Introductionto the

HECTOR QUINE

INTRODUCTION to the GUITAR

by Hector Quine

Professor of Guitar at the Royal Academy of Music,Guildhall.School of Music, and Trinity College of Music, London.

PREFACE

'Introduction to the Guitar' does not claim to show you aneasy way to learning the guitar. There is no such way. It is anattempt to set down in print what is often considered to beunteachable except through personal lessons: i.e. technique.

Whilst the chief objective has been to provide a technicalguide for the aspiring guitarist who wishes, or who is compelled,to teach himself, the book may also be useful as a textbook forthe teacher who likes to work to a definite plan.

No attempt is made to teach the rudiments of music,although of course these must be learned as soon as possible.Numerous textbooks on this subject are readily obtainable, andthe beginner is advised to study one of these simultaneouslywith his practising of the guitar.

'Introduction to the Guitar' is intended to cover approximately the first year of study, although some beginners willinevitably make more rapid progress than others. No particular'Method' has been followed, a logical analysis of modern practice in guitar-playing being the only guiding principle.

No apology is offered for the quantity of detailed discussionon what may seem to the beginner to be trivial matters. Everyexperienced guitarist knows that it is only by careful attentionto this kind of detail that a true mastery of the guitar, whichshould be every aspiring guitarist's aim, is to be attained.

Oxford University PressMusic Department'44 Conduit Street London W1R ODE

© Oxford University Press 1971 Printed in Great Brrta-

The illustrations were drawn by Thomas B. Pitfield.

CONTENTS

1. Tuning the guitar

2. Explanation of signs and symbols

3. Nails and fingertips

4. Left-hand nails

5. Practising methods

6. Sitting position and grip of the guitar

7. Right-hand position

8. Right-hand finger movements

9. Single notes on one open string

10. Crossing the strings

11. Single notes with the thumb

12. Thumb in conjunction with fingers

13. Arpeggio playing

14. Left-hand position

15. Left-hand finger positioning

16. Crossing the fingerboard

17. Arpeggio exercises (first set)

18. Finger-independence exercise

19. Playing from memory

20. Arpeggio exercises (second set)21. Scale of C major

22. Exercises for m and a fingers

23. Arpeggio exercises (last set)

24. Position-changing

25. Two-octave scale

26. Transposition using the same fingering

27. Study for thumb and index finger

28. Right-hand free strokes

29. Application of apoyando and free strokes30. Memorizing studies and pieces

31. Left-hand positioning for chords

32. Position-changing technique in chord playing

33. The barre

34. The half-barre'

35. Study No. 2, Op. 60, by Carcassi

36. Economy of movement in the left hand

37. Harmonic minor scale

38. Study No. 3, Op. 60, by Carcassi

39. Arpeggio exercises with accents

40. Slurs (descending)

41. Study No. 4, Op. 60, by Carcassi

42. G major scale

43. Tremolo

44. Study No. 7, Op. 60, by Carcassi

45. Slurs (ascending)

46. Melodic minor scale

47. Chord playing - right-hand technique

48. F major scale

49. Slurs (combined)

50. Study No. 10, Op. 60, by Carcassi

51. Five- and six-note chords

52. Recommendations for further study

1. TUNING THE GUITAR

Few problems cause the beginner more difficulty than theaccurate tuning of the guitar. Some time and trouble should bespent over this, as it will also help to lay the foundations of atraining in attentive listening. Not many people are born with

Ex. 1

D

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an acute aural sense, but all can acquire it by perseverance andconcentration. It is an absolute necessity for any musician, andparticularly for the player of a stringed instrument.

The 'open' strings of the guitar are tuned as follows:

B

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E

but, as guitar music is always written an octave higher than it sounds, the treble staff only is used,and the open string notes therefore appear thus:

D

Ex.2

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The guitar must always be tuned to the correct 'pitch', asthe tension of the strings depends on this. For example, shouldthe pitch of the instrument be too high, the strings will be verytaut and difficult to press and strike. Furthermore, considerabledamage may be done to the guitar itself. On the other hand, ifthe pitch is too low, the strings will be too slack, and it will beimpossible to obtain clear notes. Playing on a guitar which hasbeen carefully tuned will help to accustom the player to thesound of the correct pitch.

Only one of the strings needs to be tuned from someexternal source, and the other five can then be tuned from this

Ex.5

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II III IV

Having tuned the top (E) string, now tune the 2nd (E) stringuntil it produces the same note (E) when stopped at the 5thfret, as the top open string.

Next, tune the 3rd (G) string similarly, but stopping it atthe 4th fret to produce the same note (B) as the open 2ndstring.

B

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one. Most players prefer to tune the top string:Ex.3

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from a pitch-pipe, a tuning fork, or from a piano.Tuning forks are usually made to sound either A or C:

Ex.4 rA

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so that the top string of the guitar needs to be 'stopped' ateither the 5th or the 8th fret to obtain these notes.

The diagram below will show their positions on the fingerbos^^.

.TUNING.

FORKS

vi vii vru ix xi xn

Continue, string by string, (now always stopping at the 5tnfret) until all the strings are in tune. Finally, check to see thatthe top and bottom strings sound exactly two octaves apart, aserrors can easily accumulate.

These instructions should be easily understood if read inconjunction with the above diagram.

2. EXPLANATION of SIGNS and SYMBOLS used in GUITAR

MUSIC

Four sets of symbols are used in guitar music to indicate tothe player how the notes are to be played. They are as follows:

RIGHT HAND

p - Thumb (French: pouce)i — Index fingerm — Middle finger5 — Ring finger (French: annulaire)

STRINGS

(T) —E(highest sounding string)

©-B(3)-G

©-D©-A(If)— E(lowest sounding string)

LEFT HAND

0 — Open string1 — Index finger2 — Middle finger3 — Ring finger4 — Little finger

POSITIONS

I. II, III, IV, V, VI etc.(see notes below)

The Roman figures indicating the positions in fact show thefret where the first finger of the left hand is to be placed. Itfrequently happens that the first finger is not being used at all,but the position number still shows where that finger would beplaced.

The letter 'C' (or sometimes 'B') in front of the Romanfigure indicates that the index finger stops all the strings at thatfret. (See para. 33: The Barre').

3. NAILS and FINGERTIPS

Nowadays, it is considered essential to cultivate a 'nail only'technique for the right hand in order to develop power, speed,clarity, and purity of tone. This is not to say that it is impossible to play with the flesh of the finger, but only that nailtone is very much to be preferred. A player who, for onereason or another, cannot, or does not wish to grow his nailsto the required length, can nevertheless acquire a good technique,although his tone will inevitably be less good than that of thenail player.

All the instructions in this book are intended for playingwith the nails, but the broad principles apply equally to theflesh player.

Length and shape of nails: When viewed from the palm sideof the hand, the nails of the index, middle and ring fingersshould project about 1/16th of an inch beyond the fingertip(n.b. the little finger is never used.) The shape of the nailshould follow the curve of the fingertip, with no corners orprojections. The thumb nail may be slightly shorter, but shouldalso follow the contour of the thumb in shape.

