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This article is about the Contemporary classical guitar technique. For the baroque guitar technique see Baroque guitar and for the romantique guitar technique see Romantic guitar

The classical guitar technique is a fingerstyle technique used by classical guitarists to play classical guitar music.

Contents 1 General 2 Posture 2.1 Accessories 2.2 Elevated fingerboard 2.3 High frets 3 Right hand technique 3.1 Nails 3.2 Rasgueado 3.3 External links 4 Left hand technique 4.1 Left hand positions 4.2 Slurs 4.3 Fretboard Knowledge 4.4 External links 5 Studies 6 Classical guitar playing Injuries 6.1 External links 7 See also 8 Bibliography 9 External links

[edit] General

Classical guitar technique can be organised broadly into subsections for the right hand, the left hand, and miscellaneous. The hands should be reversed for left-handed players.

[edit] Posture

The classical guitar is generally held on the left leg which is supported by a foot stool or the guitar is raised by some other device to bring it to a position central to the player's body. Basic considerations in determining a chosen playing position include:

• the physical stability of the instrument
• ensuring the freedom of both hands such that they have thorough access to the instrument and can meet all technical demands without having to support the instrument
• elimination of general muscular tension in the assumed body position

[edit] Accessories

See main article Classical guitar accessories.

[edit] Elevated fingerboard

Some guitar makers like the French Antoine Pappalardo and the Canadian Fritz Mueller make Elevated fingerboard. The primary advantage is to improve left hand playability on the upper frets, although the increased distance between the strings and the top is also advantageous for the right hand. The elevated fingerboard is visually unobtrusive from the front, and the instrument retains its traditional appearance.

[edit] High frets

High frets facilitate vibrato and barreing, and generally aid in the development of a “lighter” left hand.

[edit] Right hand technique

The thumb and three largest fingers of the right hand pluck the strings. The normal position is for the hand to be shaped as if it were loosely holding an apple with the wrist slightly bent, the forearm resting on the upper large bout of the guitar, and the fingers near the strings. Plucking the strings usually involves making contact first with the fleshy part of the fingertip and then letting the string flick past the fingernail as the string is plucked. The two primary plucking techniques are:

• Rest-stroke (apoyando), in which the finger that plucks the string rests on the next string afterwards; and
• Free-stroke (tirando), in which the finger hits nothing after plucking the string.

Rest-stroke produces a more "deliberate" sound and is good for bringing the melody out in music where the harmony competes for attention. Free-stroke sounds "lighter" and makes it possible to play fast passages more easily.

One of the tenets of right hand technique in scale passages is alternation. That is, no right hand finger should be used to play two notes in a row (excluding the thumb, which is often called upon to play a sequence of bass notes). Typically, for scale-like passages the index and middle fingers alternate. When an arpeggiated harmony is being played with the thumb (p), index (i) and middle (m) fingers, the ring finger (a) plays the melody. In the tremolo technique (which has nothing to do with the "tremolo bar" on electric guitars) the thumb plays a bass note followed by the fingers which play the same treble note three times: pami, pami, pami etc (Recuerdos de la Alhambra by Francisco Tárrega is a famous example of this technique).

The position of the right hand can be used to influence the tone of the sound produced by a classical guitar. The wealth of sonic possibilities enables performers to add contrast and color to their performances well beyond the simple volume changes available to, say, pianists. If the strings are plucked close to the bridge (this position is called ponticelli) the notes sound "twangy". At the other end (when the strings are plucked closer to the neck of the guitar) the tone becomes "sweet" - this is called dolce. The angle at which the fingers hit the strings can also affect the sound.

The term pizzicato simply refers to plucking the strings in music for bowed instruments. In classical guitar however, it refers to placing the side of the hand below the little finger across all of the strings very close to the bridge and then plucking the strings with the fingers. This produces a muted sound and is referred to as palm-muting in electric guitar parlance. Tambor is the technique where many or all of the strings are played at once by hitting them (usually near the bridge) with the side of the (outstretched) thumb. Both tambor and pizzicato can be heard in Aconquija by Barrios.

