The Total Classical Guitar Method

The Total Classical Guitar Method (tm) Introduction The guitar is a deceptively simple instrument. Andres Segovia, the great Spanish classical guitarist, once described it as the easiest instrument in the world to play badly. For many people, learning to play classical guitar is a frustrating and difficult experience. Why is it that so many people never progress beyond those first simple chords? After 30+ years of performing and teaching the guitar, I've concluded that too often the building is built before the foundation is laid. The purpose of this Total Classical Guitar Method is to offer an accurate, detailed, and complete course of study that will lay the proper foundation for a lifelong study of this incredible instrument. Although this method can be successfully learned without the assistance of a teacher, I recommend strongly that you find a qualified teacher once you understand the basics of the guitar. You would be appalled at how many self-proclaimed guitar teachers don't have a clue about what it takes to really play the guitar. By the end of the first few lessons in this method you'll be able to recognize when you've found a qualified teacher. This method is called the Total Classical Guitar Method because it teaches each of the fundamentals of playing the classical guitar sequentially, before allowing the student to encounter the need to use any previously unlearned fundamental skill. Each new skill builds only on previously learned skills. Because the foundation is built one step at a time, the student is "totally" prepared for the next lesson before it is introduced. I have designed this method to prevent bad habits from forming, therefore progress is always forward. To some people this may be initially frustrating. Some people will expect to be able to play the guitar after only a few lessons. I could teach you to strum a few chords and pick a simple but intricate sounding "picking pattern" in a single lesson. You'd come back and want to learn a few more chords and a few more picking patterns, then a few more, and on and on, until one day you'd came back and tell me you wanted to play music. At that point I'd have to undo everything you had already learned and then, after ten times the effort you put into learning how to play badly, you would be back at the starting point ready to begin again. What a waste of both of our time! Chances are good that you would put the guitar away and never try playing it again. Another big waste of talent and a loss of all the years of pleasure the guitar could have brought you and others who could have enjoyed listening to you play. Please be patient. You will learn a skill that will last a lifetime and it deserves a solid foundation. The focus of this method will always be the art of making music. Although the details are grounded in the physical interaction between you and your instrument, I will continually stress the absolute necessity of mental focus on the music itself. Playing classical guitar is not an athletic event. I've "been there and done that". Practicing scales while watching Monday night football is not what this method is about. Fifteen minutes a day of truly focused practice is infinitely better than two hours of mindless finger exercises. If I can help you understand only one fact, that making music is the art of communicating, my efforts in writing this method will have been generously rewarded. Think of the times in your life when you have looked someone in the eye and focused your whole being on that other person. Music has the power to hold entire groups of listeners in that same intimate embrace. You can make that happen if you focus on communication as your

personal musical goal. I hope that this Classical Guitar method will help you achieve that result in your own musical odyssey.

Book 1 -- Lesson 1 -- Basics The goal of lesson 1 is to identify and explain general areas that need to be addressed if you are to be successful at learning to play classical guitar. These areas include mental attitude and physical control. The necessary mental attitude requires you to open yourself to new ideas, let go of old habits, and free yourself to expand musically. Proper physical control requires removing all tension from your body while playing, learning to use only the motion of your body absolutely required to make music, and making the instrument an extension of yourself. Mental Attitude Playing Classical Guitar is as much a mental effort as it is a physical effort, perhaps even more so. Let's take a couple of steps to prepare our minds for this challenge. Making room for new ideas An old story relates an incident where a young man claiming to want to learn something new about the art of Zen visited a famous Zen master. It was obvious to the master at the outset that this young man had already thought he had reached an understanding well beyond his years, but that he was coming to the master simply to be able to say to others that he had indeed studied with the great teacher. The master invited the young man to share a cup of tea with him and he proceeded to fill the young man's cup. When the tea reached the top of the cup, the master continued to pour more tea from the pot. After a short while, the tea began to run over the cup and onto the floor, and, finally, the young man could not contain his anxiety and shouted "stop, the cup will hold no more." "So it is with any idea," said the master, "you must first empty your cup before it can again be filled." This same concept is very true for the classical guitar. If you insist on holding on to your old ideas about playing the guitar, save yourself some time and trouble and stop here. You won't be able to learn classical guitar until you are willing to let go of what you think you already know. Forgetting old habits and pre-conceptions The degree of success you will have in playing classical guitar is directly proportional to your ability to do what is required, but ONLY what is required in order to accomplish your musical goal. My experience has shown that the most difficult students of classical guitar are those who have already reached a significant level of competence in some other musical style on the guitar. I played the electric guitar for ten years before I started studying classical guitar. I had developed such bad habits that it took two years just to undo past mistakes. You will learn not only how to play properly, but you'll learn why this way is the proper way. The fundamental approaches and methods in these lessons have been proven by all of the most successful classical guitarists of our time. They were taught to me by teachers from some of the world's most respected institutions, including the Andres Segovia school of music in Spain, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas in Austin, SMU in Dallas, and the University of North Carolina. When you learn to play classical guitar using this method, you'll have the best information available anywhere. What you do with that knowledge will then be up to you. Opening the door to any possibilities Classical music places a huge demand on a performer's ability to focus her mind on the task at hand. Solo classical music challenges our ability to maintain conscious control over several simultaneous musical events. You can get some sense of the magnitude of the task by trying to simply listen and to understand two separate conversations at the

same time. The key word in the last sentence is "understand." Many people learn to play very difficult pieces, but they accomplish that feat by simply learning to move their fingers with great agility in complex patterns. These players are not great musicians. They may be great guitar players but it's not the purpose of these lessons to just create great players. Truly great musicians have developed the ability to view an entire piece of music as a whole, yet be able to focus clearly on the details of each musical line as it contributes to the overall musical idea. One of the goals of this approach to studying classical guitar is to allow the student to experience the full musical impact of each piece of music studied. As you progress from simple to more complex music, you'll find that your understanding and appreciation of classical music also progresses. Pieces suitable for classical guitar students at each increasingly demanding level are chosen to expand their mental as well as their physical capacity. You'll find that your musical and emotional pallettes are inextricably linked. The goal of these lessons is always to teach you to make music, and that goal can be achieved at any level of ability. Some people call this concept "musical sincerity." If the mind's not there, the message will also be missing. Physical Control Relaxation One of the most important abilities we need to master in order to play the classic guitar is the ability to keep our entire bodies relaxed while playing. A student at a master class at SMU in Dallas once asked the instructor "How do you know if you're relaxed enough?" the instructor responded "If you fall off the chair you know you were too relaxed". That got the appropriate chuckle from the audience, but the response was dead on. Playing the classical guitar is not "hard." As a matter of fact, the easier YOU MAKE IT, the quicker you will progress. It is all too often the case that most of the time spent in beginning lessons is just having the student get rid of tension. Tension is the enemy! Not only will it keep you from progressing, but its presence is brutal to any audience. If you listen to a classical guitarist and you find yourself squirming in your chair, you can bet you're feeling the tension he's creating. We'll talk later about how to recognize tension and how to control it with relaxation - suffice to say that you'd be really surprised at how this ugly demon finds it's way into our playing. Once you've learned to identify tension, you will also be surprised at how easy it is to eliminate. Minimum effort, minimum motion We've all been raised in an era of electronic music where the electric guitar is king and body contortions, twisted facial expressions, and all sorts of extraneous physical motions are almost required if one is to be considered a great player. Forget it! Classical guitar is a aural art form. There is no motion of any part of the body except those parts which are directly involved in creating the music. There will be many references to this important principal in future lessons, but, for the time being think about your own personal experiences with this concept. The physical effort applied to anything should always be consistant with the task at hand. You are the extension of your instrument What does it mean to "make the instrument an extension of your body?" The answer to this question involves understanding 1) the motion of your body, 2) the response of your instrument to that motion, and 3) the timing required to synchronize your motions and the instrument's response. The required choreography of the fingers and hands rivals the most intricate ballet production. These three elements will become an important part of your "technique". Don't underestimate the importance of these concepts - they are the essence of the physical requirements of playing classical guitar. Review of Lesson 1

You should now understand the importance of mastering both the mental and physical aspects of playing Classical guitar. These basic ideas will apply to every lesson that follows and they will be expanded upon and brought up many times as you progress in your efforts to learn to make music. Don't expect that you fully understand or appreciate the importance of these concepts. They are ideas and revelations that take on more and more meaning as your own personal experience grows on the instrument. Lesson 2 breaks from the theoretical to the practical and talks about the instrument and the other items you will need before we actually get into playing. Good luck, I hope we can continue to work together until you reach your musical goals!

Book 1 -- Lesson 2 -- Tools of the Trade Classical Guitar Definition Classical Guitar is a combination of three elements: the instrument, the music, and the style of playing. Each element is described below. The Instrument The Classic Guitar is a hollow bodied wooden instrument with six strings; the higher sounding 3 strings are nylon, the lower sounding strings have a nylon center with some type of metal winding. Do not try to play Classical Guitar on a steel string guitar or on any other type of guitar besides a true Classic Guitar. This is not just my opinion, it is because the entire technique of playing Classical Guitar depends on using a Classic Guitar. In the previous lesson I talked about the instrument being an extension of you and how the coordination between your motions and the response of the instrument were key factors in playing Classical Guitar. The wrong type of instrument will not respond properly and this Total Classical Guitar Method will not work on anything but a true Classic Guitar. Classic Guitars are available in 1/2, 3/4 and full size models. Someone familiar with another type of guitar might find a Classic Guitar bulky or not as sleek or easy to play. If you find that to be the case, please refer to the introduction of these lessons and drop your pre-conceived ideas about Classical Guitar. I assure you that once you learn to play Classical Guitar you will insist on having a Classic Guitar whenever you play in that style. I'll point out some of the key features of the Classic Guitar and how those features are important to Classical Guitar playing. First of all, the neck of the Classic Guitar is wider than that of a steel string electric or acoustic guitar so that the strings may be further separated on the instrument to allow easier access to each string for "finger picking" as opposed to "strumming " or picking with a "pick." The Classic Guitar is constructed to allow the top of the instrument to vibrate but to suppress vibration in the neck, back, or sides. This is similar to how an electric speaker works, the center section moves to radiate the music, the casing must be rigid to support smooth motion of the center. A solid body guitar does not resonate and will not project any reasonable level of sound. The type of string is critical to both the Classic Guitar itself, and to playing Classical Guitar. Steel strings have a much higher tension than nylon strings when tuned to the correct pitch. Properly made guitars of either type (steel string or nylon string) are designed to resonate most effectively at the "operating tension" of the instrument. A guitar designed for steel strings will not respond properly with nylon strings, and a guitar designed for nylon strings will probably break in half if you try to string it to pitch with steel strings. Playing Classical Guitar requires that you use a combination of contact with your finger nails and with the fleshy part of your finger tips for picking. This requires

careful shaping and use of the finger nails of the picking hand; steel strings will rip off your finger nails and make it impossible to control the sound. The quality of the sound is also very dependent on the construction of the top of the guitar. Famous Classic Guitar makers usually have carefully selected pieces of wood which will eventually be made into the tops of Classic Guitars aging for years in their workshops. Mass produced Classic Guitars often have plywood tops with a thin layer of cedar or spruce wood laminated (glued on) to the plywood to give the appearance of a quality top. Never accept a Classic Guitar with a laminated top, you will be very disappointed with the sound. Intonation and the ability of the instrument to be properly tuned and to stay in tune are critical elements of a Classic Guitar. Fortunately, modern construction techniques have eliminated those type of problems in all but the cheapest of instruments. The height of the strings above the neck (Action) is also very important - the strings must not be too high or too low. Once again, most guitars manufactured today are pre-setup at the factory to have a usable Action and this is rarely a problem anymore. The one area which remains a problem with the Classic Guitar today is in the strings themselves. Nylon has a tendency to stretch unevenly along the length of the string. This uneven stretching often causes the string to vibrate unevenly and to make the instrument appear to have intonation problems. When I discuss tuning in the lesson 5 I will explain how to check the strings to make sure they have not "gone bad." Price is often a good metric for determining the quality of a Classic Guitar, however, be warned that is not always the case. Unless you have a professional Classical Guitarist available to help you select an instrument, it is wise to wait until you know how to select an instrument before spending too much money. At the very least, you should get a good quality beginner's Classic Guitar with carrying cases, a music stand, a supplemental music book with some graded pieces, a foot stool, a tuning fork, a metronome, and a tuning crank. You should also purchase a good quality nail care kit which contains a coarse, medium, and fine emory board to be used to correctly shape your fingernails. These items should be all you will need to progress to the intermediate level, at which point you might want to consider purchasing a better quality instrument. If you decide that you want a concert quality instrument, please send me email and I will try to locate a reliable source for those type of Classic Guitars in your area. The Music Almost every type of music has been either transcribed or written for the Classical Guitar. Classical music is difficult to define but quoting from one of the definitions in the "Harvard Dictionary of Music": "...the word 'classic' denotes music of established value and fame, as distinguished from ephemeral works that quickly disappear from the programs..." I'm not even going to try to expand or comment on this definition; for our purposes we will use "standard" Classical Guitar repertoire as the music we will study together. You can apply the Classical Guitar style on a Classic Guitar to any music you choose once you have developed your own ability to play the instrument. The Style of Playing The style of playing is much more objective than the definition of the music. My definition of Classical Guitar style is: playing with simultaneous conscious and separate control of each individual voice present in the music by using all four fingers of the "fretting" hand and by using the thumb and the first three fingers of the "picking" hand. Playing with a "pick" is not playing in the Classical Guitar style. Other necessary equipment Music stand Music stands come in many shapes and sizes. I recommend a foldable stand to begin with so that it can be easily transported or stored.

