Noad Frederick, The Complete idiots guide to play the guitar (2ND EDITION)

Study Note, Study in B Minor Fernando Sor

There is much barring in this piece, but fortunately the bars are alternated with unbarred passages that give the hand a chance to relax. Be sure to check your bar position, and al- though only five strings are involved in many of the chords, bar all sixthe position is more reliable. The particular beauty of this piece can be brought out by giving special attention to the melody notesthose marked with upward stems. Rest strokes may be used to give a fuller sound, and very occasionally vibrato may be used, for instance on the D that begins the last measure of the third line. This is a moment when the hand is released from holding a full chord so a moment may be snatched to make a really good sound. A. The second finger is used here because it is very difficult to move the first finger from playing a note on the the first string right across the guitar to make a bar for the next note. Advanced players use what they call a hinge bar. The E would be played by the first finger but right at its base as if in bar position. The rest of the finger would be raised at an angle to enable the open B to sound. Then the finger slides forward to the second fret and drops to form the bar. This is tricky, but used extensively by the pros. B. Be sure to place a full bar here in preparation for the next measure. It is awkward to jump from a half bar to a full bar. C. The first finger has a long jump from the C down to the E in the next measure. The secret is to take the chord off just before the end of the measurethe open G ringing on covers the gap. D. This line needs special practice. First, it is an awkward move for the first finger to go from the top string to barring the fourth fret. However, there is no reasonable alterna- tive, so just repeat the movement a few times, and try to ease gracefully into the bar rather than grabbing at it. E. A touch of vibrato on the B is attractive here, and even a small hesitation marking the end of the upward climb. F. The half bar here rather breaks the rule of trying to avoid going from half to full bars on the same fret. However, there are no reasonable alternatives, since most players would find a full bar here uncomfortable.

Romance Annimo (Anonymous Romance)

The Anonymous Romance that follows also has stories attached to it, although no one can say authoratitively where it comes from. It is assumed to be Spanish because it was widely played there under the name Romance Annimo, but some Spaniards believed it came from the Caucasus region. It was used in the film Blood and Sand, played by Vicente Gomez, and later in the French

film Jeux Interdits (Forbidden Games), in which the performer was Narcisso Yepes. The piece was immediately popular, and in Europe is still referred to as Jeux Interdits. The Romance is harder to play than the Sors Study in B Minor because of some stretches and extensive barring in the second section. However, there will be some who will go to almost any lengths to play the piece, so here it is.

Study Notes, Romance Annimo

The arpeggio form is the same as that of the Trrega study in Chapter 23. If you have not already worked on that piece I would suggest doing so now, since it works as an excellent preparatory study. Played as a straight arpeggio, i.e., free-stroke throughout, it sounds fine provided that an effort is made to bring out the melody. This can be done by playing the second and third notes of each triplet group slightly softer than the first. However, an occasional rest stroke on the first note of the measure can really make the melody sing. Even if this is done only every two measures, it still gives a more dynamic quality than a plain arpeggio. It is worth practic- ing the arpeggio by itself until the rest stroke with the ring finger feels natural. G. Although you could get by with a half bar here the full bar is really better. The reason is that in a moment you have to move to a full bar at the seventh fret, and it is much more awkward to change from a half to a full bar rather than simply sliding a full bar up two frets. Try it both ways and youll be convinced. Obviously this is a practice spot, since the stretch to the eleventh fret is hard. The secret is a really good bar position to start with. After this measure it is plain sailing to the end of the section.

H.

I. The second half is harder than the first due to the sustained bars and some large stretches. However, what seems impossible at first becomes feasible with repetition. J. The sign is for a double sharp, which raises the original note by two half steps. It is sometimes noted with two sharp signs side by side ( ). The same notes could have been written by writing three Ds, with the middle one having a natural sign (). However, three Ds in a row would disguise the musical line. A double sharp is cancelled by a natural sign, with a sharp to the right of the natural if the note is to revert from double sharp to single sharp (the usual case). This could have been written by the C that begins the next measure, but is not strictly necessary because of the barline. The move to the seventh position bar is a tough one, but there is no solution except extra practice. E. Usually a four-string half bar is better than a three-string one; however, in this case covering three strings is as much as most people can manage. The second finger can be used to guide the hand down to the second-position bar in the last line. Overall this is an easy piece for the right hand once the arpeggio pattern becomes familiar. However, the left-hand stretches require a certain opening up of the hand which comes with

regular playing and practice. Never push the left hand too hard. If it begins to feel strained, stop playing and lay the hand flat on a table with the fingers slightly apart.

The Least You Need to Know

There are some pieces that almost all classical guitarists enjoy playing. These pieces are hard to master but can become a central part of your repertory.

The Portamento
The portamento is a nice technique. It can make a position change easier, but it can also add a sound to the movement which, like a slur, adds smoothness to the musical passage. Heres an example:

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The first note is played and held for almost its full time value. Then, with the note still sounding, the finger travels up the string to the fifth fret in time to play the E on the second beat. The small note indicates simply that the E is played normally to distinguish it from the slide (see below). The finger maintains a light pressure on the string, and there is a slight scoop sound as it moves up. This linking sound should not be too pronouncedthe real secret is to leave the first finger in place until the last possible moment, and then to travel quickly up. This is the kind of technique that requires experimentation until a satisfactory sound is achieved.

The Slide (Arrastre)

The slide, also known as the arrastre, is very similar to the portamento, except that the second note is not played by the right hand. The example below shows what happens.

K. L.

The C is played. The note is held for almost its full value. Just before the next beat, the finger slides up the string to arrive at the E exactly on the beat. The D will be heard, but obviously with diminished volume. Like the portamento, it has the effect of adding smoothness or legato to a passage.