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The Russian Guitar: An Instrument Of The People

In comparison with the rest of its family, the Russian guitar has a relatively short history. While the Europe has been enjoying the melodious sounds of the guitar in one form or another since the 14th century, the guitar did not find its way to Mother Russia until the end of the 18th century, nearly 400 years later. However, once it arrived, it found a warm welcome, and the guitar has since become an established facet of Russian culture. Interestingly, its story has been inextricably linked with the politics of the country, and the instrument’s popularity has risen and fallen with the times.

Firstly, the Russian guitar is different from the classical, or Spanish, guitar. The main and most important difference is that the Russian guitar, or semistrunnaya gitara, has seven strings as opposed to the classical instrument’s six. There are also versions with two necks and 11 or 12 strings, but these are less common. The instrument is traditionally played without a pick, using fingers for either strumming or picking. Its invention is attributed to Andrei Sychra, who was born in the late 18th century and wrote over one thousand compositions during his lifetime.

Prior to the revolution of 1917, the Russian guitar was far more common and popular in Russia than the Spanish guitar. Its popularity was at its height during the later half of the 19th century, which may be at least partially attributed to the popularity of “city romance” songs at the time. It was during this period that peasants from the country were flocking to the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, and these songs, which were guitar oriented and touched upon the life of the common man, were in keeping with the social movement. However, during the early Soviet eras of Lenin and Stalin, such music was considered bourgeois and fell into disfavor. The old Russian school of guitar, however, continued to be strong and the seven-stringed instrument persisted.

Although the Spanish guitar has gained some popularity in Russia over the past hundred years, especially in genres such as jazz and rock and roll, the Russian guitar continues to be the norm. The emergence of Russian bard music, or music written outside of the Soviet establishment, helped combat the influence of the Spanish instrument. This genre emerged in the 1960s, and its music relied heavily on the same techniques originally used in the “city romance” songs 50 years previously. Such music, and the Russian guitars it required, helped prevent Russian culture from being overrun by Western musical influences like the Beatles and Elvis Presley.

Up until the late 1970s, Soviet guitar factories continued to produce only seven-stringed instruments. Manufacturers began a gradual switchover at that point and today, both types of instrument are available in Russia. The Russian guitar continues to be popular in its homeland, however, probably due to its flexibility, the relative simplicity of some basic chords and the ease of playing alternating bass lines. In fact, the appeal of the Russian guitar is so strong that Russian emigre guitarists living in western countries have been known to modify six string acoustic guitars to seven string instruments.

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Classical guitar technique

General

Classical guitar technique can be organized broadly into subsections for the right hand, the left hand, and miscellaneous. In guitar performance elements such as musical dynamic and tonal variation are mostly determined by the hand that physically produces the sound. In other words, the hand that plucks the strings defines the musical expression. Historically this role has been assigned to the dominant hand which, for the majority of players, is the right hand. Similar reasoning is behind string players using the right hand for controlling the bow. In the following discussion the role of the hands should be reversed when considering left-handed players.

An introductory overview of classical guitar technique is given in the article Classical guitar (Section: Performance).

For items such as accessories and construction, see the Classical guitar portal.

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

Guitaristic Technique and Freedom

Since it is the thumb and fingers that pluck the string and every person has different fingers, there are great differences in playing between guitarists, who often spend a lot of time finding their own way of playing that suits them best in terms of specific objectives: tone-production (“beauty”/quality of tone), minimum noise (e.g. clicking), large dynamic range (from soft to controlled loud), minimum (muscle) effort, fast “motion-recovery” (fast plucking when desired), and healthy movement in fingers, wrist, hand and arm.

There is not one definite way of reaching these goals (there is not a single definite optimal guitar technique): rather there are different ways of reaching these goals, due to differences in the hands and fingers (including nails) of guitarists.

When guitarists are performing music (while playing), they continually search (by actively moving/changing their plucking hand, fingers) for a good sound in terms of tone/timbre, to enhance the musical interpretation.

Most guitarists focus their eyes on the left hand, since it is often difficult to place the left hand fingers on the correct fret and string. But, ironically, in terms of producing the note, it is the right hand that is more important; it is perhaps sometimes given too little consideration.[citation needed]

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.

The thumb is held at the side of the other fingers, so that it can work independently of them. The height of the wrist and hand depends on thumb: It is such that the fingers can comfortably move – the wrist is normally not too low, but bent.

Plucking the strings usually involves making contact first with the (usually lefthand side) fleshy part of the fingertip (and often also left part of the nail, or only the left part of the nail given very long nails) and then letting the string glide smoothly along the curvature of the fingernail until the string is released at the fingernails tip: the string is plucked. The two primary plucking techniques are:

Rest-stroke (apoyando), in which the finger that plucks the string rests on the immediate upper string afterwards; and

Free-stroke (tirando), in which the finger hits nothing after plucking the string.

Rest-stroke produces a more “deliberate” sound and may be used 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, though some guitarists (esp. with long nails) use the free-stroke exclusively and are able to produce a strong sound with it.

Some guitarists with rather long nails avoid the rest-stroke altogether; others commonly avoid it when they feel they have more control over the free-stroke. The free-stroke is the more natural stroke, since it can always be used. When two neighbouring strings are to be plucked simultaneously, the rest-stroke cannot be used. Also, arpeggios are usually played free-stroke, except possibly for the thumb or if appropriate (effective and possible due to nail-length / hand position) the annular finger if it plucks a melodic line. In the free-stroke, a finger’s motion is not brought to an abrupt stop on the following string, as is the case in the rest-stroke.