Metronome I consider this a necessary piece of equipment because it is a totally objective constraint which forces a player to understand the rhythm which the composer intended for a piece of music. Some teachers feel that use of a metronome will create a "mechanical" player. It's not a metronome that creates a mechanical player, it's mindless repetitive practicing in a mechanical way that causes a person to learn to play like a machine. You'll find a metronome to be a useful and welcome tool. Tuning fork A tuning fork is necessary so that you can establish the correct reference pitch for tuning the instrument. It is only used to tune one string, the other strings are always tuned relative to that one string which was tuned to the tuning fork. The standard tuning fork reference pitch for a guitar (and classical music in general) is "A-440." In the next lesson we will talk about how to tune the guitar. Footstool or Cradle The Classic Guitar must be held in a very stable position while it is being played(explained in the next lesson). A footstool or guitar cradle allows you to position the guitar properly with respect to your body so that it will be easier to play and more comfortable to hold. I do not recommend the use of a cradle because it attaches to the instrument with rubber suction cups and it could damage the finish on some Classic Guitar, however, some people find the cradle more comfortable for long periods of playing. This is especially true if the player has a history of lower back pain. If the cradle is more comfortable for you then you should use it, but be aware that the suction cups can damage the finish of the guitar. Tuning crank This item makes it easier to change your strings and you will appreciate its importance once you change the strings on your guitar for the first time. Strings should be changed at one to four month intervals, depending on how often you play and on the chemistry of your own body. Strings go "dead" after a period of use or they develop cracks at the point where the string makes contact with the frets. Body chemistry is important because the oils from your skin cause the strings to lose their brilliance. Optional Equipment Full Length Mirror It is often helpful to view yourself while playing so that you can see exactly how your body is moving while you play. There are great players who move their bodies and fidget so noticeably while performing, that it is sometimes almost impossible for an audience to focus on listening to the music. In the case of one very famous (and here un-named) guitarist, I could only listen to him if I kept my eyes closed during his performance. Even if your extraneous motion is not that exaggerated, you might want to watch your fingers to see that they are "behaving themselves" and not flying around the air as you play. Tape Recorder The tape recorder has become my best friend when I practice. It never lies about my playing and listens patiently no matter how long I demand its attention. Had I not personally experienced the benefits of this tool I would never have acknowledged how distorted my perception could have been of my own playing. Rhythmic changes and expressive nuances that sounded so poetic while I heard myself playing them live, too often devolved into acoustic nausea when I listened to the playback of the recording. I highly recommend this tool and suggest that you use it faithfully, especially if you plan on performing for an audience outside of your immediate loved ones. Guitar Stand

This piece of equipment is convenient if you play frequently during the day and you want the guitar accessable near your practice chair. It's also useful if you frequently change music on your music stand and want to put the guitar down without having to return the instrument to its case. The only drawback to using a guitar stand is that Classic Guitars are affected by changes in temperature and humidity in the air. If you keep the instrument in a room that is fairly stable with regard to temperature and humidity, there should not be a problem. If there are frequent or rapid changes in temperature or humidity, you should keep the instrument in a guitar case that shields it from these rapid changes.

Book 1 -- Lesson 3-- You and your Guitar This lesson describes exactly how you and your guitar work together to allow you to make music. It covers the "what, how, and why" of the basic playing position and of the use and movement of the two hands. Lesson 4 will talk about the care and shaping of the fingernails and Lesson 5 will discuss the art of tuning the instrument so we can actually begin playing. The Basic Sitting Position Before picking up the guitar, we need to discover how to relax in the proper sitting position. To begin with, go into a quiet room and sit on a hard flat chair that is high enough so that your legs will be bent at 90 degree angles at the knees with your feet flat on the floor. Your legs should be kept at about the width of your shoulders. Your back should be straight and your shoulders should be relaxed and level with each other. Your arms should be resting comfortably at your sides. Close your eyes and breath deeply in and out slowly two or three times. Concentrate on letting all the tension out of your body and forgetting about all the activities of the day. This time is for you. Continue breathing in and out slowly in this position until you can feel all the tension fade in your head, neck, shoulders, arms, back, and legs. By beginning your practice sessions in this manner you will learn to become immediately relaxed as soon as you assume this position. That type of deep relaxation is absolutely necessary for performance and it's best to begin now to learn how to reach that relaxed state quickly. Holding the Classic Guitar Many method books on Classical Guitar describe how to hold the instrument in almost pedantic terms. "You must hold the instrument EXACTLY as shown or you will never progress as a player." Fortunately, that is not true. When you have a few extra moments, peruse your local music store and flip through as many books on Classical Guitar as you can find. Pay attention to the pictures of famous players. You'll notice that each player has a different playing position - a modification of the "nominal" position that I will describe - which player has evolved in deference to his/her own body. Your body will ultimately find its own best position; to force any other situation will most likely result in discomfort while playing, or, even permanent damage to your tendons and ligaments. I'll explain how to modify the nominal position and how to recognize when you're moving toward your best playing position. Ok, let's learn the basic playing position. You should be in the basic relaxed position (see above). For simplicity, I'll assume everyone in the world is right handed; if you're not, just flip to the other hand or leg and you'll be fine. I'm going to describe how to hold the guitar in several steps. The first step involves the position of your legs and the rotation of the instrument on your left leg. The

second step lifts your left leg by using a footstool, causing the top of the instrument to move closer to your body and the height of the instrument to be more suitable to proper motion of your arms. The final step is to correctly position the guitar so that it is supported by your body at exactly four points: the upper left thigh, the inner right thigh, the center of your chest, and the inner portion of your right arm. The left arm is not used to support the instrument, the guitar is positioned to optimize the motion required by the left arm while playing. Step 1. Pick up the instrument and place it on your left leg so that the bottom side of the guitar, the indentation between the upper and lower bouts of the instrument, is resting flat on your thigh, about midway between your knee and your hip. You'll notice that the bottom of the guitar is also touching your right leg. You can adjust the angle in which the guitar rests by executing two separate motions: 1) moving your right leg to the left or right while keeping your right foot flat on the floor, changing only the angle your leg makes with your hip joint, and 2) rotating the instrument on your left leg while still keeping it resting flat on your thigh to raise or lower the neck of the guitar. Always keep the instrument flat on your left thigh and touching your right inner thigh. As you move your right leg to the right, you can raise the neck of the guitar - still making sure the guitar keeps contact with your right inner thigh and stays flat on your left upper thigh. Do not move your left leg! That leg should still be in the original relaxed position, left foot pointing straight ahead, foot flat on the floor. You can find a good starting angle for the guitar by adjusting the angle as described above until the center line of the instrument (an imaginary line that bisects the guitar and extends from the head of the instrument to the bottom of the instrument) is positioned at about the halfway point between the front and back of your right thigh, touching your inner thigh. This will cause the neck of the instrument to be at about the "10:00 O'clock" position (where the hour hand of a watch would be at 10:00 O'clock.) Step 2. Adjust your footstool so that it is about 6 inches high and place it under your left foot. Keep the bottom side of the guitar touching flat on the top of your left thigh. Do not let the instrument rest only on an edge, it must remain flat on your left thigh. Lifting the left leg will raise the guitar but it will also cause the angle of the top (face) of the instrument to point slightly upward instead of straight ahead. You'll notice that as you lifted your left leg, you had to move your right leg to the left in order to maintain the same contact with your right inner thigh. That's fine - you're on the right track. That lifting motion, provided that you have correctly kept the guitar resting flat on your left thigh, caused the back edge of the upper side of the instrument to move closer to your chest. Adjust your footstool to raise or lower your left leg so that the guitar moves toward, and gently touches your chest. You should also lean forward SLIGHTLY toward the guitar. Do not exaggerate the forward leaning motion, you don't want to lean over the guitar. Notice that if you keep the angle of the neck the same as it was in Step 1., the center line of the guitar is now touching your right inner thigh at a point almost at the top of the right thigh, having moved upward from the point where it touched in Step 1. Once again, this is good. The head of the guitar should now be approximately at eye level. Step 3. You are now supporting the instrument at three points: your two legs and your chest. The final support point will be the inner surface of your right forearm. In order to correctly position your right arm, first hold your right arm at about a 90 degree angle at the elbow, with the palm of your hand facing your body. Your hand should be held so that a flat object (a ruler) which is laid on the arm is touching at all points along your upper forearm and your hand. To do this, your right wrist should not be bent. It should

also not be rotated left or right, there should be an imaginary straight line (I love imaginary lines) extending from the large knuckle of your right index (pointer) finger along the left inner edge of your right forearm. While maintaining this orientation of your right arm and hand, rotate the entire right arm at the shoulder while NOT LIFITING THE SHOULDER, until the inner portion of your right forearm contacts the outer edge of the lower bout of the guitar. The contact point on your forearm should be about 1/3 of the way between your elbow and your wrist, the contact point at the guitar should be almost directly in line with the saddle (the place where the strings attach) of the guitar. A natural downward and inward pressure by the right arm will hold the instrument firmly against the other three contact points. Lower your right hand toward the strings and suspend your relaxed right hand about an inch above the strings and close to the sound hole of the guitar. You are now holding the guitar correctly in playing position. Practice picking up the guitar and getting into playing position several times. It should become a habit that feels natural and easy. Whenever you decide to practice the guitar, start with the relaxation procedure, and then pick up and hold the guitar in the correct playing position. Stay in that position without playing a note until you feel comfortable and relaxed. Once again, you learn what you practice. If you allow tension to exist, you will learn to play with tension and you will get very good at it over time. If you learn to play relaxed, your music will expose that inner state to your audience and it will be enjoyable to listen to you play. Fundamentals of the Left hand As usual, we'll begin to learn each new skill by isolating the activities associated with that skill. Assume the basic sitting position without the guitar in your hand. Your left arm and hand should be hanging at your side and totally relaxed. Lift your left forearm and hand by bending the arm at the elbow while rotating your hand and forearm counterclockwise until you can look directly into the palm of your left hand, between your thumb and the four fingers, and you can see the crease in the palm just opposite the large knuckle of your left index finger. If your hand is correctly positioned, your four fingers should be relaxed and curled in a slight arch, the outside edge of your thumb should create a smooth arch from your wrist to the tip of the thumb. Your left hand is now in proper left hand playing position. Practice the motion of bringing your hand from the basic sitting position to left hand playing position several times, until you get the motion to be smooth and natural. Motion of the fingers of the left hand With your hand in the correct left hand playing position, sequentially move each finger by pivoting at the large knuckle. The motion is similar to that of a typewriter key as it is depressed (for those of you who have ever even seen typewriters.) Each finger should be able to move independently. You should not "stop" the other fingers from moving as you move any one finger, you should simply only move the finger you choose to move. Admittedly, this may take some practice. Be content with a small movement at first. The idea is to gain control over your own finger muscles. Most people are used to moving all of their fingers at once so fine motor control of each finger muscle has never been developed. You will have to be very patient in order to learn this skill. Some people get upset about their inability to control each finger independently and end up losing the necessary state of relaxation required for playing. Don't let that happen. You will be able to learn to move your fingers properly - it just takes time, practice, and patience. Don't practice incorrectly! This isn't something you can force. Remember, if you practice wrong you will learn very well how to play wrong. This skill is essential to good playing so please don't gloss over this section. When I had to "relearn" to play for the third time, I spent an entire week just sitting in this position moving my fingers. Quite humiliating for someone who believed himself to be an

"advanced" player. Classical Guitar music very often has several voices sounding simultaneously. Each voice must be controlled separately and consciously. Controlled, independent motion of each finger must be achieved if you are going to play classical music on the guitar. Let's try it with the guitar. Assume the proper playing position with the guitar in your lap, supported at the four support points. Now execute the motion from the previous paragraph but this time continue as the neck of the guitar slides between your four fingers and your thumb. Your left hand index finger should be lying perpendicular to the strings somewhere between the 5th and 9th frets, ideally over the 7th fret. As described in the previous section which described the right hand, your left hand should be held so that a flat object (a ruler) which is laid on the top side of the forearm is touching at all points along your upper forearm and your hand. Your wrist should once again not be bent. By rotating the entire left arm at the shoulder, you should be able to slide your hand up and down the neck of the guitar, still keeping the index finger perpendicular to the strings while lightly touching all six strings. Your thumb should not squeeze the neck, it should follow the motion of the hand and remain just barely touching the center of the back of the neck. Positioning your left fingers over the neck Move your four fingers so that all the finger tips are in line as if the tips were resting on a flat surface. Position the fingertips over each string by raising or lowering your entire left arm FROM THE ELBOW. Do not raise the left shoulder, that should stay relaxed and level with the other shoulder. This motion from the elbow of the left arm is the basic motion that moves your fingers from string to string. Obviously, you will eventually want to play different strings with different fingers, however, whenever possible, the motion to bring a finger to a string should be made with the entire left arm from the elbow. Left hand summary We have covered the proper positioning of the left hand on the neck of the guitar and the three motions required of the left hand and arm: 1) pivoting the fingers at the large knuckle to raise and lower the fingers, 2) sliding the left hand up and down the neck of the guitar using a rotation at the shoulder, and 3) positioning the left hand fingers over the desired string by moving the left arm at the elbow. We're now ready to discuss the right hand. Fundamentals of the Right hand The motions involved with correct right hand technique are fairly complex. The right hand controls the creation of the sound that is produced as you play the guitar. Although the left hand touch can greatly affect the sound, we'll save that discussion for later. In this section I'll describe each of the various motions required by the Right hand and arm. Left-to-Right motion of the Right hand Just as you used a left arm rotation at the shoulder to move the left hand up and down the neck of the guitar, you must use that same motion with the right arm to position your hand over the section of the strings required to get the sound you desire. I won't get into the actual creation of the sound at this point, that must be reserved for a later lesson, however, be aware that the point on the string which you touch in order to produce a sound has profound effects on the quality of the sound produced. Quality is not meant here as a measure of "goodness" or "badness", the quality I am referring to is the sound quality - the "timbre", or "tone color" of the sound. Tone color is what allows you to differentiate a flute from a french horn or violin, even when all of the instruments are playing exactly the same pitch.