The finishing of the nail edge is important, as a rough edgewill invariably produce a scratchy tone. The use of fine sandpaper boards or a fine 'India' stone is recommended inpreference to a metal file.

4. LEFT-HAND NAILS

It is essential that the nails of the left hand be kept short,but it must be remembered that the fingertips are to a certainextent supported by the nails, so they must not be cut back soshort that the tip of the finger can bend back over them.

5. PRACTISING METHODS

The art of practising correctly is one of the most misunderstood aspects of learning to play an instrument. This remarkapplies to most aspiring musicians, but particularly to guitarists.The reason for this situation is not hard to see. The guitarmakes a relatively pleasant sound no matter how it is played,and there is therefore a strong temptation for the beginner toselect pieces which he has heard (and which are often farbeyond his capabilities) and to pick his way laboriously throughthem over and over again. He will inevitably stumble frequentlyat a difficult place, hesitate, repeat the fault, and then go on. Itis hardly surprising that his technique and his performance ofany given piece show little improvement, even over a considerable period of time, as his 'practice' consists largely of actuallyperfecting his ability to make mistakes.

It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the only logicalway to practise is to work to a pre-arranged plan, and to followthis plan strictly and systematically.

Many readers of this book will be amateurs with limitedtime available for practising, and for them a methodicalapproach is vital, as every minute spent with the guitar must beproductive if the learning process is not to be drawn out interminably, and enthusiasm allowed to wane.

Broadly speaking, there are two ways of practising, and bothare necessary at different stages of learning an exercise, studyor piece.

The first method is the slow, rhythmic approach to specificdifficulties whereby, the nature of the problem having firstbeen analysed and understood, the difficult passage (it may beonly a single bar or less) is played repeatedly at about halfspeed, and with meticulous attention to rhythm. If there is stillsome hesitation or stumbling of the fingers, the speed should bereduced still further until the passage can be played with absolutecontinuity. When this has been achieved the speed may again beincreased by degrees over a period of several days.

The second stage in practising should not be attempted untilall the individual faults have been eliminated by the above process. This stage consists of putting all the fragments which havebeen practised in detail back into their context. This is doneby playing the whole scale, study etc. up to speed and continuously from the beginning to the end, with no stops orhesitations, even when a mistake is made. This, too, must bedone many times, but always in perfect rhythm.

A surprising degree of technical facility can be acquired withan average daily practice of only an hour or so. How this hourshould be spent will depend on the stage of developmentreached, so the practising schedule will need to be modifiedfrom time to time.

6. SITTING POSITION and GRIP of the GUITAR

A chair without arms and of normal height should be used,and a footstool for the left foot. It is impossible to specify theheight of the footstool, as this must depend on the player'sphysique and, of course, the height of the chair. As a guide, itis useful to remember that the left thigh should slope slightlyupwards towards the knee, and the right thigh should beparallel to the floor.

One should sit squarely, and as far forward on the chair aspossible. The back must be straight, but the whole trunk maylean forward slightly from the waist. A comfortable posture isof the utmost importance, and unnecessary tension in any partof the body must be avoided. The calves of both legs should beperpendicular to the floor from every viewpoint, and the feetshould rest firmly with both heel and toe on the floor (rightfoot), and footstool (left foot).

(FIG. 1)The lower bout of the guitar is gripped by the thighs, with

pressure being mainly exerted by the left leg/which pushes theguitar against the right leg. This slight pressure causes the guitarto rise, and should be counterbalanced by the weight of theright arm resting on the guitar's top edge. The exact positionof the right arm is important, and will be described later.

It is very important for the guitar to be held upright, and afourth point of support (the chest, resting lightly against theupper edge of the guitar) will help to maintain this position.

The pressure on the guitar at the three main points ofsupport should be as light as possible; in fact the right armshould not really press at all, but merely rest its weight on thetop of the instrument. If the guitar is correctly held accordingto these principles, there should be no need to grip the neckwith the left hand in order to support it. The right hand shouldlikewise be completely relaxed, and simply 'hanging' from theresting point.

The exact position for the right elbow to rest on the guitar'sedge can be found by a simple experiment. If one imagines thewhole arm to be a dead weight (i.e. completely relaxed) then apoint can be found where the forearm and upper arm exactlybalance eath other.

(FIG.2)

This point will be found to be just in front of the elbowjoint, at a small indentation in the bone of the forearm. On noaccount should the muscles of the forearm press on the edge cithe guitar. A common fault is to allow the right shoulder to'hunch', causing tension in the arm, and care should be take-to see that the upper arm is fully extended, so avoiding thistension.

7. RIGHT-HAND POSITION

The underlying principle which governs the right hand'sposition aims at using the most natural movements of the wristjoint so that maximum comfort and relaxation of all themuscles which are not directly involved in playing may beachieved.

The beginner should make a habit of putting the right nanain position in three simple stages every time he sits down topractise and, on beginning each new exercise, this positionshould be checked.

First stage:Hand straight and in line with forearm, with the palmfacing the floor. (FIG. 3A)

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Second stage:Hand drops forward from the wrist so that the palm is nowfacing towards the elbow. It is particularly important thatthe wrist should not turn sideways. (FIG. 3B)

Third stage:Without in any way altering the wrist, the forearm is nowmoved outwards away from the guitar to a distance of aboutVh to 2 inches from its position in second stage. (FIG. 3C)

1Now check the position as follows:

1 The inside of the forearm and the thumb should be atalmost a right angle to each other.

2 The distance from the inside of the wrist to the soundboard of the guitar should be approximately equal to thewidth of the left hand at the knuckles.

3 The palm of the hand should be facing towards the elbow,not towards the guitar.

4 The entire hand, wrist and forearm should be completelyrelaxed, and should feel that they are entirely suspendedfrom the resting point on the edge of the guitar.

It is of the utmost importance that, if the nails are to beused, then the nail and only the nail should strike the string. Acombined flesh and nail technique gives the worst of both, andthe best of neither.

The direction in which the finger moves in striking followsthe line of the hand and arm or, to put it another way, thefinger moves inwards towards the palm of the hand. No attemptshould be made to play at a right angle to the strings. Thiswould be very difficult physically, as well as producing a poortone.

In regard to the length of the stroke, it must be clearlyunderstood that the strings of the guitar are struck and notplucked, and the finger will therefore begin its stroke about 14inch from the string, striking, following through, and thencoming to rest on the next string. This action of resting on thenext lowest string is known as 'apoyando' or 'supported stroke',and it forms the basis of all modern right-hand technique. It isalso important for the finger to strike the string inwards (i.e.towards the soundboard of the guitar) rather than merely deflecting it in a line parallel to the strings. A finger must neverbegin its stroke by resting on a string which is about to bestruck, as this would in fact cause a plucking action. Finally,it must be constantly borne in mind that the fingers shouldalways strike very firmly in order to develop muscular strength.

