Guitar News

Question: How can I improve my slurs (hammer-ons, pull-offs) on classical guitar?

Answer Summary: Improving your slurs should begin with a review and examination of good guitar positioning and left hand hand alignment followed by accuracy and relaxation exercises. Once those topics have been reviewed and improved, the light reflex-oriented motion needed for slurs (hammer-ons and pull-offs) can be accomplished at higher levels. Let’s explore what’s needed in more detail.

See my full lesson on slurs: Slurs on the Classical Guitar

Slur Lesson

The first thing we’ll do is just look at a lesson video covering some exercises with slurs in case you need some general tips on playing slurs.

Guitar Position + Left Hand Alignment

A proper left hand position is absolutely necessary to play slurs.

The five main tips for beginners:

• Left wrist is straight (gentle arch), not over-extended
• Left palm and knuckles are parallel with the strings
• Left hand thumb is vertical and behind 2nd finger
• Left hand fingers are curved and on fingertips
• Left hand fingers play very close to the fret

Here are some lessons you should check out.

• Classical Guitar Position (How to Sit and Hold the Guitar)
• Left Hand Position for Classical Guitar

Relaxation and Accuracy

Having a relaxed and accurate left hand is also necessary to playing slurs. Consider the following three points which are also connected to playing with speed.

• Economy of motion is the act of eliminating unneeded movements. Keeping your fingers close to the strings and preparing your fingers directly over the frets increases efficiency.
• Accuracy is self-explanatory but should not be overlooked. Placing your fingers close to the frets allows you to play with less pressure and tension.
• Relaxation enables you to access reflexes connected to your body’s natural ergonomic movements. Focus on slow, accurate playing and relaxation. Allow speed to come naturally as a result of good practice.

Some lessons to explore:

• Left Hand Tension and Relaxation Lesson
• Speed and Relaxation

Slur Exercises & Technique Book

Check out my book Classical Guitar Technique: Essential Exercises, Scales, and Arpeggios. The 122 page book includes: Practice Routines, Tips, 100 Open String Exercises, 120 Giuliani Arpeggios, Scales, Slur Exercises, Shifts, Finger Independence, Barre, Tremolo, Common Harmonics, and much more.

Questions & Support

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The post How can I improve my slurs (hammer-ons, pull-offs) on classical guitar? first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

A lesson on repetition of a single finger in right hand fingering on classical guitar. We often emphasize finger alternation but can we choose to repeat a finger sometimes? This is from my book: Right Hand Fingering for Classical Guitar: Concepts and Case Studies. This book aims to give students a basic criteria for justifying fingering choices and gaining confidence in deciding fingering for themselves. The combination of concepts and case studies offers a framework for approaching fingering in both logical and musical ways. Here’s the Youtube link if you want to watch it there.

This video covers Examples No.26-29 from the book (Page 16).

Covered in this lesson

• Repetition vs alternation in calm consistent passages
• Repeated motifs
• Sequences

The post Right Hand Fingering Concepts: Repetition of a Single Finger first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Canadian classical guitarists Drew Henderson and Tim Beattie performs Henderson’s arrangement of Sonada de Adiós by Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999). This comes via Henderson’s YouTube channel (go subscribe). Beautiful performance by Henderson and Beattie showcasing some sensitive and balanced dynamic control and carefully sculpted ensemble phrasing. Here’s an except from Henderson’s description, read more at his YouTube:

Rodrigo’s Sonada de Adiós/The Sounding of Farewell (Homenaje a Paul Dukas) was written for piano in 1935. It was published the year of Dukas’ death, in the French magazine Revue Musicale alongside Falla and Messaien’s homages to Dukas.

The composition itself is haunting, with Rodrigo’s hallmark blend of Spanish idioms with 20th century compositional devices. Rodrigo maintains a strong Spanish character, particularly through the persistent semitone motion between E and F, drawing the listener toward the Phrygian mode before the work finally settles in A minor. At the same time, there are some very interesting chord clusters, and parallel motions. There is a recording of Rodrigo performing the work himself which is incredible to hear.

The post Henderson-Beattie Perform Sonada de Adiós by Rodrigo first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Theory Lesson No.4a: Note Anatomy, Steps and Skips, Treble Clef Notes, Bass Clef Notes. In this lesson we will learn about the basic visual building blocks of a note, movement on the staff by step or skip, as well as the basic note names on bass clef and treble clef. Although the next lesson will cover the concept of middle C, a brief discussion at the end covers the beginning of octave designation. You can find all the lessons at the Music Theory Lessons page. Here’s the Youtube link if you want to watch it there.

Introduction to Note Anatomy

Notehead – A notehead in music is the oval part of a note that indicates pitch by its vertical position on the staff. It can be filled in or hollow which indicates rhythm (filled for shorter, hollow for longer durations). This is not a rhythm lesson today we will cover rhythm in a later lesson. The notehead is placed on the lines or spaces of the staff to indicate a specific pitch.

Stem

A music note’s stem is the thin, vertical line attached to the note head that helps indicate the note’s duration and later will help indicate other things such as which voice it is part of. In single voice textures the step will point up if below the B line or down if above.

In a two voice texture the upper voice stems will point up and the lower voice stems will point down making the two distinct voices separate and easy to recognize.

Steps and Skips on the Staff

It is useful to when discussing music theory to be able to describe the movement of the notes on the staff. So here is some terminology that will be used throughout my theory lessons. On the staff, steps (stepwise motion) are movements from line-to-space or space-to-line while skips jump over one of those: line-to-line, space-to-space. 

