New Technique for Playing Classical Guitar (I)

Abstract
Joint application of the two techniques of “Lip” and “Nose” could be effectively applied for hearing and playing far-away intervals, by the Classical Guitar. Before this, a Classical Guitar player had to waive playing intervals not possible with the left hand, and had to replace or eliminate some notes, making it possible to play such intervals; specifically the capability of the left hand of the musician, was also a factor in such a selection. These methods are hereby illustrated by photographs and a video-file, in order to provide optimum comprehension of applying these methods, invented by the author; specifically the “Lip” technique, which is considered to be a more significant technique, emphasized by the author.

Introduction
In this paper, based on published arrangements of Classical Guitar masterpieces, invention of new techniques by the author, for escalating musical capabilities of the Classical Guitar in playing classic pieces is introduced for the first time. There have always been restrictions for arranging pieces of other instruments for the Classical Guitar, which have notes with far-away intervals. This paper is a new impression of playing Classical Guitar, which may improve competence of this instrument for those interested in listening classic music.

Necessity of Applying a New Technique for Playing the Classical Guitar
Any professional player of Classical Guitar or those with adequate understanding of playing this instrument know, for playing different chords and melodies, there should be proper placement of fingers and selecting the correct position by the left hand. However, all considerations for the left hand, finally requires suitable sounding by fingers of the right hand.
A practical example may assist comprehension, before going into the main issue; while you have gotten a chord on the tenth position (X) and simultaneously take a bass note on the 4th position of the 6th string; do you have any solution how to play this? Consider this situation for even further-apart intervals and while preserving chord of the 10th position try to play F# (F-sharp) note on the 2th position of the 6th string; what could we do then?
Experience answers these questions: “it is possible to play notes which such wide-apart intervals without re-tuning the instrument”. Accepting this issue, the necessity for new techniques for playing the Classical Guitar is the objective of this manuscript.
Development of these techniques by the author, began by working on arrangements and masterpieces of Ronald Dyens, which should be considered a contemporary pioneer in Classical Guitar, recognizing much potential of the Classical Guitar by rich and coherent harmonies in his plays; you can recognize in many cases the complicity of harmonies in pieces for the closed mode for positions, and this actually his talent. But if the interval between voice types would be too much wide-apart (referring to the aforementioned question), and tries to prevent this and fulfill the audience within that closed position, by applying a rich harmony. The second artist, generating the idea of these new techniques, is the great artist of Classical Guitar Kazuhito Yamashita.
This manuscript is not trying to review characteristics and thoughts of artists, but it should be mentioned how they led the author to develop these techniques; about two years ago while the author was reviewing arrangements of Yamashita for “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, he realized its unusual character in compare to all other arrangements for Classical Guitar. Positions and finger-placements were very difficult, or as musicians say “uneasy to fingering”, applying vocal colors and various techniques in each page of this arrangement, and the further you go over this arrangement, you will face a combination of all elements a Classical Guitar player avoids. These conditions raised the question in the mind of the author: is this arrangement with all these details and complications playable for all musicians?
With no doubt the idea of Yamashita was not providing an arrangement to be playable for all musicians; but who could play such an arrangement?!! It seems this did not care for Yamashita, because the major concept among all musicians “that the standard interval between the fingers of the left hand” are neglected in this arrangement. However, even if you have sympathy with Yamashita, even with the most flexible and powerful hand, it would not be possible to get and interval more than 6 or 7 fret on the head of the guitar.

