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Miguel de Maria -> rasgeuo swing thoughts (Oct. 26 2003 16:35:28)
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Some of you might remember a post I made several months ago about "swing thoughts." A swing thought is a term golfers use, describing what they try to keep in their heads while they swing the club. One example is to "look for the dime under the ball." This trains them to keep their head, and thus body, level so they don't raise up and hit the ground instead of the ball. I like to use "swing thoughts" in my playing. It's a simple way to get your body to do something, using an image instead of complicated directions.
I've recently come across some neat ones for rasgeuo. What I noticed is that my fingers were flying all over the place, like three inches past the strings. Now, what good are they doing there? The fingers only play when they're touching the strings, not three inches past. So I wanted to train my hand to make more compact motions. These would have the effect of concentrating the power and economizing motion, with the result of fast and louder rasgeuo.
p-ma back and forth: This is a simple up and down motion, not a triplet. It's the loudest one, and very useful. I saw this a lot accompanying dancers in Sevilla when speed and power were necessary. The problem here is that you tend to swing your hand too wildly. So think: Back and Forth On the D and G Strings. You won't just play the d and g strings, of course; your hand will go all the way up and all the way down. But if you keep that in mind, it will result in the compact motion you need.
amii: Hit The Bass Strings. Again, you fingers will end up brushing most of the strings, but this will keep the motions compact.
p-ma triplet (marote): Back and Forth on the D and G Strings. This rasgeuo is often used for very powerful strums, but you don't have to use muscle to get the machine-gun effect. Keep the muscles of your wrist and digits relaxed. The motion, I believe, is more like flicking a towel than anything involving strength. And keeping it compact is the final part of that puzzle.
Good luck! If anyone else has any more "swing thoughts," please pass them on. I love them!
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