The right hand fingers are used to stop notes from ringing past their duration as indicated by the music. This is more often an issue with open string bass notes which tend to ring on for some time. To stop the notes the right hand thumb (usually) rests on the ringing string to stop it. This can pose a significant challenge to the guitarist as he or she needs to attend to each bass note twice, once to start it and once to stop it. The same technique can be used to create a staccato effect.

Trills are usually played on one string using various combinations of left hand slurs, also known as legados or hammer-on and pull-offs. Cross-string trills utilising two or three strings are also possible. In this case the trill usually takes the form of low-high-low and can be executed thus: The left hand stops, say the D# on the fourth fret of the second string, the right hand middle finger plays that note then the index finger "strums" the first and second strings producing: D#-E-D#. The difference between a cross-string trill and an ordinary trill is that the cross-string trill allows both notes to sound against each other. This technique is often used in Baroque music although it is debatable as to whether it was the most common practice of the period.

There are various strumming techniques (need edit here).

[edit] Nails

Nowadays most classical guitarists play using the nails of the right hand to set the string in motion. During the 19th century, guitarists like Fernando Sor, Francisco Tárrega and also his pupil Emilio Pujol played using the flesh of the fingertip, like the lute technique.

[edit] Rasgueado

See main article Rasgueado

A rasgueado or rasgueo is a technical strum in flamenco and classical guitar that uses the back of the fingernails in sequence to give the impression of a very rapid strum. There are several types of rasgueado employing a different number of fingers.

[edit] External links

• "Rest Stroke and Free Stroke Revisited" by Ricardo Iznaola, in PDF or HTML

[edit] Left hand technique

The fingers of the left hand press on the strings to shorten their effective length and change the pitch of the notes that the right hand plays. In musical notation the fingers are referred to as 1-4 from index to little fingers, with 0 indicating an open string. The basic position for the left hand is much the same as that of the right, except upside down. Unlike many players of steel-string and electric guitars, which have narrower neck and fingerboards, the classical guitarist does not place her or his left hand thumb over the top of the neck, instead placing it directly behind the neck, usually opposite the second finger.

To play a note cleanly the fingertips of the left hand should be pressed against the string just behind (to the headstock side of) the appropriate fretwire. Oftentimes the left hand fingers are all required at once and many (sometimes awkward) hand positions are necessary. Chords requiring all six strings usually employ the barre technique. The guitarist places the first finger across all of the strings at a particular fret and uses the remaining three fingers to play other notes.

Slurs, trills and other ornaments are played entirely with the left hand. In the simple case of an ascending slur a note might be played with the left hand first finger stopping a string at the fifth fret for example. Then, without the right hand doing anything, the second finger is pressed at the sixth fret of the same string, raising the tone of the still-ringing note by a semitone. A descending slur is simply the opposite of the above, although it is common for the higher note finger to pluck the string. If this is repeated a few times the result is a trill. Because the note is being plucked repeatedly it is possible to continue a trill indefinitely. Often the upper note in such a trill is played by alternating fingers thus: 2-1-3-1-2-1-3-1...

Vibrato is possible with a classical guitar by pushing the left hand finger back and forth along the string axis (not across it as for a "bend" in rock or blues music) producing a subtle variation in pitch, both sharper and flatter than the starting note, without noticeably altering the fundamental tonal focus of the note being played. When vibrato is required at the first or second fret it is sometimes beneficial to push the string across its axis as it produces a more noticeable vibrato sound there. This second method will only vary the pitch by raising it sharper than the starting note and is the most common method of vibrato used by steel string and electric guitar players.

When playing notes on the treble strings above the twelfth fret (where the shoulders of the guitar meet the neck) the left shoulder is dropped down a little and the thumb is placed on the underside of the fingerboard to the left of the other fingers. For example if the middle finger is playing an F# at the fourteenth fret of the first string the thumb would be pressing upwards somewhere near the eleventh fret.

