Connecting Harmonies with Melodic Lines
An Intensive Journey to Demystifying the Fretboard - Part 6
If you haven’t read yet, make sure to check the previous segment of the series:
Part 5 - Voice Leading for Classical Guitar
Three-note voicings, like the triads, are a good starting point to work on polyphonic concepts for guitar as they are more comfortable to play and allow more freedom of movement than four-note voicings without losing any essential elements.
Hearing the Voices
The first step towards understanding polyphony is to be able to hear the voices individually and be able to create melodic lines on each one of them.
Singing is the most direct way that we experience sound as it involves the least amount of translation. Therefore it is the most efficient way to internalise sounds and understand all the different elements that create a musical experience. Even if you don't consider yourself a singer - I certainly don't think myself as one - try to sing as much as you can. Top melodies, inner voices, low voices, rhythms, everything!
Formulae
Start with a simple progression and add melodic lines independetly to the top, middle, and low voices.
Make sure that the melodies don't overlap with the other voices because:
Voices may lose their individuality.
Due to the nature of the guitar, it will probably mean that you will have to interrupt one of the other voices.
Writing Melodies
For this example, I will use the example from the lesson on voice leading. The combination of open and close voicings allows for greater flexibility of the melodic notes.
Adding a melodic line to the soprano is the obvious choice, as we are used and expect to hear music with the melody on the top voice.
To keep things simple, I only used diatonic notes with a constant eight-note value to connect the target tones. Target tones are all the important notes that are part of the harmonies at each instant, the rest of the notes are scale tones in the Key of G Major.
In a similar fashion, I created a melody for the bass.
The low part is almost as intuitive to play and hear as the top one.
Finaly, let’s hear a melody on the tenor/alto.
The middle voice is a little trickier, both in writing and in playing, as sometimes there is not enough space for an interesting melody and can easily disturb one of the outer voices. Nevertheless, adding a melody to the middle voice is equally satisfying and even more so rewarding.
Paying Attention
A couple of technical aspects that you need to be consious of when you are practising melodic lines on three voices:
Make sure that you let all the tones ring their actual values. As much as you can.
Make sure that you play the two harmonic voices a little softer to let the one with the melody stand out.
Playing all the voices and melodies individually a few times will assist you in understanding them better before you put the whole arrangement together.
Relishing Polyphony
If this is not enough for you, after practising all melodies individually, an extra step to stimulate the progression and elicit polyphony is to tweak the rhythms and combine melodic lines in all voices.
An Intensive Journey to Demystifying the Fretboard - Quick Access
Part 1 - Practising Scales with Creativity
Part 2 - Understanding Double Stops
Part 3 - Practising Triads & Inversions
Part 4 - Learning the Open Triads
Part 5 - Voice Leading for Classical Guitar
Part 6 - Connecting Harmonies with Melodic Lines
Learning the Open Triads
An Intensive Journey to Demystifying the Fretboard - Part 4
If you haven’t read yet, make sure to check the previous segment of the series:
Part 3 - Practising Triads & Inversions
Even a slight change in the arrangement of the notes can have a drastic impact on how we perceive their sound.
Creating Open Voicings
Open position triads are voicings of triads with an intervallic span greater than an octave; the most common way to achieve that is by raising or lowering the inner voice of a close triad by an octave. This allows for the evenest arrangement of the three voices.
G Triad in Root Positon - Close and Open Voicing
Open triads and open voicings, in general, are execllent devices because they let the individual voices sound more balanced and clearer.
G Triad in First and Second Inversion - Close and Open Voicings
Diatonic Open Triads
Similarly to how we practised close position triads, we can arrange all open position triads in a diagonal array, covering a three-octave range.
G Major - Diatonic Open Triads in Three Octaves
Practising Open Triads in Pairs
Music carries in a forward motion, nothing stays still; this linear fashion informs our apprciation of a musical composition.
Remember, practising open triads in pairs is a useful exercise to undestand how harmonies connect as well as a way to force ourselves to practice more than one things at the same time.
For now, practice diatonic triads that their roots are:
A fourth/fifth apart - these have one note in common
A third/sixth apart - these have two notes in common
A second/seventh apart - these don’t have any notes in common
Practising Open Triads in Pairs
Practice the Open Triads and in the next lesson, we are going to put them to use.
