PART ONL THE ART OF PRACTISING roaches the art of pr ye. and what one thinks a a great deal more Ce my prefacing, (he actual technical exercises Thope the reader, will CO pposed to be doing while one practises these or 3 sion of what one's Mer ended to help guitarists to practise as effectively as material. This Book foe of precision and efficiency possible in the shortest amouy develop the highest (ee gue of patterns trom which the student may choose meant net > nly 35 & ming his particular difficulties, but also should serve as a guide to most suited 0 een faults and difficulties and enable him to choose what exercises he student analyse Id use them as economically as possible. Some of the patterns given hy wisely 35 ors Fuitarist who has a fast and efficient technique has certainly worke the so there is usally a dieet relationship hetween the relative amount oF this sort ere inthe degree of virtuosity attained). Many teachers also offer some of these pattems practice oti some version of other, with words tothe effect that if one practises them faithfully their sademisjnutes a day (ot thirty minutes, oF an hour, or whatever) all one's problems wit ee” And sometimes they do work that way. But usually the patterns given out or printed wi rer epnly a very small fraction of the possibilities which coukd be derived from the sane a oes asad usualy neither these other possibilities, nor the concept of deriving from them 4 pase seetimost endles stream of variants, are ever mentioned. But it is this concept of many ormutations and variants which can enable one to zero in precisely on a particular difficulty, and aerable one at the same time to avoid the boredom of a steady diet of a set group of often only aguely understood exercises. For many students gradually accumulate so many individual seerciees, each of which is to be done for a certain fixed number of minutes per day, that they may fose track of any goals-other than getting through an hour or more of tedium. (“Let's see-forty minutes of Segovia scales (ten minutes cach of four right hand fingerings), ten minutes of Giuliani arpeggios, five of an Aguado Etude, eight minutes of stretching exercises, ten minutes of tremolo, five minutes of chord changes, four minutes of barré exercises, six minutes of that nasty little exercise that so-and-so says is So good, and ten minutes of the even nastier one that whosit says Bream does every day, and now—thank heavens-I can get on to the pieces”). In this casea lot of time is spent, usually without much thought or concentration. The aim of this book is to enable the student to spend less time, but use a great deal more thought and concentration, and end up with a lot more progress. (In fact I have found with myself and my own students that even as litle as fifteen or twenty minutes a day of really intense concentration on some of these exercises can have a quite dramatic effect, even after only a few days, and that the more one Teams to think analytically, the faster one can expect results from whatever amount of practising one does). since how Int Of time. and build exer cies, help the heeds as n here are of 1d on to some One problem is that neither fingers, nor the muscles and nerves which control them, come in standard shapes and sizes. If Bream does a particular exercise every day, this does not necessarily mean it will benefit everyone to do it. It may help someone else, but it will be of use only if the problem Bream designed it to correct is shared by the student, if the aspect of the problem causing the difficulty is the same in both cases, and if the student knows exactly what that aspect is and is aware of exactly how the exercise was designed to correct the fault. There are many potential reasons why a student may have difficulty with any particular passage he may attempt, and only @ few of these reasons may apply in any given situation, and no amount of practising any of the other Possibilities will help correct the problem. Nor will simply playin 8 the passa; that people seem to believe that if improve. Why on earth should it ge badly for a long time improve it. It has always amazed rr ee do anything, no matter how badly, for long ee Bie i. : : ? If 1 play a scale with an imprecise rhythm and a fe with aa iGo dt 682 times, I have only taught my fingers very emphatically, how 10 Ply * he 540th time bane hythm and a few messy spots. If I play a mistake $39 times. the idea what speed) perfennntCle will be OK is sheer lunacy. Conversely, if I play a piece (@t m0 Mo. EVEN if there a Doe 539 times, there is every chance that the 540th time will be perfect Te 2000 eyes watching and 2000 earslistening that $40th time.The at ot anatiaiy anes sane tectateat pebtene ANKE preserdtshge fomteation Lar thent te not PH DNL AL as anne at he Mhigie (at teakes Ube AANEAR Ste Th @ Ecc tneattng aad taatRonggtay (nett RET WAN Thee re NO) nie AEE ean got NOME EAT, Hoots (oe aay, Thee ade se may Hinsley Varnate cigs ha eam gos ruote twigs scl sayy fhe pHnitat adie te Gromteutsous Heatly AU eee. Vas AAT Ln SO ive teaiots at sine at Uh baie gutta dpstoc at jonas anit ast AT, egsitinedt WHEY A Avtag wh Hyena the Mies aa chins HAE OA goo NMR, AAMT ATHY WHC TE May! be of sone ANT OX MOMOON he DW One mY Beat asap aienet agoetiiat a gHEEA an6l Peastite es deavannatey Doty 466 Uke stanton wastiang fe Cinch shaw sane af Ube setts at tes Hitt hcaatttos AB peter fo Dee Thao aC ESD NNUE HE VME TNS ANY qtieRtions about Hroteitag the gitar, Most phavang anon, aise ot Nanny, fhagers, oh) Brat complete doseriystion ant tise tission at every pereattle fo peater tions, which Lew poopke wasMbh west Rott, aad whieh Pant sore Eaonkt nat waste be fave fe write te any event, many af the Gictats meatnniat ate hot leit themselves be mere eX MLNatiANy am AAAOE any aay. AINE Che staaebent wo Tiont at acid exphation art loMonsh thio Ob any ot the peameites and teas mentonat Fhe well aatywedd be ger fe (lie best foatetiot he ean Hind fae any harther elaboration Tas the guitarist wh Rasteally ahoes Rito what toy ah, Mawwever, this aay serve as a sort ob ctteck Ut fo po through ay search ot ryasiens avy he may be havens iftreulties with any (ArleUlar passage oF WNL fies techinnguie ar general Vine txt as eer taMly not ganyptets peobloay Woukt take UP a vtume at eens topay an gor wrong really any a discuyston and analysts of position aut OF gnnise thes INE of what borne tnmind fof Dager and art mechanics But there are a leave tttoty factors w htett Honk abe bs When prtehangs One of the mast ANpOHtANe Aims For players ob anny insteument to remember ts that Dy weg 7 The more movement a finger amit make to do a given qob, the longer A wall take, ait Game ns one Ching i mtisie that one cannot attont to waste, Ina stow: pe Anetticiont Wee Of time wall spor the smoothness of Che phrasing. and ana List pices, iL will not only make the playing choppy, HUE