Hello everyone,
I am organizing a biennial exam for guitar enthusiasts, from beginners (Level D01, first year) to experts (Level D12, twelfth year). This is because having a specific goal within a few months is a good motivator: to assess one’s ability to master a musical piece within a given time, to have a reference point to adjust goals, method, and pace of work.
To manage the significant work of the volunteer jury, exams for even levels will be held in even years and those for odd levels in odd years.
The 2025 exam will take place over three days, on April 25, 26, and 27, 2025, for levels 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. The required pieces will be published on May 30, 2024. You have 11 months to prepare for this exam.
The 2026 exam will take place over three days, on April 25, 26, and 27, 2026, for levels 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12. The required pieces will be published on May 30, 2025. You have 11 months to prepare for this exam.
The video recording of the required piece must be done without a metronome, as in a concert. However, from my experience as a judge, I can tell you that guitarists who fail to play the required pieces with a metronome, at the indicated tempo, may not receive a diploma at this exam. Musicality and informed respect for rhythm will be rewarded with a diploma; the required pieces for the exam do not call for virtuosity.
Rules of the Delcamp Biennial Exam: The Delcamp forums consist of 4 forums, each operating in one of the following languages: French, Italian, English, Spanish: guitareclassiquedelcamp.com – chitarraclassicadelcamp.com – classicalguitardelcamp.com – guitarraclasicadelcamp.com.
Adult guitarists of all nationalities, registered on one of the 4 Delcamp forums, can participate in this exam, provided they have posted at least twelve substantive messages, whether questions or answers. Enrich the forum, give it even more humanity, more richness. The purpose of this 12-message requirement is to invigorate our discussions by encouraging those who speak less to participate more.
Registrations for the 2025 exam will open on the 4 Delcamp forums starting in January 2025. On this occasion, the number and quality of your messages will be checked upon validation of your registration. If moderators deem it necessary, they may ask you to post additional messages if they feel your current messages lack substance. Above all, do not have your messages written by an AI service: forum moderators can identify them, which would invalidate your registration.
Publication of your YouTube video recordings: Candidates must publish their videos of the required piece within a 72-hour window, between April 25, 2025, 0:00 GMT and April 27, 2025, 24:00 GMT.
Candidates must ensure that their videos continuously show the entire vibrating length of their guitar strings (from nut to bridge). Candidates’ faces can be visible, masked, blurred, or obscured. If framing permanently or temporarily conceals part of the vibrating string length, the video will be invalidated. YouTube videos submitted for the exam must be public and viewable by all. Private or unlisted videos will be rejected. Only recordings made from the indicated editions are accepted. Transposed versions or recordings from other editions will be invalidated. The fingerings are your choice.
Between April 25th and 27th, each candidate must post on the exam forum a message containing the link to their YouTube video URL preceded by this statement: “Hello everyone, here is my video recording showing the full vibrating length of the strings of my guitar. My recording is done without any editing or manipulation.“
2025 Required Pieces:
– D01 Dionisio Aguado: Valse in G major
– D03 José Ferrer Y Esteve: Ejercicio n°9
– D05 Agustín Barrios Mangoré: El Sueño de la Muñequita
– D07 Francisco Tárrega: Paquito
– D09 Manuel María Ponce: Valse
– D11 Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata K. 146.
The results of this exam will be published on May 15, 2025, on the various Delcamp forums. The jury president for this exam is Jean-François Delcamp. Jury decisions are final.
Enjoy and make the most of this exam to improve your skills. Candidates can submit their preparatory recordings, whether audio (SoundCloud) or video (YouTube), on any of the 4 Delcamp forums as they progress, to benefit from mutual assistance, constructive advice, and feedback from forum members.
Jean-François Delcamp