Help With Right Hand Technique
I'm new to classical guitar and trying to follow along with the beginner's course. I notice that the instructor is using the rest stroke, which I am terrible at (at this point, I don't think I totally understand its right physicality and the proper way to execute such a technique). Is it acceptable to use the free stroke, or is it mandatory to use the rest stroke in classroom #7?
Also, is there a specific section for such questions in the forum?
Thanks
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Abdullah Alshammari Hi Abdullah. I am also a beginner to classical guitar so my response is based on a limited amount of knowledge. I am also working my way through Beginning Guitar Course: Part 1. I have currently working on the exercises in module 24, so I have gone through module 7. I am assuming that you are referring to module 7 when you refer to classroom #7. We both seem to be in similar situation.
Assuming my assumption above is correct, I do note that the instructor specifically has us doing both the rest stroke and free stroke on these exercises. To date, I have seen him be consistent about this throughout the course until we get to playing multiple notes.
Along with the Beginning Guitar Course: Part 1, I am also studying from a series of books from our national music conservatory to work on technique. I note that these books ask the student to use both the rest and free strokes when doing certain exercises.
My conclusion is that if two different sources are teaching beginners to use the rest stroke and the free stroke, then it must be a useful skill for a beginner to develop. The best reason I can figure out for the rest stroke is that it is a technique we will want to sometime use to mute strings so that the we obtain a nice clear sound from our guitar.
At the end of the day, this is a self-study program, so we can do whatever we want or don't want to do. I have chosen to learn both. It is up to you to decide what you want to do.
Anyways, I hope that helps.
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Jim King Abdullah Alshammari Jim, you are correct, both rest stroke and free stroke (also known by their Spanish terms as 'apoyando' and 'tirando') are essential elements of classical guitar technique. And, just as you say, rest stroke gives individual notes a certain emphasis and quality of tone that is lacking in free stroke. (The fact that the adjacent (lower) string is muted by the plucking finger does contribute to the effect, but this is probably a less important factor than the strength of the stroke.) My impression is that the relative importance of rest stroke has declined in recent decades, as luthiers have learned to construct guitars that produce exceptional tone and volume even with free stroke. (However, most of us don't own such guitars!) I suspect that many of today's virtuosos use rest stoke rather sparingly. One reason to learn rest stroke, however, is that many people (myself, certainly) find it difficult to play fast scale passages with free stroke alone. (And flamenco players, as far as I know, always use rest stroke for those blazingly fast 'picado' passages they are famous for.) Having said that, it's worth noting that free stroke is a more generally applicable technique in guitar music. Arpeggios, for example, are almost always played with free stroke, although rest stroke is sometimes used to emphasize either the highest or the lowest note in a figure. It's probably fair to say that most pieces can be performed with free stroke only, while almost none can be performed with rest stroke only. So to answer Abdullah's question, I would say the use of rest stroke is certainly not obligatory, but the technique is probably worth learning nonetheless. Don't let it hold you up, though, as it will probably develop naturally over time, as you gain greater control over the movement of the plucking hand fingers.
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David Krupka Abdullah Alshammari David, thank you for your detailed response and expanding my limited understanding of classical guitar technique. I always appreciate learning more about the why we do or don't do certain things as it improves my understanding of the music we are trying to create.
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David Krupka Jim King Thank you so much, Jim and David, for taking the time to give such detailed and helpful answers. I am aware of the importance of the rest stroke (I am an amateur bassist, and for some reason, my bass technique doesn't transfer very well to classical guitar). I guess I didn't like the idea of spending more time than I thought it is required for the first lessons and wanted to jump ahead, but also I didn't want to make a choice I would deeply regret later. I wish that the classrooms had more to say about the techniques and how to execute them on every piece given.
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