The Lip Technique

By this technique of playing a Classical Guitar your could get a half position at the 10th position on the 6th string of the guitar near the headstock, and get the note with your upper lip (you should get the note completely hard and strike in order to prevent a buzz-sound). This note should be played with the outer part of your upper lip in a while your upper lip is supported by pressing your upper teeth behind your upper lip.
The Lip Technique
This is the first approach for listening improper wide-apart intervals, which was not possible to play with a guitar, without this technique. However, for playing any technique, intended daily exercise is necessary, which the author provides his personal experience as follows, in order to be as a guideline and basis for development of this technique:
1- Before getting the notes with the upper lip for applying this technique, it is necessary to inspect the upper part of the fret on the fingerboard of the guitar not to have any sharpness or rough edges, by gently rubbing the hand on these surfaces, in order to ensure its safety for the lips. Unfortunately some guitars do have such problems.
2- Continuous application of this technique needs care to prevent contact of the inner side of the lips with the string; a soggy string with saliva gives an unpleasant feeling to the musician, also from the health and neatness point of view is not acceptable (as illustrated in the picture, the upper lip is curved into the mouth to prevent contact of the inner side of the upper lip with the string).
3- Sudden moves of the neck towards the fingerboard of the guitar, is a significant point to care about. While the author was busy with working on “Prelude in C# minor [Op.3 No.2]” by Sergei Rachmaninoff, it was needed to have sudden moves of the neck on the positions on the guitar. If such movements would needed to be used continuously, physical exercise and warm-up for the neck and upper parts of the body is suggested in order to prevent spasm of muscles, because this could be the worst condition to occur for the neck of a musician.
4- In the case of having dry skin of lips or shucks on the surface of the lips, it is suggested no to apply this technique.
5- Finally, exercises such as playing scales (chromatic scale and diatonic scale), playing intervals and adding different rhythm patterns is suggested, in order to preserve readiness of your upper lip to play notes with different shapes and values. However, it is recommended to exercise on the 6th string.

Post a Comment

Required fields are marked *
*
*
Your email is never shared.

Farhad Poupel: The Voice of the Shahnameh in the Orchestras Around the World

In an era when almost no trace of contemporary Iranian music can be heard in international concert halls, except (so-called!) avant-garde works that owe their existence solely to the fashionable slogans of the “pseudo-intellectual” crowd who have seized the already meager resources for performing classical music from the true artists of the field, the numerous performances of Farhad Poupel’s works shine as a ray of hope for lovers of sincere musical art. Without resorting to trendy slogans, he has kept the flame of Iranian classical music alive purely through the power of his artistry.

Five Major Myths About Mozart’s Life

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the renowned Austrian composer, is undoubtedly one of the greatest geniuses in the history of classical music. However, his life is surrounded by numerous myths and legends, some of which are not based on facts. This article explores five of the most common misconceptions about Mozart’s life.

From Past Days…

A combination of technique and musicality in the fingers of a pianist

In the world of classical music, the position of soloist has always been exceptional. Apart from the technical ability that many orchestral musicians also have, the soloist must also have a special power to be able to present a different and unique perspective of a piece. The soloist must maintain its special power of expression not only in solo roles but also when interacting with the orchestra.

Interview with Farhad Poupel (I)

Born in Isfahan, Iran, and based in the UK, Farhad Poupel’s music has been performed and will be performed in numerous prestigious concert halls and festivals throughout the world including Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Japan; La Roque-d’Anthéron Piano Festival, La Roque-d’Anthéron, France; Biarritz Festival, Biarritz, France; Stoller Hall, Manchester, UK; Janacek academy of music and performing art, Brno, Czech Republic; Karlskrona International Piano Festival, Karlskrona, Sweden; by distinguished artists such as Kotaro Fukuma, Peter Jablonski, Daniel Grimwood, Margaret Fingerhut, Catherine Carby, Kristýna Znamenáčková,Jeffrey Biegel, Jean-Francois Bouvery and orchestras such as Windsor Symphony Orchestra or broadcasted on the NPR Radio 4, Netherland. The following is an interview with him on the ocaasion of the premier of the Legend of Bijan and Manijeh.

