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NormanKliman -> RE: Arpeggio to Picado transitions (Dec. 21 2009 0:28:53)
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Hi Lionel,
Very interesting subject. As usual, this message ended up longer than I intended, but these are just some tips that work for me. The basic idea is to take it as a single "technique" rather than two techniques put together.
There really shouldn't be much difference in the finger movements used in picado and those used in arpeggios, so make sure that you're not significantly changing the positioning of your right hand to do picados. I'm not saying that you do this, but many guitarists use strange right-hand postures for picado. Figuratively, it's as if they were instinctively ducking their heads or gritting their teeth or clenching up or something when they have to do a picado. Literally, this can involve keeping the last joint of the thumb (the one with the nail) bent and pressed against the soundboard, or maybe straightening the index and middle fingers for the picado. This is nearly always because somebody has told them to do it that way or because they saw Paco play that way (Paco uses the bent thumb in a few early videos). Not saying that these are wrong ways of doing picado, because everyone's hands are different, etc., but I think they're usually inefficient ways based on someone else's point of view (...on someone else's hands![:)]). In any case, you certainly can't expect things to flow if you use radically different finger/hand positioning for the two techniques. If you want it to flow, make it easy for that to happen.
If you think about it, picado is really a silly little two-finger technique that anybody can do (speed is another matter), so it's absolutely necessary to find a simple and relaxed way of doing it, rather than thinking something like, "This is the hardest of all techniques, but there's a special hand position that makes it easier." Again, not saying that you do that, but I know many guitarists do.
Have a look at this: Rest your thumb on the sixth string and put a-m-i on the trebles, as if you were going to pluck the four strings. Notice that, if you keep all four fingers in contact with the strings and move your palm a little closer to the guitar, this "flattens" the arch formed by your right hand and sharpens the angle of the bent middle knuckle in the i-m-a fingers. My advice is to make sure that this arch changes as little as possible whenever you play. I try to visualize a steady right hand (like a mitten rather than a spider) held in the same arch at all times. Underneath that unchanging arch, the fingers are doing whatever they're doing (like a centipede's legs) but the arch doesn't change. From the shoulder down to the fingertips, there should be little difference between picado and arpeggios.
Along with the idea of the arch, the other important thing is to keep your thumb in light contact with the strings at all times. The idea is that your thumb acts as a guide to let your fingers know where the strings are. It's like walking down stairs in the dark and keeping one hand in contact with a wall or handrail so that your feet know where to find the next step. (Okay, enough weird metaphors! [:D]) For example, in the tab in your post, after your thumb plays that E on the fourth string, make sure that it comes back into contact with one of the strings. The way I do it, after the fourth-string E, the thumb comes up, and I lightly press it against the fourth string using the pad of skin that's on the left side of my thumb next to the nail. The movement nearly coincides with the next note, which is the index on the third string. There are several ways to do this, just make sure that you're not doing anything "strange," like sticking your thumb up in the air or something.
I agree entirely with the ring-finger rest stroke on the first string.
Hope that helps!
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