Guitarists that use both free-stroke and rest-stroke require nails of the correct length: if the nails are too long, a well-sounding rest-stroke is no longer possible. Many guitarists who prefer using quite long nails do not use the rest-stroke.

An important factor for a well sounding stroke is the angle that the overstretched finger would make with the strings. This angle is usually not held at right angles to strings, but at a more natural angle, where the outstretched fingers would point slightly to the left: this has the benefit of a warmer tone and less noise due to nail-contact, since the string can glide over the rounded nail, rather than being hooked/caught by it.

Holding the fingers and hand perpendicular to the strings may cause difficulties, since the string is aligned with the groove between fingertip and nail: this may cause clicking noises or double-sounds (fingertip sound, then nail sound). By holding the fingers and hand to the left (as opposed to perpendicular), it is impossible for the string to land in the groove, since the left side of the nail will touch the string first (often together with the tip of the finger; possibly aiding an additional minimization of clicking noise). The nail will be at an angle to the string and the string may glide smoothly over the nail’s left side until it is released.

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) may play a melody above the harmony. In the tremolo technique 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 Trrega 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. When the strings are plucked close to the bridge the position is called sul ponticello and the notes sound “twangy” and “nasal”. When the strings are plucked over the fingerboard of the guitar the position is termed sul tasto and the tone becomes fuller and “sweet” (termed dolce in Italian, see List of musical terminology page). The angle at which the fingers hit the strings can also affect the timbre of 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. Tambour 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 may be different hand positions depending on the motion of fingers/hand/arm and effect that is aimed at. Standard positions might include the following (or variations thereof):

“arpeggio position”, with the thumb playing bass strings and the index, middle and annular finger plucking a pattern on 3 upper strings respectively.

Scale playing: Usually an alteration of the index and middle finger; however other alterations using the annular finger (or even an alterations with the thumb) are common as well

Factors that influence the choice might be the speed of the scale and the progression of the melody over strings, e.g. a scale usually starts on one string and is then continued on another.

On the other hand, during slower movements (especially of contrapuntal music) guitarists occasionally do not alternate the fingers strictly, if this facilitates the interpretation through tonal similarity: An example of this might be when the index finger (possibly the thumb) is used to play one melody-line on the 3rd string while the annular finger might be used for a melody one the first string. However the melody lines very often move over various strings so that many adaptations and a flexible approach is needed. Moreover, there is no common rule or guideline – there is no predefined guitaristic technique: a guitarist will experiment and use the pattern of finger pluckings that personally suit the player best.

It is important to note that not only the fingers are involved in the plucking of the string, but the hand is also held comfortably loose and may move slightly as well – even the arm is involved. For example when playing scales (usually with alternating fingers, e.g. index, middle, index, middle, …) and moving from the top strings down, or the bottom strings up, the hand moves up and down as well in order to adjust the placement of the fingers to be at an optimum.

Main stroke types

There are two main ways a string can be plucked with the finger:

with preparation

without preparation (“in full flight”, “speed-stroke”) e.g. tremolo

This separation is distinct from the so-called rest-stroke and free-stroke: both the rest-stroke and free-stroke can be used with preparation and without.

Stroke with Preparation

“Preparation” (known as planting) is the placing of the (usually lefthand side) fleshy part of the finger (and often also left part of the nail, or only the left part of the nail given very long nails) on the string, before a plucking motion is made.

This is the standard way of plucking a string and used in most “slow to moderately fast” pluck-progressions: Before plucking, usually both the left side of the nail and the finger touch the string; this enables the finger (and hand) to rest on the string in a balanced way. When the plucking motion is made, only the nail-contact remains: The curvature of the nail (starting from its left side) allows the string to be pulled back while the string slides towards the tip of the nail where it is released. This occurs so quickly that the gliding of the string over the fingernail is not perceived (but: a smoothly filed nail is necessary and the position of the hand need to be adjusted if plucking metal wound strings using anything but the thumb, or else, the angle of attack will cause a very distasteful grating noise, unless of course, this is the desired effect).

The act of planting is quickly followed by the plucking of the string, so that this stroke can be used (is usually used) without a break in sound becoming noticeable. For practice purposes, the playing of staccato (on a single string) can be used to accentuate the “preparation”: here the finger is placed on the vibrating string to stop its sound, and only after a delay this finger plucks the string. (Finger alteration is usually used: i, m ; or different patterns )

Planting is essential for guitarists to get an intrinsic feeling for the location and position of the strings, although some teachers advocate the opposite.

Stroke without Preparation (“fast repetitive plucking”, “speed-stroke”)

The “stroke without preparation” occurs in fast note progressions, e.g. in tremolo. Here the nail plucks the string without any preparation: an impulse is shot into the string: there is no time for “preparation”. Most often this occurs when a finger/nail re-plucks an already vibrating string so that it maintains its motion, e.g. tremolo: this is where fingers strike the same note on the same string in rapid progression. On the other hand this “stroke without preparation” is also used in fast scales. Fast scales have the additional complication of requiring the coordination of the left hand (placing fingers on the correct fret) with the plucking tone-production of the right hand.

Comparison

It must be mentioned that this split into two plucking-groups is not strict. Every variation exists between a full preparation before the plucking, and an immediate pluck without preparation. A guitarist will individually choose which stroke to use, depending on personal choice and the effect that is to be produced. Most guitarists make this choice intuitively and vary and adjust strokes when playing; but for pedagogical/analysis purposes the distinction may be important.

