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Tag: classical guitar scales
Mastering Scales, Part 6: Phrasing
Mastering Scales, Part 6: Phrasing
There are infinite ways to develop more speed, accuracy, and fluidity in your scale practice. Using rhythmic manipulation, extensor training, patterns, repeated notes, fragments, and phrasing are favorite devices. They will all explained in the next several posts. Once you are familiar with the various techniques, apply them to scales (or even troublesome spots) in your repertoire to either problem solve or build a stronger foundation.
Throughout the following series of posts use the following fingerings (basic patterns in bold) focus on efficient and relaxed alternation, tone, consistency, and rhythmic pulse. More advanced students could expand them with articulations such as staccato and legato, dynamics, and tempo. Practice the material between repeats more than twice when necessary.
Rest-stroke fingerings: im, mi, ma, am, ia, ai, p, ami, ima, imam, amim, aimi
Free-stroke fingerings: im, mi, ma, am, ia, ai, pi, pm, pa, ami, ima, imam, amim, aimi, pmi, pami
Phrasing your scales using subtle accents, articulations, and dynamics to convey note groupings is one of my favorite ways to think about music while working on scales. A slight change in articulation or accent will make your phrase move forward gracefully or plod along like an elephant. Apply the basic ideas below as a start and then apply it to repertoire.
For scale sources and further study: Mastering Diatonic Scales.
Use accents or articulation to delineate a group or phrase:
Use dynamics:
Think phrasing:
Thanks for reading!
Mastering Scales, Part 5: Fragments
Mastering Scales, Part 5: Fragments
There are infinite ways to develop more speed, accuracy, and fluidity in your scale practice. Using rhythmic manipulation, extensor training, patterns, repeated notes, fragments, and phrasing are favorite devices. They will all explained in the next several posts. Once you are familiar with the various techniques, apply them to scales (or even troublesome spots) in your repertoire to either problem solve or build a stronger foundation.
Throughout the following series of posts use the following fingerings (basic patterns in bold) focus on efficient and relaxed alternation, tone, consistency, and rhythmic pulse. More advanced students could expand them with articulations such as staccato and legato, dynamics, and tempo. Practice the material between repeats more than twice when necessary.
Rest-stroke fingerings: im, mi, ma, am, ia, ai, p, ami, ima, imam, amim, aimi
Free-stroke fingerings: im, mi, ma, am, ia, ai, pi, pm, pa, ami, ima, imam, amim, aimi, pmi, pami
Practicing and developing the ability to play fast or expressive fragments is arguably as important as practicing long scale forms primarily because most repertoire contains small melodic fragments consisting of groups of three to seven notes. Spanish repertoire, in particular the music of Joaquín Rodrigo, is an example of where long scale practice pays off but among the music by every other composer, from Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco to Heitor Villa-Lobos, it is difficult to find many instances of scale runs beyond two octaves.
Using familiar scale forms, work on small extracts of 3-7 notes in various ways to discover which right-hand fingerings feel most comfortable and which present challenges to overcome.
For scale sources and further study: Mastering Diatonic Scales.
Short Fragments
Step 1
Extract a group of notes from a familiar scale form
Step 2
Develop all possibilities with incremental addition of notes.
Three notes: 134, 341, 413, 431, 314, 143.
Four notes: 1341, 3413, 4134, 1343, 3431, 4313, 1434, 4341, 3414, 4143, 4314, 3143, 1431
Five Notes* (my favorite): 13431, 34313, 43134, 31343, 14341, 43413, 34143, etc…
* not all possibilities listed
Longer Fragments
Step 1
Box off a larger group of notes and play in various combinations.
Step 2
Fiddle with the order of notes to yield and practice melodic fragments:
Further Development
To both the shorter and longer fragments, add slurs, articulations, accents, and character to experiment with expressivity.
