Miguel de Maria -> RE: Paco de Lucia's technique (Nov. 9 2005 15:34:40)
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Yes, I corresponded briefly with Graf-Martinez about his picado method, which he would be quick to point out, is based on observations of top players, not something he invented. He explained that what he teaches in his book is what is actually done in Spain, and the reason he is so adamant about it is that he doesn't want his students to get a rude awakening when they go to study in Spain. He used to play picado differently, but changed when he was jamming there and noticed everyone played a lot louder and harder than him. As far as his actual technique, you should get his book or read his website. I'm not an expert on the level of Ricardo or Martinez, but I will say that there is more than one way to skin a cat. Just because Paco plays this way doesn't mean that you need to, or that everyone should. There have been great picado players for decades before Paco and there will be more after him. Also, you should always take any of this stuff with a grain of salt. Just because Graf-Martinez thinks he sees something, doesn't mean that is in fact the case. Or it may be. But when it comes down to it, no one can _teach_ you to play guitar--they can only coach you. I think the main things in picado is that you do have to play pretty hard, and you have to play near the bridge. You might want to experiment in the angle, or lack of,t hat you attack the strings. If you slice the string, you get a rounder tone, if you grab it from straight on, you get more bite. If you do that near the bridge, you get a very flamenco, very powerful tone, which incidentally requires some muscle to obtain. That bite and punch is probably more important than raw volume or strength. But you need to be careful because fingers can be fragile (mine are), and they don't necessarily recover from work as quickly as biceps or quads or pecs.
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