Do you know your Melody from your Bass?
So you know where the melody is? If you don’t, how can you figure that out and make sure that you give it all of the attention, emphasis, and tonal character it deserves?
All will be revealed and more in this informative classical guitar technique article.
I
ask my students a similar question when they’re starting on a new piece or working on an old one.
The reason I ask this is to make sure they know where the melody notes are even if (or should I say when) they move through different voices on the guitar. Knowing the melody means you’ll always be able to keep the piece flowing as it should without giving notes that aren’t part of the melody too much emphasis.
Because the classical guitar technique allows us to play many notes at once we are able to do things other guitar players only dream of, however the cost is that we need to know which notes belong where, which notes to emphasis (or not) at the right time, and how to go about doing all of that on just six (or sometimes more) strings.
We’ve All Been There
I remember when my first guitar teacher Peter Thwaites asked me if I could identify the melody in a piece I was playing and actually I couldn’t. I could hear it and assumed I knew where it was, but when he asked me to isolate it and play it I could not do it.
I only knew how to play it as a collective whole i.e. without the bass and other notes around I couldn’t play just the melody and it was a revelation!
That lesson forever changed the way I went about learning and playing pieces. From that point forward I always made a point of working out the melody first, playing through it and committing it to memory.
Why is it important you ask? Read on…
Knowing the melody is important because
it represents the main plot - if the plot in a movie gets all wishy washy an audience can become confused or disinterested or both. A piece of music is exactly the same
we can make sure it stands out from the other notes using a variety of means
we can impress our teacher if they ask for it
The next logical question is “How can I make the melody distinguishable from the rest of the notes?”
Distinguishing the melody
There are several ways to make the melody stand out from the rest of the notes. Let’s take a look at a few:
Play it louder than the other notes (or my preference is to play the other notes more softly)
Use a rest stroke (heavy or light)
Change its tone by picking it at a different angle to the others
Pick with the same finger where possible
Try to play the melody notes on the same string wherever possible (an ideal)
Slightly delay it by playing it just before or just after a bass note (usually just after), but don’t overuse it because it can be quite unsettling if used too often. It’s better at the beginning of a phrase.
Above you will see four examples of where the melody notes are. I’ve magnified them so they’re easier to see and recognise. Usually melody notes are distinguishable from bass and inner voices by the stem pointing upwards. Bass and inner voices stems point downwards. The stem is the line that joins the head. In the case of minims and semibreves the other notes will usually give you the clue as to whether or not your minim or semibreve is part of the melody or not.
The pieces are:
Lagrima by Francisco Tárrega
Recuerdos de la Alhambra by Francisco Tárrega
La Paloma by Sebastian Yradier
Gran Vals by Francisco Tárrega
This video shows me playing through snippets of the melodies from Lagrima, La Paloma, and Recuerdos de la Alhambra. I give examples of how to recognise melodies and apply many of the techniques explained in the bullet points above.
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Josh
How To Choose The Best Nylon Strings For Your Classical Guitar
Picking strings is easy - figuring out which strings best suit you and your guitar isn't so easy.
Classical Guitar Strings
Apart from your guitar itself the strings that you put on your classical guitar will have the greatest impact on your sound and tone quality.
A great set of strings can make an average guitar sound much better and conversely a poor set of strings can make a great guitar sound worse.
Classical Guitar String Considerations
When purchasing nylon strings for your classical guitar you need to consider a few things:
- Price
- Availability
- Longevity
- Gauge
- Material
Price. For most of us out there price is one the biggest considerations when choosing strings. Most of the time we just go for whatever is cheapest often at the expense of superior tone and longevity. For people like me that change strings every two week the cost can quickly escalate over the year. I personally use Augustine Regal Blue High Tension strings because they are a high-quality string that isn't too expensive and they can endure about 60 to 80 hours of playing before their tone is lost (at least to me anyway).
Availability. The worst thing is heading to your local music store or searching online only to find that your brand is gone. Sticking to established brands with a reliable track record is really important. Brand such as Hannabach, Savarez, Augustine are all fantastic makers with a long and illustrious history of making strings favoured by the world's best classical guitarists.
