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RE: Is Ruben Diaz's alzapua techniqu... (in reply to Guest)
quote:
ORIGINAL: encanto
So Ruben Diaz has a video showing his unsuspecting victims how to do alzapua in which he shows various alzapua exercises all characterized by the fact that the right hand is moving freely (does not use any fingers propped against either strings or guitar body). Most of the movement in that exercises comes from free wrist movement. At that time this did not impress me as anything unusual since my appreciation for Ruben Diaz bideos (now barred on this site, and for a reason) is not that high.
However, then I saw a Paco DeLucia video and noticed that in his alzapua technique he seemed to prop his (i,m)-fingers on 1st and 2nd string and use them as a lever to pull/push against and stabilize the thumb. Upon examining my own alzapua technique closer (I've been playing for more than two decades now and have forgotten exactly how I was taught to do it -- now I just do it without noticing how), I discovered that I do it much closer to Paco's way than to Ruben Diaz's way. Getting increasingly more intrigued, I followed Ruben's exercises only to discover that I find his way of doing alzapua with free wrist movement extremely inconvenient and kind of the opposite of what I've seen flamenco players do. I now believe that what he is showing is actually either a completely different technique, which produces a result soudning similar to alzapua but is not alzapua, or else that he has perverted this technique to suit his own Latin American way of playing which may actually have nothing to do with how these things are done in Spain.
Does anyone know of a good instructional Alzapua video (not from Ruben Diaz) that shows the proper way to do alzapua?
So let me get this right. Just because YOU find it extremely inconvenient do without any anchor then it can't be alzapua. Here's some advice: with logic like that you shouldn't study maths.
Posts: 15242
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Is Ruben Diaz's alzapua techniqu... (in reply to Guest)
wow you have doubts about RD video?
Simply put, there are MANY different ways it can be done so you need a wide sampling.
Here at 5:04 the index appears to "dangle" or tickle the first or second string, but it is not being used other than to be in position for the ending arpegio where we finally hear those strings played, they are dangling sympathetically due to the wrist movement:
Here 10:18 again we see the fingers close to the strings dangling (a bit lower as pulgar is on 3 and 4th strings) but not touching/playing them as wrist is being used to drive thumb:
THere will be many different orientations of the technique and the fingers might end up anchored to a string in preparation for USE, so you end up with a complex mix of pulgar/index/alzapua all at once.....it will depend on the specific falseta. Here is one at :55 is a mix of stuff, there are a couple up strokes with P that make it alzapua at times, you can notice the index keeps out of the way but touching the 1st string at times but not ever "anchored". http://youtu.be/fe8-P3Weiuc Ricardo
Posts: 6440
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy
RE: Is Ruben Diaz's alzapua techniqu... (in reply to Guest)
quote:
As to the pre-history of why he was banned on this forum, I don't know it. Maybe there are just too many people with big egos here who just don't wanna listen to this humble and pleasant man who titles himself Professor.
This is rather presumptuous of you. This thread is locked as it has been addressed.