8. RIGHT-HAND FINGER MOVEMENTS

Fingers should always move almost entirely from their mainjoints, (i.e. with the tip and middle joints remaining slightlybent but relaxed) and with a hummer-like motion.

It will be noticed that, with the hand held in the positiondescribed above, the string will be struck with that part of thefinger which is nearest to the thumb, and not with the fingerzip. This is correct, and is vital to good tone production. (FIG. 4)

Ex.6

Count: 1 2

i m

9. SINGLE NOTES ON ONE OPEN STRING

The following exercise should now be learned and practised,using the index (/") and middle (m) fingers of the right hand onthe top (E) string, and playing apoyando strokes.

A balanced movement of the fingers is essential. This is bestillustrated by thinking of the action of the feet in walking, withthe lower (B) string representing the ground. When one fingeris descending the other is ascending, and they pass each otherat about the middle of their stroke. It is always better to leavea finger on the lower string a little too long, rather than to letit bounce off too quickly.

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Try to make the sound as legato as possible, and practise the exercise until tone and volume ofthe two fingers is exactly matched. Also, be sure to count carefully, giving each note its full value.

10. CROSSING THE STRINGS

It will be apparent that to maintain the hand in the sameposition for every string would be impossible, unless one bentup the fingers and abandoned the apoyando stroke. Some alteration of the position of the forearm is therefore necessary.The movement is very simple; the arm, pivoting from its restingpoint, travels in a curve across the strings, but without anychange occurring in the relative positions of the wrist, hand orfingers. (FIG. 5)

This movement is usually a little more difficult to executewhen travelling from bass to treble than from treble to bass.Practising in front of a mirror will be found to be an invaluableaid to correct training.

The following exercise is designed to give practice in crossingthe strings and more playing with / and m fingers inapoyando.

Ex.7

Count: 1 2

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2

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Note the order in which the fingers play in the following variation. In common with all exercises, these should be practised many times, with careful attention to the sound produced, and torhythmic accuracy.Ex.8

Count: 1 2

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The fingers do not play on the 6th string at this stage, as apoyando strokes are impossible on this string.

11. SINGLE NOTES WITH THE THUMB

The thumb is always held straight, and moves (like thefingers) from the main joint. It must be extended outwardsaway from the hand, and strike on that side of the nail whichis farthest from the fingers. The thumb should never play anapoyando stroke. *

Assuming that the thumb is to strike the bottom string (E),it begins its stroke held almost at a right angle to the hand(FIG. 6), then moves straight down (as though the fist werebeing clenched) and without bending from the tip joint, andcomes to rest against the first joint of the index finger.The commonest faults are to allow the thumb to moveoutwards away from the strings, or to propel it by a downwardmovement of the hand.

There are a few exceptions to this rule, but they occur only inadvanced pieces.

Ex.9

Count: 1 2 3 123 123 123 123

m iFf 5

12. THUMB IN CONJUNCTION WITH FINGERS

The actions of the thumb and fingers have been describedseparately, and all that remains now is to combine them. Thebasic problem is to keep them out of each other's way, particularly when they are striking adjacent strings. This is done by

Ex. 10

using a 'balanced' movement, something like that described inpara 9. That is to say, when the thumb is striking and movingdown towards the hand, the finger should be moving backwards preparatory to striking, and vice versa. Practise now thefollowing exercise, watching carefully for this balancedmovement.

Count: 1 + 2 + i + 2 + etc.p i p I p i p i p i p i p i p i p i p i p i p i

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13. ARPEGGIO PLAYING

Thereare of course many different combinationsof fingers,thumb and strings in arpeggio playing on the guitar, but for themoment it will be assumed that the thumb plays only the threebass (wire-covered) strings,whilst the fingers play one each ofthe three treble (plain nylon) strings, as follows:

Ex. 11

Count: 1 + 2 + 3 +p m^ m

14. LEFT-HAND POSITION

Two cardinal points must be constantly kept in mind withregard to the position of the left hand:

1 The hand plays no part in supporting the guitar, or maintaining its position.

2 The thumb is the base from which the hand and fingerswork, and should be positioned in the ce7?fre of the hand,and not opposite the index finger.

It is necessary to go into some detail concerning point (2),as unless this point is clearly understood and put into practice,many faults can easily develop.

If one imagines a line running lengthwise down the middleof the neck of the guitar, the normal place for the thumb iswith its tip just meeting this line.(FIG.7)

There are a few occasions when the thumb comes above

this line, but these may be disregarded for the present. The tipjoint of the thumb must not bend, but remain perfectlystraight, and only the ball should press against the guitar neck.Seen from immediately behind, the thumb is placed at a rightangle to the edge of the neck. (FIG. 7)

Ring finger (a) strikes String Mj

Middle finger (777) strikes String (2)

Index finger (/') strikes String (3)

Practise now the following exercise, slowly and evenly,using apoyando strokes with the fingers, and 'free' strokes withthe thumb. Do not forget the 'balanced' movement mentior.ecin paras. 9 and 12, which applies equally whether one, two orthree fingers are being used.

In playing single notes (which is the only aspect of left-handtechnique being discussed at the moment) the back of the handshould be kept parallel to the edge of the fingerboard.(FIG. 8)

This position can be a formidable stumbling block for manybeginners, and much perseverance may be needed to train thehand. Constant checking and correction will be necessary andhere again a mirror will be found to be a valuable aid.

The little finger is obviously much shorter than the otherfingers, and it is therefore only by adopting a correct positionthat this difference in finger length can be accommodated.

All the left-hand fingers must be kept bent the whole timeat both joints so that the fingers will press only with their tips,thus developing maximum strength with the minimum of effortwith a hammer-like action.

(FIG. 9)There will be a strong tendency in the beginning to apply

pressure to the strings by pulling with the arm, instead of'squeezing' the guitar neck between thumb and fingers. Thistendency can be overcome to a certain extent by (1) placingthe thumb in the centre of the hand (see rule 2 above), and(2) by making sure that the thumb is in the lower half of theneck. Pushing the wrist slightly forward, particularly whenstopping the lower strings, also helps to position the handcorrectly.

15. LEFT-HAND FINGER POSITIONING

The only correct place for the left-hand finger is immediately behind the fret. If the finger is placed a little way backfrom, or slightly overlapping a fret, buzzes and muffled notesare frequently produced, as a simple experiment will show. Itis therefore imperative that the habit of accurate finger placingbe cultivated from the beginning. (FIG. 8)

There may be some initial difficulty in separating the twomiddle fingers from each other, but by gently forcing themapart (by their own effort, not with the other hand) this problem is usually overcome fairly soon.

For the present purpose, it must be assumed that the fourfingers will always stop four consecutive frets, e.g.: 1st fingerat fret V, 2nd finger at fret VI, 3rd finger at fret VI I, and 4thfinger at fret VIII.