In order to move your right hand along the strings, it is necessary the you slide your forearm across the upper edge of the lower bout of the guitar. If you are not wearing a long-sleaved shirt, you may want to place some type of soft cloth between your arm and the guitar. Many classical guitarists use an ordinary sock that has been cut off at the heal - not the most elegant solution, but it works! Be careful that you don't lift or drop the right shoulder, as that could introduce unwanted tension into your playing. The motion is a simple rotation of the right shoulder, sliding the forearm along the guitar, and causing the entire hand to move along the strings either toward the nut (left) or the saddle (right). Top-to-bottom motion of the Right hand Once again, as in the left hand motion, the right hand should be positioned over each of the six strings by pivoting the right arm from the elbow. The basic starting position to play on any single string is reached by using the arm motion from the elbow to place the thumb and four fingers of the right hand directly over the desired string. Playing single note scales which span several strings will require you to position your hand over each succeeding string by using the arm motion from the elbow. It is not correct to "reach" for the next string by extending or flexing the fingers. There will be many times when you will need to play two or more notes simultaneously, requiring you to extend or flex the fingers of your right hand to a position that is different than the basic starting position. The key consideration is that you would first move the arm from the elbow to accomplish the "gross" motion, then use the motion of the fingers as required to reach the correct strings. Motion of the fingers (i,m,a) of the Right hand The Classical Guitar is played with the thumb and first three fingers of the right hand. The fourth finger should always be made to follow the motion of the third finger. Each of the fingers are identified in Classical Guitar literature by the following letter designations: "p" = Thumb or Pulgar "i" = Index or Indice "m" = Middle or medio "a" = Ring or anular. There are three joints on each finger. The motion of each finger is limited to either a flexation or extension at any of those three joints. When your hand is in a relaxed position, each of the joints are at a point about midway between the limits of their possible extension and flexation. The joint at the tip of the finger should be kept firm, but not tense. It can move slightly during a stroke because of the pressure against the finger from the string, but we will not try to control this joint at this stage of playing the guitar. The middle joint is the main source of finger motion. Preparation for a stroke requires that you extend the finger at the middle joint, while keeping the large joint at about the middle point of the limits of its range of motion. As your finger tip touches the string, the motion of the finger continues from the middle joint until it is near its limit of flexation. At that point the motion continues with a follow though of the stroke by flexing the finger at the large, or third knuckle. The range of movement that occurs during playing will become smaller as your technique improves, but the fundamental motion of the fingers will not change. We will talk later about the mechanics of an actual stroke and refer back to this description of finger motion at that time. Practice the motion of each finger without the guitar in your hands, and watch carefully so that you are sure to practice the correct movements. Remember, if you practice wrong....(snooze)... Motion of the thumb (p) of the Right hand

There is some disagreement in guitar pedagogy about exactly how the thumb should move. Some very competent players insist that the motion should be a circular motion, others disagree vehemently and say that the motion should be identical to that of the other fingers. Most teachers agree that the main motion should be from the joint where the thumb attaches to the wrist. My own personal approach is a hybrid motion which sometimes contains a slight rotation, but mostly moves in a fairly straight line. The decision you make will depend on your own body and on how you can best make the sound you want from your thumb. We'll cover this more in depth when you try to use the thumb to play music. Summary At this point you should be comfortable sitting with the guitar in playing position and you should be able to move both hands to any playing position on the instrument. You should also be able to properly move all four playing fingers of the right hand from the correct finger joint. Congratulations! I hope it was easier to do than it was to explain in words! In the next lesson we'll discuss how the finger nails of the right hand play an important role in shaping the sound you will get from the instrument. I'll explain how to shape and use the finger nails of the Right hand so that you can get any sound which your instrument is capable of producing.

Book 1 -- Lesson 4--Preparing to play The finger nails of the right hand play an important role in shaping the sound you will get from the instrument. I'll explain how to shape and use the finger nails of the Right hand so that you can get any sound which your instrument is capable of producing. Before starting this lesson, make sure you have a good fingernail clipper and a set of sand paper or emery boards with a least 3 different grit surfaces. The finest grit should actually feel smooth to your touch. The middle grit should have enough roughness so that if you file your fingernail it should produce a fine white powder but should not remove too much of the nail. The heaviest grit should be coarse enough to file the nail so that it can be shortened and shaped. Notice that I didn't specify any absolute grades. That will depend on the hardness of your nails. A grit that will easily cut through soft nails may not be nearly coarse enough for thicker, harder nails. The next section in this lesson will get into a little more detail. Care and Shaping of the Finger Nails You can always tell that a person is either a classical guitarist, or, has a bad fingernail biting habit on just one hand with a meticulous fetish for beautifully shaped nails on the other. I actually got my first job in Engineering when I was asked by the Engineering Manager who interviewed me to let him see my hands. When he noticed that my right hand fingernails were perfectly manicured and my left hand nails were very closely trimmed, he smiled, spent 45 minutes of the next hour discussing classical guitar and, hired me for the programming position. Your fingernails play a very important role in producing a good sound on the instrument. It's pretty easy to care for the nails on your left hand - you simply trim them as close as possible with a nail clipper without drawing blood. The right hand requires a lot more attention. There are three attributes of the right hand fingernails that need attention: length, shape, and edge. Your ideal fingernail shape and length can only be achieved after much experimentation. The edge required for a good sound is more absolutely determinable - it must be smooth.

Shaping your fingernails When your nails are ready to use for playing, the entire edge of the finger nail should be smoothly rounded with no breaks or rough spots. If you look closely at the edge of your fingernail with your fingers pointing straight into your eyes, they should be as smooth as the edge of a fine crystal wine glass. If you slide the edge of the fingernail of your right thumb over the edge of each of the other three playing fingers of the right hand, you should not be able to detect any roughness or breaks in the surface. An edge like that is absolutely necessary so that no extraneous noise is created by your fingernails as they slide over the strings while you're playing. To create the required edge, you first shape and adjust the length of the fingernail by using the coarsest grit emery board. I have seen great Classical Guitarists with fingernails that look like claws and others who have no fingernails whatsoever. My own experience has resulted in me having a fingernail length which causes the edge of the nail to extend about 1/8 inch above the tip of each finger when viewed from the palm of the hand with my fingers pointing straight up and held at about eye level. That length should be a good starting length for you but it is likely that you will decide to adjust it as you learn how the length of the fingernail affects the sound you want to produce. The edge of the nail should follow the shape of your finger tip and there should be no discontinuity at either side of the fingernail. In other words, the curve of the fingernail should extend smoothly to the point where your fingernail touches the cuticle. Once the nail is coarsely shaped you remove any jagged edges or cracks by using the middle grit. This step also gives the nail it's final shape. Once you are satisfied with the shape and length, you polish the edge with the finest grit emery board. Concert Classical Guitarists usually carry a fine emery paper with them when they perform so that they can smooth out any rough spots on their fingernails which might be caused by contact with the three metal wound strings of the guitar during a performance. You might at first think this fastidious attention to the fingernails is a little strange, but you will quickly learn to feel and hear the difference it makes when you play.

Book 1 -- Lesson 5--Tuning the Guitar In this lesson I'll explain how to tune the guitar. I will discuss three methods, the first being the common method taught in most beginning method books, the second method is more accurate but involves a little more understanding of the instrument, the third method is a variation of the second method which uses harmonics instead of normal pitches. Harmonics are easier to hear because they are "purer" tones, however, they require a little more skill to produce on the guitar. Read the supplement to this lesson: The Acoustics of Music for a complete explanation. Each of the strings of the guitar are tuned to a particular pitch or frequency of sound. Disregarding constants such as the string diameter, temperature of the instrument, etc., the pitch of each string depends on the tension on the string which is created between the two points on the instrument which support the vibration, and the length of the vibrating portion of the string. The tuning keys control the tension on the string - by tightening the tension on the string, the pitch increases to create a "higher" sounding note - by loosening the tension, the pitch decreases to create a "lower" sounding note. The length of the string is adjusted by using the fingers of the left hand to press a string down until it makes firm contact with a fret. Beats

Regardless of which method you use to tune the instrument, it is important that you understand the meaning of "beats". I'm not talking about the type of beat played by a percussion instrument, I'm referring to the phenomenon that occurs when two notes that are only slightly different from one another are played together. The actual physics of the phenomenon are very complex but recognizing the auditory effect is critical in order to know when two notes are in or out of tune. A "beat" is a distinct fluctuation in volume which has a "wobbling" sound. If two identical notes are played together it is difficult to tell that there is not just one note being played. If the pitch of one of the notes is very slightly raised or lowered, a "beat" begins to appear. The larger the discrepancy between the two notes, the faster the "beat." Conversely, as an out of tune note is brought closer to the reference pitch, the "beat" slows and finally disappears. The notes are then "in tune." We will tune each string on the guitar by first lowering the string relative to a reference pitch until a beat occurs and then raising the pitch of the string being tuned until the beat slows and finally stops. The Notes of the Open Guitar Strings The strings of the guitar are numbered 1 thru 6, where string 1 is the thinnest string and string 6 is the thickest. In standard tuning (all that you will need to know about until you get fairly advanced on the guitar) each string is tuned to a specific pitch. The following list identifies each string and its correct pitch relative to a piano. String Number Pitch and String Name Location on the Piano 1 High "E" 1st "E" above middle "C" 2 "B" 1st "B" below middle "C" 3 "G" 1st "G" below middle "C" 4 "D" 1st "D" below middle "C" 5 "A" 2nd "A" below middle "C" 6 Low "E" 2nd "E" below middle "C" Making a sound on the Guitar Before you can begin to tune the instrument, you must create the proper sound on each string of the guitar. To begin with, assume the "playing position" with the guitar in your hands. Your nails should be properly shaped and you should already know how to correctly move the fingers of both hands. You will not be using the left hand yet so keep it relaxed and don't let your fingers touch the strings. If you want to, you can hold the guitar lightly with your left hand just below where the neck of the instrument meets the body of the instrument. Your right hand should be held above the strings close to the sound hole, with your fingers about a quarter to an eighth of an inch above the strings. We will use the "i" finger to make a sound (I'll just call the fingers by their letter names). Extension Begin the stroke by causing the i finger to extend toward the string by straightening the finger while keeping the right hand motionless. This first motion is fairly subtle and should not be exaggerated to where the finger is totally straight or stiff. Most of the motion for this extension occurs in the middle joint of the finger. Preparation Lower i to the string so that the string is nestled between the underside of the fingernail and the fleshy part of the tip of the i finger. This position is called the "preparatory position." Despite what some people may tell you, this part of the stroke will always exist, regardless of how well you learn to play or how fast you play. The only difference will be the amount of time you spend in the preparatory position. To do otherwise invites chaos and will result in limited or no control over the sound produced by each stroke. The Free Stroke The free stroke is the most commonly used stroke when playing the guitar. It allows you to easily vary the intensity and timbre of the sound and it allows you to play several

