Revitalizing Your Classical Guitar Journey: Mastering the Fundamentals with Dr. Daniel de Arakal!
Join Dr. Daniel de Arakal, renowned Director of Guitar Studies at Chapman University and host of the tonebase Beginning Guitar Course, for an enlightening live stream that dives back into the core principles of classical guitar. Whether you're just starting out or have been playing for years, Daniel will delve into timeless concepts that fortify your musical journey and deepen your appreciation of the classical guitar and its rich repertoire. 
In the heat of mastering a challenging piece or exploring a novel technique, these vital principles can sometimes be left in the shadows. Topics span from optimizing your sitting position, alleviating tension, refining tone production, to strategies for engaging with new repertoire, and beyond. 
Perfect for players at every stage, this session promises to reinvigorate your approach to the classical guitar.
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Hi Daniel, thank you so much for the livestream and for taking time out to take additional questions. I'm trying to improve my tremolo (as a beginner). My I finger doesn't align with M and A fingers. What I mean is while my M and A fingers are curved, my I finger remains straighter, strays a bit further away from A and M and hits the string at a somewhat acute angle. I'm noticing a gap between the movement from M to I. I'M USING THE TRADITIONAL PAMI FOR TREMOLO.
Strangely, if I do a two finger tremolo (PIMI), or even PAMA it's much more uniform. What do you think could be the problem? I'd really love any advice/suggestions from everyone.
Thanks
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Tremolo can be a tricky technique, and, as I mentioned in the stream, it's something that I can continue to strengthen myself. The most important thing to remember is that everyone's hands are different, and you may need to try a few different approaches and combinations in order to find something that clicks for you.
I personally like working on tremolo using a combination of speed bursts and dotted rhythm practice. For speed bursts, I'll isolate one phrase, measure, or specific harmony and slowly cycle through my tremolo pattern (PAMI) with a consistent metronome in the background. I'll set my metronome to a speed where I can play two notes of the tremolo pattern within one click, meaning I'll play P and A within the first click and M and I within the second. Once I'm comfortable at that pace, I'll try fitting all four fingers of the pattern within one click for one cycle of the pattern only before returning to the original pace. I pulled this approach from Scott Tennant's "Speed Burst" exercises in his Pumping Nylon text.
For dotted rhythm practice, I'll intentionally make the rhythm obtuse (a dotted eighth to a sixteenth, or a sixteenth to a dotted eighth) and work on the cleanliness of the transitions within the sixteenth note timeframe.
Finally, I think that being able to do a two finger tremolo can be an asset! I had a teacher once who consistently played their tremolo PIMA. I love the idea of developing comfort and consistency with different patterns, and as you continue to work on PAMI as a pattern, I would hope that you don't lose the skills you have with the other finger combinations.
I hope that helps! Thank you again for engaging with this livestream!
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Daniel Thanks a lot. Hoping to see you soon in another livestream or masterclass.
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Daniel
I found the livestream very helpful.
I experimented with changing my sitting position to lean forward a bit it has reduced discomfort I have been feeling in my hips recently.
And since then I have taken out my very old, yellowing copy of Pumping Nylon to become reacquainted with the material.
I have not thought about markings being for mood rather than tempo. The document you shared is for the one piece is very interesting. Do you have any other references that will help us add this to our own learning process?
Thank you.
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Martha Kreipke Firstly, I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed the livestream! I certainly hope that I can do more things like this with tonebase in the future.
It has taken me a fair amount of time (and the guidance of a few teachers) to figure out my sitting position. I used to carry a lot of tension in my neck from my head being craned forward, my lower back from slouching, and my left shoulder from keeping my elbow unnecessarily elevated. Spending a bit of time simply sitting with the guitar, almost like an act of meditation, really helps me reset my posture when things feel a bit off.
I am happy to hear that you found my notes document on Homenaje a Toulouse-Lautrec to be interesting. I am such a big fan of doing the homework of understanding a piece before getting into the nuts and bolts. When I find a piece of music that I want to get serious with, I sit down with a physical copy of the score, my Hal-Leonard pocket music dictionary, and ready access to Google translate. I know that there are varying opinions on this subject, but I am of the mind that the performing artist must balance their artistry and rhetorical skills with the written directions of the composer. If the composer puts something to the page, it is our duty to honor it. Therefore, I sit with the score, translate every word that I don't understand, reference my pocket dictionary or the composers' notes in the score for descriptions of any extra-notational figures (Takemitsu is a composer who uses quite a few of these special figures), and begin studying the score like I would read a book.
Once I've sorted out the macro of what the composer is asking for, I'll start getting into the micro work: writing in my fingerings, position shifts, highlighting moments of harmonic or melodic interest. Through this, interpretive ideas tend to present themselves.
I certainly hope that this response is helpful, and thank you so much for engaging in this livestream!
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Daniel Thank you for your detailed response.
The only piece that I have consciously studied the composer's markings is "Kinkachoo, I Love You" by Phillip Houghton because it was so different for me.
I think I go through an analysis on most of what I learn without realizing it because my coach frequently comments that I understand the pieces I am working on. I make lots of notes on the score. It would probably be helpful to make more notes on a study document such as the one you shared.
I hope that you will be able to return for another tonebase livestream.
Martha Kreipke
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