May eveH cause Hotes to be mised altogettier oe etythimte exactness to Be srenticnt ABA. IE foo mush time Ws used just attains aC the mote at all, then- ne teeway ts ett tor subtleties of toweh, volume, oF fone eoloUE, NOL GY Mention precision, In fact one of the most usual oatsons for a player's failing Co attain as high a speed ay he might ihe, is sumply Clack of sxnetronization detween the two hands, oF rather bebween eteh pait ot fingers one ftom the eight hand and one thom the lett responsible for eel note of the passage tn question, And of course any Gaull wy svitehrontzation ws neatly abvays a resulCot the unhappy fact Hat if a tett hana finger and a right hand finger have to travel different alistances to reaclt thei goals, anal if they both start to mows on command, they willobuiousty attive at different Cimes. (Even it the distances involved ave ay small ay a qniarter ot ay ancl G6 ein) versus ane sixteenth of an intel GES com), (hat still woul mean That one Hnger WounT have to rove four times ay Last ay the other inorder to arrive on time, and this a gteat deal). OF course the faster one ties (0 play, the gtoater the percentage of the total note value this ativerepaney will tike up. So a yreat effort should be mule at all times to keep all fingers of Dott hands as clase to the strings as possible, so-as to have to move them as tittle as sible, The other factor one shoukl Keep ine wind at all times is the importance of Adsotite Mevision in placing the fingers. one's goal for the Lett hand is only to place the finger somewhere bebween two neighbouring frets, this leaves the finger quite a remarkably Lanse space frome which to choose a PONE LO Land upon. However, if the finger gots used to having this Lanse leeway when one is Drichsing comfortably: in ane's own living room, the finger will never develop a really sold Alea of where any fret is. Then when statdenty one is faced with 2000 eves watehing andl 2000 ears lester ing, the fingers may begin to feel a bit wobbly and the brain may gett bit ess retiable, amd chat Teoway which the finger Was used to Ovhich, iN the privacy of ones homes was maybe as much as an inch of so (3.5 em) on the tower frets) nnaty easily: stow into a quute Langer distance, so that the finger may start Co Land in all sorts of did places cauasing everything from minor busees to a fot wollapse of the piece. Hy however, when one is at home and telared, one never allows day finger to land in-any but the most exact and consistent way, exaetly bebinal the rogue thet. with vo more leeway than that which wouk! not be atetected by at elector microscape, then when one i faced with those 2000 eyes and ears, though one’s precision may deteriorate, that deterioration 3UP a very reliable and co, sce Forage oth m4 at worst, the deterioration i fet Bars 10 te, 0 cen two frets, coall fractio ng only very simple materia . oF developing precision, or wer yy trying to keep these factors in : Etudes are basically too hard, and hea tile lawn CCP too mil sie. fo be ful. 004 material for use in tring rE roving one's tvtniaue. What one ness ey logoet that one can immediately play it ABSOLUTELY right with every relly basic that one can : ze Ww thing exae at first rather silly to be asked to play a chromatic passage qe X@lly nay Seem “ ge Such as the 123 = QI : le that even THAT be done very slowly. But try now t eae ier on caly paccatwitiile Gir tani hovering exactly over that. keeping bot isely over the second string, and not more than a quarter of an inch above the fous iets avian none of the fingers touching the frst string, and with the tip joint of each finger Nae ere ihe fingerboard Only/the\finger actually plavine inonka ee touching the string at Eek i ogee a rt hovering right above the string. less you are alieady quile 4 good players you will Probably find that at least some of your fingess aren't very happy hovering exactly over the correct position ever so slightly behind each of the four frets, and in fact, one of more fingers may refuse to stay there at all unless preseed dae’) stopping a string. ‘If this s the case, it means that you are using friction against the string to Keep the rae, in place rather than using the muscles in your own hand. It also means you are needing to press a lot harder than necessary just to make the finger stay in place. (People often go to a conte wt some virtuoso, and go out saying “Oh, it looked so easy when he did it”. Wellin fact they are att git was easy-oF atleast was relatively so. If it were not, that virtuoso would not have been sblen se.guch feats.” No one could play difficult pieces if they had to press down as hard as the average beginner often does). You may also notice in doing just this very simple four note chromatic scale, vp. Most peopk’s fourth fingers do this at first, and other fingers may try it as wel thing that has to be eliminated. It is no good catching it after it has al ig it back down into position—it must be stopped from even making ping up. And then there is the right hand to be considered. and this is a ready popped up, and bring- the slightest attempt at pop- It should be relaxed and should hang king, the stroke must be absolutely and, and the tone of each of the four speed, then he will eventually fi ‘ed. The virtuosos who the ones who sit for nd it possible to do it perfectly at pretty £0 sailing through passages of transcendant speed + hours at home playing things at a snail's pace and aetn slightest sign of inefficiency or lack of precision. normal tempos are the ones who ke finding that somehow they ret much better, ; i who keep finding STILL cae that the piece that they couanee quite manage to get throughJt isu good idea to use a metronome on alll technical material you may work on. Not only will this help to develop a sure feeling for metre and rhythm, but it will help to keep the speed of any exercis ‘Often without a metronome, One may start to play ata slow speed and then ite withiout noticing, or one may stow down in the hard spots without realizing it and so may ite untrue idea of what speed one can Feally play a certain thing at, This also frequently may happen in pices, so that the hard parts of the piece may end up being played at a slower Speed and the easter parts may go a lot faster, and this can completely destroy any sense of tempo. If however, one wet med to heeping strict tempos both in exercises and when practising technical difficulties in pieces, by using a metronome, then one becomes better able to control speed. In doing pieces, a wood idea is to vary the speed at which one practises from quite slower than the true tempo ter aninewhat faster, for in this way one will build up flexibility and not become locked into only one posuble speed for a given piece, Ironically, it appears that working a lot with metron- ome, rather than making people more likely to play stiffly and “metronomically” usually gives them Sere aredteh antvel ever their rhythm anx! tempo that they are freer to use more rubato and to Play more sensitively. Those who don't use a metronome, Fearing it will make thelr playing too a eee | often end up phiying the most mechanically, since they often have such 9 vague sense of time that they must expend a lot of effort just to keep any sort of tempo at all. Or if they do not expend that effort, they may play so unmetronomically that no one A & n guess what vhythm they are trying to do. So the main things to bear in mind with these, or any, exercises are Do them $ LOWLY. Do them ABSOLUTELY PRECISELY, both in terms of precision of finger placement, and in terms of rhythmic regularity and exactness. Do them has little wasted motion as possible. Do them always with a GOAL in mind, knowing always exactly what particular problem you are trying to correct. Do them PERFECTLY. Anything that would not do as is for an LP recording in no good, an’ means you are going too fast.THE EXERCISES th, the simplest thing you coukl ask for in an exercise isa chromatic h, the ic . a pe ia Scale To becin wine to use each lett hand finger in every possible combination wig rene notes. I xot Sny possible pattern of movement from finser {0 finger you could exer ne °F other an finger (SO Ihave already been practised before you ever started working on the piege piece wou you serie, following 24 patter 1234, 1243, 1324, 1342, 1423. 1432 2134, 2143, 2314, 2341, 2413, 2431 3124, 3142, 3214, 3241, 3412, 3421 4123, 4132, 4213, 4231, 4312, 4321 If, for instance, you wished to work on the first pattern in its simplest form, you could ar ixth string, and th the first string and work your way down to the sixt ig fen perhaps move y, re] work your way back to the first string. SLOWLY. (metronome o =48 or slowerk a4 4 ea ate yy2 3 oe en eo en SS Z fe viete 0 0) Oo ow o= 12 38 2.3 4 ft 2 s 1 14 1 23.4 # pa yape te eee a * : : 1 1@ ZO) i In this way you can work your way up and down the fingerboard, going across each fret and then shifting up or down one fret and going back the other way. If you find your present stretching ability does not permit you to place each finger exactly as it should be with a correct hand position when playing on the lower frets, then don't try to play at all on the lower frets until your streteh jmbroves. Go only as far down as you can’do perfectly. If you try to do something clearly impossible for your fingers, you will only teach them to compromise and destroy the point of the exercise, a - The simplest way to pluck these Patterns is to use the right hand patterns of two fingers: im, ia, ma mi, ai, am hinking that im and mi are identical, ‘They are far from that, as the sees tnes differently in each case, and if you practise accenting the pattern. ands te eel, At frst try whatever patterns of both hands are the easiest for nds to make sure you are doin; ing ri hile still keeping 2 simple right ha : u ig everything right. Then while s left hant ao You might tty some more complicated left hand pattems, and when the Complicited. Do be very ws fof MY Pattern, you can try making the right hand fingerings MOTE doing the pattem you told Gree’ @*Pecially at first, and make sure that the right hand is realy the minute one looks the ae Many right hands will start off doing a given pattern, and then, Mills and mmonmmmmmms “2? tHeY Will start doing anything they like, including strings © Do not be fooled into #1 Tight hand has to chan; the accents will be diff You and watch both hi 8from ee Qe ive the simplest version of the sort of exe from there? HOR there? Most people will think of getting out th any Patterns times so many other times se me, and the total they are likely to come up with is fr Fight there. But thiy is exactly whit NOT to do. ¢ looked upon as merely a what one needs, and from which or of one’s own fingers. so much i hough to make anyone give up Because the main point of this book is that these alogue of possibilities from which one may select an design further exercises made to fit just the problems So how does one select? At first just doin a problem that one should just stick with the si become used to working well. After the fingers g well, then one should cally correctly may be enough of possible versions for a while, until the hands. more accustomed to doing very simple things {to notice which patterns of the left hand are the hardest. Not only should one make a note of the to or three or four hardest patterns, but one should try to figure out why they are hard and perhaps what they have in common. Maybe every time you have a 34, the 4 tends to leap up more than usual, Maybe if 4 follows a 1, itis less sure of landing correctly than if it follows some other finger. Maybe 23 is hard because 3 can’t stretch away from 2 very well. Whatever your worst problems are, write down what they are, and set about doing any patterns that have the difficult combinations in them, MAKING the fingers do correctly what they don’t want to do. Then if you don’t find enough different versions of what your fingers like least in the patterns of four fingers, you may want to look through all the possible ways you can play six notes without repeating any finger and using two groups of three fingers to make up each pattern. These are listed under headings telling how many of which fingers are used in that group of patterns, to make searching for particular combinations easier. Two Is, two 2s, and two 3s. 123123, 123213, 123132, 321231, 321312, 321321, 231231, 231321, 231213, 132123, 132312, 132132, 312312, 312321, 312132, 213123, 213231, 213213, Two Is, two 2s and two 4s. 124124, 124214, 124142, 421241, 421412, 421421, 241241, 241421, 241214, 142124, 142412, 142142, 412412, 412421, 412142, 214124, 214241, 214214, Two Is, two 3s and two 4s. 134134, 134314, 134143, 431341, 431413, 431431, 341341, 341431, 341341, 143134, 143413, 143143, 413413, 413431, 413143, 314134, 314341, 314314, 2, 3, and 4 only, two of each per pattern. 234234, 234324, 234243, 432342, 432423, 432432, 342342, 342432, 342324, 324234, 324342, 324324, 423423, 423432, 423243, 243234, 243423, 243243,123124, 231241, 312124, 12412. 241231, 412123, 123134, 231341, 312134, 134123, 341231, 413123, 124134, 241341, 412341, 134124, 341241, 413241, 123234, 231234, 312342, 234123, 342312, 423123, 123412, 231421. 312412, 124312, 241321, 412312, 123413, 231413, 312341, 134312, 341312, 413231, 124314, 241413, 412413, 134214, 341412, 413412, 123423, 231423, 312432, 234231, 342321, 423231, Two 2s, two ds and two ds. 123214, 123142, S241, 321412, 231214, 1a2124, 132412, 312421, 31212 23124, 3M, 124213, 124132, ANI, 421312, 241213, 142123, 142312, 412321, 412132, 214123, 214231, Two Is, two 3s, one 2, and one 4. 123143, 321341, 321431, 231431, 231314, 132134, 132413, 312431, 312314, 213134, 213413, 134213, 134132, 431231, 431312, 341321, 143123, 143213, 413213, 413132, 314231, 314312, Two Is, two 4s, one 2, and one 3. 