notes at the same time without having to significantly alter the right hand position. The free stroke is produced by moving the i finger from the preparatory position through an arc produced by flexing the middle joint of the finger. Your finger nail should slide smoothly over the string producing a clear tone as the string is allowed to resonate. Continue with the free stroke by flexing the large knuckle of the i finger until the finger almost touches the palm of your hand. This follow-through will vary in distance depending on the tempo of the music and the volume you want to get from the stroke. The Rest Stroke The rest stroke is used when you want to emphasize or put more weight into the sound. Some players use the rest stroke extensively in scale passages, especially when played in the high registers of the instrument. A rest stroke varies from a free stroke in that the initial movement begins with the large knuckle of the finger and the final position is where the soft tip of the finger rests lightly on the next string. In order to prepare for a rest stroke, it is usually necessary to lower the right hand closer to the strings and to extend the fingers a little more than that which is required with a free stroke. You should practice both of these strokes many times with the i, m, and a fingers, until it feels natural and relaxed. Don't attempt to alternate the fingers yet, that will come shortly - after the guitar is in tune. Starting to Tune To properly tune the guitar, begin with a reference pitch that is a universally agreed upon note. In our music culture, that note is called "A 440." Your tuning fork should produce this tone when struck lightly against a hard surface. Be careful - NOT ALL TUNING FORKS ARE A440! Make sure your tuning fork is the correct pitch before continuing. The tone "A 440" is the pitch that is sounded when the high "E" string is played while depressing the 5th fret...or...when you play the harmonic on the fifth fret of the "A" string by touching the string lightly with a finger of your left hand while performing a normal rest or free stroke (do not push the string down with the finger, just touch it lightly). This harmonic is the reference pitch I use when I tune my guitar to a tuning fork. Raise or lower the tension on the "A" string by turning the tuning key while you play the harmonic on the 5th fret of the "A" string while listening at the same time to the reference pitch of the tuning fork. When you begin to notice a "beat", experiment with the effect by causing the "beat" to speed up or slow down as you adjust the tuning. Once you are confident that you are hearing the "beat", adjust the tuning until the "beat" disappears. You have tuned the "A" string and are ready to continue with the other 5 strings. IMPORTANT NOTE THE GUITAR IS TUNED ONE OCTAVE LOWER THAN THE PIANO FOR THE SAME PITCH NOTATED IN A MUSICAL SCORE. THE "A" ABOVE MIDDLE "C" ON THE PIANO HAS A FREQUENCY OF 440 CYCLES PER SECOND. THAT NOTE IS NOTATED BY THE SECOND SPACE FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE STANDARD G, OR "TREBLE" CLEF. THAT SAME NOTATION IN GUITAR MUSIC PRODUCES A PITCH OF "A 220", A NOTE EXACTLY ONE OCTIVE LOWER IN PITCH THAN THE PIANO. THE "A" STRING OF THE GUITAR IS ACTUALLY TUNED TO 110 CYCLES PER SECOND, TWO OCTAVES LOWER THAN "A 440". THE VALUE OF TUNING THE REFERENCE STRING TO THE HARMONIC AT THE 5TH FRET OF THE "A" STRING IS THAT THE ACTUAL PITCH IS THE EXACT "A 440" OF YOUR TUNING FORK. Each of the following methods of tuning assume you have already tuned the "A" string. DO NOT RE-TUNE THE "A" STRING! It is your reference pitch and if it is adjusted you will have to re-tune all of the other notes as well.

Method 1 - Sequential Tuning of Adjacent Strings. This first method of tuning is simple and easy to learn, however, it is not the best way to tune the instrument. Each time you progress from one string to the next any slight error in tuning is propagated to the next string. By the time you get to the high "E" string you may not even be close to correctly in tune. Once you get to the point where you are playing chords on the guitar this method of tuning will prove inadequate but it is fine for very early beginners on the guitar. • Press the low "E" or 6th string at the fifth fret. Play the "E" string and the open "A" string and adjust the "E" string until there are no beats between the two notes. • Press the "A" or 5th string at the fifth fret. Play the open "D" or 4th string and the "A" string while adjusting the "D" string until there are no beats between the two notes. • Press the "D" or 4th string at the fifth fret. Play the open "G" or 3rd string and the "D" string while adjusting the "G" string until there are no beats between the two notes. • Press the "G" or 3rd string at the fourth fret. Play the open "B" or 2nd string and the "G" string while adjusting the "B" string until there are no beats between the two notes. • Press the "B" or 2nd string at the fifth fret. Play the open "E" or 1st string and the "B" string while adjusting the "E" string until there are no beats between the two notes. Method 2 - Tuning Relative to One Fixed Pitch This method of tuning is more accurate than the previous method because it avoids cumulative errors by always tuning each sting to a single reference string. It does require that you learn how to play a harmonic on the "A" string at the 7th fret (you may have already played your first harmonic on the 5th fret of the "A" string to tune the "A" string to the tuning fork). The actual note that will sound when you play the "A" string while touching the string lightly above the 7th fret will be an "E." This "E" harmonic which is played on the "A" string at the 7th fret will be your reference pitch. All other strings will be tuned to this note by finding "E" notes on each other string (yes, there actually are "E's" on every string), and by comparing each "E" with the "E" harmonic on the 7th fret of the "A" string. The only problem with this method of tuning is that it is sometimes difficult to get each "E" to resonate well enough to be able to use it to tune the instrument. This is especially problematic with inexpensive instruments which may not resonate evenly on all notes. • Play the "E" harmonic on the 7th fret of the "A" string and let it ring. Play the low "E" or 6th string while pressing the string against the 12th fret. Adjust the "E" string until there are no beats between the two notes. • Play the "E" harmonic on the 7th fret of the "A" string and let it ring. Play the "D" or 4th string while pressing the string against the 2nd fret. Adjust the "D" string until there are no beats between the two notes. • Play the "E" harmonic on the 7th fret of the "A" string and let it ring. Play the "G" or 3rd string while pressing the string against the 9th fret. Adjust the "G" string until there are no beats between the two notes. • Play the "E" harmonic on the 7th fret of the "A" string and let it ring. Play the "B" or 2nd string while pressing the string against the 5th fret. Adjust the "B" string until there are no beats between the two notes. • Play the "E" harmonic on the 7th fret of the "A" string and let it ring. Play the open high "E" or 1st string. Adjust the "E" string until there are no beats between the two notes. Method 3 - Harmonic Tuning Relative to One Fixed Pitch

This final method is the best method for tuning the guitar. It is very similar to Method 2 but uses harmonics on all strings except the 2nd instead of using normal notes. The advantage of using harmonics is that they have fewer overtones to confuse the ear so it is easier to hear the beats when two strings are not correctly tuned. This method requires the use of "artificial harmonics." They are a little tricky to produce, but are worth the effort to learn. Playing Artificial Harmonics If you have read the supplement to this lesson: The Acoustics of Music, you will have seen how strings vibrate at many frequencies or pitches at the same time. If you excite the string (pluck it, strike it, move it, etc.) directly above a point on the string where a "node" exists for some harmonic frequency, you will be able to clearly hear the pitch of the harmonic, rather than the fundamental frequency of the string. If you press a string against any fret on the neck of the guitar, you effectively shorten the string length. A complete harmonic series will then be accessible relative to the new string length, rather than to the original string length. This opens up some very interesting possibilities, not only for tuning, but for making music on the instrument - more on that later... In order to produce the harmonic, you must strike the string and touch it lightly at the same time with the fingers of the right hand. This leaves the left hand free to press down at any desired fret. To practice this, choose a string...say, the "D" string. Fully extend the index finger of the right hand (like you're pointing at something) with your other 3 fingers rolled into your palm. Align your right thumb so that it is parallel to the index finger. You should be able to look directly at your right hand and see the top of the thumbnail and the outside edge of the index finger. Lower this entire assembly down to the "D" string. Touch the "D" string lightly at the 12th fret with the soft tip of the index finger, while striking the same string with a lateral movement of the thumb. As soon as the thumb stroke is complete, move the index finger away from the string so that the note will continue to sound. You should hear a bell-like tone, a harmonic, that is actually the octave of the open "D" string. Try the same thing on each of the other strings until you get a feel for how to sound each harmonic. This same technique can be used to get harmonics from each string at the 5th and 7th frets. If you experiment, you will discover that there are other harmonics just waiting to be heard, some of them at points on the string that don't even correspond to fret positions. Anyway, we diverge... Now try pressing the "D" string at the 2nd fret while producing an artificial harmonic by touching and playing the string at the 14th fret. That note happens to be an "E", exactly the note you will need to continue this lesson on tuning. You can continue experimenting with this technique by pressing any note on any string and counting 5, 7, or 12 frets up from that note to pluck the artificial harmonic. Once again, there will be other harmonics at many other points on the strings, enjoy! • Play the "E" harmonic on the 7th fret of the "A" string and let it ring. Play the harmonic at the 12th fret of the low "E" or 6th string. Adjust the "E" string until there are no beats between the two notes. • Play the "E" harmonic on the 7th fret of the "A" string and let it ring. Play the "E" artificial harmonic on the 14th fret of the "D" or 4th string while pressing the string against the 2nd fret. Adjust the "D" string until there are no beats between the two notes. • Play the "E" harmonic on the 7th fret of the "A" string and let it ring. Play the "G" or 3rd string while pressing the string against the 9th fret. Adjust the "G" string until there are no beats between the two notes. You will adjust this string later to an "A" harmonic, but let it go for now. • Play the "E" harmonic on the 7th fret of the "A" string and let it ring. Play the "B" or 2nd string while pressing the string against the 5th fret. Adjust the "B" string

until there are no beats between the two notes. This is the only string where harmonics aren't used in tuning. • Play the "E" harmonic on the 7th fret of the "A" string and let it ring. Play the harmonic at the 12th fret of the open high "E" or 1st string. Adjust the "E" string until there are no beats between the two notes. • Recheck the "G" string by playing the harmonic at the 12th fret of the "A" string while pressing the 2nd fret of the "G" string and playing the artificial harmonic at the 14th fret. Adjust the "G" string until there are no beats between the two notes. Checking the strings The final step in tuning the guitar is to check that the strings have not "gone bad". A bad string will be in tune on some points on the neck but way out of tune at other points due to uneven stretching of the string when it is tuned up to pitch. The quickest way to check a string is to play a harmonic at the 12th fret and than compare the pitch to the pitch you get when you actually press the string down on the 12th fret. This should be done for all 6 strings. Because the 12th fret is the half-way point of the string length, the harmonic and the natural tone should be identical. In practice, it is not uncommon that the two pitches will differ slightly so I usually continue to use a string that has only a slight error at the 12th fret. If you get too picky about the correctness of the pitch you might go through many strings before you finally find one that is perfect. Another consideration before you replace strings on the instrument is your own level of playing. If you are a beginner and play mostly on the 1st five frets of the guitar you probably won't be affected too badly by a bad string. On the other hand, if you use the entire neck of the instrument in your playing you will most likely find a bad string to be unacceptable. Conclusion Almost all vibrating objects produce harmonics above the fundamental frequency. As a matter of fact the ONLY thing that differentiates the timbre of one instrument from another is the relative mix of harmonic frequencies present in the tone. This is a very important fact with implications that are especially important to the guitar and we will explore this in later lessons. This concludes the lesson on tuning the guitar. You learned quite a few other things as well, but I believe they were necessary in order to truly understand not only how, buy why. I guess it's on to lesson 6!

Book 1 -- Lesson 6-- The Elements of Music The Four Basic Elements of Music --In this lesson I'll explain the four basic elements of music: Pitch, Rhythm, Dynamics, and Timbre. In later lessons I'll explain and demonstrate how these basic elements interact to allow infinite possibilities to exist for musical expression. Music always contains its four basic elements, and it's important to be conscious of, and to control all four elements of music AT ALL TIMES during your playing. Music notation has evolved over the years to include a very rich repertoire of symbols. These various symbols allow a composer to indicate many aspects - BUT NOT ALL - of each element of music. As I introduce each basic element, I will discuss its more common notational elements. This lesson should NOT to be interpreted as an attempt to be a complete dictionary of musical notation. My principal source of information on this subject on other all material presented in these lessons is the "Harvard Dictionary of Music" Second Edition, by Willi Apel, published by The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. This lesson will not deal with more advanced aspects of music, such as scales, which are pre-defined ordered groups of pitches which are played sequentially; chords, which

are two or more notes played simultaneously; tonality and harmony, which uses the natural psychological tensions and resolutions created by various pitches to drive the music in the direction intended by the composer, or voices, which are independent melody lines within a piece of music that require a separate focus on each of the four basic elements. Those topics will wait until later lessons, after you have a working knowledge of the basic four musical elements. Pitch Lesson 5 discussed pitch and its physical basis in the frequency of vibration of some material object. This lesson will introduce the elements of notating pitch in printed music. These elements include: the staff; the clefs, including the subscript; Key Signature; the "note", including sharp, flat, and natural signs (accidentals); the Glissando and Portamento; and Harmonics. The music we will be discussing is composed of pitches which are discrete in nature. This is in contrast to music such as that which is composed for a synthesizer which can produce arbitrary pitches which may have no relationship to our 12 tone even-tempered scales.

