RASGUEADOS on the classical Guitar. Level 4

Transcription

1 RASGUEADOS on the classical Guitar Level 4

2 RASGUEADOS Rasgueados are an elaborate form of strumming, using down strokes and up strokes with both the fingers and thumb. Rasgueados can be played to defined rhythms or as musical gestures. They can be exciting, spectacular and even heroic in pieces such as Asturias by Isaac Albeniz and Joaquin Rodrigo s Concierto de Aranjuez. There are many combinations that can be played and the composer does not always give instructions as to where the down or up strokes are - often writing just rasgueado (or rasg.) above the passage. Sometimes a rasgueado is not specified at all, or a chord may only have the strum/arpeggiato symbol, and the guitarist decides that a rasgueado, rather than a strum with p, would be exciting at that point. The player often needs to decide which rasgueado sounds best - choosing which finger combinations/groups to use and where to play the down and up strokes. To be able to choose, the guitarist needs to know the possibilities, and this tutorial covers rasgueados that demonstrate the various finger movements/strokes which can be combined and adapted to the context. The Spanish word rasgueado is onomatopoeic and descriptive. It is probably derived from rasguñado grazed or scratched. Appropriately, has the word uña (fingernail) embedded. raspado - scraped which can colloquially also mean with no manners! rasgado - ripped, torn. Together with the rolled Spanish r they all give a sense of the qualities the rasgueados can have! Pronunciation: RA(t)S - GUE(ss) - A(t) -DO(n) q e e e Rasgueados can be boisterous and if those around you tell you to put a sock in it 1 - take them at their word - take the sock, thread it through the strings to mute them - and carry on practising! 1 be quiet! 1

3 The rasgueados in this tutorial are played with pima. 2 The following pages contain descriptions of the finger/hand movements in rasgueados, when they are played slowly. It recommended that they are practised this way at first. (See the demonstration of the pami p rasgueado played slowly in the video) As the knack of playing rasgueados develops and the rasgueados become faster, the actions described will flow into each other in unified, graceful movements - which is the goal. Down stroke, towards (Even though the arrow is pointing up!) Up stroke, towards (Even though the arrow is pointing down!) The individual strokes are always fast, even when practising the rasgueados slowly. What the phrases mean... Move the hand... Move the hand deliberately, with the finger stroke, to add more impetus. This hand movement can also help set the rasgueado in motion and make the finger stroke freer, as well as placing the hand in position for the following strokes. The amount of hand will vary with the rasgueado and the intended effect. Allow the hand to move... The impetus is with the finger stroke and the hand moves because the finger moves. This allow movement helps with relaxation, freedom of finger action, and can place the hand in position for the following strokes. It contributes less to the energy of the finger action than move the hand. 2 The little finger is also used to play some rasgueados in flamenco guitar, where rasgueados are a highly developed, virtuosic and prominent feature 2

4 RASGUEADO i i i i Keep the wrist/hand relaxed when playing the down stroke with i. The energy in the movement of i will move the wrist/hand, which in turn empowers i to play with a freer action - whereas, having a rigid wrist weakens and restricts the i strokes. The up stroke does not need to play all six strings. In many instances the up stroke in rasgueados are more of a flick with the finger, catching as many strings as are comfortable and, of course, sound good. (This is one of the ways that rasgueados are personalised - contributing to making their notation an inexact science) Do not tuck in ma Keep them naturally extended, relaxed and doing nothing, outside i. To make the triplet rhythm clear, the i finger plays two successive down strokes. Playing the two successive downs strokes with the same finger can at first feel counter intuitive, because continuous up/down strokes may seem more natural. Try and produce the triplet rhythm with only continuous up/down strokes and notice the different effect produced.,. 3

5 Muting strings p can mute a lower string as i plays the rasgueado a (or m) can mute a higher string p and a (or m) mute treble and bass simultaneously 4

6 Familiarising yourself with the outward fanning action of ami Gather the fingers into a loose fist. Place the top of the ami fingernails on the other hand. Move the fingers outwards in order: a - m - i This chain of finger movements is at the heart of many rasgueados. Keep the outward opening of the fingers in the fan natural to your hand. Rasgueados need to be articulate, but over extending the fingers to make an unnecessarily wide fan, makes control more difficult and can be tiring. Develop control of when they move outwards. In a rasgueado it will feel that one finger brings on the next which, in turn, brings on the next - and control is key. This sequence creates a more rolling effect, an important characteristic of rasgueados, than is possible with only one finger, as in the rasgueado with i, already shown. Nevertheless the articulation of the strokes can vary from being rhythmically defined ta-ta-ta-ta - to a roll on a single chord brrrrrrrrm! The familiarisation exercise also demonstrates that having the top of the ami fingernails close to the strings when the fingers are gathered in, means that the fingers can play the outward strokes without having to reach for the strings. (Depending on the context, the top of the fingernails could even be ON the strings.) Note: Holding the fingertips against the palm, when they are gathered in, is not recommended as standard technique 5