Mastering Scales, Part 3: Scale Patterns
Mastering Scales, Part 3: Scale Patterns
There are infinite ways to develop more speed, accuracy, and fluidity in your scale practice. Using rhythmic manipulation, extensor training, patterns, repeated notes, fragments, and phrasing are favorite devices. They will all explained in the next several posts. Once you are familiar with the various techniques, apply them to scales (or even troublesome spots) in your repertoire to either problem solve or build a stronger foundation.
Throughout the following series of posts use the following fingerings (basic patterns in bold) focus on efficient and relaxed alternation, tone, consistency, and rhythmic pulse. More advanced students could expand them with articulations such as staccato and legato, dynamics, and tempo. Practice the material between repeats more than twice when necessary.
Rest-stroke fingerings: im, mi, ma, am, ia, ai, p, ami, ima, imam, amim, aimi
Free-stroke fingerings: im, mi, ma, am, ia, ai, pi, pm, pa, ami, ima, imam, amim, aimi, pmi, pami
Though by no means extensive, use the following three and four-note scale patterns to develop coordination and to combat awkward string-crossing moments. Combining alternating right-hand fingerings with triplets or three finger patterns with sixteenths will further develop fluidity in your right-hand technique.
For scale sources and further study: Mastering Diatonic Scales.
Three Note Patterns
Step 1 – im, mi, ma, am, ia, ai, pi, pm, pa
Pattern 1
Pattern 2
Step 2 – ami, ima, pmi
Pattern 1
Pattern 2
Four Note Paterrns
Step 1 – im, mi, ma, am, ia, ai, pi, pm, pa
Pattern 1
Pattern 2
Step 2 – ami, ima, pmi
Pattern 1
Pattern 2
Mastering Scales, Part 1 – Rhythmic Manipulation
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The Secret to Better Hand Coordination
Excerpt from Mastering Diatonic Scales – Preparatory Exercises for Scales
Right- and left-hand finger coordination is ultimately developed through scale practice, but keep in mind that both hands already prefer to act together in a coordinated fashion. It is useful to develop this natural coordination further, but it is actually the counter-coordination that requires some practice to fully realize finger independence. Therefore, the construction of simple coordination exercises involves left-hand groups of 2, 3, and 4 finger movements with right-hand fingerings.
An example of a movement with natural coordination would be a left-hand movement of finger 1 to finger 2 plucked with right-hand fingers i and m. In other words, both index fingers act together, followed by a movement where both middle fingers act together. Or another way to think of it is that the finger movements in each hand are both directionally moving toward the finger 4 (pinky) side of the hand.
An example of a movement with counter-coordination would be a left-hand movement of finger 1 to finger 2 plucked with right-hand fingers m and i. Here, the finger movements in the hands are moving in the opposite direction: the left-hand fingers move toward finger 4 (pinky) while the right-hand fingers move toward the thumb.
Practice the following basic natural and counter-coordination movements starting on C on string 3 (fret 5). Explore these in various positions. I prefer to use the non-wound strings to minimize nail wear. Numbers correspond to left-hand fingers (1=index, 2=middle, 3=ring, 4=pinky).
Exercise 1 – Two Finger Movements
Natural Coordination
12, 23, 34, 13, 24, 14 paired with im, ma, ia (use rest and free stroke)
21, 32, 43, 31, 42, 41 paired with mi, am, ai (use rest and free stroke)
Counter-Coordination
12, 23, 34, 13, 24, 14 paired with mi, am, ai (use rest and free stroke)
21, 32, 43, 31, 42, 41 paired with im, ma, ia (use rest and free stroke)
Exercise 2 – Three Finger Movements
Natural Coordination
123, 234, 134, 124 paired with ima (use rest and free stroke)
321, 432, 431, 421 paired with ami (use rest and free stroke)
Counter-Coordination
123, 234, 134, 124 paired with ami (use rest and free stroke)
321, 432, 431, 421 paired with ima (use rest and free stroke)
For Exercises 3-7 check out Mastering Diatonic Scales.
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