Group 1
We’re thrilled to introduce our upcoming Two-Week Intensive (TWI): "Avoiding Exponential Left-Hand Tension" with guitarist Arturo Castro Nogueras! This interactive, online course is designed to help you identify and manage left-hand tension, equipping you with techniques that will elevate your playing to the next level. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned player, this TWI is packed with valuable insights and exercises tailored for all skill levels.
Sign-Up: October 1st - October 6th
Course Dates: October 7th - October 18th
Where: Our community forum
What You'll Learn Over These Two Weeks:
- How to Spot Tension Build-Up: Learn how to recognize early signs of left-hand tension and how to relax your hand before it impacts your playing. Arturo will provide practical advice on maintaining a relaxed approach to your technique.
- Exercises for Continuous and Active Relaxation: We’ll explore specific exercises that promote ongoing relaxation, helping you stay mindful of your hand positioning and tension levels during your practice sessions.
- Mastering "Position Zero": Discover the concept of "position zero" and how to use this foundational technique to keep your left hand relaxed, improving your overall control and sound quality.
How to Participate:
- Join the course discussions on our community forum.
- Watch Arturo’s video assignments, and share your progress.
- Receive feedback directly from Arturo Castro Nogueras throughout the two-week journey!
Ready to relieve tension and unlock smoother playing? Mark your calendars and get ready to dive into this intensive learning experience. See you on the forum! 
Assignments
Hello everyone!
It's great to be back with a new TWI. This time we are going to focus on left-hand relaxation!
Exercises:
1. Observe your relaxed hand. Play simple notes or chords and in between always consciously relax your hand. This first part of observing your relaxation will be very important for our next exercises.
2. Record a couple of bars of a simple piece you are practicing right now, returning to "position zero" in between of every position change.
Looking forward to your questions and comments!
Exercises for the second video:
1. Identify the structural sequence to design a practice pattern
2. Practice the three steps to change between positions. (relax - prepare - play)
The music examples are in the comments. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Exercises for the third video:
1. Practice the first line of Estudios Sencillos No. 2 and apply the 3-step system for relaxing (relax - prepare - play)
2. Count five seconds between each step so you take time to feel your hands and observe the process.
I'll post the excerpt of the etude on the comments.
(Sorry if the video is a bit longer than usual, I got exited with the subject. Pinky promise that the next one will be shorter :)
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Hola de nuevo, Arturo! Hi everybody!
This is great! If i may, i'd like to add some interesting stuff.
On the subject of LH relaxation i have found that some basics make a lot of difference, plus many things that should always be said are seldomly spoken of.
The position of the guitar and fretboard should NOT be too far to the left. I understand that it may give confort to the right hand but a fretboard too much to the left (if you are right handed, i mean) causes the elbow to open too much from the body for the first positions and we all know that work done further from you is far more difficult than work done close to the center. Sustaining the elbow is a frequent cause of tension in the shoulder and arm.
The MRP (Minimum Required Pressure) for each note may vary. The sky is the insufficient pressure, the oceans deepness are the over excesive pressures. The MRP is the thin horizon line. And the best place to do the finger pressure is exactly almost over the fret.
Many times, because we fear it, we prefer to pay a note three times as much pressure just to be certain that it won't sound badly or stop in mid-duration. That's very harmful! Imagine going to the supermarket and buying things overprice just to be certain that it's gonna be you the one who gets them! We play hundreds and thousands of notes a piece. If we are adding to their price it's always gonna be costly.
Relaxing the hand as Arturo shows many times contributes to prepare (at least half way) the next position without doing nothing!
Just a little of the natural weight of the arm is more than enuogh to press any note, couple, trios, quartet or barre of notes (if the fretboard is a little tilted to the roof to present a vectored plane parallel to the floor where the weight might rest).
Many times we alter the way the hand goes up because the fingers are eager to get to the fretboard, we bend the wrist and there goes effortless playing...
Many things around this very interesting subject that must be and surely will be the playground of every guitarist professional or amateur.
Looking forward to reading more of you all, seing all the videos and learning from Arturo!!
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Ariel Elijovich thank you! That is very interesting!
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Hello, Arturo and friends, I'm Nijwm from India. I've been playing the guitar for the past two years. My biggest issues are- pressing too hard without realizing it during the flow of the music, putting too much strain on the thumb-wrist joint while holding barres for extended periods in demanding during repetitive practice. One question I've been thinking of is this- Do you have to ingrain relaxation to the point that you maintain that relaxation unconsciously or do you have to be conscious of it all the time during playing? Relatedly, do you get better at relaxation as your dexterity improves or do you have to tackle it right from the start?
Thank you for this timely and much needed TWI.
NB- I've attached a video link of a piece I submitted for a TB challenge. Please skip to the last sections of the B section if you'd like. I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback, especially on extended barres and how to overcome them.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary thank you very much for sharing. In my second video I'll explain something about the hand positions and structural patterns that you can apply for this. Let. me know afterwards if you have questions about it.
