Early Romantic Guitar Period Technique

Early Romantic Guitar Period Technique

Method Books

There are many method books written in the 19th century, which provide first-hand insightinto period technique. These original sources were written in various languages, depending

on their origin.

The bibliography by Erik Stenstadvold "Guitar Methods 1760 - 1860" provides information onpublished methods of the time period, and it can be ordered through Amazon.com. For

more info, please see: Pendragon Press.

Essay by Len Verrett

Early Romantic Guitar Sheet Period Technique http://www.earlyromanticguitar.com/erg/periodtechnique.htm

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Summary: Musical interpretation is a field of studyunto itself. Guitarists should seek out othermusicians such as pianists or violinists who arewell-acquainted with early 19th centurycompositions in order to learn how to properlyinterpret the music. Guitar music of the day closelyfollowed writing and style of other orchestralinstruments, and most the guitar's early composersstarted on other instruments, or played and wrotefor multiple instruments. Guitarists should also seekout chamber ensembles such as guitar & flute /piano / violin, etc., and try to "fit in".

The lesson for today's performers who try toemulate "period" performance technique, is that"period" technique varied so much, that practicallyany technique in existence today has somehistorical basis, and it is best not to be dogmatic.Technique is a tool to achieve a particular musicaleffect, not an end unto itself.

The technique of Aguado is nearly identical totoday's classical guitar technique, while Sor'stechnique seems to be borrowed more from thelute. I have often wondered if these two players didnot have different roots: Aguado from the BaroqueGuitar tradition, and Sor from the Lute tradition.Obviously, the strummed baroque guitar requiresthe right hand to be free, while the lute required thepinkie to be anchored to the top. Nearly everytechnique today, namely ima alternation, straightwrist playing, rasguado, rest stroke, nails or not,can be found dating back several centuries evenbefore the 6-string guitar. Such techniques variedconsiderably by performer, country, time period,and style.

Interpretation

There is not a simple answer or a "silver bullet" to the question of interpretation. This is thearea of "art" - much like the world of canvas paintings - where style and individuality areeverything, and the question of which painting is "better" is purely subjective. However,music is a language, and like any language, there are rules of grammar and syntax for eachlanguage, and many stylistic dialects. Just like language, in music there are also accentpatterns, and inflections, common phrases and expressions of "figures of speech" - andimplied connotations that are understood by native speakers. The question is really, "What


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is the language of this style"? "How would it have sounded in those days?" To many, theanswer is "I don't care, as long as it sounds good" - which is fine, since we are evaluatingour taste in art. However, for those that want to tap into the deeper meaning by connectingto the finer points of musical connotation, an historically informed interpretational style isimportant. For example, while someone might think it sounds good to play Bach in the styleof Tarrega - with heavy vibrato, rubato, portamentos, etc., others may cringe that it sounds"wrong" for that style - in the same way a native speaker may cringe at poor grammar. Or,think of an opera singer who sings blues or country & western music as notated, withoutany of the inflections that would be expected, and you get the idea. In the same way, somemay like the revisionist attitude toward 19th century guitar repertoire, while others prefer astyle that is consistent with how music of that period was typically played.

Learning to play effectively in a particular musical "dialect" takes years of study. Specialistscan spend years refining interpretation to play Mozart properly, in accordance with Viennesestylistic musical customs and the time period, in the same way that playing Sor properly is achallenge. Shaving your fingernails and playing a period guitar will not make you sound likeFernando Sor. I have heard excellent interpretations on a variety of instruments, andconversely as well. Sor's style would have been much more the product of musical style,regardless of what instrument was used: in fact, Sor would have sounded like Sor whetherhe played piano or guitar - due to phrasing and style - although Sor does state in hismethod that guitar music has a particular resonance that would not sound right on a piano,for example.