16. CROSSING THE FINGERBOARD

As with the right hand (para. 10) so the left hand must employ some means of crossing the fingerboard from the topstring to the bottom and back, which leaves the basic movement of the fingers unchanged. In the case of the left hand, thethumb acts as the pivot, remaining on the back of the guitarneck in the same place the whole time. The adjustment of thehand position itself is effected by pushing the wrist forwardand withdrawing it. (FIGS. 10A & 10B)

Ex. 12

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It is most important that each finger should continue topress the string down until after the next finger has pressed. Inother words, a somewhat 'heavy-footed' walking motion of thefingers is needed in order to make the sound legato. Prematurelifting of the fingers results in notes being cut off, and causes ajerky, staccato progression.

When this exercise has been practised for several days withthe left hand alone, the right hand should be combined with it,using the formula shown in Ex. 7. This exercise (using bothhands) must be practised very slowly and with great care; constant attention being paid to the positions and movements ofhands and fingers. A good plan is to play the exercise, say sixtimes, concentrating the attention on the right hand for thefirst, third and fifth times, and on the left hand for the second,

Ex. 13

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Notice that the wrist is practically flat when the fingers areplaying on the top string, and at almost a right anglefor thebottom string. The strings in between need positions of thewrist which vary in degree between these extremes.

Trying to bear all these rules in mind, practise now thefollowing exercise at the Vth position, using the left hand only.No sound will of course be produced.

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fourth and sixth times.

When the above has been thoroughly mastered, the exercisecan be extended to include all other combinations of left-hand

fingers. The chief purpose of this exercise is to develop fingerindependence and, from a purely technical point of view, it isonly necessary to know the finger-sequence as follows:

(2) using 1st and 3rd fingers(3) using 1st and 4th fingers(4) using 2nd and 3rd fingers(5) using 2nd and 4th fingers(6) using 3rd and 4th fingers

but, for the sake of completeness, here is the notation.

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17. ARPEGGIO EXERCISES (FIRST SET)

Paras. 12 and 13 should be re-read before these exercises are attempted.

Ex. 14

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It should be remembered that the exercises given in thisbook are intended to be treated as an accumulating series (seepara. 5), and therefore all the previous exercises as well as thecurrent one should be practised every day. This habit of building up a 'repertoire' will become even more important whenstudies and pieces are to be learned later. The writer has knownmany guitarists whose 'repertoire' consisted of one piece —thecurrent one! A further reason which applies specifically to theexercises is that they are so designed as frequently to relate toone another, as in the case of Nos. 7 and 12.

18. FINGER-INDEPENDENCE EXERCISE

Before practising the following exercise, read these instructions very carefully, as the exercise is valueless unless practisedcorrectly.

1 All fingers must be left down behind the finger which isstopping the note to be played: i.e. when 4th finger playsthe last note in bar 1, all four fingers must be pressingthe string. The same with the second note in bar 3. When4th finger returns to the string for the second note in bar4, the 3rd finger must return with it.

Ex. 15

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Exercise 14 above forms the first two parts of a six-partsequence of increasing difficulty, which are intended to bepractised as a continuous whole. The remaining parts will begiven later in the book.

SUMMARY

The daily practising session should now comprise thefollowing exercises:

Nos. 9 to 14 inclusive.

2 Keep the hand still, allowing only the fingers to lift anddescend with the minimum of movement. Fingers mustbe kept well spread out, and up to the frets.

3 Play slowly, very evenly in time, and make the notes aslegato as possible.

The right-hand formula will again be that used in Ex. 6.

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The above may be practised on all strings (except the bottom one), and later, when some facilitynas been gained, at all positions.

19. PLAYING FROM MEMORY

It will be a great aqvantage if all the exercises are memorizedas quickly as possible, as there will then be no need to look atthe book whilst practising, and the attention can be concentrated entirely on the general posture, hands and finger—ovements.

No attempt will be made in this book to teach sight reading.Tnere are sound technical reasons for this, and the subject isbest left until a certain mastery of basic technique is achieved.For the time being, every effort should be made to learn finger-patterns by any available short cut, so that correct technicalhabits are learned before other complications are introduced.To help the beginner to learn these patterns easily and quickly,a system of left-hand fingering will be used in exercises andscales which shows clearly, and in accordance with standard

20. ARPEGGIO EXERCISES (SECOND SET)

Ex. 17

guitar-music practice (seepara 2), the following three essentials:(1) the finger, (2) the string, and (3) the position on thefingerboard, e.g.:

V indicates that the 2nd finger must stop the(3) 2 3rd string at the 6th fret (see note on pos

itions in para 2), and the note producedwould be:

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21. SCALE OF C MAJOR

Scales are played using the same technique as in Ex. 15, butwith one important difference. Only those fingers which stopthe actual notes of the scale press the strings, whilst the otherfingers remain off the strings; i.e. the first two notes of thescale are stopped by fingers 1 and 3. The 2nd finger must notdescend on to the string with the 3rd, but should remain poisedabove it.

All the fingers which are not in use at any moment shouldbe kept poised about 1/2" above, and in line with the stringwhich is being stopped.(FIG.11)

The question of how long a finger should remain after thenote has sounded (in the ascending scale), is easily answered ifthe following rule is observed. All the fingers which havestopped a string should stay on that string until the first noteon the next string has sounded; i.e. fingers 1 and 3 remain on

string (3) until finger 1 is needed to stop string (2) . Likewise,fingers 1, 2 and 4 remain on string (2) until finger 1 is neededtostop string (T) .

Descending scales of course need different treatment, aseach finger must be lifted before the next note can sound, andit is mainly a matter of perfect coordination. Try to use the ascending part of the scale as a standard by which to judgewhether the descending part is legato and well timed.

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The scale of C major (one octave) is given here, first inguitar-symbol form (seepara. 19), and secondly in notation.Use right-hand fingers / and m alternately.

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22. EXERCISES FOR 77? AND a FINGERS

All the single-note exercises (Nos. 8, 12, 13, 15 & 18) shouldnow be practised using 777 and a fingers of the right hand in analternating sequence. This must be done in addition to and notinstead of the / and 777 pattern which has been used up to now.Make a point of varying the finger which begins the sequence;i.e. do not always play the first note of (say) the /' and 777 pattern with / but sometimes with 777. This gives practice in crossing the strings in different ways. It will be seen that, in the

example below, A is easier than B, owing to the natural positioning of the hand, but, for complete fluency and flexibilityof the right hand, both must be practised (in scale-playing)until they feel equally familiar.

23. ARPEGGIO EXERCISES (LAST SET)

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When the above exercise has been learned, it may be incorporated with Exs. 14 and 17, to complete the series, which should then be practised for continuity from one pattern to the next; i.e.without a break in the rhythm when changing to the next pattern. They must also be practised, ofcourse, for evenness in rhythm, tone and volume of the individual arpeggios.

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24. POSITION-CHANGING

Moving the hand from one position on the fingerboard toanother without gaps in the sound, glissandi, or interruptionsto the rhythmic flow, is one of the most exacting aspects ofleft-hand technique, but like all other technical problems, itcan be made very much easier by careful attention to one ortwo basic principles.