124143, 421341, 241431, 241314, 142134, 412431, 412341, 214134, 134142, 431241, 341421, 341214, 143124, 413421, 413142, 314124, One 1, two 2s, two 3s, and one 4, 123432, 123243, 321234, 231324, 231243, 132342, 312324, 213234, 234321, 234213, 432123, 342132, 243123, 423213, 423132, 324231, 421413, 142413, 214341, 431412, 143412, 314241, 321342, 132423, 213423, 432312, 243231, 324312, Aa, 122142, MMM, 42321, 142132, 214321, 321314, 132314, 213431, 431321, 143132, 314321, 421431, 142314, 214314, 431421, 143214, 314214, 24213, 132143, 213143, 431213, 314132, 142143, 214143, 143142, 314142, 321324, 132324, 4321 324132,3, and two 4s. 124234, 124342, 124324, 124243, 421342, 421423, 421432, 421243, 241234, 241423, 241324, 241243, 142342, 142423, 142432, 142324, AISI, 412423, 412432, 214234, 214324, 214243, 234124, 234241, 234214, 432412, 432421, 432142, B42, M4242, 342421, 342142, 243124, 243241, 243421, 243214, AIIM1, 423412, 423421, 423142, 324124, 324241, 324214, 324142, ‘One 1, one 2, two 3s, and two 4s. 234134, 234341, 234314, 234143, 432341, 432413, 432431, 432143, 342134, 342341, 342431, 342314, 243134, 243413, 243431, 243143, 423413, 423431, 423143, 324134, 324341, 324314, 134234, 134342, 134324, 134243, 431342, 431423, 431432, 431243, 341234, 341342, 341432, 341423, 143234, 143423, 143432, 143243, 413423, 413432, 413243, 314234, 314342, 314324, Before getting too involved in the left hand thous gh, you should test the right hand as well and see in which ways the fingers work best and fastest. You probably already know that perhaps for you, imimi is faster than amama, or that iaiai is, or is not, a comfortable way to play scales. But test yourself and find out if you can go faster, for instance, from i to m, or from m to i—on the same string—from a lower string to a higher, and visa versa. After you have tried all these things, you should have a pretty good idea what you need to work on improving, and which combinations Of fingers need extra practice. When you have found which directions, and from which finger to which, give you the most trouble, you might try practicing the worst combinations with both accents and dotted rhythms. For instance if you find you can generally go quite fast from a to m, but not so fast from m to a, you might try accenting the a in any ma combinations you practice. Or you might try doing both the ma and am pattems with the following rhythms: > > > > > > > > it — 7 moa maoma cma 7 a na This can be done quite slowly and still force speed on the sluggish finger if the dotted rhythms are kept tight enough. It is also easier in this sort of exercise, to keep from getting tense hands and fingers, than if one were to try to simply play everything quickly, and one also has plenty of time to think about what one is doing during the a to m interval so as to be well prepared for the quick m toa interval. This sort of thing should not be done at first in combination with a complex left hand pattern. In fact it might not be a bad idea to try just using the right hand alone at the very beginning, and then trying next several repeated notes in the right hand for each left hand change, for instance: : maense of rhythm, you might also want £0 try sometimes using g d) dy d a a A e patterns of four notes behaving reasonably wet ve got the left hand pal n chan oe When you Mave Fh ahe right han. you might tty doing those same patter ih to complicate matters ArT wing patterns for three fingers of the right hand: OUT in 5 sing. the Teft hand © s In order sharpen Your In oa atrasting it with the enythm, and 0 ima mai aim ami mia iam rn of 1324 in the left hand and mai in the right hand, you So, for instance, with a patte! COUN get the following: 69-9 9 — ®—_0 , i urs, and watching the right hand carefully to make sure the patter ee accent then Yyou might try to put accents on the first of each three notes agg threes are enyert hand doesn’t fall apart. With all of this, particularly at first, GO SLOWLY rake Sar ene vat high speed, and after piles of mistakes and garbled patterns, finally resign your. a least slowly. Pay any of these exercises at a speed at which, the very first time you try any cae mation, you can do it perfectly, and never build up the speed beyond a point where you have enough time to think about everything sufficiently to get it right. You may ask why one should be able to play four left hand notes against a pattern of right hand fingering in threes. After all, one is rarely required to do that in pieces. But one does often have left and right hand fingerings that are completely independent of each other, and which require complete independence of the two hands. One has to be able to tell a hand to do some often fairly complicated pattern, and be able to rely on it to continue to do that pattern without much supervision while changing strings, often illogically as far as the fingers are concerned, and in spite of whatever the other hand may be doing. So any exercise that will get the fingers of one hand maintaining a pattern against a conflicting pattern in the other hand will help develop this capability. Of course there are many ways a given left hand pattern may be used other than the most obvious already given. For a start you might try skipping strings and doing the pattern on the first string, then the third, then the fifth, then the sixth, fourth, second, then first again on another fret efe ete. Or you might go from the first to fourth to sixth to third, and then start over on a new fret. Or you might try shifting a given pattern up and down different distances on the same string. Or perhaps you might want to try shifting up or down a fret after playing each pattern on one string only—for instance: 3 44 f +43 duese site GLY SHIELIIT WIKIA a PATLETM Hy UF matLy ways, Lor Instance The possibilities are endless. You would probably choose to do any of these, or any other variants, depending on what you found your fingers needed to work on, or what problem you found in a piece that you needed to practise. If you found, for instance, that you had trouble keeping a consistent hand position when reaching from one string to another with the left hand, then some of the string skipping variants would probably help. They would help also with any problems of accuracy in the left hand. If you feel the need to narrow down the problem even more, you might break down this idea into some exercises using only two fingers at a time in the following fashion: ® rr. oT ol ad od OT wad ad — or -oreven “® Qa The possibilities for this sort of thing on all frets and strings are endless also, but don’t kill yourse working too fanatically on the hardest ones you can make up. Developing a stretch takes tin after all, and the world is full of people who can’t reach the sixth string with their fourth