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NormanKliman -> RE: Alzapua (Nov. 24 2010 8:04:41)
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Watch other guitarists doing alzapúa (in videos if there's nobody in your area), preferrably guitarists with hands and fingers similar to your own. Also, obviously, keep practicing it and experimenting. It takes a while to develop a feel for it and to find what works best for you (stability, reliability, etc.)
There are at least two ways to do alzapúa (real alzapúa, not the ancient thumb-and-index technique that sometimes sounds very similar). One way is to keep your index (I use middle) anchored on the first string or the soundboard. This way involves very little or no wrist rotation. The other way is to use lots of wrist rotation and no anchoring. This way is kind of sloppy, it's easier to get the hang of, and it's used by very few of today's accomplished players. However, IMO, if you can keep it under control, it's louder and fuller than the first way, although that doesn't mean that it's better all the time. I tend to use the second way when it fits what the left hand is doing (no unwanted notes) and I want a lot of strings to ring loudly. In the unanchored way, there's a bit of movement of the thumb itself from the knuckle where it joins your hand, but most of the movement comes from the rotation of the two bones in your forearm. They're joined at the elbow, and one sort of pivots around the other (like turning a key in a lock). The important thing here is NOT to use the kind of forearm movement that comes from the elbow. In other words, don't change the angle formed by your forearm and upper arm.
When anchoring, on the downstroke that falls just before the upstroke, you should be using a kind of rest stroke, although this term is usually used for upward finger movements like picado and arpeggios, and in this case we're talking about a downward thumbstroke. For example, if you're playing por medio...
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--3--3-------3--3-----------
--3--3-------3--3-----------
--0----------0---------------
---------4-------------------
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...you want to rest your thumb on a higher-pitched string (the high E) on the first and fourth of the five strokes seen above. Sometimes you can even get the high string lodged between your thumbnail and the flesh, although that's kind of extreme. In the example above, the rest stroke could be on the second string, although it would remove that voice from the "chord."
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