Guitarists often intuitively use a combination of “stroke with preparation” and “speed-stroke” (without preparation) when playing arpeggio patterns: Usually the pattern of finger pluckings is such that it begins with the fingers resting on the strings as follows – thumb on a bass-string and index, middle, annular finger each on one of the 3 treble strings respectively. Then the arpeggio motion may be a consecutive plucking of the strings, e.g. thumb, then index, then middle, then annular – this means that one by one the fingers are removed from the strings on which they were resting (due to the plucking motion): The pluckings up to now, were then made “with preparation”, since the fingers were resting on the strings. However often the arpeggio pattern then continues with the middle, and index finger pluck the string – the complete pattern then is: pimami. This means that if the pattern is played very quickly, the last m and i have to pluck their respective strings “without preparation”.

Of course it is actually possible to play the whole pattern (pimami) “without preparation” – and it may be didactically beneficial for guitarists to actively experiment with these strokes (and practicing variations), rather than just plucking the string in any way.

This separation is distinct from the so-called rest-stroke and free-stroke: both the rest-stroke and free-stroke can be used with preparation and without.

Consequences

Angle of attack (the following discussion presents points that may differ from guitarist to guitarist. In any case the angle of the right hand’s fingers (when outstretched) to the strings is not varied greatly.)

Slow: More parallel angle (right-hand fingers more to the left)

The hand is usually held at such an angle, that the outstretched fingers point slightly to the left (rather than perpendicular) to the strings. But this angle can be actively varied (albeit only slightly) and results in different tones, but also has some consequences:

The more the fingers point to the left of the strings (the more parallel they are to the strings), the longer the fingernail is in contact with the strings, since the string glides over more of the fingernail: This angle requires preparation – placing the nail (and finger) on the string, and then following through in a controlled manner. This angle creates a warmer tone, but because the string glides over more of the nail, this is not good for fast repetitive plucking.

Fast: More perpendicular angle (right-hand fingers)

For fast repetitive plucking, the vibrating string is immediately plucked again with the nail: an impulse is shot into the string so that it maintains its motion – there is no time for “preparation”.

At high speeds it is not easily possible to produce a strong clear tone, if the fingers are angled too far to the left, since there is no time for “preparation”: “preparation” is the placing of the left side of the nail (and often also finger) on the string.

The faster the plucking, the more a gliding over the nail (more parallel) delays the sound.

Thus for fast plucking the guitarist may choose to hold the right-hand fingers at a more perpendicular angle to the strings (though the fingers might still point slightly to the left) and strike them more with the tip of the nail.

The above discussion was mainly focused on the angle as a dependency on the speed of plucking. Even more important is the dependency of the angle on the tone. As usual there is always some sort of trade-off involved and the ultimate details depend on each individual guitarist separately, as well as the players fingers/nails.

Consequences on practising speed build-up

When practising at slow speeds, the hand position and stroke used should ideally be the same as the one for the fast tempo.

Usually the hand might be in different positions for fast and slow playing. More importantly a different stroke may be intuitively used for slower playing (i.e. stroke with preparation) than for faster playing (stroke without preparation). This means that when building up accuracy and evenness by practising pluckings (such as tremolo) at slow speeds, the hand position and stroke used during this slow practice should be identical to the hand position and stroke that will be used when the pluckings are performed up to speed.

This means that slow tremolo practice (for example) requires the practising of “stroke without preparation”! This may be difficult since most guitarists intuitively choose a stroke with (at least) a bit of preparation during slower playing. However in this respect, the practice-method of playing with short speed bursts in-between slow practice, can prove useful, by reminding the guitarist of the correct hand position and stroke (without preparation).

On the other hand, tremolo (etc.) should not be exclusively practised with “speed-stroke”, but also at slower speeds with a normal “stroke with preparation”: the reason is that this normal stroke aids the guitarist in getting a better intrinsic feeling for the location of the strings.

Right hand wrist/hand position

There is a lot of freedom in the positioning of the right hand, which affects the angle at which the fingers will attack the string. Guitarists spend a lot of time finding their own individual positions (could be more than one) that allow the fingers/nails to pluck the strings with

a beautiful tone (possibly variations of tone with different positions)

a minimum of noise

a healthy position (without strain)

The hand’s position is influenced by the arm:

changing where the right arm rests on the guitar (either more to the left or more to the right)

changing what part of the right arm rests on the guitar (either)

The hand can be varied in the following ways:

the height (bending) of the wrist

bending of hand to the left or right from the wrist (this is usually considered a strain, and today many guitarist hold the hand relatively straight compared to the arm. This usually implies that the fingers point to the left of the string and brings an added advantage of a beautiful tone, by facilitating a smooth gliding of the string along the curvature of the nail)

the rotation of the hand (it can be rolled to the left or to the right. Often guitarist might occasionally roll the hand slightly to the right – opening up the hand and changing the angle of plucking; whilst others might generally use an open position with the hand rolled slightly to the right)

Nails

Modern practice generally makes use of the nails of the right hand in combination with the flesh of the fingertips in order to pluck the strings. During the 19th century many players, including celebrated guitarists such as Fernando Sor, Francisco Trrega and his pupil Emilio Pujol played using the flesh of the fingertip, in common with lute technique.

Strumming

Rasgueado See main article Rasgueado. Rasgueado or rasgueo is a technical strum in flamenco and classical guitar that includes the use of the back of the fingernails in sequence to give the impression of a very rapid strum. There are several types of rasgueado that employ differing combinations of fingers and thumb allowing for a variety of rhythmical accentuations and subdivisions of the beat.