The Staff A notation of pitch has been developed which uses a set of parallel horizontal lines and spaces on which "notes" are drawn to represent distinct pitches. A grouping of five lines with the four spaces between each line is referred to as a "staff". From any starting pitch, notes increase by one letter name for each progressively higher space or line on the staff, and decrease by one letter name for each progressively lower line or space. "Ledger lines" are small line segments which are used to place notes above or below a staff to indicate pitches higher or lower than can be represented on the staff itself. The Clef The clef is a symbol that is placed at the left edge of each staff which defines a reference pitch from which all other notes on that staff are computed. There are three types of clefs, the G-clef, the F-clef, and C-clef. Most modern publications use only the G-clef and the F-clef with the older C-clef being replaced by the use of a G-clef with an "subscript 8" to indicate that pitches on the staff are to be played an octave lower than those with the usual G-clef. The G-clef resembles a large number eight with each circle in the 8 shaped as a vertically oriented oval, the bottom oval being about 3 or 4 times larger than the upper oval. The lower oval is drawn as an open loop where the loop encircles the second line from the bottom of the staff. That line is defined as g' ("g-one-line" is the first g above middle-c on the piano). The G-clef is the clef which is used in Classical Guitar music. Because the actual pitch of the guitar is an octave lower than that which is indicated by the standard G-clef, the correct method for notating Classical Guitar music is to place a small numeral 8 below the G-clef symbol. That small 8 tells the reader that the actual pitches which follow are to sound an octave lower than indicated. Unfortunately, it is very uncommon to see the 8 subscript in Classical Guitar music; the reader is expected to know that the pitches are an octave lower than written. I HAD a wonderful guitar that had developed a small crack in the back of the instrument. Since the repair of that part of the guitar is pretty straightforward, I chose to bring the

instrument to a violin repair person because there were no guitar repair shops in my town. When I came to pick up the instrument, there was a huge crack in the top of the guitar. I was told that the instrument had "just cracked as I tried to tune it"... It was about a year later when it dawned on me that the violin repair person probably didn't know that the guitar should sound an octave lower than its music would indicate....Ouch! As I said, I HAD a wonderful guitar... The F-clef, often called the "Bass clef", resembles a backward C with a full colon close to the outside right edge of the symbol. The full colon of the F-clef straddles the second line from the top of the staff and defines the placement of the pitch f (f below middle c on the piano). The C-clef resembles the numeral 3 with a heavy vertical line drawn close to the left edge and is used to define the pitch c' (c-one-line, or middle c on the piano). This clef can be placed in either of two positions on the staff. The C-clef is placed on the staff so that the intersection of the top and bottom curves in the symbol (essentially the "center" of the 3) touches either the middle line of the staff (alto or viola clef), or the second line from the top of the staff (tenor clef). Historically, this clef was used as a "moveable clef" to reduce the need for "ledger lines", but modern publishers are tending to avoid its use altogether and to opt instead to use the aforementioned subscript 8. Key Signature A key signature is a method whereby all of the pitches within a line of music can be assigned a set of "sharps" or "flats" in order to reduce the number of individual sharp or flat symbols that would otherwise be required. Later lessons will deal with scales and the theory behind the creation of key signatures, but suffice to say here that the key signature has a big effect on the pitch of notes placed on the staff. Classical music is notated with the key signature placed at the start of each staff for every line of music. The Notes A "note" is the smallest unit of music that can be represented in our system of notation. In modern music notation, a note is drawn on a staff as a circular mark with a diameter that is approximately equal to the distance between the lines of the staff. Notes that are drawn on a line are centered on the line, notes drawn in spaces almost touch the lines above and below the note. The position of any note drawn on a staff determines its "lettered tone", ranging from A to G. Sharps, Flats, and Naturals -> the "Accidentals" Pitches which exist between any of the lettered tones are notated by the use of symbols called "sharps(#)", "flats(b)" - similar to a lower case b, or "naturals". These symbols can occur, at the start of each line of music to define a key signature, at any point in the music where a change in key signature is to occur, or just before any note in the music to indicate that its pitch is to be altered. The sharps, flats and naturals are referred to collectively as "accidentals". Natural signs are similar to sharp signs with the upper right and lower left line segments removed and the two horizontal lines terminating exactly at the vertical lines they touch. Glissando and Portamento The Harvard Music Dictionary defines Glissando as "the execution of rapid scales by a sliding movement". This is sometimes confused with the term Portamento which is where the pitch is raised or lowered from one note to another with a continuous movement. It is not possible to execute a Portamento on a Classical Guitar because the pitch will always change in discreet increments when the fingers cross a fret as they slide from one note to another. The Glissando on the guitar is a chromatic scale - each succeeding tone of the scale exactly one half step from the last preceding tone - from the starting pitch to the ending pitch. It is notated by connecting the note or notes which

are to be slid by a straight line, usually with the abbreviation "gliss." written above the connecting line(s). Harmonics The last element of pitch notation that I will discuss is the use of the harmonic pitch indicator. The sad truth is that there is no true standard for notating guitar harmonics in printed music. One common aspect of almost all harmonic notation is to draw a hollow note in a diamond shape instead of in the shape of a circle. Confusion arises because sometimes the composer indicates the actual pitch, sometimes indicates just the position of the fingers above the fret and string where the harmonic is to be created, and sometimes notates the pitch on the staff one octave below the desired pitch with the standard diamond harmonic shape. The guitar can produce natural and artificial harmonics (see lesson 5), and that also adds to the notational confusion. There are too many common variations in the notation of harmonics, but music from a reputable publisher - usually - explains how to interpret the notation of harmonics in a preface to the music in that publication. If that is not the case you should either listen to a recording of the piece, or, just use your best guess based on how it sounds to you. Rhythm Rhythm can be defined as the quality of music which determines its motion through time. In this lesson I will introduce the most common notational elements used in printed music to express rhythm. These include: the Beat; Measures; Time Signature; the "Rest"; Tempo Markings; Stems, Flags, Dots, and Ties; Legato(slur), Portato, and Stuccato; and Fermata. The Beat The beat of the music is the primary recurring pulse which moves the music forward. In popular music, the beat is usually very obvious. It's the feeling that makes you want to "tap your foot". Classical music does not usually exaggerate the beat to that extent. As a matter of fact, it is very often the case that classical composers deliberately write music to de-emphasize the primary beat in order to create rhythmic "flows" which can extend through many measures. It is important in your playing to always be aware of "where the beat is" so that you can work within, but not necessarily on, the beat in order to give life to the music. Measure The basic rhythmic "container" used in musical notation is the "Measure". A measure of music is defined as the musical notation contained within a vertical line which extends from the upper line of the staff to the lower line of the staff and the next vertical line encountered on the staff. Accidentals which occur within a measure (not key signatures) apply only to the note where the accidental appears and to subsequent identical notes within that same measure. If the composer wants the same accidental in the next measure it must be notated again. A measure MUST contain the exact number of beats of music as defined in the current time signature. The justification for the use of measures is that most music has regular, recurring accents. In measures with four beats, the main accent is usually on the first beat of the measure and there is a weaker accent on the third beat. In measures with three beats, the first beat is strong and the third beat also contains a weaker accent. Be aware that not all music written uses measures, however, most of the music you will probably see as a classical guitarist (except for some very modern pieces) will use measures in the notation. They are an invaluable aid to sight reading, a skill too few guitarists ever master. Time Signature A time signature is comprised of two numbers written on the staff immediately following the key signature of the first line of the music and at any point in the music where the

composer wants to change the time signature. The form of the signature is an upper number and a lower number, similar to a mathematical fraction. The lower number indicates the base unit of measurement, i.e. the unit of measure used for each beat, and the upper number indicates how many of the base units, or beats, should appear in each measure. For example, a time signature of 3/4 means that the base unit is the 4th note (the "quarter note"), and that there are three of those base units contained in each measure. In an manner exactly analogous to fractions, the number of base units can be any combination of fractional sub-divisions or multiples of the base unit that sum EXACTLY to (in this case) three beats where each beat is a quarter note. A measure of 3/4 can contain six 8th notes (sums to 3/4), one half note and one quarter note (sums to 3/4), or any of an infinite combination of notes and note duration's as long as the sum is 3/4. The most common time signature used in our music is 4/4. It is so common that it has earned the moniker "common time". Common time is notated by either 4/4 or by a large C. You might also see a large C with a short vertical line "cutting it in half". That symbol is a shortcut for 2/2 - two beats per measure with each beat equal to a half note - and is commonly called "cut time". The Rest The figure above shows the notational symbols for "rests". A rest is a period of time within the music where a "voice" is silenced. It can be argued that the rest should be considered as a pitch - the "no pitch" - which must be "played" just like any other pitch. Regardless of how it is viewed, rests are an important part of any piece of music. Some types of music require a very strict adherence to the rests within the music in order to realize the total musical effect of the piece. This is especially true in music from the "classical" period (about 1770 to 1830. Rests can be loosely interpreted in other music, especially more romantic or music with its roots in "folk" culture. It is important to carefully consider how to play any rests within the music you are studying. Some players never "stop" notes after they are played, they simply allow the note to fade away or it just stops when the player moves his fingers to go to another note. While that technique of playing results in a more full sound on the guitar, it can often result in harmonies that take away from the direction which the music should be going. Tempo Markings Tempo markings give the player an indication of the tempo or speed at which to play each beat. Most printed music uses words or phrases to indicate the tempo. From slowest to fastest, the following tempo markings are commonly used but are by no means the only possible markings: Largo, Larghetto, Adagio, Andante, Moderato, Allegro, Presto, and Prestissimo. They represent absolute speeds ranging from about 40 beats per minute to about 200 beats per minute. Modern music is often marked with symbolic declarations where a basic unit (half note, quarter note, eighth note, etc.) is explicitly set equal to some number of beats per minute. Some composers have begun using tempo markings which state the composers desire for the time duration of the entire piece. It's then up to the player to figure out haw fast to play the piece so that it ends at the right time. Other tempo markings are used to specify the composer's desire for the player to slow down or speed up at certain points in the music. The term "ritardando", or "rit" or "ritard", means to gradually slow the tempo, a "Ritenuto" indicates an immediate slow down is required. An "Accelerando", or "Accel", means to speed up the music. The most abused and misunderstood marking is the "Rubato". It is most commonly used to indicate to the player that rhythmic freedom should be taken by slowing or speeding the tempo slightly, being careful that the first note played at the conclusion of the rubato occurs at exactly

the same time it would have occurred had no rubato been played. That result rarely occurs in actual performance so a rubato effectively results in the player ignoring the beat and just being expressive at that point in the music. Heads, Stems, Flags, Dots, and Ties One of the principal aspects of rhythm is the expression of the duration of each note. All notes are written with a "head" - the circular part of the note to which a "stem" can be attached. If a stem is attached to the note head, it may have one or more "flags". Finally, the head-stem-flag group may have one or two "dots" following the symbol. When the head of the note is drawn as an open circle with no stem, it is a "whole note". If the circle has a stem attached, the note becomes a "half-note. If the circle is filled in, it becomes a "quarter-note". Add one flag and you've got an "eighth-note", add two flags a "sixteenth-note", three flags for a "32nd-note", etc. for a practical limit of 5 flags. You cannot have a filled in head with no stem or an open circle head with a flag. Those limitations make it easier to quickly understand the duration of the note when the music is read. Dots can be appended to any type of note or rest, each dot adds one half the duration of the value to the immediate left of the dot. For example, if you have a whole note (open circle) and you "dot" it, you have a note with the duration of a whole-note plus a half-note. If you "dot" it again (double dot), you add another half of the half-note. In terms of quarter notes, that would be 4 (the whole note) plus 2 (the first dot) plus 1 (the second dot) = 7 quarter notes. Dats a lot a dots, but you can be comforted in knowing that you will rarely see any more than one dot used on any one note in most musical scores. A tie is a short arched line that connects two adjacent notes of the same pitch. It functions to extend the duration of the first note by the value of the note to which it is tied. Ties are often used to extend a note past a single measure. Legato (slur), Leggiero, Staccato, and Portato Another important aspect of rhythm is the question of what happens between each note. The "legato" is notated by an arching curve which starts above the first note of the passage to which the legato is to be applied, and extends to the last note of the legato. It is used to indicate that each note should be played as "connected" to the previous note as possible. Do not confuse the legato with the "tie". The legato connects notes of differing pitches, the tie connects notes of the same pitch. The leggiero is written with a short horizontal line above the note and indicates that there should be a clear separation between the sound of the each succeeding note. The staccato is notated by placing a small dot directly above each note to which the effect is to be used. To play a note "stuccato", you must stop the tone quickly after sounding it. The note can be stopped by slightly lifting the finger of the left hand, by placing a finger of the right hand on the string to dampen the sound, or by any other method that you can devise that is convenient to the musical passage being played. Be careful to make sure that the note is actually sounded - it is easy to make the duration so short that it sounds more like a tambora than a stuccato. The portato is played by sounding the note for about half of the note's duration; the other half of the duration is to be treated as a rest. A portato is notated by placing a slur above the desired notes which themselves are written with "staccato" markings. Fermata A fermata is indicated by a symbol which consists of a small dot with an arch over the dot. It means that you should stop the rhythmic flow and suspend the music for the period of time that you, as a performer, should decide upon. The duration of the fermata will depend on the musical context to which it is applied. Dynamics