About your other question: remember the example I said about holding a glass of water and then eventually leaving it on the table. You use the necessary tension and as soon as you don't need it, you eliminate that tension.
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Arturo Castro Nogueras Thank you for the reply. Yeah, looking forward to your advice.
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Hi again, Arturo & everybody! Here's a video to share examples of what i wrote about yesterday and an excercise that i love to share with my students for them to work on LH tension from the first class we we try a LH note. Arturo Castro Nogueras
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Ariel Elijovich thank you for your insightful explanation on the tension needed to produce sound on the LH and about the position.
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Arturo Castro Nogueras thank you for allowing me this rampage! :-D
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Ariel Elijovich Thank you I really enjoyed that video and it was very helpful.
Regards
Michelle
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Michelle Roper Hi, Michelle! I'm glad it is of use and help! As may have happened to many of us, I had to discover all these things almost by myself and very late in my career, so if I can help anybody by mentioning them, the purpose is fulfilled
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Here are the two musical excerpts which I mention in the video. You don't need to play them, just follow the example of how I identify the structure or chords and then practice the three steps.
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Arturo Castro Nogueras me mata que no esté el Mi mayor al final del ejemplo 2 jajaja
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Ariel Elijovich XD
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Is this three step process used intuitively (after it is internalized) when playing pieces?
Please explain how the legato line can be maintained if pressure is released in the "relax" step.
Also, what happens when doing fast passages when there is no time to relax? How is tension released?
Thanks!
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Barney Yes! Think of a juggler or an athlete, there is no way of doing anything that fast and graceful when you are full of tension. I'll reply your questions individually:
1. Yes, that is the point of doing this slow first.
2. There is no real legato, only the illusion of legato. The sound will inevitably be stopped by the change of the LH, a RH finger touching the string before playing again, etc. There are many ways why this "real" legato doesn't exists. Relaxing works like oil in a machine, it makes this changes, position shifts, etc., in a smooth manner so the illusion can be created. This is a good subject to address in the next video.
3. There is always time. Eventually this relaxation can happen in a fraction of a second. Nevertheless, the idea of practicing it slow is to be conscious about it and make it part of your playing, regardless of what you are playing.
Let me know if you have more questions or comments :)
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Arturo Castro Nogueras I understand, thanks Arturo!
I look forward to your next video!
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Arturo Castro Nogueras
Dear Arturo
Your comment in my last video was that I could relax a bit faster. So, this time I played a few bars of the same Carcassi study a bit faster, while I still tried to apply the relax - prepare - play instruction.
20241010 Gunter Chord study relax - prepare - play.mp4
To me, this really feels comfortable. But I have the same question as Barney. How do I get this three-step process into a legato playing? In the next video I played the same chord progression with an continuous arpeggio. It still feels comfortable, there was no tension building up in my hands. But this is just a short progression...
20241010 Gunter Chord study continuous playing.mp4
Thank you for your comments!
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Gunter Hi, Gunter! If i may suggest that you try taking a little more time (like 5 or 10 seconds) of searching for relaxation in between positions, you maybe can find something new.
Think of this: when you are done for the day and finallly go to bed and lie down, it still takes you quite a while, more than a few minutes, to feel that the body "surrenders" to the bed and shoulders and hips and legs and neck really weight on the surface of it. So, REAL relaxation (zero position as explained by Arturo) is something that takes some time, to let go of everything... is something very complex.
Also, if I may, check the video i sent yesterday. I think you'll find it interesting.
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Gunter thank you for sharing. In this specific case it looks relaxed and you can play it smoothly. So I don't see an issue there. As Ariel mentioned this exercises have to do with observation of your hands and body in general. The more observant you are with everything you are playing the better it will be. You can also see my reply to Barney's question above.
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Ariel Elijovich yes!
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Arturo Castro Nogueras Gunter if I may add, the extension of the 1st finger moving into the A minor position with 2 3 & 4th finger seems unnecessary.
It feels as if the 1st finger "thinks" that somehow extending itself helps the positioning of the next chord... may be this is something you can look at while relaxing in between.
And something i forgot in my previous: try taking a solid breath in between positions while relaxing... may also help.
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Ariel Elijovich
Dear Ariel
Thank you for your comments that I appreciate. When I watched my recording I realized that my index finger does an unnecessary movement. So, I will work on such movements as well. Recording oneself has many benefits.
Kind regards,
Gunter
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Gunter Dear Gunter,
Glad to be of use. Recording oneself is always great and many things may come up in a good video recording but also takes you twice the time to work with it (you have to play and then you have to watch). I think that one of the perks of mastering what Arturo is trying to teach us here is that you come to realize this sort of things on realtime. In any case, better sooner than later, and later than never, and any tool that makes you have a better insight is really worth it. So, kuddos to you and nice wok forward!!
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Arturo, here is the link for a piece that I am working on.
Best, Pete from Albany NY
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Peter for some reason I cannot see your video. Is it maybe because you have it as private?
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Arturo Castro Nogueras , I thought I clicked public. I'll check.
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