Use the palm-side of the thumb joint to lightly strum strings, producing a soft, low sound.

Use the thumb nail to produce a bright sound.

A simple combination of both fingers and thumb, the thumb striking the lowest strings and fingers picking the upper notes of the chord from lowest to highest strings in rapid succession.

External links

“Rest Stroke and Free Stroke Revisited” by Ricardo Iznaola, in PDF or HTML

Left hand technique

While the right hand is responsible for the sound of the guitar, the left hand performs two functions: pressing on the strings (to shorten their effective length and change the pitch) and articulation, i.e. slurring (commonly known as ‘hammer-ons’ and ‘pull-offs’) and vibrato. In musical notation, the left hand fingers are referred to as 1, 2, 3, and 4 (starting with index).

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 a narrower neck and fingerboard (with fourteen frets clear of the body vs. twelve frets on the classical), the classical guitarist does not place their left hand thumb over the top of the neck. Instead, they place it behind the neck, usually behind the second finger.

The thumb then rolls back so that the thumb plays ‘off the bone’. The bone of the thumb ‘hangs’ off a shoulder that is carved into the back of the neck of the guitar and, eventually, a hard, dry callus forms on the thumb, allowing the left hand to shift without sticking to the guitar.

By keeping the thumb behind the second finger and playing off the front of the third finger, the classical guitarist sets the left hand shape.

Playing with the left hand more or less parallel to the neck requires a certain amount of stretching between the fingers. There is a tendency, especially when one first begins guitar, to collapse the first and second fingers together to press on the string. For example, in playing the F on the first string, first fret (often the second note ever fingered after open E, first-string) there is a tendency to put the second finger on top of the first to hold the note. Holding a note with two fingers, 1 & 2, however, puts the reach between the fingers between the second and third, the hardest reach. The easiest reach is actually between the third and fourth (pinky) fingers. The next easiest between the first and second and the hardest between the middle fingers, between 2 & 3. Therefore, in order to put all the fingers on the strings (one finger per fret), the reach would best go between 1 & 2 and 3 & 4. Care should be taken to unlock 1 & 2. One way train the hand to unlock 1 & 2 is to place a pencil between 1 & 2 with the other end behind the thumb while playing.

The classical guitarist has a different set of left hand calluses on their fingertips than the steel-string player. In the steel-string, played with the guitar under the arm and on the right hip (called ‘playing off the hip’), the left hand fingers of the steel string guitarist play on the diagonal, or ‘for the reach’, and the fingertip lands on the pad of the finger, forming a callus on the pad. The classical guitarist has a different set of left hand calluses as the hand of the classical player falls more parallel to the neck and they play on the “front” (nail side) of the fingertip. As a general rule, in classical, if the player concentrates on playing on the front of the third (or ring) finger, the other fingers will follow.

To play a note clearly, the fingertips of the left hand should be pressed against the string just behind the appropriate fret. Allowing the left shoulder to relax lets the highest finger in the chord or scale slide against and rest on the fret, giving the best soundnd the easiest reach with other fingers. The fingers are, thereby, placed closest to the frets.

Often the index finger is required to play more than one string, called the “barre” technique. The guitarist places the index finger across some or all of the strings at a particular fret and uses the remaining three fingers to play other notes. Rather putting down the barre first, it is often easier to place the fingers and add the barre last, according to which notes are needed first.

When playing notes above the twelfth fret, called “on the body”, the left shoulder is dropped and the thumb stays behind, on the neck (as opposed to cello technique where the thumb jumps on top of the fingerboard).

It is possible to play the same note on different strings, called “registration” or “registering”. For example, the note “e”, first string open, maybe be played, or “registered” on any string.

The guitarist often has choices of where to ‘register’ notes on the guitar based on:

Ease of fingering. Beginners learn the open, first position before anything else and might be more comfortable registering notes on open strings in the first position. Advanced players might find solutions in higher positions based on musical expression or using a shift on a string as a guide.

Playing “on the string” — Keeping a melody or musical line on one string for continuity of tone or expression.

The advent of nylon strings. Historically, the early guitar (pre-WW II) was strung with cat-gut rather than the nylon to which we have become accustomed. Earlier editions often kept the melody on the second string because 1) the second string had a beautiful, romantic sound in the higher positions that was appropriate to the style of the times and 2) the first string had a ‘thin’ sound and unreliable intonation. With the advent of nylon strings, position-playing (playing in a block-style) became more in-vogue. Further. refinements in the manufacture of strings and innovations in modern guitar design continue to bring this issue into focus.

For reasons of counterpoint: allowing a voice on one string to vibrate for its duration while playing a moving voice on another string.

Slurs

Slurs, trills and other ornaments are often played entirely with the left hand. For example; in a simple case of an ascending semitone slur (Hammer-on), a note stopped by the first finger of the left hand at the fifth fret is first played in normal manner, then, without the right hand doing anything further, the second finger of the left-hand is placed straight down at the sixth fret on the same string, using its momentum to raise the tone of the still-ringing string by a semitone. A descending slur (Pull-off) is simply the opposite of the above, the slur begins on the higher note and it is common that the finger pressing the higher note actively plucks the string as it lifts, causing the string to vibrate from the fret that the lower finger is depressing. The lower finger is usually in position and pressing before the procedure begins. Three specific descending slurs exist, (1) the active finger lifts directly up and off the string, (2) the active finger rests against the adjacent string immediately after, and (3) a hybrid of these two in which the finger bumps the adjacent string before lifting off.