Musical Dynamics are defined here to be the intensity or volume of the sound and the changes in that intensity through time. The word "dynamic" implies motion or change. In the context of music, Dynamics are both static and dynamic in that a constant volume at a certain intensity, such as "Forte (from the Italian word meaning strong) would have the static dynamic marking "f". The use of dynamics in music is very subjective and depends very much on the instrument and the context of the music. A dynamic marking of "f" in Lute music can not be realized with the same level of intensity as the same marking on music for a baritone saxophone. We will cover the symbols for piano (p), forte (f), mezzo (m), cresendo, decresendo, and Sforzando. p, f, and m There are only two dynamic markings in common use: piano (p) and forte (f). These marks are often doubled (pp, ff) or tripled (ppp, fff) to indicate degrees of piano or forte; more "p's" mean make the music quieter, more "f's" mean make it louder. As in the rhythmic indicators, words such as pianissimo (pp) and fortissimo (ff) are also commonly used. The modifier Mezzo (m), meaning "half" is also often applied to dynamic markings. For example, mp, meaning mezzo piano, could also be written as pp. Obviously, there is a lot of subjectivity with this type of notation. I have never seen absolute markings such as "90db", which would be equivalent to the absolute rhythmic markings of "d=60", but, who knows. With modern electronic music that might become common practice. I think you can rest fairly confidently that it won't happen in classical guitar music. cresendo and decresendo The cresendo and decresendo are common markings which indicate increasing or decreasing volume respectively. A cresendo marking is drawn as two lines of equal length which intersect at their origin on the left end of the symbol, and open gradually as the symbol extends to the right. The symbol is drawn with its origin at the starting point of the cresendo and it extends to the where the composer wants the effect to stop. A decresendo has its open end on the left and converges as the symbol extends to the right. There is frequently a dynamic letter symbol at the start and end of a cresendo marking (i.e. ppp>fff) If the cresendo or decresendo must last for too long a time for it to be practically drawn, the words cresendo or decresendo are written in the musical score with a single line drawn which extends beneath the musical passage to which the effect is to be played. Sforzando Another common dynamic marking is the Sforzando (sf or sfz). It is drawn above the notes where it is to be applied and it indicates that a sudden strong accent is required at that point. Dynamics on the classic guitar It is not that difficult to create very effective dynamics on the classic guitar, however, many professional classical guitarists under-utilize the potential of that technique. If you play each note so that it rings clearly on the instrument, even a triple piano can be heard at quite a distance from the source. The biggest threat to effective dynamics on the guitar is tension in the hands. Tension tends to mute the sound and prevent the guitar from amplifying each note so that is projects to the audience. You can practice dynamics by just playing a single note. Some guitarists claim they can actually cause the sound of the note to increase in volume AFTER it is played! That seems illogical at first until you consider that other strings and the top of the instrument can begin to resonant along with the note you first sound. It may be possible, but I haven't yet reached the point where I have can personally verify that effect. Timbre

Technically, Timbre is a quality of sound that is caused by the harmonic content of that sound. This is more fully explained in the supplement to Lesson 5: The Acoustics of Music. Timbre is used on the Classic Guitar to add "color" to the music. I will often use the word color instead of Timbre because music is painted with the harmonic palette of Timbre in much the same way an artist uses color to give life to his paintings. Notation of Timbre There are only a few notational elements that hve been used traditionally to denote timbre in printed guitar music. Modern guitar music has expanded the notation to indicate how to make sounds that can be produced with a guitar but are not part of the traditional technique of the instrument. I won't attempt to address these modern notational elements because they are not standardized and won't generally be used by players just beginning their study of the instrument. Pizzicato The meaning of Pizzicato on the guitar is slightly different than how it is interpreted on other stringed instruments. Pizzicato as applied to the violin and other orchestral string instruments that use a bow just means to pluck the strings as one would pluck a guitar or a harp. Since the strings of a guitar are normally plucked, the technique as applied to a guitar is achieved by damping the string with the fleshy part of the right hand as the strings are plucked by the thumb or fingers. Various effects can be achieved by varying the amount of pressure used when damping the string. Tambora If the head of a note is written in the shape of an X instead of the usual shape, the note should be fingered with the left hand as per the location of the note on the staff, but played by striking the string with the outside edge of the right thumb as you would strike a drum or "Tambora". The pitch of the note can be heard, but, because it is not possible to drum on only one string without also striking adjacent strings, the effect is difficult to control. The next lesson will talk about how to control the timbre of the sound on the guitar, and how to apply it to your playing.

Book 1 -- Lesson 7-- Timbre - the Color of Music As I stated in Lesson 6: Timbre is the quality of sound that is caused by the harmonic content of that sound (see supplement to Lesson 5: The Acoustics of Music ). Lesson 6 also briefly touched on the various notational elements used to indicate color changes in printed music. This lesson will explain how to evoke different colors from the classic guitar and will try to give you an introduction to the more esoteric, but much more important concept of how color can be used to give life to your playing. The Basics The harmonic content of each sound you produce IS the timbre of that sound. It depends on several things. First of all, the string has to vibrate. This in turn causes the guitar to vibrate. When you set a string into motion, you directly determine the mix of harmonic components in each vibration by where and how you touch the string. Once the string is in motion, you again affect how that motion is allowed to continue or "sustain" and to propagate into the guitar so that it can be projected to your audience. Let's look at each component separately: Where you touch the string

If you've done any experimenting on the guitar, you have probably already noticed that if you strike the string close to the bridge of the guitar it has a more metallic, or "thin" sound. As you move your hand further from the bridge, the sound gets progressively smoother or "thicker". This motion of the right hand is the most coarse aspect of control of timbre. It's like an artist using only base colors in his paintings, never mixing a palette that contains colors which are not adjacent to each other. Unfortunately, that technique is often the only technique many classical guitarists ever develop. Problems with using only this method are that it severely limits the range of colors you can produce, and, more importantly, it forces you to constantly alter your right hand position, making it more difficult to accurately control each note. It also violates the basic principal of "minimum motion", causing you to move much more than is actually required to produce any desired change in timbre. Perhaps the most significant limitation is that you will eventually want to independently control the timbre of each voice in the music. To properly do that, you must control the touch of each finger independently. When you move your whole hand the entire palette of color changes, not just the voice you may be shaping. If you had ever watched Andres Segovia play the guitar you would have been surprised at the range of color he got without moving his hand far from its starting position. There is definitely a place for this technique and it is especially useful when you want to change the timbre of some extended passage within a piece or when you want modify the entire palette of colors. However, the much more important tool to control timbre involves how you touch the string. How you touch the string I have been playing the "Tango" by Isaac Albeniz for over 25 years. It took me about 2 or 3 months to learn the notes, but I am still learning how to bring out the shadings in color which I hear in my mind. Besides the actual shape of your finger nail (see lesson 4), there are only a few physical variables involved in controlling the "touch". Each of the variables provides its own component of the overall timbre that will result from the stroke. As you read about each of these variables you should experiment on the guitar to learn how to produce a sound through the entire range of each variable. When doing this type of practice you should try to vary only one variable in turn at a time, keeping the others constant. Eventually you will naturally and subconsciously control all of these variables simultaneously, but until that time you must train your ear to hear the color changes that each variable produces. Don't be surprised if you can't discern very many steps, or discreet changes in the timbres - your ability to create these variations and your ability to hear subtle variations will grow together. Be patient and practice with a goal. Don't just sit there varying the sound while you allow your mind to drift to the latest exciting event that you've either done or have planned. Your playing will improve only to the degree that you give the guitar your undivided attention. Almost like real life relationships... Variables in the touch 1) the angle of contact between your finger and the string • Very subtle movements of the right hand at the wrist result in major changes in the angle your finger makes with the string. If your fingernails are shaped properly you should be able to contact the string with the left or right edge of your fingernail, and be able to rotate through to any possible angle of contact. You will notice that the sound is smoothest at the two edges and is most metallic when the fingernail is directly in line with the string. 2) the amount of weight transmitted to the string via your finger • The concept of weight is often difficult to grasp. You have to try to channel the weight of your entire arm into the finger tip and not try to get strength from the

finger itself. Vary the amount of weight you put into the string from very light, where the string barely flexes before it is released, to as much weight as you can without "splatting" the string. (I don't know exactly what splatting means; to me it's sort of a ragged tearing sound that defies an appropriate adjective.) When you use a lot of weight you'll have to move the finger more quickly through its stroke to avoid having the string hit your finger after the stroke. The motion of the finger can be imagined by thinking of how your fingers move as you clench your fist. The initial motion begins at the large knuckle and the middle joint begins to flex as the large knuckle reaches its limit of motion. Finally, the finger tip touches the fleshy part of the hand. The application of weight and the motion of the finger are independent of each other. You need to learn to control each aspect separately. 3) the degree of firmness in the first joint of your finger • The first joint (just above the fingernail) can be used to soften or tighten the sound. As you loosen the firmness of the joint, the fingernail becomes less perpendicular to the string as you make a stroke. If you add firmness to the joint you can create a more metallic sound without having to move your right hand closer to the bridge. 4) the ratio of fingernail to flesh which touches the string at release time • If your fingernails are too long you will diminish your ability to adjust this variable while you are playing. The flesh of the finger doesn't excite the higher harmonics as much as the fingernail but the combination of both the flesh and the fingernail can produce a very full sound with a wide range of harmonic overtones. Sustaining the vibration Once a string is set in motion, the sound it produces causes the wood of the guitar to resonate and to project that sound. The transfer of the motion of the string to the wood of the guitar is not instantaneous. The sound actually increases as the string vibrates longer and the wood of the guitar responds to the vibration. It is important to direct the pressure from your fretting finger correctly so that the least possible pressure will hold the string in place while it vibrates. When you press down on a string to cause it to contact with a fret, try to place the finger tip as close as possible to the fret without having the finger extend beyond the fret. If your finger extends beyond the pressed fret, it will dampen the sound before it has a chance to cause the guitar to resonate properly. If your finger is too far from the fret it will take too much pressure to keep the string from buzzing. You should try to direct the pressure of the finger toward the fret, not straight down against the fingerboard. The fret and the fingerboard create a 90 degree angle where they meet. Imagine that the pressure vector is directed at a 45 degree angle to both the inside wall of the fret and the fingerboard. It is also very important to hold the string against the fret with the right amount of pressure and to keep that pressure constant so that it allows the string to continue vibrating at the same pitch. Experiment by applying the lightest pressure possible against the string that will cause the string to touch the fret but not buzz the string when you play a note. Practice holding the pressure constant, or, vary the pressure to begin experimenting with vibrato. We'll talk more about vibrato later but it's not a bad idea that you start thinking about it now. Projecting sound from the guitar Finally, the sound must be allowed to project from the guitar. Be careful not to place your fingers or rest your arm on the top of the guitar. The top should be unobstructed and free to resonate. Mixing the Palette - From the physical to the spiritual realm

Now that you understand how to get different colors from the instrument, I want you to start thinking about why you want to alter the timbre. Is it just to get a different sound? That certainly is what happens, but the important question is why? In my experience, the best way to communicate this idea is by an analogy. Imagine a great orator or poet speaking publicly. Imagine the tone of her voice and the inflection between each word and phrase. Here how she uses sudden accents or softness in her presentation to color the text. Now imagine that same speech or poem given by a 3rd grader at his first experience in public speaking. Have you ever heard Lincoln's Gettysburg address recited in such an environment? Hear the monotone presentation and the total lack of understanding of the meaning behind the words. This same effect occurs in music. Too many "great" guitarists of our time sound like 3rd graders reading from the dictionary. All the notes are correct, all the rhythms are accurate, all the dynamics are followed to perfection - the only problem is that you walk away feeling like you just spoke to your insurance agent instead of your therapist. Timbre is the musical element that allows you to add that inexplicable part of yourself to the music. You can shape a phrase of music so that each voice has its own character. To me, that is a lifetime task which can never end because I am always growing and changing. As I mature I understand more about color. Things become less black and white and feelings mix and flow together in an ever-changing swirl. Each time I play a piece of music it reflects the "me" I am at that moment. Life feeds back onto my music and my music feeds back onto my life. The next lesson begins the study of scales. I waited to start scales because scales must be played musically from the start. A scale is a path from somewhere in the music to somewhere else. It must be shaped so that the listener arrives at the correct place after all the notes are played. You will see that there is no absolute "correct place", the place it takes the listener will change according to your mood of the moment. If you practice scales without considering the musical aspect of the journey, you will learn very well how to say nothing with a lot of well-positioned notes. It is my hope that you will avoid the all-to-tempting "dark side" of playing. It is actually easier to play fast and evenly when your mind is somewhere else. It's less demanding - it lets "your fingers do the walking". The path of true communication requires that you take the time to figure out what you want to say before you start talking. Believe me, your audience will know the difference.

Book 1 -- Lesson 8-- Scales This lesson begins the study of scales. The official definition of a scale from the Harvard Dictionary of Music is "The tonal material of music arranged in an order of rising pitches." That definition covers an enormous amount of variety and I won't attempt to provide a complete theoretical study of scales. The definition of a scale that we will use in these lessons is that "a scale is a path from somewhere in the music to somewhere else." As you travel over that path you will be creating the fabric of your personal musical interpretation. Scales provide the means to transition from one musical idea to another. They can be long extended journeys, or short trips which define or enhance some new harmony or tonal movement. When you see a scale written on the printed page you should always understand the musical purpose before you try to play the notes. This lesson will deal with the physical aspects of moving the hands properly and the musical elements of creating the sound you want with the scale passages you play.

