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.
Tag: left hand coordination
Advanced Left Hand Training, Part 1
Need something new to add to your slur studies? Try this series of advanced exercises for the left hand that combine compound slurs and accents. Use them to build endurance, control, and precision. For each of the three levels illustrated keep the following points in mind:
- Practice on various strings in various positions.
- Practice slowly with great rhythmic intent.
- Keep movements efficient and clean.
- Play accents clearly.
- Keep left hand wrist and fingers as relaxed as possible.
- If at any point your hand and fingers feel like they are going to fall off, consider stopping.
Level 1
For these exercises use the following left hand finger patterns: 12, 23, 34, 13, 24, 14. The example below uses 12.
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Level 2
For these exercises use the following left hand finger patterns: 123, 321, 134, 431, 124, 421, 234, 432. The example below uses 124.
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 4
Level 3
For these exercises use the following left hand finger patterns: 1234, 4321, 1324, 4231, 1423, 4132. The example below uses 1234.
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
If your left hand has not been challenged or you’d like to expand the exercises a bit or you DO want your hand and fingers to fall off, use a bar or fix a left hand finger that is not in use to another string and nearby fret.
L
Coordination and Right Hand Arpeggios
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 that all fingers should place at once if they come in ‘broken’.
Sequential planting of the left-hand fingers is a skill that choreographs left hand movement to a deeper and more subtle level than simply grabbing at the next chord frantically at the start of a measure.
Here is a simple but effective exercise to help develop the principle of timely left-hand finger placement. The key is to time the placement of the new finger in relation to the meter and when it is due to enter and to avoid arbitrarily placing it at the beginning of the measure.
Go through each exercise a few times plucking every single note of the arpeggio. Once this feels comfortable and the timing is starting to feel synced with both hands, slur the entering note in time to develop a sense of pulse in the left hand, too.
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 4
There are infinite ways to expand this concept but one of my favorites is to move into cross-rhythms with accents. My idea of fun!
Exercise 5
Explore your arpeggio pieces to see if you can apply this concept and let me know if it helps!
Pavel’s Left Hand Technique Fun
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:
Step 1
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)
Step 2
Now slur the counterpoint or fixed note as well.
Move on to the next step or repeat with the remaining patterns (see above).
Step 3
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).
Step 4
Explore a more challenging coordinating movement in the right hand (try pami on string 5).
Be creative and have fun just like Pavel!
Rafael Elizondo’s Technique Videos
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…
Six String Journal 