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subject: the art of rasgueado (long)
ok folks,
the rasgueado article i was asked for follows. it's completely new.
pm
there are two completely distinct kinds of rasgueado, each with its own
subtle variations: one produced by the fingers alone, and one produced by
a motion of the wrist. classical guitarists are typically taught (and are
sometimes aware of, even) only the first.
the following is the result of observation of, and interviews with, most
of the leading flamenco guitarists, with the notable exceptions of ramon
montoya, nino ricardo and paco de lucia. in particular, i had long
discussions at various times with my teachers, paco pena and mario
escudero. nevertheless, the responsibility for any errors remains my own.
one thing that emerges very clearly is that each major flamenco guitarist
has his own preferred way of doing rasgueado, so that there is no single
"right" way" (although there may be "wrong" in the sense of untraditional,
or dysfunctional, ways).
1.1 mechanics
-------------
the simplest rasgueado is performed from the basic (normal) hand position.
1) the fingers are curled (but not held tightly) into the palm of the
hand.
x a m i
-----------
|-----------|
| | | |
a a a a
| | | |
note the following points, which are often the subject of misconceptions:
- it is not necessary for one finger to finish its travel before the next
one
begins.
- the fingers are not held tightly in the palm and "fired" across the
strings.
1.2 timing
----------
there are two distinct ways to use the basic rasgueado, and these are
often confused:
1) the chords may be played evenly, with each taking up (in principle),
the
time of a semiquaver (16th note), as shown above. all rasgueados
occurring
in basic flamenco forms may be represented this way, e.g. bulerias:
i i i i x a m i i i
--- --- ----------- | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |-----------| | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | v | | v a v a v a a a a v | v
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
x x | x x | x | x | | | | | | x |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
here the x's are taps (golpes) on the body of the guitar. this shows the
modern way of playing bulerias. e.g. that of paco pena. note that beat 10
is an upstroke of the index finger (following a rasgueado); we shall come
back to this in a minute.
2) however, the rasgueado may also be used as an ornament. in this case,
the
first three strokes will precede the beat slightly, and the final
stroke
will be on the beat and take the emphasis: the first three strokes
occupying, (again in principle), theoretically no time, as in an
acciacatura.
now let us return to the first case. we said that the rasgueado occupied
beat 9, with an upstroke of the index for beat 10.
3
i i i i x a m i i
--- --- ------- | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |-------| | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | v | | v a v a v a a a a | v
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
x x | x x | x | x | | | | | x |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
here, though, the link between notation and reality is starting to blur.
the important thing is that beat 10 should arrive on time; one could delay
the rasgueado by as much or little as one liked; could in fact, play it as
an ornament to beat 10, as described in 2) above.
here, i think, is the source of the confusion between the two forms of
rasgueado. nevertheless -- even though in this particular case one could
use either -- they are distinct.
1.3 variations
--------------
when a very fast rasgueado is wanted, the stroke of the little finger can
be omitted. one hears this not infrequently (for example) in the playing
of paco de lucia.
2. continuous rasgueado
=======================
2) to bring the little finger back into the palm as the first finger is
moving forward, and vice versa. this is not easy, and takes
considerable
practice. when mastered, however, it produces a beautiful drumroll
rasgueado of amazing evenness. this is the method preferred (for
example)
by juanito serrano, who was one if the "fenomenos" of the 50's and
60's.
(juan is currently professor of guitar at uc fresno.)
5 5
x a m i i x a m i i i i
--------------- --------------- ---
|---------------| |---------------| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
a a a a v a a a a v a v
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | x |
1 2 3
more complex variations are also possible (nino ricardo apparently used to
start his rasgueado with an upstroke), but that would take me beyond the
scope of this basic explanation.
3. triplets
============
2) make an upstroke with your thumb backwards (from treble to bass) across
the
strings of the guitar.
3) now open your hand, strumming down with all the fingers at once across
the
strings, but leave your thumb where it is.
4) now bring your thumb down across the strings to join the fingers. this
completes one iteration.
the up and down motions of the thumb should be made with a relaxed
rotation of the wrist, the opening of the hand being the third stroke.
now you can try playing three of these triplets in a row, followed by a
final upstroke of the thumb, thus:
p h p p h p p h p p
--- --- --- --- --- ---
| | | | | | | | | |
v a a v a a v a a v
| | | | | | | | | |
a more subtle variation, capable of more light and shade, is used by paco
pena:
p x i p x i p x i p
--- --- --- --- --- ---
| | | | | | | | | |
v a a v a a v a a v
| | | | | | | | | |
p m i p m i p m i p
--- --- --- --- --- ---
| | | | | | | | | |
v a a v a a v a a v
| | | | | | | | | |
conclusion
==========
what all this goes to say is that you should experiment with all of these
methods; not just for a day or two, but until you can produce them all
fairly comfortably. then pick the way that suits you best.
good luck!
paul magnussen
paul magnussen