I have conversed with many advanced and professional guitarists regarding how to interpretearly 19th century guitar music. I have come to the conclusion that guitarists seeking tolearn this style should seek out a pianist, violinist, flutist, conductor, etc., who is conversantwith the "classical period" style. Many guitarists have tunnel-vision to the world of guitar,coming from the modern Segovia tradition of revisionism. Guitar music of the ERG periodfollowed closely the orchestral instruments. In many period methods, including that of F.Sor, there are references to producing effects on the guitar to imitate flute, violin, brass,piano, drums, etc.. In any good master class or lesson with an expert in this style where anearly 19th century guitar piece is analyzed, they will inevitably compare it to orchestralwriting of the period. I cannot over-emphasize to guitarists the need to step outside of theguitar world to study with orchestral experts who truly understand the time period and style.Since technique apparently varied so widely in this time period, the important thing is tolearn how to play in a style that is consistent with other instrumentalists and compositions ofthat period.

Right Hand Position


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Baroque Lutenist AdamFalckenhagenPinkie on soundboard

The earliest 19th century guitarists used lute and baroqueguitar technique. After all, the early guitar was simply abaroque guitar with an extra 6th string and single courses.Lute and baroque guitar players who play gut-strungromantic guitar today, using lute or baroque guitartechnique, may come closest to approximating the originaltechnique. One habit adopted from the lute was that ofresting the pinkie on the soundboard. Most early 19thcentury guitars show considerable wear on the top wherethe finger rested. Many instruments have an oval-shapedfinger rest on the top. Sor played lute-like, with no nails,and he forbids the use of the a (third anular) finger of theright hand for the melody, using only p,i,m. The a finger isused only for chords. The strings on the early flush-fingerboard guitars were extremely low to the top whichfaciliated the lute style of playing. Modern classicalguitarists who play early 19th century guitars with flushfingerboards often find they must be careful not to scratchthe top of the guitar with their nails because the strings areso low to the table. Later guitars with a raised fingerboardelevated this distance and thus the technique changed.

The "nails" and "no nails" debate often surfaces in classicalguitar circles. It is well-known that Aguado used nails whileSor did not, for example. This debate also goes further backin time, several centuries, in various treatises, paintings andwritten accounts which show differences of opinion byperformer, time period, and geography. The baroqueguitarist Francesco Corbetta (1615-1681) used nails, as didmany others.

Dionisio AguadoWith Tripodison

Over time, guitar technique changed. There is also evidenceof different schools of thought on technique. Giuliani'smusic for example requires the use of the third right handfinger for melody, as Sor notes in his method. Otherplayers, such as Sor's contemporary Aguado, advocated theuse of the fingernails. The only strings in use were guttrebles, and typically wire-wound silk basses. These stringswere more fragile, in the sense that rough or longfingernails would easily shred the gut strings. No-nailplayers of course did not have this problem. Nail playerswould have either used shorter, smooth nails to minimizethe shredding, or perhaps just changed strings more often(or both). It is also possible that with thicker gauges of gutand lower tuning, and perhaps different stringmanufacturing methods using olive oil and other varnishes,the strings themselves may have been tougher.


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It is often a misconception, repeated by 20th and 21st century sources who have no realfirst-hand facts, that Tarrega "invented" modern technique. In actuality, Aguado's ideas ofusing nails, not resting the pinkie on the top, using ima alternation, and probably the reststroke, were passed on to Julian Arcas (Arcas studied with a student of Aguado). JulianArcas was Tarrega's teacher, who passed along the already well-established technique ofplaying to Tarrega. The rest stroke is surely as old as the stringed instrument itself, andRichard Savino pointed out to me several primary sources from the ancient Renaissance andBaroque guitar repertoire that refer to rest-stroke techniques.

Another aspect of early playing that lutenist Ronn McFarlane shared with me is that ofuneven articulation. Lute players usually alternate thumb-index (p-i). The thumb is strongerthan the index finger, which gives a strong-weak alternating pulse to the music, rather thanthe consistent articulation often heard today. In early lute texts, the thumb is sometimescalled the "good" finger and the index is called the "bad" finger. Sor strongly advocates p-ialternation in his method, whereas today's players are more likely to alternate i-m.

With the guitar being a new instrument, and with changes to the instrument over time suchas the string distance from the top, the changing needs of the performer and so forth, it isnot surprising that many players were self-taught, and that technique varied considerablybetween performers. Given the number of variables, it is nearly impossible to exactlyreplicate the style of playing and sound that would have been heard in the early 1800's.However, it is possible to be "historically informed" and temper one's technique andinterpretation with a period style of playing. Even today, we find debate over the "Tarregarules" with the bent right wrist, versus straight wrist technique.

The Instrument

I have found that the guitars themselves teach a lot about interpretation. There is a realdifference between early French or Viennese guitars versus modern classicals in the attack,response, sustain, balance, timbre, scale, and so forth that can lend much insight into themusic. The instrument is a "filter" through which music is processed, and the music canhave a totally different effect with a different guitar. Since modern guitar technique isprobably no different than Aguado's technique, I believe a true period sound can beobtained by playing a modern replica of a 19th century guitar, such as Panormo, Lacote, orStauffer. I prefer the replicas because they have no mechanical problems due to age, theyare accurately intoned, etc..

Left Hand Position


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As with all aspects of period technique, the left-hand positionvaried between players. Sor advocated the modern method ofkeeping the thumb behind the neck for support, and he showsgeometry-based arguments of why this is the strongest position,and why other styles of left-hand playing are "incorrect". Sorargued against using the thumb for bass notes. Sor's left-handmethod is still used today.

Other players, like Mertz, Giuliani, and Carulli, sometimes used thethumb to finger bass notes on the 6th string. Facsimile editionsindicate when the left-hand thumb is utilized, usually with thenotation "pouce" or "^". Keep in mind that using the thumb waspossible then since most early guitar necks were only 4.2-4.8 cm inwidth, versus the modern classical guitar 5.2 cm width. Thistechnique was almost always used to finger the F# (6th string, 2ndfret) and hold it down. Most players today simply re-finger thepiece to avoid using the left-hand thumb, but these passages canbe awkward.

Playing Position

From the Carcassi Method

A Carcassi portrait clearly showsthe left-leg elevated position.However, the guitar rests againstthe chair somewhat, and Sor'smethod advocates resting part ofthe guitar body on a chair. It wasalso common to elevate the rightleg, much like today's flamencoplayers. Aguado used a tripoddevice to mount the guitar, so thatonly the player's arms touched theinstrument. The smaller 19thcentury guitar body affects how tohold the instrument, since themuch larger modern classical putsthe player's right arm in a differentlocation. I find it is no problem touse the modern left-leg elevatedposition to play a period guitar; yousimply lean forward slightly due tothe smaller body size. It is alsopossible to put a small pillowunderneath the instrument toelevate it.


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Nearly every period guitar camewith a strap button. In the early19th century, classical guitaristsoften played using a strap. A periodportrait of Giuliani depicts Giulianiplaying the guitar standing up andwearing a strap; this is on the frontcover of Dr. Heck's biography ofGiuliani. Use caution with straps,however, since many period guitarsshow evidence of damage frombeing dropped, presumably whenthe strap came loose! The strapwas also worn to help hold theguitar body in position, even whilesitting. Another portrait of Schubertdepicts the composer singing, andplaying a Stauffer foraccompanyment while standing andwearing a strap. Presumably, thestanding position, much like today'spopular guitars, is used for simplemusic because of the left handlimitations the standing positionimposes.

Tricks

Nearly all of the current "guitar tricks" in use today can be found in early 19th century guitarrepertoire. The debate over who "invented" these techniques is something to be left tomusicologists, but it is apparent that techniques like artificial harmonics, tambora,rasgueado, p-i-m-a alternation, tone color, articulation, pull-off's, muting, tremolo, and soforth were not invented by Tarrega, as they are found decades earlier in publishedrepertoire. Further, it would be dubious to claim that Carulli or Sor invented thesetechniques, even if they could be traced as the earliest written reference to a certain trick. Itis my belief that such techniques existed for centuries with earlier plucked stringedinstruments, and were generally passed down through instruction or re-discovered eachgeneration. Here are some specifics I have found:

Echo: The "echo" (sometimes "éco") technique means you must play only the fingersof the left hand and not play the string with the right hand. It's used when there is alegato between notes on different strings. There are many "éco" references in Carulli,for example in the op 16 (Rondo, allegretto) p.31 (Minkoff). It can also be when youplay two or more notes as the same time without the right hand, like the e/g/d in theop 138 (p. 105 Minkoff line 2); it is why the second "echo" a/c/e is played with fingers


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1/2/3 and not with the e on the chanterelle. Carulli writes "you must play the fingersof the left hand with energy on the strings, without pinching them". (From Louis-MarieDuvillard, France) A modern edition mentions that this technique is not effective withhigh tension strings on the modern guitar.Spanish techniques: Carulli wrote several pieces in the Spanish style from around1810-1820, in which many flamenco techniques are found (which undoubtedly existedcenturies prior). In opus 138, circa 1820, Carulli has a page of technique explanations.Here we find a thumb sweep ("Pou" or "Pouce"), where the thumb strums the strings,as well as the "Ind" or "Index" finger sweep. It also refers to the "fris" technique,which is a form of rasgueado. Carulli writes (in French): "You have to close your righthand except the thumb and you open them one by one on all the strings" (but he doesnot specify if you open them from the index to the ring (or the little finger) or the fromthe little finger to the index like the modern rasgueado technique). (Translation fromLouis-Marie Duvillard, France)Tambora: Carulli's op. 138 also mentions the "Tamb" or "Tambour" technique, whereyou hit the thumb forcefully on the strings near the bridge.Harmonics: there are 2 forms of harmonics - natural and artificial. Sor's method has agood chart of natural harmonic notes, and harmonics are commonly found innumerous works. Carulli's opus 113 (1819) uses the artificial harmonic technique aswell: in the allegretto section, (page 4 of the facsimile, page 98 of Minkoff), there aresome very high notes: a, c#, e. This occurs twice, so it is not a mistake. These noteswould be at the 17th, 21st, 24th frets. Even Staufer has only 22 frets. It is possible toplay the c# at 21st fret on a Staufer, but it is very awkward... The high e I can onlyplay with a harmonic at the Chanterelle 1st string 5th fret (or try to guess where the24th fret harmonic is, which I often miss), but it is awkward to find the 17th, 21st, andthen 5th frets at the tempo indicated. With artificial harmonics, the solution is simple:a, c# and e were all harmonic - if so, your left hand stays at the 5th fret: a withartificial harmonic, 4th finger c# with artificial harmonic, and 5th fret top string openharmonic.Glis or Glisee - Although deemed excessive by today's standards, this technique wasan integral part of the style and was surely borrowed from the violin. It is found inCarulli's music from 1810-1820, and became very common after 1820 and is acommon feature of Tarrega's music and into the early 20th century, and even in themusic of Barrios. It is common in Carcassi's extended works, and is especiallyassociated with the romantic period guitarists. Here, the finger quickly slides from thelower to the higher note, and maintains contact with the fingerboard during the slide.The entire motion takes place in about 1 second, but can vary in speed depending onthe tempo of the piece and the desired effect.Damped or Muted: A good example of this is found in Sor's op. 52. The right handpalm dampens the strings; this is similar to the pizzicato technique but was alsomentioned as a way to copy the sound of the oboe.Tremolo: While it is said that Tarrega was probably the first to compose an entirepiece of music with the tremolo technique, this technique (which copies the mandolin)was found in earlier works by Regondi, Mertz, de Fossa, and others.

Fingerings


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Most of the facsimile music has very few fingerings. Today's music is over-fingered. You willfind however, that Studies and Exercises of the era were well-fingered, whereas the concertpieces were only fingered in particularly tricky passages. Often, a single fingering unlocksthe key for fingering the entire passage. Sor's Method goes into great detail on fingeringprinciples, and it was assumed that the player would choose them. I find that reasoningthrough the fingerings is a great tool to learning the piece. Invariably, modern edits of 19thcentury music have many poor choices of fingerings, or at least ones that do not conform toperiod practice. I have also found that too many fingerings slow down sight reading, as youhave to process more information.

- Len Verrett

Essay by Makoto Tsuruta CRANE Home Page - Tokyo

Have you changed how you play, yet?

"I have seen (heard) many people playing 19th century guitars in front of me at occasionslike concerts, instrument shows, and having visitors to my workshop. With few exceptions,most played the instruments with inappropriate touch. They tend to use strong apoyand andsome even played with extremely long nails. How they play should be no problem on playingmodern guitars or would even be praised by instructors, because those follow the modernguitar methods. The same methods are not directly applicable to 19th century guitars,unfortunately. Imagine what would happen when a modern guitar player tries to play a lute,a violin player tries a cello, or a piano player tries a cemballo? The same can be said formodern and 19th century guitars. Regrettably, even some professionals, who are praised as"first class player", play 19th century guitars with a modern guitar technique along with nailnoise (don't imitate them). Conversely, some amateur players who play as hobby onSundays can generate great sound with full volume on 19th century guitars. Put musicalpresentation and accuracy asides, it is the question of how good they are to create "bestsound" of the instruments. This is a very important thing, even before talking about stringtension and their material.

Without playing an instrument properly, it is not possible to evaluate and select strings forthe instrument. If one is to play an instrument that sounds better with low tension, it shouldbe played with an appropriate soft touch. When I pointed out this, many players replied thatthey were using "soft touch". However, they often used rough touch to me and generatednoisy and uncertain sound without volume. Some could not change their touch appropriateto the instrument and used modern strings on a 19th century guitar claiming that hightension like modern ones had been used even at the period. I knew many example ofdamaged 19th century guitars using high tension strings to rationalize one's inability toadopt to the period instrument. Yes, there exists 19th century guitars that sounds betterand produce volume when high tension strings are used. But, they are rare and sound morelike modern guitars. I believe the instruments that sound better in lower tension posses theclassical taste and the charm of 19th century guitar.

Many players can't stop basing on the previous instruments they have played when they


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face a different one. It's not easy to change the touch appropriate to a different instrumentinstantly. It should be basic to play different instruments differently, though. Like violin andcello or piano and cemballo, it often is better to play 19th century guitars and modern onesregarding them as completely different instruments. This is not only how you regard themconceptually but also changing how you actually use fingers and hands. When you have achance to hear someone plays a 19th century guitar, please observe whether the player istrying to accomplish the same difference between playing cemballo and piano on the guitaror not. It does not matter how famous the player is or even an amateur player or not.Sometimes, beginners and steel string guitar players make better sound on 19th centuryguitars. If you encounter these "better sounding" players, you should learn how they playand try to imitate them.

I would like to emphasize this repeatedly. 19th century guitars are NOT the sameinstruments as modern guitars. Although they look alike, full benefit of the 19th centuryguitar can be obtained only when a player device to change how to play it. Being aware ofthis, the string selection for the instrument will be quite fruitful."

~ Some introductory remarks on19th-century guitar performance practice ~

Part I - TechniqueRob MacKillop©

Most discussion among players of the modern classical guitar regarding the early 19th-century guitarhas been backward looking, that is, either looking at ways of playing this repertoire on a moderninstrument in a modern style, or how to imitate the stylistic features of the period on a modern guitar.I will focus instead on coming towards Sor and his contemporaries from before their period, as clearlyeach age either develops what has gone before or rejects it completely and strikes out in a new way. Iwill therefore delve into the roots of the style, uncovering the development of technique, instrumentand repertoire. I will not consider the uses of this for the modern classical guitar, but will presentinstead (for better or worse) a more purist approach.

Two of the guitarists we know most about both happen to have been Spaniards, and both happened tohave lived in the same hotel for a few years. They were good friends who supported each other’sefforts and even composed music for each other to play. Despite this, they had radically differentapproaches both to technique and to music itself. Their names are Fernando Sor and Dionisio Aguado.

Sor’s technique is very interesting. He discusses it in his ‘Méthode pour la Guitare’ – published inParis in 1830, when Sor was 52 years old. It was published in an English translation two years later asthe ‘Method for the Spanish Guitar’.

It is difficult to discuss Sor’s technique without first mentioning its relationship with harmony.Indeed, harmony is fundamental to Sor’s approach to guitar playing. He mentions it often in hisMéthode:

“…I merely indicate the route which I have followed in order to produce results from the


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guitar which have obtained for me the approbation of harmonists, people the most difficult to

satisfy and to dazzle in regard to music.”[i]

“…I found myself in a position to see a figured base, and, without taking up the guitar, to

indicate the harmonic progression by the configurations alone.”[ii]

“I love music, I feel it: the study of harmony and counterpoint having familiarised me with the

progression and nature of chords and their inversions.”[iii]

“…the entire key to the mastery of the guitar (as an instrument of harmony) consists in the

knowledge of the thirds and sixths.”[iv]

“…I almost always make the fingering which I employ for melody depend on that which I use

for harmony.”[v]

“A guitarist who is a harmonist, will always have an advantage over one who is not.”[vi]

So Sor was proficient in reading figured bass, in other words he was able to improvise within thestylistic parameters common to his day. I shall talk much more about this improvisational aspect inthe second part of this introductory essay, suffice for the moment to say that figured-bass readingclearly survived from the baroque era into the early and mid classical periods. There are examples offigured bass in the Georgina Gregory guitar manuscript from Edinburgh, c.1835. At the other end of

the scale, we might say, Beethoven[vii]

spent many of his formative years playing from a figured

bass. C.P.E Bach mentions[viii]

how modern players – i.e. the new post-baroque players – had toadapt their style somewhat:

“Our present taste has brought about an entirely new use of harmony. Our melodies,embellishments, and manner of performance often call for unusual chords. At times they mustbe played in few parts, again, in many. Thus, the range of the accompanist’s duties has greatlyincreased and the recognised rules of thorough bass, which must often be modified, are nolonger sufficient.”

Sor was clearly in accord with Bach’s sentiments. He indicates obliquely that his accompanimentstyle – the only way he played the guitar in his formative years – was quite advanced:

“At first I took up this instrument merely as an instrument of accompaniment; but, from theearly age of sixteen years, I was shocked to hear it said by those who professed to have butlittle talent, ‘I only play to accompany’. I new that a good accompaniment supposes in the firstplace a good base, chords adapted to it, and movements as much as possible approximatingthose of an orchestral score or those of the pianoforte; things which, in my opinion, afforded amuch greater proof of mastery on the instrument than all those sonatas which I heard with longviolin passages, without harmony or even devoid of base, excepting the base found on the


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open strings”

Sor is here referring to what we might call the early Italian classical guitar style, which has beenargued by Thomas Heck, James Tyler and others, as indeed having developed from violinists who alsoplayed the guitar, and who naturally wrote their guitar music in the same treble clef that they used fornotating their violin music – which is why we still use the treble clef for guitar notation today. Butthat is another story.

In a footnote to Sor’s discussion of harmony, he makes reference to Federico Moretti as being theonly other guitarist he knew who had developed a harmonic approach to the guitar, as opposed to amelodic approach. Moretti’s first book, Principj per la Chitarra – (Principles of the Guitar) of 1792,was reprinted almost exactly as written in 1799 – when Sor was 21 years of age – but adapted for the6-course, double-strung guitar “because this is the instrument generally played in Spain”. It is, by theway, entirely likely that both Sor and Aguado played the 6-course double-strung guitar in the earlypart of their careers.

I am awaiting delivery of the Spanish version of Moretti’s book, and must in the meantime work fromthe Italian version. After naming the notes, showing where they are to be found and providingexercises in scales of unisons and octaves, Moretti moves quickly on to chords. He provides fourversions – in different positions – of each of the major and minor chords, and also sevenths anddiminished chords. Then he demonstrates a number of cadences – I IV V I – in major and minor keys,showing good voice leading, using inversions as well as root positions. This all helps to develop asense of key – the foundation of tonal music. Finally he moves on to examples of arpeggios withindications for right-hand fingering, and it is here that we find many interesting correlations to theright-hand techniques of Sor and Aguado.

Moretti never uses the annular finger. Consider arpeggio No.24: It is a rising four-note arpeggio of abasic C major chord. It is fingered thumb, index, middle, middle. No modern player would considersuch a technique. Now consider No.37. Here the three bass notes are all played with the thumb. Thefirst string is plucked by the middle finger, and the index finger plays both the second and third stringsconsecutively. This last technique of raking the index finger over two strings is mentioned inAguado’s ‘New Guitar Method’ of 1843, but in the context of playing thirds:

“The forefinger can also pluck the first and second strings when they have to be sounded

together.”[ix]

The technique was a common lute technique in both the Renaissance and Baroque periods for theplaying of chords of more than three notes. The influence of the techniques from these periods can bemore clearly seen in Sor.

Sor regarded his own technique as being different from that generally found. He seems to have hadmore in common with lute technique than what we might call the more modern technique advancedby Aguado and others. He is careful to point out that his technique is derived from the music:

“…I shall never say to the reader – This is what is necessary to be done – but – this is what I

found necessary to do…”[x]


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On page 20 of his Method, he makes a statement which draws him right back into Renaissance lutetechnique:

“This fingering has for its object, not only to economise as much as possible the number offingers, but to make my operation conduce to the expression of the musical accent.”

…and on page 22 mentions never plucking:

“…on unaccented times of the measure, reserving the thumb for the accented notes.”

And, finally (on page 33), the choice of finger depends on the accent:

“I observe whether the musical accent be on the highest or lowest (string).”

These last three quotations are extremely important. In Renaissance lute technique, generally the onlyright-hand indication is for the index finger, which is reserved for the weak beats. This is an extensionof the Renaissance philosophical theory that Man is ‘at one’ with the universe, at least in thedimensions of his body (think of Michelangelo’s drawing of Man with legs and arms outstretched,surrounded by a circle representing the heavenly bodies). There is a natural inequality in strength inthe fingers of the hand. The thumb is heavier than the index, and when playing a lute has the addedweight of gravity to increase its power. The middle finger is longer than the index finger and istherefore also stronger. Therefore the natural inequality of the hand can match the inequalities ofstress within a musical bar. Therefore Man and Nature (represented by musical sounds) are as ‘one’.

This technique was perfect for the early Renaissance lute but was less useful on the larger 13-courseBaroque lutes, where the thumb is often stretched far away from the index finger, and, quite frankly,one is happy to just play the notes with the nearest available finger. Because of these technicaldifficulties, Baroque players developed the use of slurs, wherein the second note is somewhat quieterthan the first, thereby reproducing the inequality of stress. Slurs are essential to Sor’s technique (page21):

“As to the right hand, I have never aimed to play scales staccato, or detached, nor with greatrapidity, because I have been of (the) opinion that I could never make the guitar perform violinpassages satisfactorily, while, by taking advantage of the facility which it offers for connectingor slurring the sounds, I could imitate somewhat better the passages of an air or melody. Forthis reason, I play only the note which commences every group composing the passage.”

Unlike Moretti, Sor did employ the use of the annular finger, but very sparingly:

“I therefore establish as a rule of fingering, for the right hand, to employ commonly only three

fingers [pim]…and to use the fourth [a] only for playing a chord in four parts…”[xi]

He clearly considered the annular finger as being quite weak and not to be exposed (page 33):

“…if I rarely use the third finger of the right hand for harmony (i.e. arpeggios and chords), Iforbid it entirely for melody.”


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Sor also mentions placing the pinkie on the soundboard of the guitar. It is not something he doesconstantly, but finds it a useful technique in certain passages when the thumb approaches the secondand first strings. This is clearly derived from lute and baroque guitar technique, and is referred to alsoby Aguado in his New Guitar Method:

“Some rest the little finger of the right hand on the soundboard so as to give sureness to thehand when plucking. This may have been useful while the guitar was not in a fixed position,but now that it is played on a tripod I do not consider the support necessary because the fingersof the right hand depend on the support given by the forearm and wrist”

Aguado is here referring to his patented tripod, designed to hold the guitar still and away from thebody, thereby increasing volume and resonance. Presumably, if the tripod invented and sold byAguado was not available, the pinkie support would be deemed ‘necessary’. Giulio Regondi isanother player who utilised this technique. It is a technique which is usually viewed with horror bypresent-day classical guitar teachers, as it can restrict the action of the annular finger. Having playedthe lute with just such a technique for the past ten years, I feel quite comfortable with it. The touch onthe soundboard is very light and frequently rises off the soundboard altogether. As both lute techniqueand Sor’s guitar technique avoid as much as possible the use of the annular finger, it is notproblematic and, indeed, can help relax the muscles of the hand.

Reading between the lines, it is clear that Sor found alternating the index and middle fingers at highspeeds quite difficult without employing slurs. In his Method, he even admits to having re-written apassage for guitar in Hummel’s Sentinelle, because it was too difficult. The passage in question wasactually written by Giuliani and is in the fast violin-style of mainly single notes. The great master ofthis style of playing was Aguado. In Les Deux Amis, a duet written by Sor for he and Aguado to play,Sor included a fast variation for Aguado to play:

“Only the part of Mr Aguado has a very rapid variation, but it is in single notes and in the stylemost known” (my italics).

Aguado published 3 ‘methods’: 1) Escuela de Guitarra (Madrid, 1825) 2) Nouvelle Méthode deGuitarre, Op.6 (Paris, 1834), and 3) Nuevo Método para Guitarra (Madrid, 1843). I have only studiedthis last one as it is the only version to have been translated into English (Tecla Editions).

Setting aside Aguado’s use of the tripod, I shall concentrate on his right-hand technique. Unlike Sor,Aguado employed a nail technique. He is very careful to describe exactly how the finger strikes thestring:

“…it must be understood that the strings are not plucked only with the nails, because thesound would not then be very agreeable. The string is first played with the fingertip using thepart nearest the thumb, the finger slightly extended (not bent as for plucking with the fingertiponly), and then the string is immediately slid along the nail...If the nails are used, runs can beperformed very rapidly and clearly. There is an important exception, however. Persons withvery long fingers should not play with the nails, because this gives each finger more leverageon the strings and thus diminishes the force used.”

His description of the string sliding along the nail sounds very contemporary and is fairlyindistinguishable from the technique used by almost all professional classical guitarists today. As this


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tutor from 1843 is the first time it is mentioned, and as this same tutor was used by Tárrega, Segovia,Bream, Williams and other giants of the modern classical guitar, it is fair to say that Aguado’s NuevoMétodo is the starting place for modern guitar playing. But I am in danger here of doing what I said Iwould avoid doing at the start of this essay – looking backwards to see what can be used today on themodern guitar. Aguado’s Nuevo Método has much more of interest to the student of early performancepractice on period instruments. Not least in the area of improvisation, which I shall turn to in Part II.

Rob MacKillop ©2003

[i] Fernando Sor, Method for the Spanish Guitar (Tecla 1995, p.5).

[ii]Idem. p.6.

[iii]Idem. p.5.

[iv]Idem. p.28.

[v]Idem. p.28.

[vi]Idem. p.42

[vii] David Wyn Jones, The Life of Beethoven. Cambridge University Press, 1998.

[viii] C.P.E Bach, Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments (1762). Translated and edited by William

J.Mitchell. Cassell and Company, 1949. p.174.[ix]

Dionisio Aguado. Nuevo Método para Guitarra (Madrid, 1843). Quoted from, ‘New Guitar Method’ published inEnglish by Tecla, 1981 and 1995.[x]

Idem. p.7.[xi]

Idem. p.11.

Note: If you would like a copy of Rob MacKillop's second article in this series titled "~ Someintroductory remarks on 19th-century guitar performance practice ~ Part II - Improvisation"- please write to me and I will email you a copy. It has many graphical examples and is toolarge to fit on this web page.

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