Right Hand
Basics Course
LESSON #02:
Rest Stroke
Scott breaks down rest stoke which is
also known as apoyando, or top stroke!
Scott recounts that rest stroke was the first
stroke that he learned on guitar.
Regardless of whether you learn rest
stroke or free stroke first, it all leads to the
same thing in the end, so don't worry!
Scott says that because he learned rest
stoke first, that informed how he
developed the rest of his playing. That's
also the reason that he has chosen to teach
it before free stroke!
08
BEFORE YOU BEGIN...
Here are some key points to understand
before you start. Rest stroke means that
you will end up resting your finger on the
next adjacent string. After you pluck you
should feel like your finger is relaxed. It is
resting on the next string.  Think of it as
filling up your finger with energy and then
emptying it of all that energy upon the
release to the next string.
Right Hand
Basics Course
We don’t want to pull the string! What
happens is that we are more likely to catch
our nail and pluck up. Plucking up tends to
make a thinner sound because the string is
caught on your nail. What we really want
to do is push down on the string at a slight
angle. so remember, gently pushing, not
pulling makes a good rest stroke.
Pulling vs pushing down
PLAYING REST STROKE
Here are the basic steps for playing rest
stroke broken down:
1. Relaxed on the string
2. Press
3. Release
4. Empty
09
When you are first starting to play rest
stroke it can be a good idea to actually
hold the finger pressure on the next string
(the one that you land on after playing the
rest stroke) for a little bit before releasing.
This helps program the feeling of the
movement into your nervous system.
Ideally you will eventually be able to
release right after you play the stroke, but
this is a good way of helping your muscle
memory differentiate between rest stoke
and free stroke.
Scott demonstrates how eventually your
rest stroke can actually help propel your
finger quickly to the next note. The string
that you “rest” on becomes a sort of spring
board off of which you can easily move to
another string.
DIRECTION AND RELEASE
One thing that can happen if you don’t
focus the direction of your rest stroke is
that you end up hitting the strings below it
during the release.
To avoid this, try and focus the motion of
the release to ensure that it is hitting the
next string and relaxing. This will help you
ensure that the rest stroke is efficient and
directed.
Right Hand
Basics Course
"WALKING" FINGERS
Notice where your large knuckle is. The
main motion is coming from the large
joint, which should be positioned a little
bit back from the string you are plucking.
The knuckle is where the main power for
the stroke comes from. The two smaller
joints are “helper joints” but the main
motion comes from the knuckle.
You can think about the finger as if it is a
leg. The knuckle is the hip, the middle
joint is the knee, and the small tip joint is
the ankle.
When you walk the main motion comes
from the hip which is the large joint, but
your knee and your ankle help, because
you can’t walk with a stiff knee or ankle.
Similarly, the large knuckle is doing most
of the work, but the smaller joints are
helping out!
10
FLEXING THE TIP JOINT
You’ll probably hear certain teachers and
players talk about "flexing" the tip joint.
What does it mean to flex the tip joint?
Flexing the tip joint is when you, in a
controlled way, let the tip joint relax a little
bit when you release the string. 
What that does is it helps push the string
down even a little bit more, without us
having to try that hard. This helps us
achieve a controlled bigger sound, without
extra effort. Control of the tip joint gives
us better control of our rest stroke sound. 
Before actually playing a note with the
relaxed tip joint, try and plant your finger
on the string and wiggle it around so that
you can feel the flexibility of the joint
before you play the string. Now plant the
finger, flex, and push down.
ASSIGNMENT
This is something that is good to
work on with your teacher, or
someone who can guide you. It is
important that the relaxation of the
tip joint is controlled, making sure
it doesn’t collapse.