An Intensive Journey to Demystifying the Fretboard - Quick Access
Part 1 - Practising Scales with Creativity
Part 2 - Understanding Double Stops
Part 3 - Practising Triads & Inversions
Part 4 - Learning the Open Triads
Part 5 - Voice Leading for Classical Guitar
Part 6 - Connecting Harmonies with Melodic Lines
30-minute Classical Guitar Warm-up Routine
The main reason for setting up and following a regular warming-up routine before each practice session is to you avoid muscle and tendon related injuries. A successful one will also assist in your technique development and allow you to increase your playing consistency.
Be careful not to overdo it though, you don't want to wear down your fingers before your session even begins. A common mistake among guitar students is to spend most of the practice time with technical exercises, neglecting polishing up repertoire.
By focusing on each exercise for only about 3-4 minutes, alternating hands and focus area, you can manage to tire your fingers just a little, while maintaining physical and mental stamina for the basic work-out.
Additionally, you want to work your fingers on a variety of techniques and movements, to ensure a balanced outcome, with the additional benefit of having worked and polished the basic - and most important - techniques that the classical guitar repertoire requires.
Before you begin, keep in your mind that, accuracy is extremely important. Therefore, practice at a slow and comfortable tempo, stay focused and pay attention to your tone production quality, and efficiency of movement.
ABS: Always Begin Slowly
Start with some of the basic Right-Hand attack techniques on a single string.
Although "im" is mostly used for scales and melodies, a fit “a” (RH) finger, as well as an agile “4” finger (LH), gives overall balance and control to the hand - therefore don’t skip on practising the “ma” variations.
Also, try different strings.
After a few minutes, it is time to let the RH hand rest and concentrate on the LH, slur exercises are very helpful. Pick a scale practice hammer-ons.
Keep all the fingers as close together to the fretboard as possible, and aim for a quick and accurate attack. Slurs are all about accuracy, strength is over-rated.
More RH picking exercises on a single string, this time triplets will guide us to practice sequential attacks with three fingers.
Triplet accenting slurs for the left hand. Make sure that the tone of all three notes is similar - pay attention especially to the pinky as it usually the weakest one.
Its time to introduce string crossings for the right hand, these will prepare your RH fingers for more realistic - real repertoire - requirements.
Practice descending slurs with pull-offs. I like to keep working on the same scale throughout the warm-up routine.
Tremolo is an elusive technique for many guitarists, perform these sequences, and emphasise the first finger to gain more control. Remember, repetition is the key to success.
Left-hand triplet descending slurs. Focus on the pull-offs, each note should have the same volume and tone.
We are all Drummers: when practising right-hand Patterns, like these arpeggio sequences, I usually mute the strings with my left hand, to better judge the accuracy of the individual hits.
Mixed slurs can be very rewarding, these are some examples but try to experiment with different one or two strings mixed-slur sequences.
Remember, none of these exercises is fully comprehensive, I could (and do) easily spend more than 30 mins just on each topic individually, but that's not the purpose here. So, if you have trouble with a specific technique/exercise or want to elaborate more, find a place to fit it into your regular practice routine.
The Rasgueado exercises are useful even if you don't plan to play any flamenco, they give strength to your finger and flex them to the opposite direction for better balance.
Work on short bursts of speedy ascending lines, so that you can synchronise both hands and practice scale lines that might come up in your repertoire.
Four finger Rasgueados for more fun.
And lastly, short bursts of speedy descending lines. Push your tempo limits but don't forget that accuracy is the King.
Parting thoughts
As pointed earlier, tone production quality should always be a concern, as well the accuracy and efficiency of the movements. Try to stay focused throughout the warm-up and the rest of your session. Never practice without concentration, it leads to uninspiring performances. And don't practice without intention, because it leads to incoherent playing.
This routine might seem somewhat excessive, but the length of each repetition can be adjusted to realistically match your time. Some of the variations can be skipped, but try to cycle through all of them at decent intervals.
It is most essential to follow and repeat all the exercises a few days before a recording session or a concert, doing so, you will get to be at the top of your game.
Purposeful Practising
A Personal View on the Art of Practising the Classical Guitar
One of the most common issues that I encounter among intermediate and sometimes even advanced guitar students is that they don't know how to achieve the most with their practising. They usually try to memorise a piece, then play it from the top a few times, and move on to the next.