If these procedures are repeated a few times the result is known as a trill. Because the note is being plucked repeatedly it is possible to continue a trill indefinitely. Occasionally, the upper note in such a trill is played by alternating fingers thus: 2-1-3-1-, etc.

Vibrato

The classical guitar Vibrato is executed by rocking the tip of the left hand finger(s) back and forth horizontally within the same fret space (i.e. along the string axis, and not across it as for a vertical “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 which is the most common method of vibrato used by steel string and electric guitar players.

Harmonics

Natural harmonics can be played by touching a left hand finger upon specific points along an open string without pressing it down, then playing the note with the right hand. The positions of both the left and right hand are important. The left hand must be placed at a nodal point along the string. Nodal points are found at integral divisions of the string length. 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 is 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. The player must be careful not to pluck the string at another node (nearer the bridge) 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.

Artificial harmonics are 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 at a nodal position (commonly 5, 7, 9, or 12 frets above the left hand finger) and plucking the string with the ring finger or thumb of the right hand.

Left hand positions

In common with other classical stringed instruments, classical guitar playing and notation use formal positions of the left hand. The ‘nth position’ means that the hand is positioned with the first finger over the nth fret.

Fretboard Knowledge

EDCAGE

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

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 Leons, 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)

Classical guitar playing Injuries

External links

Complete method for the guitar by Otto Feder published by Ditson, 1858

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

Musicians and Injuries

CREATIVE GUITAR – Classical Guitar resource website and blog.

See also

Classical guitar pedagogy

Categories: Guitar performance techniques | Classical guitarHidden categories: Articles to be expanded from January 2007 | All articles to be expanded | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from May 2009

Les Paul Gibson Guitar: The World’s Best Guitar

The great Gibson Les Paul trademark makes a never-ending charm in the music industry since its 1952 debut. This truly amazing Les Paul legacy is even growing in greater fame and a highly desired possession by people of all ages and ages in the realm of music through all these years. So, what exactly is Gibson Les Paul? What makes it truly popular and highly in demand in musical treasure?

The man behind this world? renowned guitar is the great jazz guitarist and pop artist named Les Paul. His quest for an ultimate jazz guitar and jazz music satisfaction paved the way for an ideal guitar that even meets the demand of every genre for a lifetime music fulfillment. The jazz idealism became the electric guitar? norm, as it is more versatile in paying great quality music. This guitar breakthrough not only captures the hearts of jazz players but even electric players in other genres as well.

The Goldtops with its remarkable P-90 pickups brought a variety of highly talented artists in awesome popularity and unity. This gave birth to such music groups as the Freddie King A Rock??oll Carl Perkins the blues sensation John Lee Hooker. Jazz players followed Paul? footsteps too that they came to value the warm think tones of the neck pickup. The Les Paul guitars have been the prestigious all-time favorite of famous jazz talents and have even captivated the soul of country of country music.

The guitar evolution not only affects the quality of the music produced by each genre but is even more noted from the creative design and style of these fabulous stringed instruments. Gibson then started to reveal another amazing twist in music and design which really makes every guitarist truly astounding. This is greatly known as the Les Paul Standard. This Les Paul model portrays the thin and stylish design that makes the world of music even more dignified.

Even if some Gibson followers were a bit shocked of thus sudden shift in style during those times, the fact that this relates to the previous design created by Orville Gibson to harmonize both the past and future guitar concepts in the music world greatly justifies the question. This artistic reason even made these people more addicted to the Gibson guitar and music perfectionism.

The stylish Les Paul Standard comes in a mahogany body with stylish designs of the very adorable maple carvings at the top. It has humbucker pickups that usually come in varying existence of the Les Paul Gibson models. The Les Paul Gibson guitars remain an everlasting guitar choice of all time. With some minor changes in the brand? variations, Les Paul managed to be on top of the guitar music world from the ·0s blues-rock to the ·0s rock and alternative metal. The roll of another decade and beyond even make these signature guitars truly hot in popular demand as the whole world of music unites to capture the Les Paul Gibson charms to give every genre its uniquely delightful music that no one could ever resist.

Guitar Hero Helps Play Real Guitar

There, that’s for the review skimmers; I know you’re out there.Guitar Hero Helps Play Real Guitar I should also note that I’m not an expert player, in fact I’d rather learn to play while head banging as oppose to expert on hyper speed. Now then, what else can be said about this game? It’s on some pretty major consoles and comes with either two guitars or a sweet Aerosmith face plate. It’s the same fret button pressing action as we’re use to with a lot of hammer ons and pull offs.

For starters it’s basically what we wanted Rock the 80′s to be dipped in Aerosmith. There’s a lot of Aerosmith (as you may have guessed) but there’s also some other killer bands including the Kinks, Ted Nugent, and the Cult. All the band elements are here from Joe Perry’s guitars to Steve Tyler’s on stage actions. This is essential for any fan of either series. The frame rate is solid and the lighting and shading effects are really sweet. I also noticed that the Aerosmith band interacts with each other on stage and a little bird told me that will be a must for the up coming Guitar hero games.

The thing that I liked the most about this game was the fact that there was live cameos, not only that, but as you play it really makes you feel like your advancing in the story. Another cool thing is the way the career is set up. You pick your GH character (same as GH3) and there the ones opening for Aerosmith. They play 2 songs and then the crowd demands you bring on Aerosmith. You now play 3 songs by the famous band, as the famous band. The old GH characters have some new styles, but they’re basically the same, No Lou, Rock God, or Robot dude though. One thing that left me saying??? Was the fact the singing was oddly quiet. I mean I know this is GUITAR hero but c’mon, and the fact Run DMC was in this and a guitar player… really?