The first of these concerns the position of the thumb in relation to the fingers. It was stated in para. 14 that the thumbshould be placed in the centre of the four fingers. It is evenmore important for this rule to be observed when the hand ischanging position, as there is a strong tendency for the thumband fingers to get 'out of step' whilst the hand is moving. Theusual faults are for the thumb to drag on the back of the neck,thereby getting left behind when moving up the fingerboard,or attempting to 'lead' the hand when moving downwards. Themost apparent effect of these faults will be that the hand willchange its angle to the fingerboard, (FIG. 12)

Ex.20

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and the fingers will therefore neither remain in line with thestring, nor up to the frets.

In addition to the support which a correctly positionedthumb gives to the hand in moving, it is also necessary for afinger to act as a guide to the new fret. For the present, onlythe first (index) finger will be used for this purpose. This fingermust stay in contact with the string throughout the whole ofthe following exercise. Not too much pressure should be applied whilst the hand is moving, or a glissando sound will result —although even this is technically preferable to removingthe finger from the string altogether.

The only other finger (3rd) which is needed in this exercisesimply lifts off and returns to the string without any sidewaysmovement in relation to the other fingers. Care must be takento avoid a 'crab-like' movement; i.e. the spacing of the fingersmust remain constant throughout, except for a very slightadjustment to accommodate the different fret-spacings.

Guide the hand to the new position by looking at the fretto which the 1st finger is about to move. Look at this fretbefore the hand moves away from its previous position, and donot try to watch the hand itself in motion. A useful analogy isaiming a missile at a target. The eye always focuses on the target before the missile is fired. Watching the hand moving alongthe fingerboard would be like trying to watch the missile inflight.

The purpose of the exercise is to give practice in position-changing in general, but more specifically, from II position toV and back again. Any alternating right-hand finger-patternmay be used.

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25. TWO-OCTAVE SCALE

A further scale fingering, which forms the lower octave of atwo-octave scale, may now be practised, in the 11 position.Note that this scale begins at the /// fret with the 2nd finger;see para. 2 on the subject of positions.

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When the above pattern is combined with Exs. 18 and 20, a continuous two-octave scale is formed. This should be practised many times until it has been thoroughly memorized, and until it canbe played without any detectable gap in either rhythm or sound, or any glissando in the position-change. The following is the complete pattern:

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26. TRANSPOSITION USING THE SAME FINGERING

It will be apparent that any pattern like the one above,which does not use open strings, can be played in a number ofdifferent places on the fingerboard. The result of shifting thecomplete pattern up the fingerboard by one fret will be toraise the pitch of the scale so that it becomes a scale of C sharpmajor instead of C major. Likewise, a further shift of one fretmakes it into a scale of D. All the scales listed below can beplayed using this same fingering:

B major begins at position I, shifting to position IVC major (illustrated) „ II „ „ „ VC sharp major , III „ „ „ VID major , IV „ „ „ VIIE flat major V VIIIE major ,, „ „ VI „ „ „ IX

All these scales should now be practised, and their positionson the fingerboard carefully noted and memorized. This ismore easily done if the key-note of the scale is associated witha particular fret (e.g. E flat —V).

27. STUDY FOR THUMB AND INDEX FINGER

The following study, which is a simple practical application of the principles discussed in paras.11 and 12, should now be memorized and practised. As a preliminary, the above paras, may be reread, Ex. 10 revised, and Fig. 6 studied. Note that the left-hand fingering always follows the ruleof one finger to a fret (see para. 15) and, as the whole study is in the I position, the left-handfinger number will coincide with the fret number.

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28. RIG HT-HAND FREE STROKES

A new type of stroke has now to be learned. This is the'free' stroke, and is so called because the finger does not cometo rest on the lower string after playing, but by-passes it with aminimum clearance. The essential point which must be understood concerning this stroke is that, in all other respects, thefinger movement is exactly the same as for apoyando; i.e. thestring is struck inwards towards the body of the guitar, andmust never be plucked upwards. Avoiding the lower string isrelatively easy, and involves only a slight lifting of the tip jointof the finger after the note has been sounded.

All the arpeggio exercises (Nos. 11, 14, 17 & 19) may nowbe practised using free stroke, but should still be played fromtime to time with apoyando. The latter practice will help tomaintain a standard both for finger action and quality of toneand attack. The sound of a free stroke should match as closelyas possible that of apoyando.

Some difficulty is often encountered with the third (a)finger when free strokes are used. To help in overcoming this,a light apoyando stroke may be played with this finger for thetime being, but care must be taken to see that the volume isevenly balanced with the other fingers.

29. APPLICATION OF APOYANDO AND FREESTROKES

The mechanical effect of the apoyando stroke is to givegreater power in attack by making sure that the finger 'followsthrough' after the string has been struck. This follow-throughbrings the finger to rest on the lower string, and in so doingprevents that string from sounding. In playing a scale or anyother single-note passage this lower string damping does notmatter of course, but where two adjacent strings are to soundsimultaneously, (e.g. in chord-playing) the free stroke isessential.

Ex. 23 above provides an example of inadvertent dampingcaused by the use of apoyando. The stroke of the finger, whilstnot actually preventing the lower notes from sounding, cutsthem short in some instances, and interrupts the legato flow ofthe bass melody. The apoyando stroke is invaluable for playingmelodic passages and accented notes, but there is always the

problem of damping other strings to be considered.At this point, the use of apoyando becomes entirely a

matter of musical judgment. The following can be taken as ageneral guide to the occasions when apoyando may be used:

1 In scale-type passages which are unaccompanied.

2 Where a scale passage is accompanied only by a singlebass line which is not played on an adjacent string.

3 To bring out a melodic line on the top string where theaccompaniment is in arpeggio form.

4 When playing accented notes. (This needs to be dealtwith in the context of actual examples, which will begiven later.)

It will be deduced from the foregoing that a mixture ofapoyando and free, strokes is frequently needed. This is illustrated in a simple way in the study which follows. All apoyando strokes will, for the moment, be indicated by the sign: >placed above the note, but it must be emphasized that this isby no means a general rule in guitar music, and the player isusually left to judge for himself which notes to play withapoyando, and which with free stroke.

This exercise will allow the right-hand problems of playing'mixed' strokes to be studied before the left-hand tech-;c_e =dealt with in detail.

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fThe five repeated notes at the top of the arpe

treated as a melodic line in this study, and are tht _with apoyando, whilst the three notes which begin the arpeggioare all free strokes.

30. MEMORIZING STUDIES AND PIECES

Para. 19 referred briefly to the advantages of practising exercises from memory. It is even more important for studies andpieces to be memorized, as the techniques involved are generally more complex and need greater attention to detail. Itmust be remembered that the purpose of these studies is purelytechnical, and the means employed to learn the notes is therefore of very secondary importance at this stage. Do not be tooconcerned, then, if you do not know where the notes are on thefingerboard, but follow closely the fingering, string and position signs and, having located a chord, memorize its'finger-pattern'.