This approach is not what I consider purposeful practising, as it doesn't lead to the mastery of any of the aspects of performance. This epidermal handling of repertoire hinders the chances to unlock hidden details. In other words, you ought to become an expert!
Here are the steps I take when I'm learning a new piece.
The First Read
I usually read the whole piece once or twice, not only this helps to improve and maintain my sight-reading skills in the long run, it allows me to have a broader idea of what the piece is.
Finding Fingerings
After the first read, I make fixed and deliberate string and fingering choices, measure by measure and phrase by phrase. I evaluate the different options based on the character of each voice, the ability to connect with the previous and next phrases, and by ensuring finger independence at its maximum.
I take notice on published fingering suggestions, but I don't rely on them as I almost always have to change them.
Notes, Rhythms, and the Choreography of the Fingers
I go through every measure with a metronome to verify that all my notes and rhythms are correct, and make sure on the deliberate and purposeful movement of my fingers on the fretboard. I repeat the part I'm working on as many times as it is needed, establishing an exact finger choreography.
Confidence
Slow, deliberate practising and repetition are the devices that build performance confidence. What you want to avoid is to use the same tools to reinforce a faulty technique.
I practice at a comfortable tempo; from a couple of measures to a full section, and finally the whole piece. My objectives are clear tone and perfect delivery. When I make a mistake, I start over!
Building Speed
Practising with a metronome keeps us in time, and creates a reflection in our brains of what the piece is like, and how our fingers should be moving to achieve that. Therefore when it is time to start working on speed, I start at a very comfortable tempo and with small increments (around 4 to 6 BPM) I practice until the point that the piece starts to fall apart. I always push a little further than that, but at the last playthrough, I return to a comfortable tempo.
Interpretation
When notes and tempo are in place, it is time to work on phrasing and dynamics. An awfully important nuance of performance as it expands our capability for individual development, and the capacity to communicate deeper emotions with our music. Yet, it is probably the aspect of music that is the most difficult to teach, and often teachers and players don't contemplate.
Writing about phrasing and dynamics in music is like talking about a painting or a picture, but I can give you some of the processes that guide me to improve my interpretation skills.
First, I read about a specific epoch and learn as much as I can about the individual composer that I'm studying. It doesn't mean that I have to restrict myself to a clichéd way of performance; on the contrary, with a greater insight into what a piece is about, we become freer to make deliberate choices and shape or phrases.
An equally important step is that I try to listen to as many performances of this piece as I can find. I try to listen to all the small details that we generally don't pay so much attention and make notes. I ask questions, make notes. For music adapted from other instruments, I like to listen to performances on the original instrument.
The key-words here are to become informed, purposeful and conscious of all the choices you have to make to shape your interpretation.
Practising Performance
Practising and performing are two different concepts with distinct purposes. While I practice to learn how to move my fingers more accurately in an almost mechanical and unconscious motion, to minimise mistakes, and determine the minutiae, hoping eventually to become a master of a work. The focus in performance is to carry out in a focused manner the essence of a piece, have a concise and nuanced meaning, and not to allow small mistakes to destruct the cohesiveness of the piece.
After breaking up all the individual elements for better control of phrasing and dynamics, it is time a put it all together. In consequence, I conclude every practice session with an actual performance of the piece I'm learning.
I treat this final segment as a legitimate performance, one that takes place in front of an audience. If a mistake occurs, I attempt to minimise its significance. I don't stop, but I carry on until I play the whole piece - sometimes the whole programme that I decided to play. I record my practice performance for critique!
Revision
On my next practice session, I start working on the parts that were not executed well, try to understand the technical difficulties or problems that might cause that. I attack the parts in question and attempt to find solutions.
The Informal Recital
Even if you are not yet a performing guitarist, or might not even aspire to be one, I recommend that you give short informal recitals to your friends and family. Not only it is a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon, but also nothing builds confidence in your skills more than the sound of warm applause.
Be mindful, play only the pieces that you can execute adequately; nobody wants to see you struggle with a difficult piece that is way out of your level (yet). Even if that means that your recital should only be 5 minutes long, eventually you will build on that. Lastly, don't forget to offer them a glass of wine or two before your recital.
Closing Thoughts
Practising any instrument requires a lot of time and effort, and the guitar is no exception. If you take action to make your practising more focused, purposeful and efficient; your playing with developing in a similar deliberate manner. One that leads to the immensely rewarding experience of masterfully playing the guitar.