Classical Guitar Latin Style

Chapter 1

Rhythm: Basic Note Values

Clap the following rhythms:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
6.

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Audio MP3 example

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Chords: Partial Chords I

Playing chords involves playing more than one note at a time. A chord is held down in the left hand, and the right hand strums several strings. In order to play chords it is important to know how to read a chord chart. The following diagram shows the parts of a chord chart. Remember that the sixth string is the biggest string and has the lowest pitch, and the first string is the thinnest and has the highest pitch.The most confusing thing about chord charts is that the strings are vertical and the frets horizontal. See below:

Learn the following chords and memorize them. The left hand finger numbers are shown. They are numbered 1 to 4 where 1 is the index finger, 4 is the pinky (the thumb doesn't get a number). For the right hand use our thumb and roll it across the strings.

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The following songs can be used to practice the chords:

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Primera Practice Track
Primera Performance Track

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Mosca Practice Track
Mosca Performance Track

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Technique - Free and Rest Stroke

Playing the guitar with the right hand involves two types of strokes: the free stroke and the rest stroke. In free stroke the finger plays the string and then flies free. In rest stroke the finger plays a string and lands on the string behind it coming to rest on that string. The strokes are produced in the same way, the only difference is the location of the hand (more on this later).

In both, a finger comes in contact with the string on the finger tip with a combination of the flesh of the finger and the side of the fingernail. This "flesh-nail contact" has several advantages. By touching the string first with flesh one will avoid the clicking sound that is ordinarily produced when a fingernail comes in contact with a moving string. By touching the string with the part of the nail one is the best position for playing quickly. If a player comes in contact with the string further back on the finger, there is a much greater distance to travel and this takes more time. Even if you have short finger nails this point of contact can still be used, and will train you for when you are ready to start growing your fingernails. In fact it is not recommended that you grow you finger nails until it is developed.

Now that you have come in contact with the string its time to get it moving. As you look at your finger notice that it has three main joints. The large knuckle joint, a middle joint, and a little joint (the one that is hard to move by itself closest to the fingernail) Each has a role. The knuckle is the joint that creates the stroke (for both free and rest stroke). This has several advantages. It is more independent than the other joints because it is controlled by muscles further up the arm than the inner joints. By playing with the knuckle joint we will direct the finger in towards the hand thus producing better tone. Never move your finger up away from the strings, with the exception (there is always an exception) of rasgeados. Always produce a stroke by moving the finger inwards, as if you were grabbing a baseball bat. The middle joint and little joint have very different functions. There role is to act like a shock absorber, they maintain the curvature of the finger but not rigidly so. Think of the shock absorber on a car. To rigid and you feel every bump, to flexible and the car bounces too much. Likewise with the guitar, if your inner joints (middle and little) are too rigid you will produce a harsh tone. If your inner joints are to loose you have no control. It would be like playing tennis with a noodle.

 

The key to a correct stroke (rest or free) is to play and relax. A great musician was once asked how he played so fast when it looked like he was hardly using any effort. "It's easy," he replied, "I just rest between the notes." On the guitar we do the same. After the finger comes into correct contact with the string, the large joint moves it inward toward the hand. After the note sounds the finger can relax. If the hand is positioned correctly (see previous chapter) the relaxed finger should be in position to play the next note, usually 1-2 cm in front of the string it just played. Let gravity and relaxation return the finger to the correct position. Do not exert effort in moving a finger back into place after a stroke or it will tire, and the added tension will hurt your tone.

The fingers play in two different ways: alternating and arpeggio-style. For music that is primarily melodic (lead guitar playing) the fingers normally alternate. Two fingers, usually I & M (index and middle), will trade off. This makes the fingers look like a little walking man. They can play on any string required. So if the melody goes really low, then the I & M fingers will go down on the bass strings. The key is that they alternate. The one exception is when you are changing strings from high to low using the rest stroke. This technique referred to as dropping the I finger can help speed up melody passages. It works as follows: A player plays a note on the first string using the I finger. His finger comes to rest on the second string. The next note he needs to play also happens to be on the second string. At this point why alternate since his finger is already in position and ready to play? So he plays the string with the I finger thus being as efficient as possible.

The other manner of playing the strings is the arpeggio style. This is used in chord playing such as Bossa-Nova and other Brazilian styles. What happens in arpeggio style playing is that a finger is assigned to a string and whenever you need to play that string you use that finger. For instance I plays all material on the third string, m plays all material on second string, and a for the first string. (The thumb usually jumps around and plays anything on the fourth, fifth, and sixth string) When music changes strings with every note then arpeggio style playing is used. Or when music requires playing two or three notes at a time arpeggio style is used. For most of the exercises in this book, alternating is preffered, when you have trouble because of two many string changes try arpeggio style.

Now as to the difference between rest and free stroke really there is very little. The only difference in how one executes a rest and free stroke should be the positioning of the hands. The large knuckle joint serves as a guide for positioning the hand. For free stroke the knuckle should be directly above the string being played. For example if the I finger is playing the second string then the knuckle should be directly above the second string. Because of this positioning the I finger will naturally miss the third string without any change in the curve of the finger .Do not move the middle joint so that you miss the string, instead position the hand as stated so that the finger misses the next string. It will miss the next string by a very small amount, .5 to 1cm.

For rest stroke the positioning is different. The knuckle should be two to three strings behind the sting being played. For example if the I finger plays the first string than the I knuckle should be above the third or fourth string. The finger will naturally fall into the next string without any assistance from the middle or little joint. Keep in mind that all these ‚rules are really guidelines. The position of the knuckle is a good guidline, but due to the individuality of each person's hands there is always some fine tuning to be done. The over riding principle is that the curve of fingers stays same, move from knuckle joint, and move the finger in towards the palm of the hand and not up and away.

Keep in mind that the principles outlined here take a lifetime to master. Frequent review of these materials is important. If you are having trouble mastering these skills, concentrate on one concept at a time. If you need to think work on alternating, finger direction, note reading, and rhythm all at the same time you are better off isolating each element. That is why this method has separate sections for technique, reading, and rhythm. Review, review, review. Don't be afraid to become a begineer again. Go back to the basics time after time and you will get it.

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Notes on the Treble Strings

The locations of the notes for the first three strings are shown below. Memorize the note names and locations, then practice them with the songs below.

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Bossa Primera Practice Track
Bossa Primera Performance Track

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Nuevo Abierto Practice Track
Nuevo Abierto Performance Track

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Abre La Puerta Practice Track
Abre La Puerta Performace Track

Composer Profile: Ottmar Liebert

Ottmar Liebert hold's the distinction of having the best-selling instrumental guitar album of all time. The double-platinum Nouveau Flamenco contains the well known piece Barcelona Nights and is one of the first to be in the Nuevo Flamenco Style. In it Liebert combines traditional flamenco with jazz improvisation and other Latin influences. By adding latin percussion, straight forward bass parts, and using one guitar for lead and one guitar for rhythm Ottmar revolutionized Flamenco. Previous to Ottmar Flamenco had been mostly dominated with solo guitar and dancers. Interestingly he is of German origin not Spanish. His ancestry includes German, Chinese, and Hungarian.

Selected Discography:

• Nouveau Flamenco
• Borrasca
• Solo Para Ti
• The Hours Between Night + Day

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