Re: Descending legato - help!

On Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:58:01 -0700, Matt Faunce wrote:

On Mar 12, 4:50 pm, David Raleigh Arnold <darno...@xxxxxxx> wrote:

1. Curl the finger.

2. Come straight across the string

I've seen it written that we should pull downward toward the fret board.
So that the finger tip moves across and down. I just checked my
technique and my fingers never hit the fretboard.

3. Make it pop.

When you want a popping sound. I can sustain a trill and shade the sound
from dolce to sharp and back, depending on how much I snap it. More snap
the sharper the tone. Everyone should be able to do this.

For the cleanest and most dolce tone: first file your callouses a bit.
Then stop the string (pressing the string to the fret) closer to the
nail side of your finger tip, not in it's usual groove. And make sure
there is no snap. That is don't draw the string back like your shooting
an arrow.

For a sharp tone: Stop the string in its usual groove and snap it off.
But, do get in the habit of filling your nails every now and then so you
can get those nice clean pull-offs.

Also. How absurd would it be if a teacher were helping a fat and out of
shape dancer to better execute some arduous maneuvers by only focusing
on his/her technique. Likewise, most guitarists fingers are out of
shape. You can exercise your fingers by sustaining trills. But be
careful! Start off small and build up over the weeks. When I'm in good
shape, I can sustain a trill between my 3rd and 4th fingers, while
anchoring the 2nd,

Quit anchoring. Practice slurs unsupported when practicing for strength.
See my "Power Slurs". The idea of focussing on a particular finger doing
a particular slur to a point of considerable fatugue is the main thing.
Most people waste time and effort on meaningless combinations.

for five minutes straight. Start off by sustaining
trills for 30 secs. then switch fingers. Over the weeks, ramp it up to 1
min., then 2 min. etc.

It is not necessary to spend that much time. Power slurs are a bit safer,
but they can be overdone too, but IMO it is a bit less likely.

Don't think of them as endurance exercises, think
of them as relaxation exercises.

That's wrong thinking. Relaxation is never a goal, because all playing
and all muscular activity is a matter of balancing forces, and never a
matter of eliminating any.

This way you will build endurance in a
healthy way. Warning! This is dangerous! But the results are phenomenal.

Beyond Power Slurs, trills are best practiced as parts of real musical
compositions, especially when dealing with dynamics.

See Carcassi's pages of slur exercises. The idea of practicing the thumb
glide and vibration slur along with real slurs is a very good one for
control. It is not a strength builder, but it is not intended as one.
Regards, daveA

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