The venues in this game were pretty neat because you advance through Aerosmith’s history. From the Nipmuc high school to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. If you’re playing on the 360 the achievements are a lot like GH 2, not easy but not impossible. The same number note streaks are here as you may have guessed but they have Aerosmith oriented names. I mean when there’s one for playing as Izzy Sparks called “Dude looks like a lady” you can’t go wrong. There’s no xbox controller achievement here, thank god.

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Overall

One of the major downfalls in this game is that there are only roughly 40 songs and no downloadable content on the way. Just a reminder Guitar Hero 3 had more than 70 with extra content so if you’re a guitar hero starter grab that one. Speaking of which there’s a lot of good and bad GH3 qualities here. Some cute GH style in everything down to the text, but there’s still the 50 NOTE STREAK that always screws me up. A nice quality in this game is that they’re honest, if a song’s a cover they tell you and you don’t look stupid for sticking up for your favorite bands. Overall I had a good time playing this game and if you’re a fan of both factors you will be too.

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Acoustic Guitar Chords – Learning How to Play Guitar Chords

Playing the guitar is every boy’s dream even if they can’t be good at it.

In high school, it is very rare that boys will not even attempt to learn to play the guitar. For this reason, music schools are about dime-a-dozen. In every city, you will also find freelance teachers who will show young people several acoustic guitar lessons.

Although it may be said that only a few actually persevere to learn how to play the guitar, there is no shortage of good guitar players around the world. Perhaps guitar playing is more popular because guitars are cheaper than the piano. And in the world of rock and roll culture, guitar looks manlier than other musical instruments. People want to identify with rock gods so guitar playing is almost inevitably where they go.

So what are the first acoustic guitar lessons?

Perhaps there are many. One will be taught to identify the parts of the guitar like the body, the neck, and so on. One will also be taught how to string a guitar properly and tune it, too.

Ultimately, the learner will be taught how to read guitar chords by himself. This is the only way one can learn how to play the guitar. Once a student is already efficient in reading guitar chords from chord books, he can then move on to practicing and playing by himself. Keep in mind that there are beginner guitar chords to let the student get used to the feel of the strings. This is painful at first and should be mastered before moving to the power chords.

Reading guitar chords will not be possible without guitar diagrams. There are different families of chords that one should know, too, other than the fact that there is a correct position of every finger for every chord. One should also understand what a fret is, what the dots are for, how to count frets in the neck, and so on.

Guitar diagrams are shown in squares with lines that represent the guitar frets and the strings. The bottom line is the first string, the thinnest one, and as you move up, the lines represent the strings up to the base. This is why guitar chord diagrams have six lines. This represents the six strings of the ordinary guitar.

The dot shows where the string should be pressed. If you will carefully observe, here are numbers on top of every black dot. The number represents the finger that will press the string on the position of the fret from the head of the guitar neck. If the number says three on the fourth fret and the dot is on the third line, this means you have to press the third string on the fourth fret with your third finger. To count, your forefinger is the first number; the middle finger is number two, and so on.

One you are done with your first set of acoustic guitar lessons and once you are efficient in reading guitar chords, this is the time you will be able to play as much songs as you want from music books.

All you need to do is to look up the chord, press it, memorize it, and make sure it sounds right with the tune you are playing. Soon, you will find yourself playing without the help of a chord book at all.

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How To Find The Right Guitar Amp

Choosing the right amplifier for your guitar is by no means an easy task.  Usually a guitarist will think of style, as well as price first, when considering options.  Assuming you have bought a guitar recently, this guide will suggest a few tips, for buying a new or used amplifier.  There are dozens on the market – with low to “sky’s the limit” prices.  Assuming that you are a beginning or aspiring guitarist, this guide should give you some guidance.  Perhaps you have just bought a Fender, Epiphone, Gibson, Dean, Ibanez, Kramer or other guitar, of fairly good to good quality, you will need a good amp to compliment your style.

One cannot think of a guitarist performing live, without thinking about their guitar to some extent.  Visualizing Jimi Hendrix’s “Stratocaster” with a wall of amplifiers behind him, — yes the much emulated and desired Marshall Stacks, which are quite expensive.  Eric Clapton, in his early years, preferred Marshalls as well, though he did also prefer to play a Les Paul, or his legendary “The Fool” SG, before he switched over to a Stratocaster as well.  Speaking of “The Fool’s” current owner, Todd Rundgren, who prefers an old Fender Mustang, is known to like the crispness of Peavey amplifiers.  I have owned several Peavey amplifiers, including a P.A. and must admit, they are really hard to beat for clarity of sound.  I also owned a Marshall Stack 100 Watts at one time, and attribute much hearing loss from it.  Honestly, I think the same classic sound, with less decibels can be achieved, through smaller amps.

Really you must ask yourself, in relation to the guitar you have, what kind of sound are you wishing to project?  Will this be acoustic?  Straight ahead Rock and Roll?  Country?  Blues?  Heavy Metal?

What kind of budget are you on?  If you are like me, I would rather start with a smaller amplifier to get a feel, for how I like the sound and how it sounds with the guitar.

