Preface “Art doesn’t come from being able to do something, but from having to do it” Arnold Schönberg At the beginning 1980s I gave various lectures on the topic of guitar technique. The idea to compile The Biblemy guitarof playing Classical methods into a book originated Guitar at this time. Although Technique I was often requested by my students and course participants to publish a book on guitar technique, it took more than two decades for this compendium to finally appear. By now I am actually very thankful for this. My 40 years of teaching experience has added numerous facets to my conceptual approach. Of course my ideas concerning guitar technique are based on the pioneering achievements of the Copyright great2016 masters of the guitar,by above AMA all Giulani, Sor andMusikverlag Tárrega and naturally Pujol, Carlevaro, Llobet and Segovia as well. Without them this book would be inconceivable. But the question remains: is an additional technique book for guitarists actually necessary? I say yes! Guitar technique has advanced so vastly in the last three decades that it is now time to take this into account. Guitar performance has never been at a higher technical level than it is today and there is no prospect to the end of this development. In my first year of studies, I was impressed by the quantity and diversity of the technical practice material that was available at the time. Later I found it difficult to deal with this large offering of exercises effectively. Therefore the idea to present the material in a more clearly arranged fashion was already developing in my mind at an early stage. In this book I have attempted to,Samples while organizing the material and presenting it in a more assessable manner for practical purposes, add several new exercises as well – each of which addresses a technical and musical aspect of playing – and in addition add to the practice sections a comprehensive description of the exact movements performed by each hand as well as a detailed explanation of exactly how the sound is produced. This book is rounded off by a “Short Introduction to Systematic Practicing,” a chapter on fingering techniques with explanatory examples as well as further important topics such as “Tuning the Guitar,” “Playing from Memory – Memory and Mental Training” and “Stage Fright and Fear of Performing.” The examples found in the “Technical Practice Guides” at the end of the book should provide the guitarist with a real orientation for practicing technique. They are extremely helpful when dealing with this handbook and will be explained in depth in the “Suggestions for Using this Technique Handbook.” As the exercises found in each chapter are almost all ordered progressively according to their level of difficulty, this handbook is also suited for less advanced players. For example, a guitar teacher can use this technique handbook for almost any playing level as a supplementary or sole method book. The flamenco guitarist will find equally as much material as the rock guitarist, who for example in the chapter “Coordination of the Left and Right Hands” would employ a pick instead of his fingers. The slur exercises for the left hand make sense for any guitarists of all genres. A book of this magnitude cannot be completed without the help of others. At this point I would like to thank above all my students as well as my colleague and friend, Hans-Werner Huppertz, who supplied me with very valuable suggestions. Representing the many experts that made this book possible, I would like to thank Jörg Falk who provided the aesthetically appealing notation, Thomas Kaiser, Julia Gray, Günter Schillings, Georg Schmitz for his continual support of this comprehensive project and Tina van den Berg for her review of the written text. My special thanks go to my publisher Detlef Kessler for his patience over the many years as well as my editor Karin Stuhrmann. Without them and their tireless, critical minds, the book would have never come into existence in its present form. No book can replace a teacher. But in learning and teaching, it can be of great help and provide many impulses and stimulation. Lohmar, im November 2010 HUBERT KÄPPEL © 2016 by AMA Musikverlag 6 Table of Contents Preface ..............................................................................................................................................................................3 Introductory Words by Aniello Desiderio ............................................................................................................... 4 The BibleSuggestions of for Classical Using this Technique Handbook Guitar .................................................................................................. Technique 4 Part One: Prerequisites and Basics I. Short Introduction to Systematic Practicing .....................................................................................................12 CopyrightPrerequisites 2016 ................................................................................................................. by AMA Musikverlag..................................................12 Organizing Your Practicing ......................................................................................................................................... 13 Practice Objectives ........................................................................................................................................................14 On Practicing Technique .............................................................................................................................................14 On Sound, Rhythm and Tempo While Practicing ...................................................................................................16 Motivation ......................................................................................................................................................................17 Practicing with a Metronome ......................................................................................................................................18 The Importance of Playing from Memory While Practicing .................................................................................19 On the Frequent Repetition of Difficult Passages, Single Measures or Phrases ...................................................19 II. Holding the Instrument ....................................................................................................................................... 20 The Four Points of Contact on the Body....................................................................................................................21 The Correct Angle Towards the BodySamples ............................................................................................. ...........................21 Alternate Ways to Hold the Guitar .............................................................................................................................22 The Fusion of Body and Guitar into a Single Sound Source ...................................................................................22 III. Left Hand Posture (LH) .......................................................................................................................................23 Four Universal Rules ....................................................................................................................................................23 The Principles of the Four Hand Shapes ................................................................................................................... 24 Different Positions of the Left Arm-Hand-Finger System, Clarified by the Fourth Hand Shape .....................25 The Positioning of the Fingertips ................................................................................................................................27 IV. Short Outline of the Movements of the Left Hand (LH) .............................................................................. 28 The Shoulder-Arm-Hand System ............................................................................................................................... 28 The Motion of the Arm ............................................................................................................................................... 28 Basic Motions of the Fingers....................................................................................................................................... 29 Intonation and Finger Pressure .................................................................................................................................. 29 Left Hand Shift ............................................................................................................................................................. 30 Stretching and Contracting the Fingers.................................................................................................................... 30 Ascending and Descending Slurs ............................................................................................................................... 31 Barre ................................................................................................................................................................................32 Vibrato ............................................................................................................................................................................34