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Patrick -> RE: Rasgueado - which fingers (Aug. 9 2004 20:19:46)
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I think we should go back to the basics with this discussion. I know we have a bunch of non-posters that may be a bit confused. The reason I say this, is I was in email contact with one of our members, and he was not even aware that newer rasqueado methods existed.
There may be more, but I am aware of at least five methods of rasqueado’s. The first being the method of loading the fingers into the palm of the hand and popping them out one at a time. For sake of argument, I will call this the “old style”. Although important to learn, this method is not being used a great deal. Many players have a very difficult time getting the fingers back and loaded before the next set of down strokes are made. I have a friend of mine that has tried in vain for years to get a continuous rasqueado using this method.
A more resent variation is to load the fingers behind each other versus the palm. In other words, the little finger loads behind the ring finger, which loads behind the middle, which loads behind the index. Each finger then pops off the finger that is in front of it.
I believe the method being used by many contemporary players is to load the fingers off the thumb. In this method, the tip joint of the thumb is bent somewhat and is placed on the “A” or low “E” string (depending on the cord being played). What we then do is place (load) the ring, middle and index fingers behind the thumb. The trick is to “flick” each finger off the thumb like you flick a bug off a tabletop. In this method, speed, or velocity of the fingers popping off the thumb is more important then brute force. In fact the trick in learning it is to “not” over power the fingers, but relax. You also want the fingers to just barely touch the strings. Don’t dig in, it sounds terrible. To make the rasqueado continuous, just add an upstroke with the index finger. What I like about this method is it’s not tiring and keeps the hand in the same position as picado and arpeggios.
The forth method is done with a thumb upstroke followed by different combinations of down strokes with the fingers, the most common being the ring and index which makes a “triplet”. Many contemporary players use this triplet. Although not used much, is a thumb upstroke, followed by down stokes with all four fingers. This rasqueado is very lyrical and smooth sounding. The thumb only executes upstrokes. This form of rasqueado is executed with the fingers in mid air. In other words they are not loaded in the palm or behind the thumb. The trick is to have the thumb move down with the index down stoke, but not play the strings. Also, as the index and thumb move down, the little, ring and middle fingers should be moving back up to be in position.
The fifth is also a triplet, which usually uses only the thumb and middle finger. You will hear many players referring to it as a “p,m,p triplet”. This rasqueado starts with a thumb upstroke, followed by a down stroke of the middle finger, followed by a down stroke of the thumb. The middle finger should be held out, almost rigid. The thumb is also held rigid. This rasqueado is performed by rotating the wrist in a back and forth twisting motion, like turning a doorknob. The ring and middle finger are sometimes held together for more power on the down stroke.
One trick to get rasqueado’s smooth and even is to set a metronome at about 70 or 80 and play each finger on the beat, including the upstroke with the index (if used). Gradually increase the metronome speed. The best advice is to start out playing them very, very slow. The last bit of advice is to mute the strings with your left hand, so you can hear what your right hand is doing.
There are hundreds of rasqueado, but most all are variations of the above five.
Have fun.
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