31. LEFT-HAND POSITIONING FOR CHORDS

In fingering chords the left hand does not always remainparallel to the edge of the fingerboard as in single-note playing(see para. 14.). In fact, there are numerous different positions

of the hand, and the measure of their correctness or otherwiseis simply whether the fingertips are up to the frets.

From (FIG. 13), it will be seen that the whole arm is free tomove through an arc of about 60°.pivoting on the ball of thethumb. Any position of the arm between these two extremescan be used, but for a practical example compare FIG. 14A,which shows the parallel position needed for the first chord ofthe following study, (Ex. 26) with FIG. 14B, where the arm isat an angle of approximately 45° for the second chord. Thearm should move freely through this arc in order to adjust fromone chord to another, with as little movement of the wrist aspossible.

32. POSITION-CHANGING TECHNIQUE IN CHORDPLAYING

Finger and hand movements must be coordinated in asystematic manner if sound technical habits are to be developed, and hesitations at the position changes avoided. Thefollowing rules, once learned, can be applied to every study orpiece which involves chord or arpeggio playing.

1 Remove all fingers from the previous chord, exceptingany which are to move along the same string to the nextchord: e.g. Fingers 1 and 2 in the first bar of the study.

2 Move the hand up or down the fingerboard to the nextchord position, keeping any remaining finger (or fingers)in contact with the string as a guide to the new position.(This is indicated on the music by a dotted line.) N.B.The rules contained in para. 24 concerning the thumb inposition-changing must be observed.

3 Simultaneously with (2) above, adjust the angle of thehand, as described in para. 31.

4 When the left hand reaches the new position, place thefingers in the order in which the strings are to be sounded.(i.e. from the bass note upwards in the case of this study.)

33. THE BARRE

It frequently happens that several notes in a chord are to befound at the same fret (on different strings of course), and tostop them with separate fingers is often inconvenient, or evenimpossible. It then becomes necessary to employ a techniqueknown as the 'barre'. This means that the index finger (veryrarely any other finger) is laid flat across the fingerboard, parallel to the fret, so that all the strings are stopped by it. (Thesign for the barre is given in para. 2, but in some older editionsof guitar music a square bracket: [ preceded by a figure 1 isused.)

Rather more pressure is obviously needed to stop six stringswith one finger than to stop only one, but clean, accuratebarre-playing is not entirely a matter of sheer strength; ratherit is a question of just the right amount of force being appliedin the most efficient way.

Three basic rules regarding the barre must be constantlyborne in mind:

1 The index finger must remain perfectly straight from themain joint to the tip. The strings can only be depressedcompletely if there is no arching of the finger. (FIG. 15)

2 The pressure must be applied by 'squeezing' the neck ofthe guitar between index finger and thumb. The armmust never be allowed to pull against the grip of theguitar in order to obtain pressure.

3 The thumb position for the barre isdirectly opposite theindex finger instead of in its normal place, as describedin para. 14.

It will be seen from the illustration that the wrist is keptwell forward, and this point must always be watched as it willkeep the finger straight and make sure that the pressure iscorrectly applied.

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34. THE HALF-BARRE

Tnere are many instances in guitar music of open bass stringsoeing needed in conjunction with a barre on the treble strings.~_ese occasions call for the use of what is loosely known as the-laif-barre.' As the term implies that exactly half the strings•E ".: be stopped with the index finger, one would imagine—at a half-barre only applied to the top three strings. In fact,tienumber of strings can vary between two (exceptional) and• = =~d still be indicated on the music as a half-barre. The

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The following exercise may now be practised for a fewminutes at a time. The chord is placed at the V position andshould not, at this stage, be played in any lower position onthe fingerboard. The patterns for the right hand are those learned in paras. 17, 20 and 23. All fingers should play apoyando, asthis will 'test' the cleanness of stopping by the left hand.

A slight pain in the base of the thumb may be felt in thebeginning, but this is simply due to unaccustomed work beingdone by an underdeveloped muscle. As the muscle becomesstronger with practice the pain will diminish. Short, but frequent practising sessions with longer intervals between themwill do much to hasten this process.

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The method of stopping the half-barre is the same as for thefull barre, except that the hand is withdrawn slightly from thefingerboard to allow for the shorter length of finger needed tostop only some of the strings. There is a danger of the middlejoint of the finger being bent due to this withdrawal, and thetop string will then be underneath the bend. The result of thisfault will be a 'dead' note from this string, but the difficulty iseasily overcome if the finger is made to bend slightly inwardsfrom the middle joint to the tip. This is done by pushing thewrist slightly forward, and bringing the thumb a little lower c-the back of the guitar neck. (FIG. 16)

35. STUDY NO. 2, OP. 60, BY CARCASSI

Only part of this study is printed, as this is all that is necessary to establish the technical principles which have been explained in the foregoing paragraphs, but the complete study isavailable if the reader should feel that further practice in thistechnique is needed.

The printed section should now be learned. Play very slowlyand evenly at first, taking care to see that the right hand'smovements are not forgotten in the effort of mastering the left-hand pattern. Be particularly aware of the rhythmic pulse, andkeep the right hand playing steadily in time, even if the lefthand has not managed to stop the next chord completely. Thisis much better training than allowing the rhythm to be brokenwhilst the left hand gets into position. The study will need tobe practised many times, until it can be played very legato andfrom memory.

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35. ECONOMY OF MOVEMENT IN THE LEFT HAND

Passing mention has been made in earlier sections of theneed for economy in both hand and finger movements. Thisneed is even more vital where chord playing is concerned. Thevisual impression created by uneconomic movements is of fingers flying all over the fingerboard, whereas the lifting and replacing of fingers should be barely perceptible to the observer.It will be readily understood that a finger never needs to liftoff the fingerboard further than is necessary to allow the stringsufficient clearance to vibrate freely; i.e. about % inch, althougha little more lift than this is usually permissible. If the finger iskept bent at both the tip and middle joints the whole time,and only moves up and down from the main joint, it will befound that the backlift is automatically restricted, thus givingmore economical movements. This has the further advantagethat the 'aim' of the fingertip is more accurate and reliable.Sideways movements of the fingers should be kept to the minimum necessary for the various chord shapes, and the naturaltendency to allow all the fingers to retract after each chordmust be resisted.

The above aspects of technique should be carefully considered, and every effort made to develop efficient, economicalmovements.

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37. HARMONIC MINOR SCALE

The technique used in playing all scales follows the principles outlined in paras. 21 and 24.

The position changes should always be practised separatelyat first, as they are the most difficult part of the scale to perform smoothly. Remember always to keep the index finger incontact with the string whilst moving the hand from oneposition to another.

This scale may be transposed in the same way as the scale ofC major.

