Classico Guitar Lesson – Tenacious D

About this lesson

With our guitar tutorial on Classico, you will learn these guitar skills: Arpeggios, Barre chords, Hammer-ons, Open chords, Palm muting, Pull-offs, Strumming patterns, Trills, Vibrato.

Classico is a fairly unknown song by Jack Black and Kyle Gass of Tenacious D, but I really like it since it incorporates classical music into modern-day rock guitar.

I like to refer to this piece as a classical medley since it features their interpretation of 3 classical songs: Bach's Bourrée in E minor, Für Elise by Beethoven, and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart.

This is a huge tutorial, with loads of technical elements that will surely develop your guitar skills. The lesson is divided into 3 parts, as per the 3 part classical medley.

You will be playing Bach in the first part of the guitar lesson, and improve your single string alternate plucking and lead guitar technique.

Afterward, you’ll be playing Beethoven by learning several barre chords and arpeggios.

In the final section, we’ll be learning how to play Mozart, and improve our lead guitar techniques once again, focusing mainly on alternate plucking, hammer-ons, pull-off, trills, and vibrato.

So all-in-all, this is a beginner guitar song that will really improve basically every guitar skill imaginable. It’s not easy and can get tiring due to its length, but just practice it a lot and you’ll be playing it soon. People love listening to classical music, and by learning Classico, you’ll already know 3 songs right off the bat. What a bargain :-)! Don’t be surprised, after this lesson you’ll probably want to go and learn how to play classical songs on the guitar some more.

Classico song details

Classico is the second song in the 2006 movie Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, performed by the band Tenacious D. In the movie, Kyle Gass plays a medley of 3 classical guitar songs, to impress Jack Black, who sings along to the music, making up lyrics.

Classico covers the following classical songs adapted for guitar

1. Bourrée in E minor (from Suite in E minor, BWV 996) by Bach, written in the early 18th century
2. Für Elise by Beethoven, written in 1810
3. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade in G Major, K. 525: I. Allegro) by Mozart, written in 1787

Skills you'll learn