Performing a piece is not a series of start and stop actions. Each ending motion should metamorphose into the next playing response. Working in this manner leads to fluidity and minimizes choppiness.

Only employ effort during the short time required to sound the note. Some players become tense before the note is played and remain tense after the note has finished. Pulsing the left hand during practice can alert the performer to moments of over-fretting. The right hand can build unnecessary tension in the air prior to playing and fingers can push excessively against a neighboring string after playing.

It is folly to think that loud passages need overwhelming physical effort. If excess tension causes the fingers to constrict, the fingers simply cannot move, and the result is a shrill, thin tone that is physically difficult to execute. Bill Kanengiser once related Pepe Romero's adage to me: "it is difficult to play the guitar badly and easy to play it well". Louder passages often require more “weight.” Simply allowing “the hand to be heavy on the strings” by incorporating arm weight preempts the need for flexing larger muscle groups. Pushing the string down further (closer to the top) results in a loud, full sound. The weight of the right hand and arm can accomplish this naturally- the playing action of the finger should be fluid, easy, and consistent, irregardless of the dynamic required. Proper follow-through toward the palm is a must. All the joints must move in the same direction (into the hand). Conflicting joint motion is inefficient and awkward. Conflicting joint motion occurs most often when players work from the middle joint and not the knuckle. The middle joint recoils upward as the tip of the finger tries pull toward the palm. The result is a thinner tone than if all the joints move toward the palm simultaneously. Wrist position is usually the culprit when this problem persists (the wrist is too low, the right arm contact point is too far from the elbow, etc...).

Tremolo and scales benefit greatly from rasgueado practice: “a finger can only replay as quickly as it can be released to play again- many players are too concerned with the playing motion and neglect the release motion” Simply put, rasgueado patterns exercise and exaggerate the release motion (extensor muscles). While working with scales, arpeggios, and rasgueado patterns, be sure to keep the non-playing fingers relaxed; and, allow them to sympathetically move with adjacent fingers. Bill Kannegiser articulates Romero's method beautifully. [His discussion of this topic, inconjunction with a host of others, can be seen on his excellent video “Effortless Classical Guitar: volume 1, and now, also vol. 2. Both are available from GSP.] He advocates a release motion effected through relaxation (passive release motion). Other schools of thought incorporate an active release motion in varying degrees.

Many of these players, but especially Romero and Russell, emphasize the importance of both hands reaching the string simultaneously in scale execution. If the left hand arrives early, speed and coordination are impeded, if it arrives late, fret buzz, or muted notes result. The nature of arpeggio technique often negates this type of practice since the chord shape is often prepared. Right hand planting is an excellent practice strategy but: “planting is a means to an end, not an end in and of itself.” Russell wrote an excellent article on the left hand, and its role in sound production/projection. {I think it was in Soundboard...I will provide the proper citation when I find it again.} Sometimes coordination problems result from the right hand finger traveling along the string too long. The slice stroke is a beautiful sound, but not very efficient for fast scales.
 
 

I once watched Barrueco play the Prelude from BWV 1006a without the left hand to illustrate the importance of memorizing each hand separately. Every right hand fingering was intimately memorized. David Russell made me turn my guitar backwards and play my piece without the strings, then without the guitar. (I didn't make it very far that day, but now I understand the point, and often do this type of visualization while traveling in a plane or car.) David also showed me the benefits of memorizing a piece backwards phrase by phrase. He said that most people practice from the beginning of a piece until they crash somewhere in the middle. Then they work on the new material and try to memorize it. Why be surprised if the performance goes the same way? If one practices stopping and starting over again- that is how they'll perform. He advocates memorizing the last phrase first: “Then you always know the next phrase better than the one you're playing, and if something goes wrong you can easily jump to the next phrase and not have to stop the piece.” He is a phenomenal player (of course!!! his Tárrega CDs are a must have...), great tone and so expressive; he played a recital the night following our lesson. Afterwards, he told me he had thought of our discussion when he missed a few notes in a Carulli Andante and had to jump to the next phrase. His strategy really worked well: no one noticed a thing!

Theoretically understand your pieces. Is it a sonata form? Is part of the recapitulation omitted? Know all the important aspects of the piece: which style period? Is it a transitional period piece? Key centers? Harmonic sequences? Thematically organized? Motivically organized? Most pieces, even modern works are organized according to some strategy of statement, contrasting material, and restatement. Be sure to identify and memorize those elements and their function. I have seen marquis players ask a student playing in a masterclass theoretical questions as basic as “do you know what key this section of the piece is in?” Only to see the student quickly glance at the the key signature of the piece he or she just played from memory. Theoretical questions often arise in masterclass situations: its a good idea to work those details out prior to the clinic. Otherwise the clinician may spend the entire time helping you analyze your piece instead of your performance!
 
 

It is important to be able to write out the score from memory- complete with fingerings and articulations. This is not only a very effective memorization strategy, but more importantly, a real confidence booster.
 
 

Association can also be very helpful. I remember Oscar Ghiglia telling me the story behind Leo Brouwer's Danza Characteristica: A little boy is told by his mother not to cross the road. Yet he sneaks closer each time she becomes preoccupied with work. A musical motive (leitmotif, if you will) marks his efforts as he gets more brazen. He finally crosses the road and gets his just deserts (the last gesture). The story seems to work well in recital, most audiences appreciate some type of narrative; it really helps audience/performer rapport.

Other one-liners:

• Quiet visualization of the score, performance, and audience; see it all mentally.
• Some players set lyrics to the lines. It helps them connect with the piece more musically.
• Mistakes are o.k., what's interesting is how you handle them and get out the problem- that's the mark of a true artist. (I saw Julian Bream break his low E string (yes- low E) playing the sarabande from BWV 996. It broke right at the beginning and he simply continued, as if nothing happened, to the end of the first section; transposing bass notes when he could- but never losing his poise and musicality. He got to the end of the A section, cadenced, and went back stage to put a new string. When he returned to the stage (in a jovial spirit) he played the piece completely. (We all, including Bream, chuckled from the shock of the event; it was a very surreal recital moment.)
• Acting and role playing. Look at the 'act' of performance more like theatre and drama. If you do not allow emotions to show when you're playing, your playing will probably have no emotion. This can also be extended to role playing as a performer: the virtuoso, the passionate, the dancer, etc...

Last Updated 20 November 2000, by Dennis Davis	Top