I remember once, when I was much younger, sitting in my music studio where I was giving a lesson to a beginning guitarist. There was a sound which we heard from an adjoining studio that we both concluded must have been someone using an electric drill. After listening for a minute or two, we realized that we were hearing a guitarist practicing his scales. That person has since become quite renowned in "guitar circles", but, not surprisingly to me, has never been recognized in the much wider realm of "classical musicians." Why? Because although he had learned to play scales faster and more evenly than I had ever heard anyone else play, he did so at the expense of making music. I will never understand how anyone can sit for hours listening to a mindless stream of notes. It's like listening to a computer recite Shakespeare. I can't listen to a minute of it before I find myself screaming in panic and running to a Segovia CD to clear my mind. Back to reality Ok, enough with the esoteric sojourns, let's talk about the how-to's of scales. As always, the fingers have to move properly in order to have the guitar respond to your ideas. There are three distinct physical motions that must be addressed in order to handle the general case of playing a scale. The simplest case is where all the notes of the scale are on one string and can all be reached without moving the left hand up or down the neck. Unfortunately, this is by far the least common case - however - it is a very important case to use when learning more subtle motions of the fingers which allow you to paint your music with more than a few basic colors. The second case is where your left hand fingers remain on one string but you must move the left arm during the scale so that you can reach all of the notes. Finally, the last case is where you must switch strings as you play the scale but you don't move the left arm up or down the neck of the guitar. We will approach each case separately so that all of the required motions can be understood before trying to combine the cases to face the most common situation where all three cases must be seamlessly interwoven. Case 1 - one string, no left arm motion First the left hand... In previous lessons, we've talked about minimizing extraneous motion. Let's go right to the guitar to demonstrate how this can be applied to a scale. Get into "playing position" and move your left hand up the neck of the guitar until the frets are close enough together so that each of the four fingers of your left hand are just above four sequential frets. The place on the neck will vary according to how big your hand happens to be. Segovia could have done this at the first fret - I'm not so lucky :-( Lower all four fingers using just enough weight in your left arm to cause the string to make firm contact with the frets. Using rest strokes with the right hand which alternate between the i and m fingers, play the note slowly as you adjust the weight of your left hand until the string just begins to "buzz", and then add slightly more weight. Keep your right hand touch as even as possible and ONLY use the rest stroke. All four fingers of the left hand should be touching the same string, the note being sounded is the note defined by where your 4th finger is pressed. We are now going to play permutations of the left hand fingers to get you used to moving all four fingers independently AND...to let you start to understand how you can create a much more connected sound between notes by preparing the next lower finger while a prior note is still being sounded by a higher numbered finger of the left hand. To begin, let's play just two different notes and repeat those notes several times. First, lift all four fingers off of the neck. Next, play the note below the fourth finger, followed by the note below the first finger, then the fourth, then the first, then the fourth, etc.. The first time you do this exercise, lift each finger after you play each note and only touch the string with the left hand finger that is actually creating the tone. The second time you

do the exercise, leave the first finger down the entire time - only lift the fourth finger up to play the first finger note, and lower the fourth finger to play the fourth finger note while you keep the first finger firmly planted on the string. Notice that when you lift each finger and then place the next finger there is a noticeable discontinuity in the sound. The string itself must move a longer distance vertically between each note if the first finger is not planted before the fourth finger is lowered. Repeat both exercises for every combination of two left hand fingers, first by lifting both fingers, then by keeping the lowest finger planted. Continue this exercise until you can hear the difference in sound. Once you can hear the difference in sound, play with the sound. Intentionally lift both fingers to make the sound stop between notes and then carefully work to make the transition between notes as smooth as possible by preparing the lower finger. Practice this until it becomes easy to lift the finger or keep it down - continue practicing this until the motion becomes automatic in response to your intention to create the sound you want. Once you feel you understand this, try combinations of three and then four fingers, lowering ALL of the fingers which lie below the note being played to give you the smoothest transition between notes. Vary this technique by using only the very lowest finger to act as a pivot point for the benefit of all of the notes above that finger - that is actually the most common usage of this technique in "real life" playing. This technique will also be very important later on when we talk about slurs and ornaments such as trills, the rapid lifting and lowering of a finger to sound the string without even playing the note with the right hand. The important thing to know is that the technique is not limited to just ornaments and slurs. It is an integral part of playing "legato", or "connected" sound between notes of a scale. now the right hand... This simple case of scales is also an excellent place to start to open up to the possibilities of color within the right hand. We did the previous exercises with a rest stroke because I didn't want to inject any variation of sound into the mix that may be caused by the right hand. That's why I stressed ONLY using the rest stoke. Now that you can hear how variation in left hand touch can alter the sound between each note, lets explore how variations in the right hand can alter the sound of each note you play. Many people get totally hung up on shaping or sizing the fingernail of the right hand in order to control the sound produced on the guitar. While I don't want to understate the importance of having properly shaped fingernails, that is a means to an end, not the end itself. If your fingernail gets stuck on the string as it crosses the string then you probably need to change the shape of the edge. Don't expect the fingers to "feel" the same as they go over the string. Focus on the sound. The goal is to control the sound, however, you have to be aware of the possibilities of the sound before you can control it. Let's experiment with the sound. Before you start exploring the sound you can get from your instrument you need to clear your mind of expectations. Don't try to control the sound yet - explore, understand, and then control. You may ask "what does this have to do with scales?" The answer is simple. Everything. The sound you create as you move through a scale is exactly what will drive your music forward. If it's flat and boring - guess what? - that's how an audience will perceive your playing. As your ability to understand the music grows, your ability to play fast and clear will also grow. If you focus on playing fast and clear then you might achieve those goals, if you focus on understanding and controlling the music than you will become a musician. You will not use the left hand at all for this first step. We are going to explore the range of sounds you can get from your right hand without moving the right arm. Most guitarists change the color of the sound by gross movements of the right arm, bringing the right

hand closer to or further from the sound hole. We are going to use the free stroke with alternating i and m fingers of the right hand. Then we are going to go through a range of movements of the right hand by only moving the hand at the wrist. Vary the angle of the fingernail across the string by turning the right wrist left or right. Vary the angle that the finger makes with the string by lifting or lowering the right forearm and adjusting the up and down angle at the wrist. Finally, vary the speed of the stroke from quick and short to long and slow. Initially these actions will be purely physical, but as you listen to the sound of each stroke try to correlate the various motions of the finger and wrist with variations in the sound. Work to accentuate a particular aspect of the sound - brittle, soft, smooth, quiet, loud, rich, thin - apply your own adjectives - these sounds must start to develop a character. You must begin to "own" the sounds and be able to find a desired sound at will. The next step is to start playing the Case 1 scales again, but this time color the sound as you move from one note to the other. Be patient and listen V E R Y closely. Don't expect to control the sound in one sitting. Explore, understand, and then control the sound. Case 2 - one string, left arm moves up or down the neck I hope at least a month has gone by before you started studying Case 2, if not, go back to Case 1 and practice some more. The motions and their correlation into controlled sound have got to be automatic before you try to tackle this next step. You have to be able to think of a sound and automatically do what's necessary to make it happen. A person can only focus on one new thing at a time, so please don't try to rush the process. The most critical physical factor in this next step is timing. Remember when we talked about the moment of preparation between notes? That minute moment of silent preparation must be there. Surprisingly, it must also be there to make the sound appear connected. That fraction of a second of preparation fixes, or anchors the string so that the next note will resonate properly. Physically, you must time the move so that your fingers are prepared on the next note with exactly the same amount of time between notes as you allowed when you didn't move the left arm. Prepare the move mentally before you actually move your arm. The motion should be smooth and not jerky, it should be very deliberate and not sloppy. Place your finger onto the next note and don't slap it down. The guitar will sustain the music when the note is played properly. We now have to define the word "properly." What is properly? It is defined as "the way you want it to be!" That is the essence of control and the reason we took so much time to learn to control the sound. Now that you know what to listen for you can use your ear to direct you when you change positions by moving the left hand up or down the neck. The sound should only change IF YOU WANT IT TO. A good way to verify your ability to move correctly between positions is to move only a couple of frets so that you can play the short scale first with no left arm motion, and then with a short move of the left arm. You should strive to make it sound the same - your ear can now be your guide. Gradually expand the length of the move until you can easily move up and down the neck of the guitar without diminishing the sound. Case 3 - change strings, no left arm motion First the left hand... When playing a scale requires you to change strings, the left hand must move across the strings by a motion of the left arm, keeping the angle of the hand constant with respect to the fingerboard. This motion was discussed in an earlier lesson. The fingers of the left hand must prepare in the same way they prepared for the case of the single string - except that you can now also prepare ahead of time for ascending notes. Use the same type of exercise patterns you used earlier but continue each

repetition of the pattern by moving from the lowest sting to the next higher string until you reach the highest string, and then move back down to the lower string again. Practice by not lifting any finger until you must do so in order to play the next note. This technique will be applied later on to control the duration of notes which must be held or released to support the harmony, but it is good for the purpose of this lesson to ignore any harmonic disonances that might be created by holding two notes together. You will find that you will be holding a note on one string while you are preparing to play a note on an adjacent string. This same technique will apply when going up or down in pitch. The pitches aren't that important yet, we are focusing on the sound of the notes in transition, so that is the most important consideration for this lesson. Repeat the same exercise you did at the beginning of this lesson where you first lifted all fingers between each note and then repeated the scale while keeping the fingers down where possible. You will hear the difference in sound caused by the action of the left hand finger, but it will most likely be occluded by the overwhelming difference in sound caused by the fact that each string has its own characteristic timbre. Try to mentally filter out those timber changes and listen to the differences caused by the left hand motion. We will discuss how to work with the natural timbre differences between strings in the next part of this lesson. Learn to control the sound as you did before. now the right hand... The right hand must also move from the arm so that the angle of the hand at the wrist doesn't change unless you want it to. You will notice the right hand will require more thought, planning and control in order to move smoothly between strings. Be careful not to tighten up your shoulder as you move your right arm. The motion should come from the elbow. As you practice to control the sound of each note you'll once again find that the variation in sound caused by changing strings will be much more obvious than the changes caused by the actions of the right hand. Don't worry about it. You will be able to hear the changes caused by the right hand by repeating the scales with different fixed right hand positions. Your earlier training from the single string case will be very important because you must trust your ear. You must experiment again to discover what sounds the guitar is capable of producing. It is impossible to change strings without also changing the timbre of the sound because each string has its own characteristic timbre. Learn to appreciate the different timbres of each string and to understand the different sounds you can get by altering your touch. Finally, practice until you are again in control of the sound. General Case - string changes and left arm motion as needed By now, you probably are realizing that this general case can be mastered by simply combining the things you learned in each previous case. What you probably don't yet realize is that one of the most beautiful and interesting aspects of the guitar is a result of conscious use of the variety of sound built into the instrument. When you practiced the previous sections you strove to control the sound by experimenting and then understanding the possible sounds. The final part of this lesson will discuss how to use the variety of sounds which exist in the instrument to help you color the sound so it brings out your own musical ideas. Most notes on the guitar can be played in several different positions on the fingerboard. Did you ever wonder why the suggested fingerings on some Segovia publications seem a little more difficult than they need to be? Segovia understood how to use the guitar to produce exactly the sound he wanted. He would very often choose to remain on a single string even though it would be physically simpler to continue a scale on an adjacent string. He would also change strings even if the next note of the scale could be played without even moving his hand, but by changing the string he was forced to move

far up the neck of the guitar. Segovia used the characteristics of the guitar itself to highlight his musical ideas. Learning the notes to a piece of music was only the first task involved in learning to play a piece of music. I heard a story about a friend of Segovia's who listened to the Maestro play a new piece of music he was working on. He asked Segovia if the piece was to be played at Segovia's next concert. Segovia laughed and said that it would be at least two years before he performed the piece in public. It's sort of like a diamond in the rough. It may be beautiful even in it's raw form, but it is dazzling after it is polished. You now have the skills to play any scale in any position on the guitar. You also know what sounds are available, and how to get the sound you want when you want it. At this point you should begin to study some real pieces of music. It isn't too important what pieces you choose to play, only that you are moved by the piece. I personally hate practicing "standalone" scales! They are boring and I lose interest really quickly. I recommend that you find some interesting pieces of music that contain scales, and practice the scale passages using the principles you learned in this lesson. Try changing the fingerings so that you get exactly the sound you want. Be creative and have fun. I had originally planned for the next lesson to examine some more advanced techniques using simple pieces of music, but there is still one more set of fundamental elements of music that we need to cover. Lesson 9 will expand on this lesson. You will learn about the music alphabet we use, how the notes in that alphabet map to several common scales used in our music, and how to find any note on the guitar.

