ETUDE
October 1941
volume LIX
number 10
page 717-718

Practice Hints for Guitarists

By George C. Krick

“PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT,” is an old saying, but when we speak of it in connection with the study of the guitar or for that matter any other musical instrument we should add, “if done with intelligence and if based on tried and correct methods.” It is universally conceded that many hours daily are wasted through mechanical repetition of exercises that could be mastered in a fraction of the time spent, if the student would use his head as much as he does his hands. By this we do not mean that repetition of certain exercises is not necessary, but before beginning to play look over the exercise carefully and try to find out just what you intend to accomplish by mastering it. For example you may have realized that the third finger of the right hand is weak and needs strengthening. So for this purpose select the third and fourth etudes of the “Carcassi, Op. 60.” Both etudes are in arpeggio form, and most of the high notes in each measure are to be played with the third finger of the right hand. Play them over slowly at first until the correct right hand fingering is established and the left hand moves smoothly from one chord to another, at the same time placing some emphasis on the notes played with third finger. You should always be sure to concentrate on what you are striving for, and it will not be long before you begin to feel gratified with the results of these efforts.

Now we admit that every pupil is anxious to play pieces at the earliest possible moment, but to do the job well a certain amount of technical drill is indispensable, and even advanced students should allot about one third of their practice period to technical exercises and etudes.

The left hand fingers must always be trained to drop onto the frets in the proper manner; a thorough knowledge of the entire finger board must be acquired gradually; and nothing is better for this purpose than the playing of scales. Passages of scales in thirds, sixths, octaves and tenths are apt to occur in almost every guitar composition, and to be prepared for them the student should pay particular attention to this phase of technic.

The playing of chords requires a great deal of thought and study, and both hands must be watched carefully in order to produce a round full tone. The greatest difficulty in the beginning is to bring out clearly every note of the chord. The strings on the guitar being close together, it often happens that a finger of the left hand resting on a certain string, will accidentally touch the one next to it and thereby muffle the tone of that string. To correct this fault a student should be forever on the alert, listen attentively for every note of the chord and see to it that the offending finger is placed in its proper position. One of the best exercises for the playing of the chords is to practice them first in the form of arpeggi – that is to play consecutively the group of notes of which the chord consists. For example, in the Second Book of “Foden’s Chord Method,” let us turn to the page containing the chords in the key of C maJor. Now, instead of playing them as written, in whole notes, practice them in the form of arpeggi, the notes of each chord consecutively with thumb, first, second and third fingers, playing each group four times. This should be done for several days, or longer if necessary, until every note in the chord can be heard distinctly. The next step is to play each chord in the usual manner four times, using four chords to each measure, and then to play them as written, keeping the left hand fingers pressed firmly on the fingerboard, while counting four to each chord. This method used on chords in all the other keys contained in this volume, for a few months, will bring about a decided improvement both in tone quality and tone volume.

So far, we have spoken mainly of technical matters. As the student advances technically it is necessary for him to develop musically, and tor this purpose we have the “Etudes, Op. 31 and 35,” of Ferdinand Sor. These Etudes contain some technical points, but are intended primarily to develop the musicality of the student and to prepare him for the interpretation of larger compositions later. For third and fourth year students the “Etudes Op. 6 and 29,” by Ferdinand Sor, the “Concert Etudes,” by Mauro Giuliani and also those by Napoleon Coste are highly recommended.

In a recent communication from one of our readers the question was asked, `’What is necessary for me to do to become an orchestra guitarist? I’ve been practicing the guitar for two years, but so far have been unable to connect with an orchestra.”

We advise anyone having this problem, first of all, to read again carefully what we had to say on this subject in the February number of THE ETUDE. If you are well prepared technically, by all means try to get a spot on the air, even if it is only on a small station. This will give you experience and self-confidence.