fing when their third finger is on the first string. But whichever combinations you try, make sure th your wrist stays quite still as well as your elbow, so that it is the fingers that do the work. There no point in putting your shoulder out of joint when what you are trying to do is move two finger Also make sure in any of these reaching or skipping exercises, that the fingers come down straig onto the strings, because if they land at any angle from the perpendicular, they may tend to pu: and pull the strings sideways towards or away from the hand. This not only causes the note bei played to be out of tune, but will also destroy the possibility of developing in the finger a true sen of where the string actually is. (If you suspect you may be shifting the strings around in th manner, you might try to watch yourself in a mirror since it is much easier to see what you a doing this way). If you find that you have difficulty shifting, or if you find that some fingers are unreliable | land on after a shift, then you might want to choose some of the shifting exercises that emphasi the things you find hard. Any combinations of left and right hand patterns may be used with shit and skips of any sort. Slurs may be added to any patterns in any ways, as may any sorts of tri ete. Or perhaps you simply find that your stretch is inadequate, and doesn’t allow you to keep good position on the lower frets. Or perhaps some fingers stretch better than others. In this cas not only can you practise stretching by simply doing any left hand patterns on as low fretscol t ps For ii os 's ssible a fingers in any patterns you practice. For instance, if you wished po between any {wo auld get the following possible variants: © doa 1439 you pattern. ¥ ae 2 1 4 5 = pa ee 3 ed up and-down the fi i ces can be added to any patterns and wor 1 the fingerboard j Such space Not only that, but if you want to get fancy, and if this seems to be - ee JNThese and any other possibilities you may wish t0 Ly: shoutd down the entire fingerboand, of course Ne very ca gether, and to lift the other pait exactly at the same tu ist We Gabew Hail br de vse fut Of fingers as a sort of pivot, of ay a means of hanging OU {6 4 given play an the tineatongdonatte to help the other two fingers to igi andl place thenelyes The tingets shoul all hecer ance the places upon which they intend (0 alight, asl Mey sthoult bo made te muatataty thts postion ty themselves. Alo the vo fingers of a pair must conwe down together, atu toe unaetice taba lace cither one, the other shoukl wait in the ait ovet US pasttion (util thy prsblenatie tweet te wy’ to be placed, so that the two may alight in one WOON He particutaty savtal witte the exercises that your fingers don't displice the SIMMS sideways Tis alte aquite dudticall weatent doing this in exercises with some of the more dtu sttetehos, 90 AE yah fatal yout avert boralontey to do this, try practising in front of a mirror. Watcl abo for changes qe thant ait west psition, well as movement from the elbow, There shoull be no marked movenwat o be dane actos all trots aud ape anid He place act (uate at Hunger eaac ty te Spt ty the Tagen OF course slurs may be added to any of these patterns, av may abo spaces al an eaten trot between any two adjacent fingers, as may rhythms, accents, shifts, oF anythins ebe year ean Uthh of doing, or which occurs in a piece and seems Tike a good thing te work on. Far the ght hat, you may simply use any two fingers you wish, OF You Might try. practiomyy your Wonks OWI various variant fingerings also if you like) of your (wo stting (ils, or you Muay bake any a the Fight hand patterns of four and use them. You may abo wish to use these patterns te work au sone at the problems of coordination that may crop up in pieves of Complicated commtoeannt, and play the hotes of each pair one after the other, holding cach note over UNTIT the HEX Mote aH NAL steht fee be sounded. This will give the following sort of thing: ew Ls Lastly, if you take the patterns of fours and double them and assign one set to the thumb and one to the fingers, you get the following double arpeggios which can help develop greater indepen dence for the thumb, and can also help one in finding the most efficient possible right hand aud wrist position. These patterns are as follows: imiaimiaimiaimia imiaimiaimiaimia iia iia nia mia 6545 $456 4565 S654 4546 S464 4645 6454 O40 4630 OSHA SOdO miai miai_ = miai_miai_—miai_smiai_—miai_—miai_—omtiat iat ial iat 6545 5456 4565 S654 4546 S464 4645 G4SA OHS OSH OSO4 Sod jaim aim iaim iaim)iaim vim tim iam iaim vim kim ini 6545 5456 4565 5654 4546 S464 4645 O4S4 O4OS AOS HSO4 SOdO aimiaimiaimi_aimi_aimi_aimiaimi—airmi amin aimi—aitni 6545 S456 4565 5654 4546 S464 AG4S GASH G4OS OSH GSO4 SOdO, mima mima mima mima mima mima mima mima mima mima mina mina 6545 5456 4565 5654 4546 S464 4645 6454 G4OS 4OSH OSHA SOO imam imam imam imam imam imam imam imam imam imam inane imam 6545 5456 4565 5654 4546 S464 A6AS O4S4 O4HS OSG OSO4d SOdO mami mami mami mami mami mami mami mamiomami nami mami mani 6545 $456 4565 5654 4546 S464 4645 6454 O4OS ADSO OSO4 SodO, 7cov amim am: $565 S654 4546 saoa cds Gasq Sim ase anim 64, amin i 7 " 59646 amaiamaiamaiamsiamai_amai amai G45 $456 4565 5654 4536 Saea Jers imal 6465 gent see ana as 646 ia main mala mala maia_msia mia mala amgig eS4S $456 4565 5655 4546 Sa64 seas Gls 6465 aos frais soa 7 6 iam alam iam iam iam iam siam alam iam Be ics GO eH os ae ae 0454 6465 4656 Gach Sean iama iama iama iama iama iama iama _iama iama iama ; 6545 5456 4565 5654 4546 5464 4645 6454 Gags 4656 6s6q Seu The first one for instance, imia over 6545, would be played in the following manner: a® m . * _— © Of course this is assuming that one assigns to p the lower three strings and to i the third string, tom the second string, and to a the first string. You may wish to vary this, especially which strings the fingers play, giving all sorts of nasty combinations that will make anything the right hand may have todo in any pieces seem like child’s play by contrast. A few examples follow: iy é i m m om oa 4” aa my a Z = or or =F ete. i ro ogrl In any of these exercises, the only limits on what you can do with them are the limits of your own imagination, and hopefully your imagination will grow more and more with the practice of working out new and different ways of using this material, All the pattems and ways of using them in this book are merely suggestions. Certainly you will not want to try everything mentioned, as even doing a small fraction of the things suggested would take hours to get through. So don't Three 2 all the multitude of possibilities, but just £0 carefully looking through to see what two or ideas would be the most useful at first, or examine your fingers to find out what groups of ea cal problems are most urgently in need of practice. Do Some of the simplest patterns