SOLID STATE VS. TUBE AMPLIFIERS

There are many guitar purists who swear by tube amplifiers over solid state.  They want that warm crunch or presence of vintage tube analog sound.  The cost of a vintage amplifier is expensive.  One can also emulate or simulate the sound of a tube amplifier, from effects pedals, such as Ibanez Tube Screamer, which is quite popular, for this purpose.  Behringer and Peavey have smaller amps which sound fairly good, with trans-tube technology, in relation to the vintage Fenders, Vox, and Marshalls.  But for our purposes, we shall focus on solid state amplifiers due to cost for the beginner, versatility, and the simple fact, that digitally the sound can be reproduced, to an extent, only a professional would notice.

0 Budget

Let us assume that you have 0 to spend on an amplifier at this time.  Note, you can always add effects pedals.  In addition, due to digital technology, you can also purchase pedals which will simulate all the classic and vintage amplifiers.

There are inexpensive practice amplifiers out there ranging from -80, but it would be safe to say, that the bedroom, backstage or den is the only context you will be able to use them in.  Usually they are about 10 Watts of power, although good in tone, you may want to consider something that can be used in other atmospheres, such as jamming along with friends, or even having enough power for small clubs, or coffeehouses.  Among those smaller amps for practice:

Rogue, Peavey Audition, Rocktron, Ibanez, Behringer V Tone, Kustom, Fender Frontman 15G

Behringer Ultracoustic, Pignose, even a 10 Watt Marshall

These amplifiers may be what you are seeking if you are considering to mic them through a P.A. System, or you really just want an amplifier, to jam along with songs in the comfort of your bedroom, but it is best to consider amps starting in the 15 watt range and going up from there.

By the way, don’t feel embarrassed by the use of pedals and effects you will find that most guitarists use them.

Lastly, you may want to get a custom handmade amp built for you by someone like Jack at jacksaxe.com. Custom amps have the advantage of being built to your desires and needs.

Whatever you do, make sure that you have done your research before buying an amp. You will be glad you did.

Guitar Pro 5 Crack

You get a physical “guitar” controller with this game, and it’s amazingly fun!

Guitar Pro 5 Crack

It is one of the most enjoyable games for the Wii. You can download Guitar Hero III, from several sites. If you are going to download the game, make sure you get the guitar controller to play it, otherwise you will be playing thin air for sure. You hold the controller just like a real guitar, and it’s switchable for left handed players. The neck of the guitar has 5 buttons on it that you play with your left hand. In the center of the guitar is a “strum” button that you hit to play the notes. There’s even a metal bar to wiggle, to cause the notes to “bend” to give an extra crowd boost.

The basic game play of Guitar Hero III involves a track of notes that scroll in time to a soundtrack; you finger fret buttons on the guitar controller to make the notes and score points.

There are four difficulty levels. You start with easy of course, where it’s great fun to play along with your favorite songs and just have fun. When you crank up to the higher levels – moving through various venues and unlocking different characters and guitars – the keys get VERY difficult. Still, it’s a blast hammering away at the notes that appear on screen, waving your guitar around in the air and having fun. You hit the matching buttons, and a rock star is made. In Guitar Hero III, you’ll be making the rock with one of the best soundtracks to be found in any rhythm game. The soundtrack covers multiple eras and genres. Classic rock is represented with songs such as Santana’s “Black Magic Woman,” the Rolling Stones’ “Paint it Black,” and ZZ Top’s ” La Grange .” Alternative rock from the ’90s is present in a big way with tracks such as The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Cherub Rock,” Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Suck My Kiss” and Pearl Jam’s “Evenflow” on-hand. Classic punk fans will love being able to play the Dead Kennedys’ “Holiday in Cambodia ,” Social Distortion’s “Story of My Life,” and the Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy in the UK .” Modern rock hits such as Bloc Party’s “Helicopter,” The Killers’ “When You Were Young” and Queens of the Stone Age’s “3′s and 7′s” are also available. And for all the metalheads, you get major classics such as Slayer’s “Raining Blood,” Iron Maiden’s “Number of the Beast” and

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If you are thinking about downloading guitar hero for the Wii, make sure you checkout a reliable Wii download site, one that provides the game downloads legally. Most download sites have two pricing band: One is unlimited downloads for a fixed membership fee, and the other is paying for downloads. If you come unstuck looking for games that are hard to find in the stores, then these download sites can be an excellent alternative.

Some of these sites require you to install a downloader program. Be on your guard regarding sites that do this, as those downloader programs are well known avenues for spyware and malware that can infect your computer with viruses. Download guitar hero for wii can be a tricky process as the files are large with lots of musical sound tracks being it’s currently the hottest game. If you’re going to download guitar hero for wii, you’ll need a lot of patience while it downloads.

Be sure to check it out, and make sure you have the right controllers for it! Guitar Hero III as the best tracklist of any Guitar Hero game to date, with lots of master tracks from the original bands and artists, with higher difficulty levels ensuring experienced players won’t get bored too quickly.

That being said, you can usually get through an hour or two before your fingers really start to kill you. If you play with a group of friends, passing the guitar around between songs, that means an afternoon can go by before all of you end up with finger pain. I suppose it’s a built in way to ensure that you don’t play video games all day long.

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Play Guitar, Play

As I maneuvered the Hartbeat mobile into a parking space on a freshly mowed field, I thought that it seemed like a good place to start on a journey of the healing power of music.  When I opened the door to a workshop filled with people building guitars, I knew I had come to the right place.  I was about to enter a two day experience with a group of volunteers building guitars from kits that would be given to veterans in need of this healing power of music.  You can view the KARE11 story on the guitar building by clicking here.

Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright

Before painting a word picture (along with a little help from our friends, the digital images), I’d like to share a few verses about the Guitars For Vets program.