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38. STUDY NO. 3, OP. 60, BY CARCASSI

This study is essentially the same as No. 2 in the applicationof right-hand principles; i.e. it employs both apoyando and freestrokes, but there is now a clearly discernible melody. Thenotes which make up this melody are those which are playedby the a finger and are, of course, always apoyando strokes. Itis important to keep a good balance between the melody andthe accompanying arpeggio. The accompaniment should beonly about half as loud as the melody. It is also essential forthe melody notes to be 'connected' to each other; or, in otherwords, played legato. This is chiefly a matter of keeping theleft-hand fingers pressing the string down for as long as possible,and of making sure that a string, once sounded, is not accidentally damped by the right hand. Fragmentation of the melodywill make the study musically meaningless. The left-hand patterns are a little more complex than those of Study No. 2, andgreater use is made of the barre and half-barre. The chord-change from bar 1 to bar 2 provides a perfect model for employment of the principles outlined in para. 32, and the following is a step-by-step description of this change:

For the first chord, fingers 1,2 and 3 are all on the 11 fret,so the necessary position of the arm is at about 60° to thefingerboard, with the elbow well away from the body (seeFIG. 17A).

1 After completing the first bar, remove finger 1, leavingonly finger 2 on string (2s) .

2 Slide finger 2 on this string to fret III, and at the sametime bring the elbow right in to the side, thus bringingthe hand parallel to the fingerboard. (Do not forget tokeep the thumb opposite finger 2 whilst moving.) (FIG.17B).

3 Place the fingers on the new chord in the following order:

finger 3on fret IV, string (&)

finger 4on fret IV, string 0finger 1on fret II, string (T)

It is not necessary for the right hand to wait for completionof all these movements before playing. It can begin its arpeggioas soon as the bottom note (G sharp) is stopped by the lefthand.

The principles embodied in the above example should becarefully followed in every chord-change throughout the study.

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39. ARPEGGIO EXERCISES WITH ACCENTS

The apoyando and free strokes in the above Carcassi studyare only applied in a rather specialized way, so that the apoyando stroke is always played by the a finger. For the furtherdevelopment of right-hand finger independence, it is nownecessary to practise using apoyando strokes with all the right-hand fingers (but not the thumb) in turn, whilst playing freestrokes with the remaining fingers.

The first pattern in Ex. 14 provides a useful basis for thisexercise, which may be practised in the following ways:

1 All the notes which are played by 777 finger are apoyando — the remainder, free stroke.

2 All the notes which are played by /' finger are apoyando— the remainder, free stroke.

The above system of practising accented notes may then beapplied to the arpeggios contained in Exs. 17 and 19.

40. SLURS (DESCENDING)

An essential part of guitar left-hand technique is the 'slur',(or 'snap', as it is sometimes called). This consists of a movement of the left-hand finger which sets the string in vibration

without any help from the right hand.The finger action is best described as a lateral pulling of the

string across the fingerboard.Slurs are indicated by a curved line joining two (or more)

notes together, thus:

Ex. 29

To execute this slur, first place both 1st and 2nd fingers on

the top string MJ at frets V and VI, making sure that the tip

joints of the fingers are standing square and perpendicular tothe fingerboard. Then, after striking the string with a right-hand finger, bend the middle and tip joints of the 2nd fingersharply, bringing the finger tip in towards the palm of the hand,thus making it snap off the string. This will sound the note (A)which is being stopped by the 1st finger.

An important point concerning this movement is that the

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42. G MAJOR SCALE

Note that apoyando strokes are not possible for the bottomtwo notes of this scale. Nevertheless, sufficient stability of theright hand should have been acquired by now to ensure a confident attack with free stroke on the bottom string.

The layout of this scale fingering makes it particularly suitable for training the hand in the movement described in para.16.

To take the development of right-hand finger independence

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43. TREMOLO

The tremolo technique is a rarely-used, but nevertheless verybeautiful effect. It could perhaps be described as an 'aural illusion' because it gives the impression, when well executed, ofa rapid uninterrupted succession of notes, whereas in fact only

Ex.33

a stage further it is recommended that, in addition to the previous sequences, all scales should be practised using three fingers in the following sequence:

i, m, a, 777, /, m, a, m, etc.

This scale fingering can, like the others, be transposed. Thekeys to which it can be applied are shown under the notation.

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three notes out of every four are actually played. It is the nearest that the guitar can get to a true sostenuto. There are variousways of writing tremolo, but the following is probably themost common:

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The illusion is created by the fact that the ear tends to imagine that the first note of each group is sounded, but is'drowned' by the bass note.

To produce this effect is not —as is popularly supposed -a matter of sheer speed, but rather one of perfect metronomicregularity. Much slow, painstaking practice is needed thereforeto perfect the technique.

By far the most common mistake is to allow the fingers to'flick' at the string in rapid succession, as they might in drummingon a table. This does not produce a true tremolo at all, asthe technique demands as much of a positive, controlled stroke

Ex. 34

44. STUDY NO. 7, OP. 60, BY CARCASSI

The principles involved in playing this study have been mainly learned in earlier parts of this book, but one or two pointsneed particular attention:

1 The bass line should be slightly louder than the accompaniment, but only free strokes must be used by thethumb.

Ex.35

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Careful attention to this will also encourage aural memorization of the melody before the complete study isattempted.

All left-hand patterns should be thought of as chords,and fingers should therefore remain on the strings as longas possible. Note carefully the places where a finger caneither (a) remain on a note from one chord to the next,

from each finger as do, say, scales or arpeggios.

The correct approach to the problem is, as usual, to practisewith a slow, heavy apoyando stroke at first, meticulously counting the groups in four, and taking great care to avoid a gap intime between the bass note and the first tremolo note of eachgroup. As control of the finger pattern is built up, the top lineshould be practised on an inner string. This imposes a restriction on the fingers, as more care must be taken over the 'back-lift' in order to avoid touching the top string. Tremolo frequently occurs on inner strings, as will become apparent later.

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etc.

The bass line must also be very legato, and it will helpgreatly to achieve this if, as a preliminary exercise, thisline is played alone, omitting the accompaniment, i.e:

etc.

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or (b) slide along the string to a note in the new chord.

To train the right-hand fingers to play both tremolo andarpeggio with complete regularity, and to achieve smoothtransitions from one technique to the other, it is advisable to practise the study using apoyando strokes (thumbexcepted of course) for a few days to begin with.

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45. SLURS (ASCENDING)

The basic technical principle of ascending slurs is extremelysimple, as the string is set in vibration merely by 'hammering'it with the fingertip. However, great accuracy in 'aiming' the fingerat the string is needed, or the resulting note will be very weak,or even completely inaudible.