and hatever else you do come as a result of any problems you may encounter. Or go through iene wees cm a earch out any difficult spots. When you have foued them, take beware of picking ete hein Feat into a pile of simple litle ba c exercises to be worked on. Ao hours. ‘Any een a 7 lest thing you can devise and working hard on just that one thing for muscle or tendon ns ce ng ills Muscles you may not have Used much before, or causes any to doing, may be dangerore re ey Papi im frequent movements in a way it is not accustomed Mam exercise cause muscles tg fs (28 Meh without building up the potential of the muscle frst. rt OF get very tired, Stop that and try something else for a while, 18a the tired muscle rest meanwhile. And above all, if i i ea |, if you get serious pains anywhere wh: ng. you are doing something wrong, and should find out what it is before goiny ons vere Kinds of muscle and nerve damage can be very lasting. So get into the most duvieuie things gradually, and give yourself plenty of variety. But the one thing to be avoided at all costs is the idea that these are a set of exercises to be done dutifully, exactly as described, for set periods of time—done while one is thinking of anything else—done merely because Alice Artzt said they were good. They must become entirely your own exercises, done with great concentration, and done with a constant eye towards searching out faults you can find in your own technique, and devising more and more specific forms of any patterns, tailored to your own needs. No two people, working from this book, should come up with anything like the same exercises to concentrate on. Even two people of a similar level, with the same teacher, working on some of the same music with the same hard spots, would be very unlikely to end up with exactly the same exercises. But above all, if you find yourself bored with too much repetition, you have only to get to work and think of some new wrinkles to add to what you are doing, or to think of some different aspect of a problem to attack. If a problem doesn’t quickly succumb to whatever attack you have made upon it, then vary the attack, or rethink what the cause of the problem may be. But above all keep thinking and analysing, because a few minutes of thought make practising and playing the guitar a great deal more interesting as well.He POBLEMS, "OWATCH O44 Pon LEFT HAND: Fingers and nails ms Mig) all font eet ccUretoly Jeet ching ven stopping a steing the fin M be pice sery curate sieape, Ea ea (caida lerioptn Stine a four finery ‘hn tH! maturally himer iy z a, than a uartet abave the strings and cach exietly ng Hore warter of an inch C6 em) ve re anil each of fouradincent fawerennt ings (he fingers should We phat ining arto hngeboat ‘he save oe Fingers om the strings shoul bee "and consistent tad notexcreibiere Tel iliiniu shautil ie blacel ea the conte of ie Patt eu nice the center of gravity of the hand, and shoukl not be anuen tension, uitar unde Problems 1. Nails may be (oo long iL impossible for the fingers to be placed properly, The tip joints of some fingers may he double jointing because of weakness of fingers 2. The tip joints o a hand position 4nd poor The fingers may not be curved enough in all their joints because of poor h nd OF wrist position, 4. Some fingers may be curved more than others due to poor hand and west Position, vy be lying (oo much on their sides due to poor wrist and elbow position 5. Some fingers y curve, eats may not be fined wp along one string, so tht c fingers, when equally curved and at rest, tring, me Metnie is required of some fingers than of others, caused. by poor lent wrist and elbow. position, 7. ‘The fingers may be too flat and straightened out due {0 placement of the palm of the hand too far from the fingerboard, usually due te [naufTicient stretch between the fingets, and canine weg? ness of pressure, inefficiency, and often the damping of strings higher +h n the one being stopped, 8 The fingers may lack sufficient stretch to allow them to Fest comfortably on adjacent frets, 9. The fingers may be pulling the strings of accuracy, and improper angle of inaccuracig Proper positions due to tension, lack eR, and causing out of tuneness and encouraging ferthe, 10, Too much finger pressure may be used, \sually as a compensation for lack of stretch, lack of accuracy, or improper thumb position, Hl. There may be more ease in Stretching between some fingers than between others, causing consistent inaccuraci a 12, Too little Pressure may be used due to weakness or instability, 13] Pressute of soma fingers as. ce inconsis f instabitit Pressure of some fingers may differ causing ‘neonsisteney of touch and instability, \4. The thumb, may be placed w often causing the guitar te slide 1S. The thum : May be (00 immobile ‘moving with the hand, rasa Tong and may not be “Ounterbalancing the pressure of the fingers, around on the lap, and may tend to stay ' i d in one position when it should be and thus may eause Alistortions of hand positions" ition, 7 © too and may i ‘1 Y t0 the hang, ME MI NOt stay in AMY Position long enough to lend any sort 2017. The tip joint of the thumb may be bent imparting tension to itself and to the hand. 18. The thumb may be imy y posi i properly positioned, pulling the fingers and hand d a poallian| decreed Palting ; lown into an awkward Position and effectively shortening the usable finger length, and causing contortions of hand Hand and wrist The palm of the hand should be in as close to the fingerboard as possible while still not touching the first string, and should be basically parallel to the fingerboard. (Since the fingers should all curve to the same degree, their relative lengths will dictate the relative distance of each side of the palm of the hand from the fingerboard. A shorter fourth finger will require the part of the palm which it Joins to come closer in to the fingerboard than a relatively longer fourth finger). The upper part of the palm (where the fingers join the hand) should be high enough that the fingers can all reach the sixth string without altering the hand position, and this position should be kept no matter what string is being played so that the fingers can do most of the movement in changing chords etc., while the hand and arm remain almost immobile. The wrist should hang down naturally from the hand and should be under no tension. Problems. 1. The angle of the palm of the-hand to the neck of the guitar may be wrong causing uneven curvature of the fingers, inaccurate placement of the fingers, and usually caused by a poor elbow position. 2. The hand may become tense usually due to weakness and poor position and imparting this ten- sion to the fingers, often resulting in the fingers stiffening and refusing to remain in proper position 3. The wrist may be held too high causing double jointing, weakness, and instability. 