The Best Right-Hand Exercise You are Not Doing by Leo Garcia
If you've worked through both Part 1 and Part 2 to improve your right-hand confidence, you can add this exercise to the bunch. I teach this one to students who are working on developing tremolo. But it's very useful for mastering . . .
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The ability to place the left hand in a position to give equal opportunity for each and every finger to fret precisely is essential for playing well. Pinching a fret precisely means pinching a fret while avoiding contact with any adjacent string/s.
There are many instances where the ringing of adjacent strings is necessary. Think of your Bach fugues!
So here are two exercises I like to show students who are struggling with placing left hand fingers precisely. Some things to keep in mind:
Hope this helps clean up those sloppy pinches! : )
One of the easiest ways to improve right-hand arpeggio studies like Heitor Villa-Lobos's Etude Nº1, Leo Brouwer's Etude Nº6, or Francisco Tárrega's Estudio Brillante, or the parts of pieces where arpeggios occur for an extended time is understanding when exactly the left-hand fingers must place or release to prepare for the next note or chord formation. Often, fingers are placed too early or too late, and both situations either overexert the fingers, the nerves, or worst of all, the musical intent. Arpeggios are, after all, broken chords. It is very rare . . .
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I think I’ve now scoured most of Pavel Steidl‘s masterclasses on youtube. What a treasure trove of advice. I absolutely love him, his creativity, and his masterful ability to teach in such a fun way.
Here is a left hand technique progression that roughly matches what he demonstrates in one of his masterclasses. Pavel recommends at least 30 minutes a day of work for the fingers. Among his bits of advice and reflections, there is a moment in a masterclass where he talks about left hand choreography and how it is connected to the part of our brain that is responsible for, as he puts it, “fantasy and imagination.”
Here is the sequence to explore:
Play the top voice as a continuous slur.
Move on to the next step or repeat with the remaining patterns:
02/1343, 03/1242, 04/1232 (slur/counterpoint)
Now slur the counterpoint or fixed note as well.
Move on to the next step or repeat with the remaining patterns (see above).
Add in a coordinating movement in the right hand (try something simple first).
Move on to the next step or repeat with the remaining patterns (see above).
Explore a more challenging coordinating movement in the right hand (try pami on string 5).
Be creative and have fun just like Pavel!
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Studio Content
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Studio Content
This content is restricted to Six String Journal Studio Members only. Join for access.
Studio Content
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Lately, when starting my practice I will start with an assortment of left hand movements. I go slowly with attention to the fluidity of the movements. While I do this, my ear starts to focus. The easy pace is ideal for adjusting tone and exploring left hand movement before moving on to arpeggios, scale fragments, and spots in pieces.
Here is a slur sequence I really enjoyed focusing on yesterday. It involves playing slurs with a pair of fingers, slurs to and from open strings, all while requiring the precise placement of the fingers to create tunnels so that adjacent strings remain unobstructed. Fun!
I immediately thought: BLOG POST!
Here’s the outline of the movement using fingers 12 but you should try all pairs (23, 34, 13, 24, 14). You’ll get more out of the exercises by repeated each slur many times and of course, play them across all strings and positions.
Method of Practice
Exercise 1 – Ascending Slurs
Exercise 2 – Ascending Slurs 2
Exercise 3 – Ascending and Descending Slurs
Exercise 4 – Descending Slurs
Exercise 5 – Descending and Ascending Slurs
Go give that left hand a workout!
Rafael Elizondo is a fabulous Mexican concert guitarist who has been making wonderful videos for his youtube channel. If you don’t speak Spanish, you may not be at too much of a disadvantage because he demonstrates everything very clearly. This instructional video below is a fine example of Rafael explaining how to use fixed fingers to establish stability and confidence in the right hand.
Here is another great one where he demonstrates 4 finger coordination patterns for the left hand:
Check out and subscribe to his channel. There are tons of great posts.
More soon…
