I originally thought I would do videos to show some of the concepts below in practice but in anticipation of that I thought this might help some of my students so I'll post it now. These are some recurring themes that I encounter in lessons that have solved a lot of little musical hiccups. Hope they help.
Chord Rolling
When rolling chords where should the weight of the right hand fingers be distributed? I find that even though we tend to . . .
Studio Content This content is restricted to Six String Journal Studio Members only. Join for access.
After watching Eliot Fisk demonstrate all of these, I thought I would write them out and share them with students. I confess that although I practiced scales religiously (and still do), I seldom went through modes. There are many reasons to work on these, though: ear training, technique development, and fingerboard familiarity.
The first form has the root starting on string 3, the second form has the root starting on string 4; and the third form works for both strings 5 and 6 . . .
Studio Content This content is restricted to Six String Journal Studio Members only. Join for access.
One of the most played pieces on the classical guitar, the Spanish Romance, is a wonderful piece for students to work on all sorts of musical and technical challenges. In the next two videos I demonstrate several ways to practice the Spanish Romance that will make it more musical and fun to play. Hope it helps!
One-Time
Monthly
Yearly
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation TO Support Six String Journal
In this video I talk about using guide fingers to help choreograph the left hand. Guide fingers really make everything flow in the left hand by keeping it in contact with the strings. They also prevent the necessity to lift and place which can cause stress and tension in the left hand. Don’t forget to like, share, subscribe, and leave a comment if you have questions.
In this video I talk about practicing the six basic four string arpeggios with four right hand fingers and the importance of planting for beginners. Planting will stabilize the right hand and will help deepen your hand’s relationship to the span of the strings.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the youtube channel. I’m putting more stuff that is not linked right away to Six String Journal. Leave a comment if you have questions!
I wrote this for the Tonebase blog a while ago and thought I’d share it here. Hope it helps!
A crucial aspect of right-hand technique is the ability to control the stroke of each finger when it interacts with the string. During this interaction, the energy of the stroke determines the volume of the note and, if well done, does not displace the other right-hand fingers in the process. This requires right-hand finger independence. To this end, I like to walk students through a series of activities utilizing a fixed right-hand finger with the focus of keeping the hand and inactive finger calm.
During the sequence and patterns, watch the right hand as carefully as possible for any extraneous or micro movements. Ask yourself whether it is possible to pare these movements down to stillness. Does the thumb stroke overwhelm the hand? Are there any fingers or combinations that are more uncomfortable or weak? Is the stroke efficient?
To start, place all right-hand fingers (p, i, m ,a) on the 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st strings respectively. I recommend using a metronome (quarter note = 60).
Step 1
While keeping the inactive finger on its respective string, starting softly, play the following patterns. Go slowly and spend enough time on each pattern (a minute or two) before moving to the next one. Focus on keeping the same volume in both the thumb and the fingers that are alternating or working together. Note:a should remain fixed on string 1
Repeat Step 1 but impose the metrical accent. Think: 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and, etc. Weak beats (the ands) should be slightly softer. For fun, drop the strong beats to the background and play the weaker beats with more energy. Watch your hand with curiosity to see how it behaves. Make deliberate adjustments until it feels groovy, balanced, and comfortable. Experiment with volume. Experiment with tempo.
Step 2
While keeping the inactive finger on its respective string, starting softly, play the following patterns. Take your time to feel. Focus on keeping the same volume in both the thumb and the fingers that are alternating or working together. Note:m should remain fixed on string 2
Repeat Step 2 but impose the metrical accent. Keep weak beats softer. Watch your hand with curiosity to see how it behaves. Make adjustments until it feels right. Experiment with volume and tempo.
Step 3
You know the drill. Take your time to feel. Focus on keeping the same volume in both the thumb and the fingers that are alternating or working together. Note:i should remain fixed on string 3.
Repeat Step 3 but impose the metrical accent. Keep weak beats softer. Watch your hand with curiosity to see how it behaves. Make adjustments until it feels right. Experiment with volume and tempo.
It is nice to follow these three steps with some arpeggio etudes.
If you’ve been working on right hand arpeggios or etudes and find that alternation between m and a is not as comfortable as i and m (or i and a) then you’ve come to the right place. The exercises below will help remedy this problem. Simply because of our hand anatomy, independence between m and a is more difficult to develop, so I often suggest adding a bit of extra mama to the basic patterns most students use to develop their right hand position and their arpeggios. Adding a little bit extra mama consistently will pay off over the course of weeks, so keep at it.
Here are the six patterns I encourage students to practice regularly:
Here is pima with extra mama (I like to add some activity in the left hand but it is not necessary):
pima + mama
Continue through the other patterns in a similar way. As always, use a metronome, strive for a consistent sound, and relax your right hand.
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 . . .
Studio Content This content is restricted to Six String Journal Studio Members only. Join for access.
Improve Your Right Hand Confidence, Part 2 by Leo Garcia
The most important movements to confident right hand technique include alternation between pairs and groups of fingers and how these fingers move across strings. Now we'll take the idea a bit further than we did in Part 1. Remember to use these exercises consistently as part of your daily warm-up. Try the next several exercises using various speeds and the most common right hand fingerings: . . .
Studio Content This content is restricted to Six String Journal Studio Members only. Join for access.
The most important movements to confident right hand technique include alternation between pairs and groups of fingers and how these fingers move across strings. To that end, as part of your daily warm-up, try the next several exercises using various speeds and the most common right hand fingerings: im, mi, am, ma in both rest stroke and free stroke. If you have extra time, add in the following fingerings in free stroke: ia, ai, ami, pi, pm, pa.
Here are several key practice points:
Strive to play with a sense of pulse, resisting the urge to play every note with the same intensity.
Focus on the quality of sound and whether it is consistent from finger to finger.
When not using thumb (p), rest it lightly on the lower string adjacent to the string that is played. Experiment with resting it two or three strings away and sense the subtlety of how it influences the alternating fingers.
Stay close to the strings.
Use a metronome. Record your progress in terms of tempo.