4. The palm of the hand may be held out too far, usually due to a poor stretching ability between the fingers, causing the fingers to become too straight and to land on the strings in a flattened position, causing weakness of pressure, inefficiency, and often resulting in the damping of any strings above the one being played. 5. The wrist and palm may be held in and under the neck of the guitar too far, caused by weakness and incorrect thumb position, and causing an effective shortening of usable finger length and making proper finger placement impossible. 6. The palm and wrist may jump around to compensate for inadequate stretch and finger movement, thus causing poor position, loss of precision, and requiring much extra effort. Arm and shoulder The shoulder should rest in a natural relaxed position, and the arm and elbow should hang from the shoulder at one end and from the hand at the other in a completely relaxed and natural way. Problems 1. The elbow may be held out too far, caused by lack of finger stretch and mobility, and causing poor hand and finger position. 2. The elbow may be dug into the body too much causing a cramped position and tension. with nervous tension, (and if not countered by sufficient 3. The large upper arm muscles may, iciem numb pr towards the body and often causing it left hand thumb pressure) contract, pulling the guitar nec to start to slip off the lap.Fingers and nails ¢ very smooth and shaped in accordance with the sha hhould be very smooth and shap shape or Bala Of attack to be used. ‘The fingers should be gently curved and angled so thas and with fiat touched by'the nail at either its right or left side.” The nail Should then pass across is from the side towards the middle at which point the string should be released, 2 he string as will depend to a large extent on the angle at which the nail first touches th sane of. may be varied somewhat according to taste). Most of the erie Should come from trey nearest the palm of the hand, and the fingers should be placed in su ‘h position that they joint ually curved when playing on the same string (as in a tremolo) and ares? conveniently pla’ tt possible to reach as many strings as possible with as little motion of the wrist as possible. ” Pia¢ed as Problems 1. The nails may be badly shaped, or rough, causing a poor sound 2. The angle of attack may be incorrect, or the fingers may not be curved Properly, 50 thatthe nail may attack the string at an insufficient angle to produce a ood tone. 3. The finger nails may pluck somewhat along the length of the Strings instead of directly across, due to poor hand position, and causing time to be wasted with the extra motion, and making ¢ harsh grating sound if any bass strings are plucked in this way. 4. The nails may be shaped inconsistently from finger to finger, or may be filed without taking into account the relative lengths of fingers, the hand position, or the angle of attsek’ causing inconsistencies of touch, tone, and sometimes even missed notes, 5._The skin may be too wet or too dry or too sticky or too hard. Most of these problems can be ured in one way or another, usually by the use of some greasy substance such as Vaseline acces, moderate quantities. 6. The fingers may be attacking the string from different angles caused by some fingers being curved more than others, due to poor hand position, and causing inaccuracies and differences in tone from finger to finger. 7. The resting position of the fingers (ie when the fingers are not touching the strings but are waiting between strokes) may be too far from the strings causing too much time to elapse between the beginning of the stroke and the actual attack on the string. 8. The fingers may follow through too far after t he hand (usually caused by tension) and remain thei to return to make a repeated Stroke in time. he stroke and/or may curl up into the palm of te after the stroke, and so may not be prepared . The tip joint of the fingers may be cl i i i ! 'y be bent too much, thus causing the fingers to hook the strings ie the Strings to snap on the frets. If done to a sufficient degree, this hooking may cision and improper use of muscles fo such an extent as to cause very serious physical due to the forearm resting on the guitar ng of the fingers and weakness of attack. ich a way that i _ p "causing tendency ee ald eye olde with the first finger if used at the jo, thumb ma : auing th Y Snlist the help of the wr hand to 1e wri ; : P out o Position at sashes ne puess in playing any bass notes, thusraed he Mttmb: may approach the string trom an incorsect angle wo that ts nail anale x0 that its nail may eateh on the steams US. The han may: be tht dows too far witt the thunnb held ina shlew the Back of the nail will contact the lowest base sttitys, taking mares ee ast cating the Hhimty £9 proatice various ext sounuls tater that Peete ae Nay. or may be set into the hand in stich a way, that they Hieient stretch, a faulty cramped position, or various forms of compensation, may be used in stich, This can be due to ins hands, in which latter case to. The t uty collite with cach othe may be simply a characteristic of some muy have (0 be devised My fend fo stick out stiffly, particularly when a the hand and wrist ue a 17 The fingers, especially the little ting difficult passage is being played, due to tension 1 Hand and wrist The wrist from it as naturally as possible, strings The wrist shoul! be relayed, and the hand should hany shouk! be out fir cnough away from the guitar to allow the fingers to reach as many possible without undue hand and wrist movement, and the hand should hang in front of the guit at stich angle as will allow all of the fingers to be curved equally when pla ar ing on the same string Problems. ist may be held in too far causing the hand to form a clv-tike position, causing tension, The w and hooking, and preventing the pking of more than one string at a time without moving the Any hooking movements can be dangerous, and if done wrist or changing the angle of the hand. much cane I severe physical damage to the hand and arm, the wrist and a general weakness and The wrist may be held too far out causing tension instability in the hand. using the fingers, thus imparting tension to the 3. The wrist may be too ten: especially the little one, to stick out stiffly. 4. The hand may be held at such an angle that the i finger is much closer to the strings than the a undue cramping of the i, and causing the thumb to have to finger, causing undue stretching of the a move out of proper position. 