7 RASGUEADO A very useful rasgueado in the repertoire which also lays the foundation of the outward fanning movement with the fingers a m i Start position Gather the fingers in, to make a loose fist. Raise the hand, angling it a little to above the left knee, so that the top of the a fingernail is at the level of 6 th string From the start position : Play the down stroke with a, move the hand down with a. Keep the hand at the level it has reached when a has played.. With the hand at that level, play the down stroke with m Move the hand down with i Play all the strings. Only the number of strings caught by the natural outward movement of m need be played, but enough strings must sound for the rasgueado to be effective. The top note must always sound. Play all the strings. 6

8 RASGUEADO a m i p Start position Gather the fingers in, to make a loose fist. Raise the hand, angling it a little to above the left knee, so that the top of the a fingernail is at the level of 6 th string From the start position : Play the down stroke with a, move the hand down with a. Keep the hand at the level it has reached when a has played.. With the hand at that level, play the down strokes Move the hand down with p Play all the strings Only the number of strings caught by the natural outward movement of m and i need be played, but enough strings must sound for the rasgueado to be effective. The top note must always sound. Play all the strings. This is the main accent in this rasgueado 7

9 RASGUEADO p a m i p A feature of this rasgueado is the up stroke with p Start position With the thumb extended and ami gathered in, rotate and angle the hand so that the top of the thumbnail is just below the 1 st string and the thumb is pointing more towards the strings. p/up stroke: From the start position, play with the top of the thumbnail by rotating the hand upwards, sharply and rapidly, keeping p straight and extended, even rigid. Keep the hand at the level it has reached when p has played this up stroke With the hand at that level, play the down strokes Move the hand down with p Play all the strings Only the number of strings caught by the natural outward movement of a,m and i need be played, but enough strings must sound for the rasgueado to be effective. The top note must always sound.. Depending on the context, the main accent could be either Play all the strings 8

10 RASGUEADO A feature of this rasgueado is the rapid up/down strokes with i a m i i i Start position Gather the fingers in, to make a loose fist. Raise the hand, angling it a little to above the left knee, so that the top of the a fingernail is at the level of 6 th string From the start position : Play the down stroke with a, move the hand down with a. Keep the hand at the level it has reached when a has played. With the hand at that level, play the down strokes Keep the hand at that level, for all these up and down strokes OR (This makes for a more forceful effect) Allow the hand to move upwards with the i flick Move the hand down with i Play all the strings Only the number of strings caught by the natural outward movement of m and i need be played, but enough strings must sound for the rasgueado to be effective. The top note must always sound.. This up stroke is more of a flick with i, catching only some of the strings. Play all the strings. This is the main accent. 9

11 CONTINUOUS RASGUEADO with rhythmic grouping in fours a m i i a m i i a m i i Start position Gather the fingers in, to make a loose fist. Raise the hand, angling it a little towards the left knee, so that the top of the a fingernail is at the level of 6 th string From the start position : Play the down stroke with a, move the hand down with a. Keep the hand at the level it has reached when a has played. With the hand at that level, play down strokes with Allow the hand to move upwards with the i flick. This will return the hand to the start position, ready to continue repeating the sequence Play all the strings etc. Only the number of strings caught by the natural outward movement of m and i need be played, but enough strings must sound for the rasgueado to be effective. The top note must always sound.. This up stroke is more of a flick with i, catching only some of the strings. The principle of turning rasgueados to join them continuously can be applied to different rasgueado fingerings and rhythmic groupings 10

12 Dos and Don ts Do not move the hand with each individual finger stroke, because the rasgueados will become unwieldy and much harder to play fast. Rasgueados are a combination of hand and finger movements. Do not make the up strokes too long by trying to play too many strings, when this is not necessary. This can make the up stroke slow and distort the rhythm. Very often the up stroke can be a flick of the finger without the need to play all the strings but there must be enough strings played for the rasgueado to be effective Do not make the hand/wrist angle awkward, in order to have the fingers play rasgueados at right angles to the strings. Allow the hand/wrist angle to be natural, easy and enabling, rather than restrictive. Do not let the strokes become rhythmically uneven, especially at the turn of a rasgueado, e.g. between p/up stroke and ami/down strokes Have a firm grasp of the intended rhythm and listen carefully for gaps or bumps, especially when the rasgueados are played faster. 11