Guitars for Vets began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2007. The non-profit organization provides guitars to ailing and injured vets.  Many of the vets who receive instruments are managing post traumatic stress disorder.   The founders of Guitars for Vets believe that, in their words, “through self expression and the healing power of music, it is our intent to restore the feelings of joy and purpose that can be lost after suffering trauma.”  To learn about Guitars for Vets, click here.

The Wild Earth Woodworking School on County Road N, a few miles east of Hudson, Wisconsin was where we gathered to try and craft instruments.  A diverse group of 80 volunteers over two days, sanded, glued, sprayed, tuned and set up twenty guitars.  George Vondriska, the owner of the school and several others had done some prep work on the guitars (attaching the necks to the bodies) on twenty guitars.  George offers classes in building guitars from kits as well as other woodworking projects.  His two-building woodshop provided the stage for the project. He, too, was a volunteer.  You can learn more about Wild Earth Woodworking by clicking here.

So what was it like to help build a stringed instrument that could change someone’s life?  Hartbeat would describe the process as exciting, educational, fulfilling and even life changing.

The Hartbeat’s woodworking skills are limited to a 7th grade shop class.  However, I was not alone in being thankful that no power tools[

Who is Your Guitar Hero ?

Many people, guitar players, or music lovers have their own heroes in guitar music. Their hero’s may have served as inspirations with the music they have made or they may be the motivation of many people that is why they would like to learn to play the guitar.

Here are the noteworthy guitar players who compiled groundbreaking profiles in the guitar playing history.

George Harrison

George Harrison was a member of the Beatles. Many people still idolize him for his guitar playing skills even after he left the band to pursue a solo career. He was known as one who played guitar with emotions and feelings and is considered by many to be been the greatest guitarist in the history of rock and roll.

John McLaughlin

John McLaughlin is known for his rock and jazz music. He had many different roles in the music field but it was in guitar playing that he excelled and became famous. He started playing the guitar at the age of 11 and it was through guitar that he made a breakthrough in the music industry.

Robin Trower

Robin Trower is a British guitarist who became the idol of the 1970′s guitar music. He was known for his unique tone and feel with a touch of the blues. He was a member of the famous Procol Harum and was a guitar soloist in the band. One of his famous albums is the Bridge of Sighs, which is considered the best among his many albums.

Randy Bachman

Randy Bachman was a member of two famous Canadian bands, BTO and the Guess Who. He may not seem well known to many guitar players but he has made remarkable contributions in the field of music and guitar playing. He has a talent for writing as well as playing guitar which contributed in his success with these two bands.

Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana became famous not only for his voice but also for playing lead guitar. His music is a blend of Latin, African, blues and rock rhythms as well as percussion. His albums were top quality and he won many awards in the music field. His Best of Santana album is one album to check out if you would like to listen to is top selling music.

There are still many other guitar players who can serve as deserving idols or role models when it comes to playing the guitar – they may be popular and some may be unknown until now. What is important is that they make contributions and influence people to enjoy and love music through the guitar. They serve as inspiration and role models to beginners as well as aspiring professional guitar players.

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Learn to Play Guitar Like Zz Top’s Reverend Willie G

Billy F. Gibbons is the kind of guy that is irresistible to watch and hypnotic to hear when he’s on stage with his 1959 Gibson Les Paul electric guitar known to the blues and rock world as “Miss Pearly Gates.” Gibbons, recognized also as “Reverend Willie G.” is the lead vocalist and guitarist for the band ZZ Top. While he has achieved his infamy through his music, he is also an ordained minister with license to perform weddings in 49 states. Anyone that would like to learn to play guitar like the Reverend ought to know that his distinctive sound is the result of using a quarter or a peso as a guitar pick and his masterful use of harmonics.

Gibbons was born and raised in Houston, Texas and is touted to be one of the finest blues-rock guitarists to emerge from the state, alongside the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan. He had musical influences in his early years; his father, Fred Gibbons played the piano and gave him appreciation for classical and country sounds. The family’s Afro-American housekeeper introduced him to the blues.

In 1963 at the age of 13, Gibbons received a Gibson Melody Maker electric guitar with a Fender Champ amp and commenced to emulate the new sounds of rock n’ roll bursting from the TV and radio through Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Jimmy Reid. Gibbons was favoured while in his band, Moving Sidewalks by one of history’s all-time favourite guitarists, Jimi Hendrix. When the band folded in 1969 he pushed his way permanently onto the music scene when he hooked up with fellow Texans, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard of American Blues to form ZZ Top.

The band was named after the blues master B.B. King and was initially Z.Z. King. The band members shortly changed it to ZZ Top so it didn’t sound too much like their blues hero. Despite the fact that ZZ Top has sold in the range of 60 million records, one of the most memorable moments Gibbons recalls was an early performance when he was relatively unknown.

“Perhaps one of the first performances where the curtain opened and we were greeted by the one paying customer of the evening. We looked at each other, and then launched into the show. Played the first set, took a break, went out and bought the guy a Coke and went back and completed the night. We’re still friends with the guy!”

Many aspiring blues guitarists have attempted to mimic Gibbon’s eccentric style over the years but it can be frustrating to make it sound as good as the master. Fortunately for us, there is a guitar tuition program available that features Billy Gibbons breaking down his techniques into easy to follow steps. Online guitar lessons give you the chance to begin practicing his famous blues riffs at a slow pace until you can really get going. Gibbons followed some of the greatest musicians in the country while developing his unique style and now technology has made it a simple approach to learning from the genius that changed the course of music history.