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The 5-Finger Rasgueado (e,a,m,i,i) is causing me some difficulty, as expected I suppose. One of the problems is I don’t seem to have, nor can I find, a piece of music in which I can clearly hear and identify it. Does anyone have a slow, simple chording compas (preferably a Soleares or Alegrias) in which the 5-Finger Rasgueado is clearly articulated and would be will to upload it? A tab along with it would also be very helpful so I can both see and hear how its properly played.
Thanks Koella. Helpful, but still kind of fast for me right now. I am hoping to come across an MP3 which I can slow way down. But the 5-Finger Ras. will have to be easily identifiable on it so I can pick it out.
Nemo I don't think that's a quintuplet. I played the mp3 it slowly and it sounds like a sixtuplet.
The 5 stroke rasg., necessarily has a 6th note in the group, that being the note played on the next beat. The quintuplet is the group of notes occupying ONE beat. So technically it is 6 notes fast in a row, but if you do 2 groups say, you have 10 notes in the space of 2 beats, but an 11th note will end it on the next beat. eamii-i. or eamii, eamii, i.
One more thing. There are PRO players, MAESTROS who do not ever use this technique. No need to get hung up with your guitar studies by trying to master EVERY type of rasgueado technique. I for one feel doing 5 tuplet type rhythms is very advanced. One should get down ONE type of rasgueado really solid first (like ami, or amii), and just use it until it is natural when playing, like speaking. Adding and subtracting fingers to what you have as a natural movement is much easier then trying to learn all the different kinds of rasg. at the early stages.
Ok having said that, if you want to smooth out the 5 finger rasg., try this in Solea or Alegrias, what ever you are most confident with:
eami, i(up)eam, i. eami, ieam, i. eami, ieam, i. etc.
That is count 1,2 and 3, but notice the rhythm is 4 notes per beat over the first 2 beats. Work on getting this really smooth and in the groove, before trying to squeeze in the odd time 5 tuplets.
Thanks Ricardo. That explains a lot. I just encountered the 5-Finger last week for the first time in an Alegrias and thought it was about time to start to learn it and develop it slowly. My 3 and 4 finger rasgueados, while not perfectly articulated, are starting to sound quite nice.
I got into the 5-stroke-per-beat in a song that has a deliberately choppy sound (and it sounds really good!) that goes in beats:
eamii , eamii , i(down) i(up) , i(up) am i(up) , am i(up) a , i(down) i(up)
This might seem confusing, BUT- it just uses the 5 finger rasgueado for 2 beats then it uses a simple ami 3 stroke strum, partially sped up to 4 strokes per beat. It's confusing at first, but, speaking for myself, I found when I got this specific phrase down, both my 5 stroke and the 3 stroke greatly improved. A metronome was necessary for me though.
Gecko- you might want to check out the Art of the Rasgueado book. It has many variants in it and tips.
Posts: 143
Joined: Jan. 23 2005
From: New York, New York
RE: The 5-Finger Rasgueado? (in reply to Nemo Nint)
quote:
One more thing. There are PRO players, MAESTROS who do not ever use this technique.
I was wondering about this. Why do some players just not use this technique? Do they play quintuplets another way? Is it that it quintuplets just don't suit their style?
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