Right hand
- Alternate pairs of right-hand fingers evenly and with economy of movement at a greater range of tempi, using apoyando and tirando strokes appropriately with increased awareness of their different sounds
- Further develop thumb independence and damping techniques
- Use apoyando with the thumb
- Adapt right-hand shapes and positions to different functions more quickly and develop a wider range of tone colours
- Adjust the balance of sound between thumb and fingers in a variety of arpeggio patterns at a wider range of tempi, developing control of the dynamic level of the thumb and individual fingers to bring out the melody line
- Roll four-note chords with rhythmic and dynamic expression
- Develop a range of strumming techniques including rasgueado using all three right-hand fingers
- Begin to develop an even tremolo technique
- Play with a consistent, satisfying sound across a wider range of dynamics and tone colours
Ask learners to play scales apoyando and tirando, using all right-hand pairings (im, ma, ia) at a variety of tempi:
- with two, three and four notes to the beat
- accenting different degrees of the scale
- incorporating ‘speed bursts’, i.e. following a long-note value with two or three notes of a shorter value
Again, make sure tone quality and projection are not compromised by speed. When playing on the bass strings, adjust the angle of the right wrist so that the nails do not scrape against the string winding.
Ask learners to play one-octave scales on a single string, legato and staccato. A good fingering for the major scale would be to shift to seventh position after the first tetrachord, and to ninth position for the final two notes.
Being able to see the layout of tones and semitones in this way can contribute to an understanding of scale theory.
Ask learners to play a repeated-note scale (three or four notes to the beat), applying a rest stroke to the first of each group, then the second, and so on.
It is important that learners understand both the occasional nature of the apoyando stroke and the musical reasons for its use, i.e. to highlight or enhance a particular note or notes.
Explore the effect on tone and dynamics of varying the amount of flexion in each joint of the fingers. This can also help to avoid excess tension in the forearm.
Ask learners to plant i and m on the top two strings and play the following (or similar) thumb exercise with all notes staccato, i.e. damp each note before playing the next, then play only selected notes staccato.
Show learners how to use thumb damping to cover the inadvertent sounding of open bass strings caused by the removal of left-hand fingers in particularly awkward situations. Choose any three stopped thumb notes (one each on strings 4, 5 and 6): after playing each note, damp the previous string before releasing its left-hand finger.
The effect of this can be demonstrated to learners by playing a piece removing left-hand fingers carelessly!
Show learners how to achieve a fuller, richer sound for specific bass notes by applying apoyando with the thumb. With ima planted on the top three strings, they can play an open-string E minor arpeggio (thumb apoyando, fingers tirando) or a one-octave scale on the bottom three strings entirely apoyando. Both exercises can also be played with the thumb alternating between apoyando and tirando.
Ask learners to look for opportunities to use thumb apoyando in their pieces.
Thumb apoyando is best practised with thumb and fingers planted at the outset. The thumb should push down and through on to the next string without the wrist rising or the hand tipping forward more than is necessary. As with any other right-hand technique, complete independence of movement should be the aim.
Demonstrate the role of the first joint in controlling dynamics.
Revisit a range of right-hand exercises and lead a discussion about the advantages of nail playing.
Explain the principles of nail shaping and how to use a nail file, smoothing paper, buffing, etc. Also help learners make any adjustments to the position of the right hand that may be necessary in order to accommodate their particular nail-shape characteristics.
Ask learners to play a pima arpeggio pattern on the top four strings. Then move it to the bottom four strings, pivoting from the elbow. Adjust the angle of the wrist so as to minimise the scraping sound caused by the fingernails playing the wound strings at too great an angle.
The use of the right-hand fingernails should be strongly encouraged at this stage. Without nails, it is difficult to achieve a clean, accurate attack and the range of tone colour needed for today’s playing. Contact with the string should be made at the conjunction of flesh and nail. The flesh acts as a kind of ‘damper felt’, helping to minimise the clicking sound caused by the hard surface of the nail meeting the vibrating string full-on.
Ask learners to revisit a range of right-hand arpeggio exercises (and explore new ones) at a variety of tempi, playing the thumb notes more strongly than the others. Next, ask them to play the ring-finger notes and finally both thumb and ring-finger notes.
Make sure tone quality and projection are not compromised by speed. Scales in sixths, tenths and octaves (played together and broken) also help develop the balance between thumb and fingers.
Show learners how to roll a four-note chord evenly so that the highest note is ‘on the beat’, the others leading up to it in a slight crescendo. Do the same with the lowest note ‘on the beat’, the others falling away from it in a slight decrescendo. Ask learners to copy.
Ask learners to consider where it would be appropriate to roll chords in their pieces.
Rolled chords are a characteristic feature of much guitar music, the technical and expressive demands of which are easily overlooked. The top note of a chord is often part of a melodic line: continuity of sound between it and the melody notes that precede and follow it means that rolling the chord with the thumb is not always an appropriate solution.
Ask learners to rest the thumb on the fourth string and strum the top three open strings a-m-i with the back of the nails as a triplet upbeat. Come back with i on the downbeat.
Discuss with learners how to incorporate this type of pattern into their song accompaniments.
Rasgueado techniques in general can help increase speed, as, by strengthening the extensor muscles, they quicken the fingers’ recovery action. They should, however, be practised gently at first to avoid straining the hand.
Show learners how to play p-a-m-i slowly and continuously on the same note, e.g. the first string played open, planting the thumb and fingers both as early as possible (staccato) and as late as possible (legato), as well as accenting each finger in turn.
The same exercise can be used as a repeated-note scale, while repeating it on the second string will encourage greater economy of movement, and therefore accuracy, in the approach to the string.
Ask learners also to play p-a-m-i slowly and continuously, with the thumb alternating between open B and G while the fingers play open E, and between open G and D while the fingers play open B.
Tremolo may occur fairly infrequently in the repertoire but, like arpeggio exercises, it is extremely useful for developing relaxation, independence of movement and a balanced sound across the whole hand.
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