The action of the finger is from the main joint, the middleand tip joints remaining well bent throughout the stroke. The

Ex.37

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H ff-M

®

46. MELODIC MINOR SCALE

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The melodic minor scale differs from the scales which havebeen learned previously, as its ascending and descending patterns are not alike. Particular attention must be paid to thedownward position-change on the top string, a detailed description of which is given below:

Both 1st and 2nd fingers, having been placed on the stringfor the first two notes of Ex. 38 (B natural and C), they remain on it during the position-change, and are then readyto stop the last two notes (A flat and G). The 4th finger onlystops the string when the hand has reached III position. Ifthe hand is kept parallel to the fingerboard whilst changing

Ex.39

Bb,B,C,C*,D.

string must be struck very squarely by the exact centre of thefingertip. This latter point is of more importance than the useof great force.

As with the descending type, ascending slurs are easy toplay rapidly, but a firm, clean attack can only be developed byslow, rhythmic practice.

mIII Jil4 777

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position, locating fret VI with the 4th finger should causeno problem (see para. 24).This scale may be transposed in the same way as the others.

The keys to which the fingering may be applied are indicatedbelow the notation.

Ex.38

m

1**=

m 4^ ijfe »f

47. CHORD PLAYING - RIGHT-HAND TECHNIQUE

So far, only single-note playing has been encountered, eitherin scale or arpeggio form. It is now necessary to study the technique of playing chords.

Strictly speaking, a chord is, by definition, three or morenotes sounded simultaneously, but this section will also includedouble notes and spread (arpeggiated) chords.

A basic principle which must be constantly remembered isthat the action of the fingers in playing a chord is identicalwith that of a free stroke in arpeggio playing. The only pointof difference is that several fingers perform this action at thesame time.

Ex. 40

j j J jin

J J J J

One of the commonest faults in the beginning is to allowthe action of the thumb to be affected, in an unconscious attempt to keep it away from the fingers. There must be 770change in its basic movement, which is straight down towardsthe index finger (see paras. 11 & 12).

The following exercise is designed to give practice in playingwith thumb and finger simultaneously. The two notes mustsound at exactly the same moment. If the thumb persistentlystrikes before the finger it is generally because it is hitting toohard. Lighten its stroke and apply a little more strength to thefinger.

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r r^r p r r r rr f r f r r r

It will be apparent that there is more than one way of playing a double note and if, for example, two adjacent fingers areused instead of finger and thumb, the action is less complexand therefore easier to perform. It also produces a differenteffect musically, fingers generally giving a more 'integrated'

Ex.41

U a .1 i i i lNow, combining the elements of Exs. 40 and 41, practise thefollowing very slowly, taking care that all three notes (wherewritten) sound together.

Ex. 42 i

sound, and finger and thumb a more pronounced bass.Begin the following exercise with the fingers held close to

gether (but away from the strings) and strike as with a singlefinger playing a free stroke, moving only from the main jointsof the fingers.

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J i 1$ i U I J i \i J i ^^TT r ' r f^ * r

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It would seem a simple matter to add one more finger (a) tothe above patterns, so making a four-part chord, but, as sooften happens, the third right-hand finger has peculiar problems of its own. It is also, in a sense, the most important finger,as it plays the top or melody note and ought therefore to produce the best quality of sound of any finger. It will probablybe found, though, that the a finger has a tendency to begin itsstroke rather too far from the string, and then to 'dab' at thestring with a jerky, reflex movement. One way of preventingthis from happening is to keep the little finger bent up into thepalm of the hand. This in turn will bring the a finger furtherin, and help to shorten its stroke. It should be pointed out thatthis is merely a practising device, and should be abandoned as

Ex.43

a am m

i i\

|l |jj i kmdn fii m

Ar

j ij j j ij~3 j n

soon as control of chord-playing is achieved.Spreading, or arpeggiating a chord, involves a similar action

of the fingers, but then the thumb and fingers play in sequenceinstead of simultaneously. The technique itself is, in some respects, easier, but great attention must be paid to evenness ofrhythmic spacing.

The effect of the spread chord as compared to one playedwith all notes sounding together is somewhat similar to theeffect of apoyando as compared to free stroke, i.e. it createsan accent. Musical judgment is therefore needed in decidingwhen to use it, although its use is occasionally indicated on themusic by the sign: (

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48. F MAJOR SCALE

This scale can, like all the others, be transposed. The keys to which the fingering can be appliedare shown under the notation.

It is nowipossible, using one or other of the three major scale fingerings which have been given,to play all the twelve major scales. It will be apparent that alternative fingerings are available insome cases, and all forms should be practised.Ex.44

C#,D,Eb,E,F.

49. SLURS (COMBINED)

It will be readily appreciated that by the use of both typesof slur a succession of notes can be produced on one stringwithout the use of the right hand, apart from the initial noteof the sequence.

The following combined exercises should now be practised

with, as usual, greatattention to rhythmic evenness. Actuallycounting the triplets: 1, 2, 3, can be a greathelp in this respect,especially in the early stages. Note that a right-hand fingerstrikes the first note of each triplet.

Ex.45

50. STUDY NO. 10, OP. 60, BY CARCASSI

The purpose of the following study is to develop the technique of combined slurs, and to give further practice in chord-playing for the right hand. It should be noted that the righthand plays both double notes and three-note chords. The finger combinations arep, /, m for the chords, and /', tt? for the

double notes. The latter sometimes occur on strings CO and

\T) , and sometimes on strings (¥) and (T) . To maintaina uniform attack no matter which strings are being played, aslight movement of the hand is needed, as described in para.10. This movement applies equally to chords and arpeggios, asit does to single notes.

To achieve the intended harmonic effect the study must beplayed legato, and the tone sustained as much as possible; e.g.in bar 2, the left-hand 1st finger (which is stopping the note'A') must not be lifted until after the second chord in the barhas sounded. This will involve a slight stretch between 1st and2nd fingers.

Particular attention should also be paid to keeping downany finger which is common to two consecutive chords inchanging position, and to adjustment of hand position for thevarious chord shapes. Both these points are dealt with in o=ra.24.

Ex.46

AllegrettoStudy No. 10 Op. 60

M. CARCASSI

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51. FIVE-AND SIX-NOTE CHORDS

Five- and six-note chords are frequently met in guitar music,such chords always, of necessity, being arpeggiated. There aretwo possible ways for the right hand to play them.

The first method is merely an extension of the techniquedescribed in para. 47, but with the important difference thatthe thumb must glide over two or three bass strings. This mustbe done with as little hand movement as possible, to avoid displacing the fingers for their part of the chord.

Rhythmic evenness is vital, and a chord should never bebroken rhythmically between its lower and upper parts.

The alternative technique of playing a five- or six-notechord is to use the thumb alone for all the strings. This isusually indicated by the sign: j . The movement of the thumbis mainly from the wrist, and takes the form of a gliding motion diagonally across the strings towards the bridge from bassto treble.

(FIGS. 19A& 19B)

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Ex.47

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52. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY

CARCASSI Study No. 19 OP. 60GIULIANI Study No. 5 OP. 48SOR Study No. 22 OP. 35SOR Study No. 17 OP. 35AGUADO Study No. 18 24 studies & 10 scale

exercises

SOR (ed. Segovia) Study No. 1SOR (ed. Segovia) Study No. 9