Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.
This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.
We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.
Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ
left hand sojourns
I have been experimenting with classical guitar, talking to classical guitarists, jamming with them, going ot their forums, learning classical guitar songs such as Recuerdos del Alhambra and Capricho Arabe and Sor studies. It has been a very useful collaboration for me, because the CGers have a much more refined, broad, and useful body of teaching than flamencos. I have especially benefited from the left hand. Of course, to CGers, guitar IS left hand, so they have understandably done a lot of work with it. My left hand is much better now. I have learned to relax it while playing, to make better position shifts, and to use perhaps 1/3 of the effort I formerly used. Of course I am still a work in progress. Doing a lot of slur exercises and double stops is very useful, and work with the barre. I would recommend to any flamenco guitarist who wants to improve his left hand, to follow my path! :)
I have been experimenting with classical guitar, talking to classical guitarists, jamming with them, going ot their forums,
Well, someone has to talk to them I guess ...
I think left hand technique is more difficult than the right. These past few months I've started trying to learn picado (flat palm technique) and unless you play open strings your left hand needs to be up to speed. I've been doing exercises to minimize LH movement, trying to get them to act like independent hammers falling down on the string from just above. I'm fairly pleased with my progress - on runs involving consecutive fingers I can now play pretty fast (at times). Need to do more work on non-consecutive fingers. String crossings are another problem area, for both hands.
I've noticed in the few vids I've seen that barres are used a lot - so that's something else that needs practicing. Time is a problem!
I've noticed in the few vids I've seen that barres are used a lot
It's used nearly all the time in the Tangos I see. Plenty of string crossing and stretching e.g barre on 3, ring finger on 5 and little finger on 7. Almost impossible without a cejilla. Which I never use when learning a new piece but ouch!
I always worm up my left hand with "Pdl - Percusion Flamenca" I play 0:54 seconds from it only , I feel to crying from the painful of the left that I got in the first days when I play it
, it is realy great paice to develop your left hand posetion just try to play the first 50 seconds from it you will develop the left hand alooooot ,,
quote:
your left hand needs to be up to speed
I always put a towel through the guitar strings "just cover the golpeador" then I practice on picado/ alzapua , this will make a little mute tones not alot, a small echo that you can develop %100 the speed problem & fix any error in picados , try it you will see how it works
Hi guys. Ziryab, I would advise people not to play pieces that hurt their hands. This is the way to injury. You don't grow a tree by stretching its branches, but by carefully nurturing it and letting it grow. Guitar is the same way. People who are hard on their hands will eventually lose them.
Also, hamia, I would like to offer another viewpoint about minimizing left hand movement. Small movements are the result of proper sensation and action, not a goal in and of themselves. The path to playing well is not by pursing small motions. It is by pursing the independence and accuracy and effortless nature of playing. Once these are achieved, one will notice that the motions are small. People who try to make small motions as a first cause, generally end up playing with lots of tension and poor use of leverage. Good luck!
paice like Percusion Flamenca, will hurt hands just in first days thats from the changing in chords & hand Position & this is normal , & I didn`t say to play the full paice just that first 50 seconds it is enough for practicing this Idea was from Norman , who has http://www.ctv.es/USERS/norman/ it is %100 one of the great advices that I got from him
Also, hamia, I would like to offer another viewpoint about minimizing left hand movement. Small movements are the result of proper sensation and action, not a goal in and of themselves. The path to playing well is not by pursing small motions. It is by pursing the independence and accuracy and effortless nature of playing. Once these are achieved, one will notice that the motions are small. People who try to make small motions as a first cause, generally end up playing with lots of tension and poor use of leverage. Good luck!
(Jeez, why do I alway write a message but forget to disable Internet Security! Disappears into the aether!)
Yep, I agree. And I try to practice using a feedback approach - do an excercise for a while and then see if it's getting you to where you want to be. Not that this is always obvious. I recently spent about a month doing picado exercises using really exaggerated force for the RH finger strokes. I made some headway but found in fact that using light strokes seemed to be much more effective in developing speed.
Hamia, I can't see how you could go wrong if you keep that up. I also have a theory that projection comes from playing lightly, that you will learn to play loud from playing soft. That is, I think it is a matter of technique, not strength. But the jury's not out on that one, for me at least.
Printable Version
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread