At first glance, one may see the Flamenco position as “ergonomically comparable” to the traditional position on the classical guitar. Students ask, and with good reason, if the traditional classical guitar position is used more from tradition than by the actual mechanics of playing the guitar. Is it only tradition that decrees that classical guitarists not use the Flamenco position while playing?

This query raises a great point. The key to the answer, however, is the terms “ergonomically comparable.” The difference between classical and flamenco positions, as we will soon see, is indeed a key ingredient in both sound production and in the guitarist’s posture.

From an ergonomic perspective, there are a couple of disadvantages of using a Flamenco position compared to the traditional classical guitarist’s position while playing the classical guitar.

First of all, the traditional Flamenco position is not as ergonomically balanced and symmetrical as the classical posture. If classical players use the Flamenco position to play the classical guitar, it could cause long-term health issues such as repetitive stress injury (RSI), tendinitis, other diseases related to spinal misalignment and nerve compression.

Secondly, in the Flamenco position, your right arm is one of the three areas of your body: the thigh, the chest, and the right arm) that stabilize your guitar. Since, in the Flamenco position, you use your right arm to stabilize the guitar, you will not be able to use a broad spectrum of tone colors as you could in the traditional classical guitar position. Tone colors are one of the key factors that distinguish great musicianship in classical guitarists. one of the most important aspects of classical guitar musicianship–tone colors–as efficiently as you could if using the classical position when holding the guitar. Classical guitarists produce tone colors, such as tasto and ponticello, by moving their right forearm across the guitar’s strings between the bridge and over the soundhole.

We are always amazed at the insight of our students to come up with such great questions. As always, we strive to pass on information to a wide audience to help more people achieve a higher standard of technique as they play the classical guitar.

Emre Sabuncuoglu is the director of Los Angeles Guitar Academy Online, which now offers live online guitar lessons via webcam in their new program, LAGA Live.

Do not press your thumb down hard against the neck of your guitar. In fact, many players find it better not to touch the neck at all. With only a little thumb pressure, arm and hand movements become easier. Next, press on your fingertip using the weight of your arm, making sure that the tip stays in one spot close to the fret, not allowing it to slide up and down the string. Hold your wrist straight and firm. To produce the vibrato, make tiny movements from side to side using your hand and arm together so that your finger moves back and forth, like a miniature rocking chair. Your arm should be loose so that it can move freely. Keep your upper arm fairly still; but feel free to move your forearm slightly more.

Since keeping the rhythm of the vibrato even is a key component of a well-executed vibrato, use a metronome for your practice sessions, especially at the start. Begin in the range of 70-110. Each “back” movement and each “forth” movement should equal one tick of the metronome. When you have a regular vibrato at a slow speed, set the metronome faster by several ticks and repeat the exercise. Increase the tempo until you can vibrate evenly at a high tempo. It is also possible to do the “back and forth” twice on each tick if you start at a slower speed. When you are comfortable doing the vibrato on one note with each finger in this exercise, expand your study by practicing scales with a vibrato on each note.

The standard vibrato as described here is useful for a large portion of the fingerboard. However, the standard vibrato is difficult to execute on the first four frets, mainly because it is difficult to move your hand and arm freely. In the lower positions, the pull-release types of vibrato works better. The pull-release vibrato is executed by placing your finger firmly on a note and then alternately pulling the string to the side and letting it returns to its normal position. Furthermore, pull-release vibrato is the only practical way to vibrate a single note in a chord being held by the left hand. The pull-release vibrato can naturally be applied to any note on the fingerboard. Many players, however, prefer to use the standard variety, because it can be more easily controlled and gives a wider range of pitch fluctuations, both above and below the note.

As you expand your arsenal of interpretative skills, you will hone your skill of sound perception, widening your ability to use elements such as vibrato with greater skill. As you experiment with new techniques such as the vibrato, you will find yourself enjoying the many different sounds your instrument can produce.

Among their many other course offerings, Los Angeles Guitar Academy Online has a new series of free online guitar lessons, designed to introduce a wide variety of people to the classical guitar. LAGA Online has more free lessons and articles on their teaching blog.

There are two main kinds of vibrato on the guitar. The standard (also called longitudinal) type, also used by violinists and other string players, utilizes the friction created by the musician’s fingertip as it moves. This causes the string move back and forth along its length. This motion makes the string alternatively shorter and longer, causing the pitch to waver above and below the note being vibrated. The pull-release vibrato, on the other hand, produces its distinctive sound by first pulling the string toward the palm of the hand with one of the fingers, keeping that finger lightly on the string, then returning it to its normal position. In pull-release, the pitch also fluctuates, but only above the note that vibrates.

The vibrato can yield a delightful effect on the guitar’s sound, depending on the particular piece of music. The finest players use vibratos selectively. Never would you use it on every note. Otherwise, vibrato would lose its ornamental effect. It heightens the intensity of certain notes, giving them a vigorous singing quality. Guitarists utilize vibrato to intensify the climactic note of a phrase or, as an alternative, to emphasize the melody notes while playing a melody and accompaniment piece. Guitarists also use vibrato to help sustain notes. Vibrato opens up an extensive and expressive range of sound available for a guitarist to utilize. It truly makes a guitar express the full range of human emotion.

In the vibrato, the variety that constitutes that full range comes from two essential components: the fluctuation of the pitch and the speed of the vibration. The guitarist should be aware of the magnitude to which the pitch fluctuates, because the effects change according to the amount of fluctuation. Employ only minor divergences from the main pitch; otherwise, the effect will be overdone. One could say, with respect to vibrato, that a little goes a long way! Normally, the tone should not deviate much more than a quarter-tone on either side of the main pitch.

The speed of the vibrato should vary with respect to the speed and the emotional character of the music you are playing. The speed should also match the register. Generally, the quicker or more intense the music, the faster the vibrato. Furthermore, the upper register of the guitar’s range also calls for a faster vibrato, due to the greater intensity of the higher pitches. The speed of the vibrato usually falls within a narrow range of four to ten cycles per second. Pay attention in order to avoid extremes. The vibrato must sound natural, flowing from the music’s own character. A vibrato that is too slow for the musical passage being played is unwieldy, awkward-sounding, as is one that is too fast. An extremely slow vibrato may be fine for special effects, but not for most of the standard repertoire. If your vibrato sounds too fast for the passage, then your playing sounds nerve-wracking, rather than intense, as you intended. A truly artistic vibrato should have a measured rhythm, never descending into random chaos. It should, rather, reflect the humanity of both the player and of the music itself.

Among their many other course offerings, Los Angeles Guitar Academy Online has a new series of free online guitar lessons, designed to introduce a wide variety of people to the classical guitar. LAGA Online has more free lessons and articles on their teaching blog.

1. Keep your fingertips perpendicular to the guitar strings: Put your fingers on the strings, near the frets, but not near enough to muffle the sound. There should be no buzzing sound coming from the frets. Place your fingers down on the string, at right angles to the flat surface of the fingerboard. Let your thumb balance the pressure from your fingertips.

2. Keep your thumb straight, still, opposite your fingers, touching the neck as close as you can to an imaginary line down the middle of the guitar’s neck. As you move from the sixth to the first string, move your thumb around the neck from the middle toward the side of the fingerboard farthest from you. Do not bend your thumb, nor stick it out to the left. Remember, do not support your guitar with your left hand.

3. As you change strings, flex your fingers. Because your thumb will move just enough to keep the tips of the fingers perpendicular to the fretboard, bend your fingers more in their middle joints as you move from the sixth to the first string.

4. Make sure that your knuckles remain parallel to the guitar strings, their line parallel to the edge of the fingerboard. Imagine that you are trying to keep the palm of your hand at the base of your little finger nearer to the edge of the fingerboard than that part of your palm which lies at the base of your first finger. Visualizing this ideal will help you to overcome a pesky habit: allowing your fingers to come down at an angle to the strings rather than squarely across from them. Consequently, your third and fourth fingers will have to travel further to stop the strings, and you will not be able to develop the strength, speed or accuracy to use them effectively. Learning this correctly at the outset will prevent this common error.

5. Relax your wrist. Whatever fret positions you play on your guitar, you need to keep your hand’s posture in relation to the fingerboard the same. Look at the illustrations in the book. These photos will demonstrate left-hand chord positions, called “shapes.” They also illustrate the ideal posture for your hand and fingers.

6. Allow only one finger per fret: If you make sure that your knuckles remain parallel to the edge of the fingerboard, each finger will occupy a different fret space. In this exercise, bring down each finger in turn without moving the rest of your hand.

7. Keep unnecessary movements of your fingers to a minimum. Excess movements will hinder your ease of movement and speed, waste energy, and look sloppy. Keep your fingertips close to the fingerboard, so that they do not need to move far in order to stop the strings.

8. Check your indentations. Each fingertip should land consistently on the strings at the same point. That point will soon develop a callus, with an indentation at the point at which it touches the string. Compare these indentations with the angles made by the strings with the fingers. The indentation on your middle finger should be approximately parallel to the fingerboard.

If you run through this checklist each time you play, you will establish a solid foundation for a good left-hand technique on the Flamenco guitar. Soon, these good habits will become second nature to you, and you will be on your way toward proficiency on the Flamenco guitar.

Emre Sabuncuoglu teaches the art of the Flamenco guitar in Los Angeles Guitar Academy’s online Flamenco guitar lessons, one of LAGA Online’s signature programs.

To play a section using just your thumb, move your forearm slightly forward, your thumb descending on the strings at a steeper angle than in the basic playing position. Keep the arch of your wrist higher, the palm of your hand facing your right shoulder, the line of your knuckles at an angle across the strings. Flex your index and middle fingers slightly, your fingertips lightly touching the golpeador, right under the first string and close to the bridge. Extend your ring and little finger forward to stabilize your hand. Only your thumb will be able to move. Relax your wrist. Now, first lift your thumb, and then swing it downward, making sure that the entire movement flows only from its joint at your wrist. This is called a thumbstroke. The power generated by the stroke assists your thumb, which falls naturally onto the string. With practice, your thumbstroke will develop great power.

To play “apoyando,” move the tip of your thumb in a line downward and inward –toward the front of your guitar. After hitting the string, continue to move your thumb until its movement is stopped by silent contact with the next higher string. Your thumb should travel toward the middle of your third finger.

Emre Sabuncuoglu teaches the art of the Flamenco guitar in Los Angeles Guitar Academy’s online Flamenco guitar lessons, one of LAGA Online’s signature programs.

Sometimes a tune departs briefly from its key, making it necessary to cancel what is required by the key signature. This is done by putting the required sign–sharp, flat, or natural–beside the note in question. These “road signs” are called “accidentals.” They raise or lower the note by one half step. A sharp raises the note a half step, while a flat lowers the tone. This enables musicians to keep the same relationships among the notes when they move a song to a higher or lower range of notes. This is called “transposition.” Guitarists and other musicians transpose music to accompany singers and other instruments.

The accidental called “natural” means “not sharp nor flat,” A-natural, therefore, means just the note A, not raised nor lowered by a sharp or flat. Once an accidental is placed beside a given note, it will affect all instances of that note until the end of the measure. The accidental is then canceled. If, however, a note is tied, which means that it is held over into the next measure, the note retains its pitch alteration.

Now that you understand a few basic concepts about scales, you can see how important they are to making music. Though some would consider their practice to be boring, it is nevertheless important to practice the scale or scales upon which the pieces in your current repertoire are based. Practicing them will train both your ear and your muscle memory to become familiar with the notes in each scale. This, in turn, will make you a more fluid player on each piece. To deal with the boredom issue, focus on each scale and the relationships among all of the notes in the scale. When you find yourself becoming bored, simply take a short break, then return and refocus.

Practicing scales, if done with focus and attention to detail, will become one of the most powerful tools in your musical arsenal. They will train both your mind and your hands to perform in an effortless, relaxed manner, which in turn will pay dividends in a much-improved technique.

Emre Sabuncuoglu, a Los Angeles classical guitarist, is part of the world-class faculty at Los Angeles Guitar Academy and Los Angeles Guitar Academy Online.

Classical guitarists raise their left leg with a footstool, allowing the upper leg to better secure the guitar. A few classical musicians keep both of their feet on the floor, using a specially designed cushion to secure the guitar and raise it to the optimum playing height.

Guitarists in other music genres generally support their guitar on their right leg. Players in most styles take a relatively informal position, resting the guitar at the most comfortable spot on their right leg. A few guitarists prefer a cross-legged position. This position, however, tends to cramp the player’s legs, causing impaired circulation.

Flamenco musicians place their guitar’s widest point on the outer part of their right thigh, seated in an armless chair, with their knees slightly higher than their hip joints. This position keeps the guitar from slipping forward. An upright but relaxed posture is essential for Flamenco guitarists. Their hands should be relaxed, so that they can avoid tension in their muscles of their hands and arms. The back of the guitar should be perpendicular to the floor, with the neck of the instrument slanted a bit forward, away from the guitarist’s left side. The guitar should not be pressed against the musician’s chest, because that dampens the guitar’s sound. Beginning Flamenco guitarists should keep an eye on their left-hand fingers, making sure that they are just behind the correct frets. The left hand should not support the guitar’s weight, since that limits the hand’s movement.

Guitarists who perform on stage while standing need to have a strap to support their instruments. The strap is fastened to the top of the guitar by a string that is attached right above the nut, right at the bottom of the headstock. At the bottom of the guitar, the strap is fastened to a pin. Pins also can be used at the top of the guitar, but they must be installed by a luthier (guitar repair professional).

Regardless of what style of music you play, a correct, relaxed position is essential to producing good sound quality and avoiding tension. Getting your position right from the very beginning will help you make faster progress as you learn to play your guitar.

Los Angeles Guitar Academy Online features online guitar lessons in various genres. Lessons proceed in a step-by-step manner, allowing students to master one concept before moving on to the next. For guitar lessons in Los Angeles, LAGA has studios located throughout the metropolitan LA area.