Miscellaneous

Harmonics can be played by resting a left hand finger on a string, without pressing it down, and then playing the note with the right hand. The positions of both the left and right hand are very important here. The left hand must be placed on a node of the desired harmonic. The simplest example would be when the left hand finger divides the string in two and is placed at the twelfth fret. The note then played would be one octave higher than the open string. If the string is divided in three (left hand finger near the seventh fret) the note played is one octave and one fifth above the open string. In this case the player must be careful not to pluck the string at the other node (near the soundhole) otherwise the harmonic will not sound. This can be easily demonstrated by resting a left hand finger on the fifth fret and trying to play the note by plucking the string at the twelfth fret with the right hand - no note will be produced. Ideally the right hand should pluck the string at an antinode.

So-called artificial harmonics can be played by stopping the string as usual with the left hand then resting (not pressing) the index finger of the right hand on the string twelve frets above the left hand finger and plucking the string with the ring finger or thumb of the right hand.

[edit] Left hand positions

Like other classical stringed instruments, classical guitar playing uses formal positions of the left hand. The 'nth position' means that the hand is anchored with the first finger at the nth fret. Compositions may explicitly notate where to change position. Players try to stay in each position for long periods of time, then using the ith finger to play notes on the n+i-1th fret.

[edit] Slurs

Slurs can be played ascending (Hammer-on) or descending (Pull-off). For the ascending slur, the finger making the slur should come straight down on the fretboard from a short distance using speed to cause the next note to sound. For the descending slur, the upper finger should pluck the string, moving towards the next higher string and the fretboard, causing the string to vibrate from the fret that the lower finger is depressing.

[edit] Fretboard Knowledge

• EDCAGE

[edit] External links

• Left-Hand Trouble Shooting by Peter Kun Frary, Professor of Music • University of Hawaii, Leeward.

• The Classical Guitar Express Free newsletter on practicing Classical Guitar by Tom Prisloe

[edit] Studies

There are many exercises that can be used to develop right and left hand technique on the classical guitar.

• Leo Brouwer
  • Etudes Simples - Volumes 1-4
• Matteo Carcassi
  • 25 Etudes Opus 60
• Mauro Giuliani
  • Etudes Instructives Faciles Et Agreables, Opus 100
  • Xviii Lecons Progressives, Opus 51 (18 Progressive Lessons)
  • Studio Per La Chitarra, Opus 1 (The Study Of The Guitar)
  • Studi Dilettevoli, Opus 98 (Entertaining Studies)
  • Esercizio Per La Chitarra, Opus 48 (Training for the Guitar) 24 Studies
  • Primi Lezioni Progressive, Opus 139 (First Progressive Lessons)
  • 120 Studies for Right Hand Development
• Fernando Sor
  • 12 Studies, Opus 6
  • Douze Etudes, Opus 29
  • Vingt Quatre Leçons, Opus 31
  • Vingt Quatre Exercises, Opus 35
  • Introduction a l' Etude de la Guitare, Opus 60
  • 20 Studies for Guitar, (a compilation by Andres Segovia)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos
  • Douze Etudes (1929)

[edit] Classical guitar playing Injuries

[edit] External links

• The Humane Guitarist Site dedicated to the technique and health of the classical guitarist.
• Musicians and Injuries

[edit] See also

• Classical guitar pedagogy

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] External links

• EGTA Guitar Forum
  • In particular: Extra Articles
    • Some Thoughts on Posture and Holding the Guitar - Graham Wade
    • The Perfect Technique? - Dominique Royle & Nicola Culf (a look at health issues relating to posture and technique)
    • The a Finger - Taking a Closer Look - Stephen Kenyon
    • Studies and Exercises for the Guitar: music and terminology - Brian Jeffery
    • Rest Stroke and Free Stroke Revisited - Ricardo Iznaola
    • Aspects of Technique - Gordon Crosskey
    • Aspects of Technique: the Exercises - Gordon Crosskey
• Classical Guitar Technique:A Selected Bibliography - Peter Kun Frary, Professor of Music, University of Hawaii, Leeward
• Damping Part 1 - Martha Masters (a good introduction to right hand damping)

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