Longevity. This is probably the most subjective point as when classical guitar strings or any guitar strings for that matter lose their tone is undefinable. For me that point is reached when the notes don't ring true. The sound is dull, sustain is compromised, and the clarity of the note is no longer apparent. Obviously, if you rarely play your guitar your strings will last a lot longer. If you're like me and you play and practice for several hours each day your strings will need to be replaced more frequently.
Gauge. This is the thickness of your strings. In classical guitar terms this is usually measured as tension defined as high, medium, and low. It is generally understood that the higher the tension in the strings the more punch and volume your guitar will produce. The cost of this additional punch and volume is that greater effort is required to 'finger' the notes. I would say that high tension strings are more suited to experienced players or players that have exceptionally strong hands and grip strength. Beginners or people with smaller weaker hand and finger strength should choose low tension strings to begin with.
Material. Classical guitar strings are made using a wide variety of materials with bronze, silver plating, and brass being popular choices for the bass strings. Treble strings can be made from clear nylon, rectified nylon, and carbon fibre. Bear in mind that the very traditional gut strings are still available for those seeking the most traditional sound. They tend to be far more expensive than even the highest quality nylon strings and are probably worth trying if you are seeking a different sound from the majority of players on the scene.
Mix N Match
Another popular method is to mix strings from different sets to come up with your own 'unique' sound and set that suits your playing style. Many players do this and there is no reason that you can't too!
Gut strings: https://www.stringsbymail.com/classical-guitar-strings-1/pyramid-970/gut-and-gut-nylon-974/
Another classical guitar string review: http://equipboard.com/posts/best-classical-guitar-strings
Learn Guitar Online
Learning guitar can be a scary thing - especially with a new teacher. Learning online using Skype can be a cost-effective & super convenient way to learn.
Introduction
The option of learning guitar online has been around for many years but there are still many people that are reluctant to learn using this method, preferring instead to go it alone or learn in-person with a tutor. Years ago I too thought that learning online wasn't really possible but I was wrong.
The event that changed my mind occurred when I was on tour in the middle east several years ago and I needed to learn a fairly complex guitar solo with extremely limited time to do so. Under normal conditions I would've taken a couple of days to learn it by ear but in this case I had less than 12 hours to try to nail it. I was trying to think of an easier way to get it done and I thought of YouTube. I typed in the name of the song and voila - there was a lesson for it! A kind person had posted it on their channel and it took me about an hour to get it all down. Needless to say after that I was hooked and I realised that learning guitar from an instructor on a screen was an entirely valid option. I had learned guitar stuff from the Hotlicks range of videos that were popular prior to the internet so learning from a screen wasn't totally foreign to me but with YouTube & Skype there's a difference and that difference is the ability to interact and receive feedback. The old school instructional DVDs and videos were a strict one-way affair.
The new age = Interactivity
YouTube opened doors with comments section. I have no doubt that most of you that are reading this post have come here because you've watched one or more of my tutorial videos on YouTube. You'll notice in the comments section on my videos that there are tons of questions and I answer them all. This is the wonderful opportunity that online guitar learning offers - interaction with the tutor in the video. The downside with YouTube is that some of the creators that post content don't respond to questions for various reasons but you may (if you're lucky) receive feedback or an answer from someone else. Sadly, though it is hit and miss.
Fortunately, Skype lessons can give you that much needed feedback or answer to that question. The downside with Skype guitar lessons online is usually the price. YouTube is 100% free whereas a private lesson with a guitar teacher online could cost anywhere from $5 to $200 for an hour and a private one-one-one lesson in your home or studio could be even more expensive. You'll also need a decent internet connection, a webcam, and a microphone, and somewhere peaceful to do the lesson and that can be an expensive outlay for some although a smart phone or tablet has all of those features and they're usually within the grasp of most people.
I would say if you are really serious about learning guitar definitely consider online guitar lessons as a viable option. It can also be a great option for those that have hit a plateau and need some assistance or advice to overcome that plateau and move forward.
Let your fingers fly!