Segovia said that he began playing the guitar at the age of six.Angelo Gilardino, who has worked at the Fundación Andrés Segovia in Spain, noted: "Though it is not yet completely documented, it seems clear that, since his tender childhood, he [Segovia] learnt playing as a flamenco guitarist. In fact, the first guitar he owned had formerly been played by Paco de Lucena, the greatest flamenco guitarist of the epoque, who died when Segovia was five years old. Since then, Segovia was given some instruction by Agustinillo, an amateur flamenco player who was a fan of Paco de Lucena."
Nevertheless, Segovia did not really play flamenco; instead he preferred expressive art-music such as that by Torroba, or others - he has said that he "..rescued [the guitar] from the hands of flamenco gypsies", reviving interest in the instrument, as an expressive medium for the performance of classical art-music.
As a teenager, Segovia moved to the town of Granada, where he studied the guitar and soaked up the other-worldly atmosphere of the Palace at Alhambra, a Moorish relic overlooking the town which he regarded as his spiritual awakening.