Book 1 -- Lesson 9 -- Scales Part II. This lesson will explain the fundamental relationships that exist between the letter names of each of the notes in the basic music alphabet. It will then show you how to locate any note on the guitar by using those fundamental relationships and the physical construction of the guitar. The second half of the lesson will show how to derive any major and natural minor scale. It will demonstrate the application of the general rules for each of the two scales, taking into account the intervals that exist naturally in the music alphabet. This lesson will give you the information you need to create any other scales, once you learn the defining rules for the scales you desire to build. The Basic Music Alphabet By convention, we use seven letters - A,B,C,D,E,F,G - to identify all of the discreet pitches in our musical alphabet. Note that continuous pitches, such as those created with a music synthesizer, will not be discussed here; that topic is beyond the scope of these lessons. In order to notate the entire range of pitches we require, each of the pitches represented by the seven letters are qualified by their placement on the musical staff, and, possibly, by the use of some number of "sharp", "flat", or "natural" (see lesson 6) modifiers. There is a fixed relationship between all of the letter pitches in the musical alphabet. Those relationships are independent of the scale, or even of the musical "key - or tonal center" that we chose to use. The relationship between letter names are based on the distance in half steps between each succeeding letter, and are ALWAYS as follows: The Natural Music Alphabet - A,B,C,D,E,F,G The distance in half steps between succeeding letter names in the natural music alphabet: A to B -> two half steps

B to C -> one half step C to D -> two half steps D to E -> two half steps E to F -> one half step F to G -> two half steps G to A -> Two half steps COMMIT THESE RELATIONSHIPS TO MEMORY!!! Notice that the transition between letter names varies between either one or two half steps. The distance between B and C, and the distance between E and F, are the ONLY letter names that have one half step. All other transitions require two half steps. Also note that there are a total of 12 half steps before we start again at the initial letter name. Let's clarify this by writing the twelve notes that take us from A to the next A: A, (A# or Bb), B, C, (C# or Db), D, (D# or Eb), E, F, (F# or Gb), G, (G# or Ab), A If you examine the twelve notes given above, you will see that five of the notes can have two names, depending on whether you label the note relative to the preceeding, or proceeding letter. For completeness, you should know that it is possible to label any of the notes, even pure letter notes, with some number of sharps or flats. For example, the letter note "B", could, under certain circumstances, be labeled "A##", or A "double sharp." This is usually done when it is necessary to use altered forms of the same letter note in a single measure of music. We will ignore this notational technique for the time being because it is encountered infrequently in beginning and intermediate music. By the time you're playing advanced music, this will all be second nature to you. Review lesson 6 if you don't remember some of the following terminology. Written music is placed on either a line or a space on the staff, and the clef defines the actual letter name of each note's position on that staff. For example, the letter name of the note on the top line of the staff, using the "G" clef, is "F". A note in that same position on the staff using the "C" clef is "A". Once a reference letter name is defined by the clef, all subsequent letters and spaces on that staff are automatically defined relative to the reference letter. A letter name changes each time you move up or down from a line to a space or from a space to a line. That means that there are two letter transitions between adjacent lines or between adjacent spaces of the staff. If you refer to the first example in the paragraph, the letter name of the note one line below the "F" note on the top line of the staff would be two letters before "F" in the music alphabet: i.e., "D". The space immediately below the "F" would be one letter name before "F", i.e., "E". The important thing to remember here is that the staff always has a transition of one letter name as you move from a space, to a line, to the next space, to the next line, etc. The letter name of the note on the staff has no bearing on the number of half steps that exist naturally between subsequent letters of the musical alphabet. Locating notes on the guitar. Every musical instrument we use to play classical music has a well defined technique, or method, to produce each note in its own musical range. The guitar is fairly simple. It has "frets" on the neck of the guitar, and the musical distance between each fret is exactly one half step. Let's examine the guitar to discover how to locate any note. The thickest string is usually tuned to an "E". Let's assume for this discussion that we are using standard guitar tuning, and lets identify every note on the low "E" string. Refer to the natural music alphabet given above to see the number of half steps between letter transitions. >-- The notes on both the Low and high "E" Strings -- Open String-> "E", by definition of standard tuning - 1st fret -> 1 half step above "E" = "F" (there is only one half step between "E" and "F")

- 2nd fret -> 1 half step above "F" = (F# or Gb) -> there are 2 halfs steps between letter "F" and "G" - 3rd fret -> 1 half step above "F#"= G - the second half step between letters "F" and "G" - 4th fret -> 1 half step above "G" = (G# or Ab) ... continuing one fret, i.e., one half step at a time: - 5th fret -> "A" - 6th fret -> "(A# or Bb)" - 7th fret -> "B" - 8th fret -> "C" - (only one half step beteen letter names "B" and "C") - 9th fret -> "(C# or Db)" - 10th fret -> "D" - 11th fret -> "(D# or Eb)" - 12th fret -> "E" We see that the name of the note on the 12th fret is identical to the name of the open string! If you measure the length of the string with a tape measure, you will find that the 12th fret is positioned below the point in the string that is exactly one half of the string length. Referring to "The Acoustics of Music", you will see that we have reached the Octave - the note that vibrates at twice the frequency of the original note, and does so because it is produced by a string that is half the length of the original string. Let's continue this process for the rest of the strings on the guitar. -- The notes on the "A" String -- Open String-> "A", by definition of standard tuning - 1st fret -> 1 half step above "A" = (A# or Bb) - 2nd fret -> 1 half step above "A#" = "B" - 3rd fret -> 1 half step above "B"= C - (only one half step beteen letter names "B" and "C") - 4th fret -> 1 half step above "C" = (C# or Db) - 5th fret -> "D" - 6th fret -> "(D# or Eb)" - 7th fret -> "E" - 8th fret -> "F" - (only one half step beteen letter names "E" and "F") - 9th fret -> "(F# or Bb)" - 10th fret -> "G" - 11th fret -> "(G# or Ab)" - 12th fret -> "A" -- The notes on the "D" String -- Open String-> "D", by definition of standard tuning - 1st fret -> "(D# or Eb)" - 2nd fret -> "E" - 3rd fret -> "F" - 4th fret -> "(F# or Gb) - 5th fret -> "G" - 6th fret -> "(G# or Ab)" - 7th fret -> "A" - 8th fret -> "(A# or Bb)" - 9th fret -> "B" - 10th fret -> "C" - 11th fret -> "(C# or Db)" - 12th fret -> "D" -- The notes on the "G" String -- Open String-> "G", by definition of standard tuning

- 1st fret -> "(G# or Ab)" - 2nd fret -> "A" - 3rd fret -> "(A# or Bb)" - 4th fret -> "B" - 5th fret -> "C" - 6th fret -> "(C# or Db)" - 7th fret -> "D" - 8th fret -> "(D# or Eb)" - 9th fret -> "E" - 10th fret -> "F" - 11th fret -> "(F# or Gb)" - 12th fret -> "G" -- The notes on the "B" String -- Open String-> "B", by definition of standard tuning - 1st fret -> "C" - 2nd fret -> "(C# or Db)" - 3rd fret -> "D" - 4th fret -> "(D# or Eb)" - 5th fret -> "E" - 6th fret -> "F" - 7th fret -> "(F# or Gb)" - 8th fret -> "G - 9th fret -> "(G# or Ab)" - 10th fret -> "A - 11th fret -> "(A# or Bb)" - 12th fret -> "B" I have only identified the notes between the open strings and the 12th fret, but the pattern repeats itself from the 12th fret all the way up the neck of the guitar to the last fret. You now know all of the notes on the guitar, and, even more importantly, how to identify any note without rote memorization. Just apply the basic rules of the music alphabet to the physical layout of the notes on the guitar. You should take some time to discover interesting and useful patterns of notes on the neck. For example, see how the 5th fret of each string (except the "G" string) has the identical pitch as that of the next higher string. Discover how many places on the neck you can find each note. You'll see that the notes on them first 4 frets of the low "E" string only exist in one place, but that every other note (until you reach the highest 4 frets of the high "E" string) exists in at least one other location on the neck. It really doesn't take much effort to become comfortably familiar with all of the notes on the guitar neck - don't let it overwhelm you! The relationship between notes on adjacent string or on strings separated by only one other string will give you reference points that will allow you to quickly find any note you need. Learn how to take advantage of the symetry of the layout of all the notes on the guitar. You'll see more of what I mean once we start talking about some of the common scales and about the harmonic relationships between the notes of each scale. Common Scales Used in Classical Music --General rules used in the definition of scales-We will discuss two basic scales in this lesson: the Major scale and the natural minor scale. The intention here is not to provide a definitive text on all of the scales used in our music, that task is already handled very well by numerous texts on the subject. This lesson will make you aware of the "rules" we've invented to define these two common scales. Each rule, when applied in conjunction with the natural music alphabet, will result in the pitch definitions for the scale in question. The process we use here can be

applied to any other scale once the rule for the creation of any particular scale is understood. If you are interested in continuing your study of this topic, the information you learn here will be a good background for your future study. The rules for creation of any scale are very similar to the rules that define the natural music alphabet. Each scale has a predefined order of whole and half steps required to identify each pitch. We start with the pitch upon which we want to build a scale, and then we apply the rules for that scale to define each subsequent note until we reach the octave. Rules to create the tones of a Major Scale: 1st letter interval (steps between 1st and 2nd scale tones) = two half steps (whole step) 2nd letter interval (steps between 2nd and 3rd scale tones) = two half steps 3rd letter interval (steps between 3rd and 4th scale tones) = one half step 4th letter interval (steps between 4th and 5th scale tones) = two half steps 5th letter interval (steps between 5th and 6th scale tones) = two half steps 6th letter interval (steps between 6th and 7th scale tones) = two half steps 7th letter interval (steps between 7th and 8th scale tones) = one half step Rules to create the tones for a Natural Minor Scale: 1st letter interval (steps between 1st and 2nd scale tones) = two half steps 2nd letter interval (steps between 2nd and 3rd scale tones) = one half step 3rd letter interval (steps between 3rd and 4th scale tones) = two half steps 4th letter interval (steps between 4th and 5th scale tones) = two half steps 5th letter interval (steps between 5th and 6th scale tones) = one half step 6th letter interval (steps between 6th and 7th scale tones) = two half steps 7th letter interval (steps between 7th and 8th scale tones) = two half steps COMMIT THESE RULES TO MEMORY, They are basic to the music we will study !!! Application of the Major Scale rules to the creation of major scales: -- Creation of the A major scale -1) write out all the letters of the music alphabet starting with the desired starting pitch, including the octave to duplicate the starting pitch because it will allow us to verify that application of the last rule (the steps between the 7th and 8th scale tones) results in the correct octave note: - A,B,C,D,E,F,G,A 2) apply the major scale rules to each succeeding note and find the appropriate modifier to the letter pitch based on the major scale rule and the natural music alphabet: A to B - the major scale rule requires two half steps - checking with music alphabet shows it has two half steps - the "B" is therefore not modified by any sharp or flat, and it becomes the 2nd tone of the A major scale. B to C - the major scale rule requires two half steps - checking with music alphabet shows there is only one half step existing naturally between B and C, so the "C" must be modified by raising it one half step in order for the proper major scale pitch to be created. "C#" is therefor the third pitch in the A major scale. C# to D - the major scale rule requires one half step between the 3rd and 4th scale tones. There is only one half step between a "C#" and a "D", so the rule is satisfied without having to modify the "D". D is therefore the 4th note of the A major scale. D to E - the major scale rule requires two half steps between the 4th and 5th scale tones. Checking with the natural music alphabet shows that there are two half steps existing naturally between "D" and "E". therefore, the "E" does not need to be modified, and "E" is the 5th note in the A major scale. E to F - the major scale rule requires two half steps between the 5th and the 6th scale tones. The natural music alphabet shows there is only one half step between "E" and

"F", so we need to raise the "F" to an "F#" in order to satisfy the major scale rule. "F#" is therefore the 6th tone of the A major scale. F# to G - the major scale rule requires two half steps between the 6th and 7th scale tones. There is only one half step between "F#" and "G", so we need to raise the "G" to a "G#" in order to satisfy the major scale rule. "G#" is therefore the 7th scale tone of the A major scale. G# to A - the major scale rule requires one half step between the 7th scale tone and the 8th tone ( octave). There is one half step between a "G#" and an "A", so the check we put in to make sure we reach the octave after following all the scale rules shows that we do, indeed, reach the correct octave "A". The "A" major scale is shown to have three sharps, and the notes are as follows: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A -- Creation of the A natural minor scale -As an exercise, verify that the A natural minor scale has no sharp or flat modifiers by going through the procedure I just went through for the A major scale, but apply the rules for the natural minor scale instead. The A natural minor scale is: A,B,C,D,E,F,G,A Note that the rules for the natural minor scale require one half step between the 2nd and 3rd notes, and between the 5th and 6th notes of the scale. If you look at the letter notes written above for the A natural minor scale, you will see that the required one half step interval between the 2nd and 3rd notes is satisfied by the "B" and the "C", and that the required one half step interval between the 5th and the 6th notes of the scale is satisfied by the natural half step that exists between the letters "E" and "F". This concludes lesson 9, the last lesson of Book I. You now have enough background knowledge to begin working on pieces of music. Book II of this series will present a detailed study of actual pieces of music from the Classical guitar reportoire.