Set your guitar in an upright position with the long, thin part at the top. At the very top of your guitar, you will find the peg head. The peg head holds the tuning devices, called gears, that tighten or loosen the guitar’s strings in order to tune them. Classical guitars generally have slotted peg heads, while rock, jazz and acoustic guitars have solid peg heads. Directly below the peg head is the nut. Usually crafted from bone, the nut holds the strings in the correct positions. The nut’s height determines the strings’ height, as well as the guitar’s action. In general, classical guitarists prefer higher action, while those who play the electric or jazz guitar prefer lower action.

Directly below the nut lies the neck, which is the long, skinny part of the guitar. It holds the fingerboard, onto which frets are installed. Frets are the many tiny bars that run horizontally throughout the entire length of the neck. Pressing your finger on a string at a fret will raise the string’s pitch in order to make different notes. Look at the back of your guitar’s neck. At the very bottom of the neck, right where it joins the larger section of the guitar is a part called the heel. Heels come in an assortment of shapes, some with elaborate decoration. Its purpose, to hide the joint between the neck and the larger section of the guitar, is largely cosmetic.

Now, look at the front of the larger section on your guitar. This part is simply called the face or the top. Around its edges you will find purfling (binding), whose function is simply to hide the joint between the guitar’s face and its sides. On acoustic guitars, you will discover a round or oval hole, called the soundhole, where the amplified sound comes out of the guitar. Jazz guitars often have f-shaped holes, while most electric guitars have none, since the bulk of the amplification is done electronically. Often, guitar makers decorate the area surrounding the soundhole with an inlay called a rosette. Moving further down, below the soundhole, you will see a horizontal bar containing slots which the strings pass through. This is called a bridge bone. Its purpose is to guide the strings further down, where they are secured to the part called the bridge. Various styles of guitars may have extra or different components, as well as the basic parts mentioned above.

Now that you are familiar with the parts of your guitar, you will be able to discuss guitar terminology with newly discovered confidence. More importantly, knowing the parts of the guitar will help you build more self-assurance as you play.

Los Angeles Guitar Academy Online features online guitar lessons in various genres. Its world-class faculty explains the language of music in an easy-to understand format. For students looking for guitar lessons in Los Angeles, LAGA has studios located throughout the metropolitan LA area.

The Golpeador

‘Golpe’ is the Spanish word for “tap.” This tapping sound gives unique flavor to Flamenco music, and is aided by the golpeadores, or tapping-plates. To perform golpe, make a quick flexion movement with the third finger (or occasionally, the fourth finger) of your right hand, bringing your fingernail and the flesh of your finger into contact with the golpeador.

You need to keep the movement of your finger confined to the knuckle, keeping the rest of your finger, your hand, and your wrist relaxed. Make sure that your nail and flesh hit the golpeador at the same time, for that is what produces the characteristic sound. After you hit the golpeador, keep your finger in contact with it, lifting it only at the beginning of the next stroke. Never allow your movement to become forceful.

When you reach more advanced levels, you will learn to play the golpe simultaneously with your thumb or index fingers sounding the strings.

The Cejilla

Flamenco guitarists use a device called a cejilla to raise the guitar’s pitch, giving added brightness to its tone. Originally, guitarists used a cejilla in order to match the pitch of different singers in the Cante. Now, nearly all Flamenco performers use the cejilla. The cejilla acts as a movable nut, fixed across the strings, which stops the strings when it is fastened tightly right behind a fret. For solo playing, the guitarist will usually place the cejilla at a fret between one and four, usually on the second fret. Guitarists primarily use the cejilla on positions higher than four only for accompaniment.

We suggest that you practice exercises without the cejilla in place, however, in order to develop strength and ease of use in your left hand. This will put you on a faster track to technical mastery, since your hand must stretch farther, which in turn develops your flexibility–a definite asset when playing your guitar. Cejillas are available in two styles. The first, the more traditional of the two, is crafted from finely carved and decorated hardwood. These cejillas are tied down with a nylon string which is wound around a wooden peg, the peg inserted into a hole in the wooden crosspiece. This style protects the neck of the guitar by a leather thong attached to the crosspiece, absorbing the string’s pressure. The second style of cejilla is the more modern variety, constructed out of metal with a rubber lining, a plastic crossbar, and a nylon strap.

Learning about the special equipment that you will need to use when playing the Flamenco guitar will give you more confidence when you play. By becoming aware of the terminology and equipment used by Flamenco guitarists, you will begin to develop more knowledge about the technical aspects of Flamenco music.

Los Angeles Guitar Academy Online features online Flamenco guitar lessons as one of its signature programs. Its world-class faculty unpacks the language of Flamenco music, explaining it in an easy-to understand format. For Flamenco guitar lessons in Los Angeles, LAGA has studios located throughout the metropolitan LA area.