Reza Vohdani; Unveiling unpublished works, preservation of Iranian classical music

Reza Vohdani is a renowned name among tar (traditional Iranian instrument) players, especially within the Iranian music community that values the meticulous practice and teaching of traditional music. While Vohdani honed his skills in music theory and tar playing under the guidance of masters like Ali-Naghi Vaziri, Ali-Akbar Shahnazi, Hossein Dehlavi, and Ahmad Forutan-Rad, it is his unwavering dedication to studying, documenting, and teaching the Iranian classical music repertoire that has solidified his prominence in the field. Recently, Vohdani’s family decided to make his preserved works accessible to the wider art and music community. In this regard, The Persian-language newspaper ‘Iran’ spoke with Sadjad Pourghanad, a musician, university instructor, and music researcher, who shared his opinion into the project, as detailed in the interview below.

“I Will Never Perform Just for Women!”: Golnoush Khaleghi Passes Away in Exile

Golnoush Khaleghi, first Persian woman conductor and daughter of legendary composer Rouhollah Khaleghi, passed away on February 14. She was 80. Golnoush Khaleghi was the conductor of the NIRT (National Iranian Radio & Television) Choir in the 1970s. Shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution Ms. Khaleghi moved to the United States and founded the Rouhollah…
Read More »

Transition to Enlightenment: Six Lectures on Mozart’s String Quartets (1)

Transition to Enlightenment: Six Lectures on Mozart’s String Quartets* Basic Ideas and General Structure The Enlightenment, an epoch of intellectual fervor marked by reason, individualism, and cultural evolution, indelibly left its imprint on the arts. Mozart, a luminary of this transformative era, intricately wove these ideals into his compositions, particularly his string quartets. This article…
Read More »

The 4th Iranian Festival of Music Websites and Weblogs

The 4th Iranian Festival of Music Websites and Weblogs was held in Niavaran Cultural Center, in Tehran, Iran on Feb. 28th, 2015. The initiator of the festival was Sajjad Pourghanad, Iranian music writer, researcher, founder of the festival and Persian setar and tar player.

Interview with the Makers of the New Qeychak (I)

On occasion of the 8th anniversary of launching HarmonyTalk Online Journal on 6 April 2012, Reza Ziaei, master luthier and researcher on classical music instruments (violin family), announced that the first phase of the project to improve Qeychak has borne fruit. The new instrument would feature a bowl of ribs and the material used for the surface would be wooden. Carrying out the second phase of the project took more than 7 years engaging the new members of Reza Ziaei’s Workshop. In this phase, new researches were conducted from different aspects on the Qeychak and the modern versions of the instrument which were introduced previously by other instrument makers. The available versions of the instrument were studied in terms of their weak and strong technical features.

Polyphony in Iranian Music (III)

In heterophonic variant, two performers perform a single melody simultaneously and change it. Performing and changing a single melody simultaneously by two performers leads to the coincidence of different voices.

Banan: the Artist of the Age

Gholam Hossein Banan was born in 1911 in Tehran. He was born in an affluent art-loving family who were Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (1848-1896)’s relative. The Qajar King was his mother’s uncle on her father’s side. He learnt his first lessons in music while his father sang Iranian avaz (improvised rhythmic-free singing), he then attended classes by the renowned Iranian composer, Morteza Neydavoud (1900-1990) along with his sisters; the composer is, therefore, considered as his first teacher. He then learnt Iranian avaz under the supervision of Mirza Taher Zia Resaee (Zia-o Zakerin) and Naser Seif in an oral manner.

The Structure of Kurdistan Daf (V)

ehrouz Mohammadi, “Daf and its feasts in Ghaderieh’s Tekyeh” mentions that the outer thickness of arch where studs are located, [is] between one to one and a half centimeters (Mohammadi, 2001: 12). The thickness of arch should be gradually reduced from the installation place of rings to skin (Avazeh of Daf) to create a high volume, clear sound from Daf; also, the connection of arch to skin should not be less than one millimeter, because in this case the skin will be torn due to the sharpness of the wood (Mogharab Samadi, 2009: 79-78). The thickness of wood on the skin side is about two to three millimeters (Tohidi, 2002: 79).