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.

Nasser Masoudi: The Voice of Gilan and a Legacy of Iranian Music

In Iranian music, certain singers have become emblematic of their homelands through their distinctive voices. Historical figures such as Eghbal Sultan, who epitomized the grandeur of Azerbaijani music, and Taj Isfahani, who conveyed the authentic essence of Isfahan, serve as notable examples from the Qajar era. Nasser Masoudi occupies a similar position; his voice emerged as a symbol of Gilan while also achieving national acclaim. Before him, Master Ahmad Ashurpur represented Gilan’s musical landscape, but his extended residence outside Iran limited his continuous engagement in the music scene. In contrast, Masoudi’s consistent presence allowed him to introduce the voice of Gilan to audiences across Iran.

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.

From Past Days…

Ali Rahbari & Recording Iranian Symphonic Compositions

In the few days prior to the New Iranian year (March 2015), the news of the revival of Tehran Symphony Orchestra under Ali (Alexander) Rahbari’s conductorship was announced. Ali Rahbari, who served as assistant to Herbert von Karajan in Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at a very young age, was also invited to conduct Tehran Symphony Orchestra in 2005; however, the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government put an end to his collaboration with this Orchestra. Recently, it was announced that Rahbari is invited to conduct an orchestra in the U.S.

Harmony in the Iranian Music (I)

Translated by Mahboube Khalvati The article you are about to read was written by Rouhollah Khaleqi (1906-1965), composer, and conductor of Golha Orchestra (established in 1956). Khaleqi was one of the most prominent promoters of polyphony for the Iranian music and is one of the best representatives of the school of Ali Naghi Vaziri. In…
Read More »

Principles of Violin Playing (VII)

4.3.1.3 Regarding the great linear distance and the unusual distance between the first and forth fingers, the first finger while playing the doubles of ninth and tenth interval, can be twisted in the knuckle area and the point mentioned in 3.1.2.5 paragraph in relation to the way first finger is placed indicating that the first joint of this finger in back of hand must be in line with the direction of forearm and left hand is not true here.

Principles of Violin Playing (X)

Creating sound continuity between two notes in the source and destination positions when left hand position changes and “two different finger numbers” are involved is called portamento. Portamento can be performed on single string or two neighboring strings and with hand moving on fingerboard either upward or downward.

Developments in Iranian Music Since Qajar Era (I)

At the end of the Qajar era and as Iran entered the power transition period, known as the constitutional era, the Iranian music went through a lot of changes. These changes gained momentum as the students and followers of Ali Naqi Vaziri’s entered the musical scene. These changes greatly influenced designs of instruments, playing methods, singing, composing, etc.

Jamshid Andalibi passed away!

Jamshid Andalibi, one of the most famous ney players in Iran, passed away on the fifteenth of Esfand, 1402, at the age of 66 due to a heart attack at his private residence. Andalibi was a member of a family that had a significant presence in the field of Iranian music in the sixties and…
Read More »

Iranian Fallacies – School of Vaziri

Iranian Fallacies – School of Vaziri

The term “School of Vaziri” is often used in writings on Iranian music, but the exact meaning of the term is not clear; some of the authors have used the term to only refer to the group of Vaziri’s students, including a large group of his conservatory students and his Tar students such as Abolhassan Saba, Rouhollah Khaleghi, Ahmad Foroutan Rad, Hossein Sanjari, Heshmat Sanjari and others. But can we consider all Vaziri’s students as followers of his school of thought? This is definitely a mistake, because we know that some of Vaziri’s students have chosen a completely different path than that of Vaziri.

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.

Iranian Fallacies – Global Performance

One of the most important criteria for measuring the quality of a piece of classical music is number of times the piece has been performance by different ensembles and orchestras in different eras. This belief has become so pervasive in some societies, such as Iranian society, that it is considered the only criterion for measuring the quality of a piece of classical music.

Interview with the Makers of the New Qeychak (III)

In this project, my specialized responsibility  was the basic drawings of the desired instrument with the help of engineering and mechanical software.  I have also the carried out phases related to engineering designs, related variables, and volume and weight calculations under Mr. Ziaei’s direct supervision from the very beginning. Regarding the challenges of this work, suffice it to say that the set of designs for the instrument lasted more than 9 months in the final stage of the project only.