was also a gifted pianist. However, he was known to be “the father of classical guitar”. Furthermore, as a child he used to observe his father when he used to play guitar, hence Tarrega picked out tunes on his father’s guitar. Have you ever heard his song named “oremus”? It was composed just thirteen days before his death. Insane. Well, his spouse was also an accomplished guitarist like him.
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6- Vicente Amigo
This Spanish flamenco composer and guitarist is born talented. His actual name is Vicente Amigo Girol. However, he has won several awards such as the Latin grammy for best flamenco album and the 2002 Ondas award for best flamenco work. Manolo Sanlucar, the known guitarist who gave Amigo the t guitar lessons and Amigo worked for a decade.
7- Paco De Lucia
He is one of those famous Spanish guitarists who has gained huge popularity for his quirky guitar-playing skills. To support this statement, he added abstract chords and scale tones to his compositions with jazz influences. Furthermore, he began playing guitar in 1958 and played it till 2014. Although, 2014 was the year when he died. Later on, he collaborated with several other successful guitarists worldwide.
8- Sabicas
He was just 5 years old when he first started playing guitar. Even as a kid he was so fond of playing guitar that even if his mother tells him that it’s already 3 in the morning, to go and sleep, he refuses to do so. Why? Because he continued doing that tram, tram on his guitar and later he continued doing that for all his life. Apart from this, he also has given three rules for living a passionate life. 1. Work hard at what you love to do, 2. Accept imperfection, albeit reluctantly, 3. Whether it’s deep into the night, or late in life, order up a paella and keep on playing, no matter who tells you to stop. Isn’t that inspiring enough? Well, it is.
9- Pepe Romero
Romero mentions that I was always born with a guitar and I am going to die with a guitar. Now you can guess how passionate he is as a guitarist. However, he never wanted to be anything else other than a guitarist. He has witnessed that music can actually bring that healing power and comfort to you, especially in your difficult times. although, his father was also a wonderful poet and he was playing guitar only. Hence, this has helped people to learn guitar with ease. Furthermore, he often says that the guitar is unique in that you are embracing the instrument, you are feeling her vibrations with every part of you. You feel it in your chest, you feel it in your arms, in your legs because it’s resting on them.
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10- Laura Almerich
Laura, what a beautiful lady she was. Well, Almerich was known for her strong classical guitar-playing skills. However, she died in 2019. This Spanish guitarist had a huge fan following. Speaking of the musical genre which she followed, “Nova Canco”, she was great at it.
11- Ramón Montoya
This man has done a lot of hard to become one of the best Spanish guitarists. However, he was born into a family of Gitano (Romani) cattle Traders. In addition to this, he bought his first guitar from hard-earned money that he earned whilst working in the cafe. Furthermore, you might be surprised to know that his powerful playing of guitar often overpowered the singers with whom he accompanied.
12- Narciso Yepes
Yepes, when he turned 4 his father gifted him his first-ever guitar. He absolutely loved it. Moving on, after turning 14, he began learning with the pianist and composer named Vicente Asencio. In addition to this, he studied several courses in harmony, composition, and performance and became the best at them. Furthermore, his performances as a classical guitarist often used to leave him mesmerized.
13- Manolo Sanlúcar
Apart from being a successful guitarist, he is a wonderful musician as well. However, unfortunately, he died in 2022. The musical genre which he followed by heart was Flamenco. Well, he was fortunate enough to have his father as his teacher who taught him to play guitar. As his father was an old-style guitarist, he used to bring home his fellow mates who also used to play guitar. Hence, Manolo got a wonderful environment to learn guitar. Following this, he became a natural artist.
14- Carlos Montoya
This Spanish guitarist was born in Madrid, Spain. He is a self-taught artist. However, he is a television figure who is known for being the first flamenco guitarist to perform as a soloist with some major orchestras throughout his life. People find his passion for guitar playing very admiring because of his unique ways of playing guitar.
15- Paco Peña
To begin with, the musical genres he has followed throughout his life are Flamenco and instrumental music. Well, in 1967 he started playing guitar and today the world remembers him as one of the best guitarists. Paco was born in Cordoba, later when he turned 6 he started developing his interest in learning guitar. In addition to this, he is also a wonderful composer, dramatist, and mentor. Moreover, he is also Andalusian music’s leading ambassador.
Hope you like our picks guys!!!