Later on when we talk about intervals this terminology can mean something different but today we are just talking about movement on the staff. 

Naming notes on the treble clef and bass clef

We are going to do some basic note naming today just as an introduction. However, one thing I’m leaving out is orientating the pitch in relationship to middle C whichis a specific note that will help us in pitch and octave designation. I will be mentioning middle C today but be aware that I will be explaining middle C as part of a future lesson: Pitch Designation and Pitch Classes

Note Naming on the Treble Clef

G clef orientation – As we discussed in the last lesson, the treble clef is also called the G clef as it points to G as a reference point.

Using stepwise motion (see we are already using the word!) we can figure out the notes on staff with G as a reference and then utilize the musical alphabet in order.

When first starting to learn the notes using sayings and acronyms can be helpful. For the line notes I use: Every Good Bear Deserves Fish

The space notes spell: FACE

We can also extend the range of the staff with ledger lines either above or below the staff.

Note Naming on the Bass Clef 

F clef orientation – As we discussed in the previous lesson, the bass clef is also called the F clef as it points to F as a reference.

When first starting to learn the notes using sayings and acronyms can be helpful. For the line notes I use: Good Birds Don’t Fly Away

For the space notes we can use: All Cows Eat Grass

We can also extend the range of the staff with ledger lines either above or below the staff.

Preparatory lesson on middle C

In the next lesson we will discuss middle C and the grand stave in order to start understanding how pitch works in terms of octave designation. In other words, how does the register of the notes from all the clefs fit together? Here’s a brief prep into the topic.

We saw middle C twice today already – In a low ledger line on Treble Clef and a high ledger line in bass clef. The below two notes are the same exact pitch.

Both notes are the same pitch written in different clefs

This means that pitches between the clefs can overlap. Clefs are simply a way to organize pitch to sit comfortable on the staff for practical use.

We could also view it in grand staff which combines treble clef and bass clef

We can even write out the same pitches in both clefs. They look like they are different but these are all the same exact pitch and register.

We will cover this topic in greater detail in the next lesson.

Hope you found that helpful. Find more theory lessons on the Music Theory Lessons page. I’m offering these lessons free of charge but feel free to support the site here. If you need any clarification on this particular lesson please leave a comment below.

The post Theory Lesson No.4a: Notes on the Staff first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Pièces caractéristiques pour guitare, Op.123 (1964) by Belgian composer Jean Absil (1893-1974). Performed by Bradford Werner. I’m trying to feature more music by modern and contemporary composers and external publishers on the site and this is a great piece to start with. I’ll be adding all ten movements to this post over the next few weeks so check back often. The sheet music is by Editions Henry Lemoine.

Jean Absil (1893–1974) was a Belgian composer, organist, and teacher known for his modernist style blending neoclassicism with modal and polytonal techniques. A student of Paul Gilson, Absil composed symphonies, concertos, and choral works, and served as a professor at the Brussels Conservatory, influencing generations of Belgian musicians.

Jean Absil wrote a good number of guitar works primarily for Nicolas Alfonso, a prominent Belgian guitarist and pedagogue. Alfonso was one of the leading classical guitarists in Belgium during the mid-20th century and collaborated with several composers, including Absil. I suspect this work was also written for him but I haven’t found any additional information yet.

Pièces caractéristiques Op.123 (Pieces and Youtube Links)

• I. Prélude
• II. Invention
• III. Pastorale
• IV. Humoresque
• V. Valse
• VI. Cantilène
• VII. Scherzo
• VIII. Chant du soir
• IX. Pavane
• X. Tarentelle

This video was performed on a Marcus Dominelli classical guitar with Augustine Regal strings and a GuitarLift Ultimate support. All my gear here. Subscribe to the free membership newsletter and if you’re enjoying the site you can consider supporting it.

The post Pièces caractéristiques Op.123 by Jean Absil first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

A lesson on rest and free stroke considerations in regards to sustain and muting in terms of right hand fingering choices. This is from my book: Right Hand Fingering for Classical Guitar: Concepts and Case Studies. This book aims to give students a basic criteria for justifying fingering choices and gaining confidence in deciding fingering for themselves. The combination of concepts and case studies offers a framework for approaching fingering in both logical and musical ways. Here’s the Youtube link if you want to watch it there.

This video covers Examples No.26-29 from the book (Page 17-20).

Covered in this lesson

• Sustain with Rest and Free Strokes
• Rest strokes on high melody during arpeggio textures (Spanish Romance)
• Using rest strokes to mute unwanted sustain

The post Right Hand Fingering Concepts: Rest and Free Stroke Considerations first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Classical guitarists Émilie Fend and Goran Krivokapić perform Jongo by Brazilian guitarist and composer Paulo Bellinati (b.1950). This comes via Fend’s YouTube channel (go subscribe). Amazing performance by this new duo comprised of two of my favourite players. Their rhythmic precision, clear sound, and beautiful ensemble phrasing is top notch.

A short word via the Youtube description: “Dive into the vibrant rhythms of Brazil with Jongo by Paulo Bellinati. Rooted in Afro-Brazilian traditions, this energetic and groove-driven piece comes alive in an arrangement for two guitars, blending percussive drive, lyrical lines, and infectious rhythmic interplay.”

The post Émilie Fend and Goran Krivokapić Perform Jongo by Bellinati first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.