5. The hand may be pushed in and towards the bridge while the thumb is extended towands the fingerboard to such a degree that the thumb nail is rendered useless, and the distance along the ing and where the thumb is plucking becomes so great h other, strings between where the fingers are pluc that the tone colours of thumb and fingers can in no way resemble ea 6& The hand may move from side to side or may pivot, due to various mannerisms of to an exaggerated follow through after the stroke, causing instability, and inaccuracies, as well as great inconsistency of tone quality Arm and shoulder The shoulder should be dropped into a relaxed position and the forearm should rest on the body of the guitar in a natural comfortable position such that the hand hangs over the strings in a convenient playing position. Problems 1 The arm may be pulling the guitar in towards the body in an effort to compensate for too high a chair, too low a footstool, or a lack of sufficient left hand thumb pressure, causing tension and lack of freedom for the arm to move naturally when necessary.MN 4 down tightly on the edge of THe REIT due 16 tenn This, Coes lems if not corrected in time fa 2. The arm may Ws Er problems if not cozrected ; reat in sein in such a position as t ele the o; result i rest onthe guitar in sul 2 positions to impede the SiteUatigg 3. The arm may happen to sea slightly different position should be chosen: or . in whicl hand, blood to the a toon y be resting on the guitar at a point tring, usually causin 4 The amt ay Oe calving on the fst ing wt ee ee ee fingers, weakne’ the wrist, SINE the Fingers 8 to 1 double jointing oe fe FOF th ing on the guitar above the elbow so fiat t be forearm ‘5 M01 support est ia sil and instabi h ” 5, The arm may ea causing improper hand position and y en fi including tension TORSO AND SITTING POSITION c a flat seat. One's feet should be edge of a stable chair with a flat seat. 3 ody oy Oe rer eel sels Waleed one ey ae oa ee nnuch support and sab the floor and foot , to the body as possible. Problems ' oT he chair seat may be {00 soft and may give inadequate support causing tension inthe back and chair sea > at siten causing pains in the shoulders and upper back muscles. The chair seat may have a ridge at the front which in time will tend to cut off the circulation of 2. 1e chait blood to the legs causing them to fall asleep. 3. The chair may be too high causing tension in the back and legs, as well as feelings of insecurity, and making it difficult to hold the guitar properly. 4 The chair may be too low causing a cramped position and possible tension in the stomach muscles and lower back muscles. 5. One may sit too far back in the chair, or the chair may slope backwards, causing curvature in the ower back, often resulting in lower back pains, & Due to habitual poor posture, the back may be curved to such an extent as to cause multitude of back problems, and also usually to ruse a tendency to hold the guitar tilted upward to an Sufeme desree, which may result in left hand Problems and in problems in holding the guitar in a stable position. 7. The footstool may be too high causing the ‘ uitar to be held too high, usually re: Iting in ten- “on and improper shoulder and arm positien © 00 high, usually resulting & The footstool! may be t00 low resulting i is esulting in a feelin, of it ity a ing strai min the muscles called upon to compensate," OF insecurity and often causing strain and Ool may be t00 low or the ch i i 5 lor oF from the footstool > ie high causing the Player to raise one or both heels tension in the leg muscles, 8 1 Very great instability and feelings of insecurity, Holding the guitar The guitar shou Md be Supported We aORPEE Should fea footed On the left thigh and pi iti 5 ‘evan the Ye ing uous the guitar, din ae apport ad the right a . Ie n s e tilted bac 1 ably on thee ight shouly nal point of Support. e tilted back somewhi be ca ‘ad seit Suitar should be he cs 2h Shou Peo Should be held at such an in such Position shat righ hana Still allow the forearm to rest comfort- naturally over the strings en the igs between theund hol le. (The weight of (vith no added of the wuitir showld Eee ges the ho ennpt atthe hatha tla a f Crhis angle of the guitar and ity position on the right thie a ey! teach above the twelfth fet. § ight hands are most comfor RUE thigh may be adjusted to a point where poth left and ri Problems 1. The guitar may be held at such do mfortable playing position, resultin position 2. The angle of the guita fwelfth fret, and this will result in reach there. ngle that the right hand a " Ht hand does not fall naturally inte nh poor hand position, or tension, or anu ana may be such that the left hand cannot reach the fingerboard above the distortion of the proper sitting position whenever the hand needs to 3, The lower bout of the guitar may be held too close to the body ea nsion and misplace= ft of the right shoulder and a rather extended and uncomfortable left hand and arm position: ment 4. The guitar may be held exactly upright, or even tilted forwards away from the player, causing a only tension in the right wrist, since the wrist must then bring. the and in towards the guitar id of simply letting it hang there, but also causing the sound of the guitar to become entangled fe first row of the audience rather than be allowed to travel out and up throughout instea in the feet of thi the hall ‘The guitar itself ‘The guitar should be looked at and adjusted by a competent luthier when necessary. The action should be high enough not to permit buzzes when played at a reasonable volume level, but should be no higher than this. The spacing of the strings on the nut should be adjusted to conform with the size and thickness of the player's fingers so that a player with small thin fingers is not required to stretch great distances unnecessarily, and a player with large fat fingers is not forced to try to squeeze them into an unreasonably narrow spacing. The frets should be high enough and rounded enough to allow a clean sound to be made without undue effort. ‘The fingerboard should be finished in such a way that no frets buzz more than the average, and the nut should be at a height that eliminates the possibility of back buzzes. Problems 1. The action may be too high to permit a reasonable ease of playing. 2. The action may be too low to permit any loud notes without buzzing. 3. The string spacing at the nut may be too narrow to accomodate large fingers or too wide to be practical for small ones. 4. The frets may be so low or so worn that the string tends to move about on the fret even when held down quite tightly, usually causing buzzes and other imperfections in the sound, and requiring extra pressure from the fingers making the guitar unnecessarily difficult to play. 5. The guitar may buzz due to a loose brace, a crack, or various problems with the machine heads, allof which should be fixed by someone competent to do so. & In general, if there are problems of sound, or any other problems with the guitar that do not em to be due to a fault of the player, then the guitar should be taken to a luthier or teacher whe is Competent to check what might be wrong and have it corrected. ;